Lost in Translation

Chapter 38: Promises

———Anthony———

Saturday, July 13th, 2019

Things were absolutely worse. When we got to Meeting Room 2, Darius, Sarah, and Marcus were already there. The chairs had been pushed aside, and Sarah and Darius were bent over a spread of papers on the table. Marcus and James exchanged a look, and Marcus nodded. I looked away, feeling guilty for potentially causing an issue between them.

The bad feeling I had paled in comparison to what came next. Darius straightened up, but before he had the chance to say something, there was a knock on the doorframe of the still-open door.

"Sir, I have Mr. Rivers here, as you requested," Jasmine said. She stepped aside to reveal a stony-faced Ben. My heart plummeted as he looked at me with no change in expression. His eyes looked a little puffy, and I dropped my gaze to the carpet as I realized he had probably been crying.

"Thanks, Jasmine," Darius said with a polite smile as he gestured for Ben to come in and join the misshapen circle we had formed. "Anthony, I might need you to translate because we have obviously had a miscommunication." I nodded, not trusting myself to respond.

"First off, I need to know where you three were going and why," Darius said in a neutral and collected voice. I stood next to Kat so I could translate more easily.

"Home. Anya is in danger," Kat said, obviously distressed.

"You seem much more concerned than earlier today," Darius said with a confused frown. "What changed?" Kat fished her phone out of her pocket and showed everyone a picture of a teenage girl who looked similar to Kat tied to a chair. Darius and Sarah shared a look of concern.

"Who sent you this?" Darius asked as Sarah quickly pulled out her phone and started typing rapidly.

"I don't... I don't know. They sent the picture and an address. Only that," Kat said.

"There's a red-eye flight to Moscow from Atlanta tonight with a few open seats. It's only eight now, so if we plan quickly, we should make it," Sarah said, looking up. "This is absolutely a trap, but we can't just ignore it."

"Agreed," Darius said quickly. "A group of American wolves traveling internationally will draw attention, though, which could lead to Ekaterina's sister getting hurt."

"A small group, then. Kat, James, and Anthony are obvious choices since they know the language," Sarah said. "I think having either of us go is a bad idea, as this could be a ploy to get the pack unattended, but should we send someone else with them?"

"Ekaterina, what do you think?" Darius asked, turning to her. Kat looked between Darius and Sarah in confusion. I quickly summarized their exchange, and she looked up at them in surprise.

"You... are letting me go?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Ekaterina, my love," Darius said softly as he stepped forward and took her hands in his. "Of course. I did not understand you before and didn't communicate well either. I wasn't going to stop you. I just wanted to plan it out. I didn't realize the situation was this urgent. I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't come to me when you got that message." Kat sniffled as I whispered Darius' words to her. I felt a bit as though I was intruding on a personal moment.

"Three is good, I think," Kat said after a moment. "Three can be sneaky. More is... noisy." Sarah nodded and started typing quickly again.

"Okay, I'll book the flights immediately. Kat has identification but no passport yet. I'll call the FBSA agent stationed there. If I push it as official pack business, it shouldn't be a problem. I'll make sure we are cleared to bring Anya back as well."