Ciaran (Bourbon & Blood)
Prologue
N eon lights advertising check cashing, female dancers, and adult novelties winked from the dirty windows of the rundown buildings that lined the street. The unmarked police vehicle pulled up outside the dingy bar off Winchester Road, and people scattered like cockroaches. Even without the flashing lights and logo, the vehicle’s origins were obvious. The blacked-out windows and flashing neon panties that adorned the building gave little doubt as to what sort of establishment it was and the fact that the car clearly did not belong. Lexington, Kentucky, wasn’t the biggest city, but it had its fair share of crime, most of it drug-related.
He did not want to be there. It was too risky, too damned dirty, and too close for comfort. If someone saw him, he was screwed. Cops, even dirty ones, had images to uphold. Getting out of the car, he approached the door and the sketchy doorman. “I need to see Sergei.”
“Ten dollars,” the doorman replied, his thick Russian accent difficult to decipher.
Grabbing the man by the jacket, he hauled him up until they were nose to nose. “Do I look stupid to you? Walk in and get caught on camera? Not fucking likely, genius. Get Sergei out here or, so help me God, I’ll knock every goddamn rotten tooth out of your head.”
He released the man abruptly, sending him sprawling onto the pavement. Without a backward glance, he headed to the small alley between the club and the seedy auto service next door. At the very least, he wouldn’t be out in the open where any asshole could recognize him. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he produced a pack of cigarettes and lit one of them. He took a deep draw and then coughed. The things were killing him, but something had to.
After several minutes had passed, the back door of the bar opened, and a tall, thin man emerged in the alley and walked toward him. “You’re not supposed to be here,” he said, his accent still thick but less pronounced than the doorman’s.
“We’ve got problems,” he replied. “Crawford busted your mule, and he sang like a damn bird.”
Sergei shrugged. “He’s unimportant.”
The cop rolled his eyes. “He was until he sold out Grigori. Yeah. That fucker is in custody now, and your supply chain went to shit…not to mention the obvious fact that Grigori is connected to me. They dig too much on this, and we all go to hell. Clearing it up any for you?”
The man uttered a curse in Russian. “Does he know about you? If he does, it’s too late. We’re fucked.”
“Not yet, but if we don’t do something, he will soon enough.”
“How do you suggest we distract him?”
The cop leaned back against the block wall of the building. “There’s only one thing that asshole cares about more than he cares about being a cop…that’s his bitch of a sister.”
The Russian chuckled. “She turned you down?”
She had, but that was beside the point. “Whatever it takes. We need to divert his attention. Handle her. She’s the distraction we need!”
“Define handle,” Sergei demanded.
“Use your fucking imagination! This ain’t kindergarten, and I’m not holding your goddamn hand! Jesus, even the fucking criminals lack initiative these days!” He punctuated his diatribe by tossing his cigarette to the ground and crushing it under the heel of his shoe.
Sergei shook his head. “You want me to kidnap her? Where the hell am I supposed to hide a cop’s sister? Here? You’re crazy.”
“I never said kidnapping or killing. That stays on the back burner for now. Just hurt her enough to distract him and to let him know she’s not safe as long as he keeps playing boy-scout.”
“You want her shot, stabbed, beaten, raped? You wanted to be the boss here, be the fucking boss and issue an order,” Sergei snapped. “ Chertovski mudak !”
“Call me a fucking asshole again, and I’ll rip your damn throat out,” he said. “Yeah. I might not speak Russian, but I been around you fuckers enough to have picked up a few words. I didn’t say how, Sergei, and I don’t fucking care. Make it happen, or we all go down together.”
He didn’t wait for the Russian’s answer but walked away, back to his unmarked car. He had an alibi to establish.