Chapter 4
LYRIC
We listen as the phone rings through the car speakers, waiting for Lennon to pick up. All hell has broken loose. Jimmy came out of hiding and is now missing. Rumor is he went to Rhode Island and caused issues there; I need to verify if it’s true. It’s been months since he was last seen. I’ve searched but can’t find anything on him. He’s completely disappeared. I’m starting to worry, but I have to focus on what’s going on here.
After Lennon’s plan to get her half sister Sparrow away from her boyfriend had quickly turned from bad to worse, the Bratva set out on a mission to rescue them. Sparrow’s boyfriend, Andrei, the head of the Las Vegas Bratva, would stop at nothing to protect the woman he loves. Now another hacker is looking into our background because Ainsley and I are associated with Lennon.
“Where are you?” Ainsley asks when Lennon finally picks up.
“Almost to your place,” she answers.
“Don’t go there. Ric said it’s not safe now.”
I roll my eyes and clarify that’s not what I said.
“Ainsy, what am I supposed to do?” Lennon rattles on about how the friend Ainsley had convinced to help execute her plan had turned on her. Then they were captured by Sparrow’s deranged stepbrother, and Sparrow had to kill him in order for them to escape. As she runs out of breath, she informs us she’s been claimed by Dmitri, a Bratva man.
My head is spinning when she is done.
“Meet us at your place,” Ainsley says.
“No. Dmitri will know all about that place. That’s why I’m going to you.”
Ainsley pulls off to the side of the road as we try to come up with something.
“Okay, meet us at the Bellagio. We’ll get a suite and hide out there,” Ainsley says, and I shake my head. This is just another excuse for Ainsley to get pampered and spend more of Leni’s money.
“Turn off your phone as soon as you hang up with us,” I instruct, just in case they are tracking her phone.
“Okay.” She hangs up, and we get back on the road.
“I can’t believe you are going to use her this way. She needs us.” I look at Ainsley.
“Well, we need her money.” My twin doesn’t take her eyes off the road. I hope one day my sister learns her lesson and stops using people.
We arrive at the hotel within minutes of each other. While Lennon checks in, we wait near the elevators. Once we’re inside, she hands us each a card key.
“What’s a matter, Len?” I wrap an arm around her as I ask. I think she’s falling for the big Russian who claimed her.
“I-I can’t talk about it.” She takes a big gulp of air as a teardrop streaks down her cheek.
When we get inside the suite, Lennon crashes on the couch and pulls one of the pillows over her head. I rub her back, trying to soothe her. She’s extremely emotional, unlike Ainsley, who is always so cold. I like the way Lennon shares her feelings. She doesn’t hold back on hugs or telling me she loves me.
“Hey, it can’t be that bad.” I sit beside her and hold her to me when she sits up.
We have a similar bone structure in the face, and she and I are closest in hair color between the three of us. But that’s where the likeness ends.
“It is that bad,” she says softly as she buries her head in my shoulder. “I shouldn’t have tried to help Sparrow. She could have been hurt or killed for that matter.”
“It’s not your fault that she chose to be with a jerk in the Bratva,” Ainsley says from her seat across from us. She’s already looking at the spa schedule and room service menu. I knew she suggested this place for her sake only and not Leni’s. “We should have a spa day tomorrow, and let’s order expensive food off the menu tonight.” She smiles big. It’s kind of creepy how sinister that smile looks right now.
A knock on the door breaks us from our conversation, and we watch as Leni moves to answer it. Her body goes rigid when she looks through the peephole.
“It’s my dad,” she says, but Ainsley and I are already hiding in one of the three bedrooms.
We leave the door open a crack so we can hear what is going on. I hate that Ainsley won’t let Lennon tell her father about us. I hope it’s so Lennon can deny us if we are caught, but I suspect it’s much worse.
“Hey, Daddy.” Her voice is quiet, and I can hear the pain in it. He pushes his way into the suite and stands over her.
“This needs to end, Lennon. I’m done,” he barks. “You can’t keep living like a spoiled brat. It’s my fault. I should have done more.”
I turn to Ainsley, and she shrugs like it’s no big deal. Lennon doesn’t live the way her father thinks. All the spending is Ainsley’s fault.
I refocus my attention on Leni and her father as he waves his hand around the room. “Look at this. You are in a three-bedroom suite. You spend money like it’s going out of style. I’ve decided it’s time to force you to grow up.”
“But, Daddy, it’s not like that?—”
He holds up a hand to shut her up. I want to go out there and give him a piece of my mind. He gives her no chance to explain. Lennon lives off a meager budget and the money she makes as the head of Clare’s House.
“It’s done. You have until Christmas to prove you are mature and will get a real job.”
“A real job? I work at the shelter almost every day. It’s a job?—”
He interrupts her again, and I can’t believe he doesn’t realize how hard she works. Not only does she run Clare’s House and organize everything, but she also manages all the businesses that rent from her.
“You’ll never forgive me for putting your precious Gina’s daughter in danger. That’s what this is all about.” She stands up to him. Gina was Sparrow’s mother, and he supposedly loved her very much. “I tried to be a good big sister, but I failed. I didn’t know they had been together that long. I didn’t even know they loved each other.”
“It’s not only that,” he continues. Ainsley covers her mouth to keep from laughing when Lennon’s dad scolds her for jumping into bed with Dmitri, a practical stranger. “Dmitri isn’t the kind of man you can play with. He’ll kill you if you cross him.”
“I know what kind of man Dmitri is.”
“No, you don’t,” he shouts, his face darkening, and I’m scared for her.
He orders her to break it off with him, or he’ll take matters into his own hands. As for the rest, he informs her that her credit cards have been canceled and he’s selling the condo she lives in.
“You can stay in your suite at the casino, but you can only order room service. No shopping at the stores. You have plenty of clothes. You can keep the car.” He lists his conditions.
I glance at Ainsley. She doesn’t look one bit remorseful for putting our sister in this situation. Instead, she’s upset because she just lost her cash cow.
“A fucking three-bedroom suite is a bit extravagant, Lennon. Maybe you should look at those women who come to the shelter, or even remember where you started,” her father adds.
Tears flow down her face as she lays it out for her dad. “Remember where I started? How can I forget? I was there. You weren’t.” My heart aches as she recollects the times her stomach hurt from hunger, or when she’d pray the cockroaches would stay away as she slept. She grabs her purse from the sofa and faces him once more. “I watched her die.” She speaks of her mom. “I work my ass off in that shelter. I earn the salary I make. You don’t know because it has nothing to do with your precious Melody.” It’s no secret his casino takes priority over his own daughter.
“It would only take a no-confidence vote started by me and you won’t have that anymore.” He drops the bomb, and it’s like all the air left the room.
“I dare you. At least I’m moving on with my life and not living in the past.” She fires back.
His hand cracks against her cheek, and I struggle to get out the door. I’m going to take him down for putting a hand on her. Ainsley holds me back and whispers in my ear.
“He can’t know about us. Not yet.”
I’m pissed at my twin. We should be more worried about our sister and not the stupid plan that almost got Sparrow killed and Lennon kidnapped.
“Leave,” Lennon tells him.
He apologizes, but Lennon continues to order him out. He then defends his actions by bringing up her sister and the fact she put her life in danger, and I can tell Lennon has had enough.
“It’s always going to be her.” She silently cries, and I hate that she will always be his second and third choice.
Ainsley releases me when her father exits the suite, and I stomp out of the room.
“I’m going to fuck him up.”
“We should trash the suite and leave it for him to take care of,” Ainsley interjects as she moves to the glass bar.
“No.” Lennon wipes her tears and looks at us both. “It will be okay.”
“Well, how am I supposed to pay rent this month? I was going to ask if you had a couple hundred you could loan me,” Ainsley says as she heads to the room to get her bags.
“Come on.” I take Lennon’s hand and lead her toward the door. We need to get out of here. He gave her thirty minutes to vacate the suite, or she would have to settle the bill herself.
We get on the elevator, and Ainsley continues to try to siphon money out of Lennon.
“Can we stop at the mall and play in the Sephora?” she asks with no thought as to what just went down.
“No. Don’t you get it? All the frivolous spending he was accusing Lennon of was because of you, Ainsley. Have a fucking heart. She has nothing,” I bark at her.
“I have a place. I need to go. Will you two be okay?” Lennon looks at us like we haven’t been taking care of ourselves for years before she came along. I don’t need her money. I need her.
“Yes, I stopped the hacker from digging too much into you for a while. I told Ainsley we didn’t need to hide out, but she wanted to stay in a hotel.” I reveal what I really said to Ainsley that started all this.
“Don’t blame me. It’s her fault that someone wants to come after us. If she had just done what she was supposed to, we wouldn’t be exposed. If she hadn’t fallen for a fucking mafia dude… Didn’t she learn?” Ainsley waves her hands around in Lennon’s face, and I feel bad for her. “They only care about themselves. Shit, did you even use protection with him?”
“I’m on the shot,” Lennon says, and I watch as her eyebrows drop in thought.
“Lennon, can you give me a ride?” I ask her, and she nods.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Ainsley whines.
“You have our car. Use it and go back to the apartment. I’ll be there later.” I want to spend some time with Leni; we could both use it.
Lennon doesn’t speak to me the whole way down to the lobby or when the valet brings her car around. In fact, she remains quiet long after we climb into the car and she navigates the streets of Las Vegas.
“Want to talk about it?” I ask, unable to take the silence any longer. She trembles as if she forgot I was sitting next to her.
“No. Where would you like me to drop you off?”
“I’ll go with you to Clare’s House. The new cybercafé is cool, and I don’t feel like being around Ainsy right now.” I tell her the truth and take a moment to gather my thoughts. “He does love you. I think if he really didn’t care, he wouldn’t have punished you for what happened. I’m sorry we got you cut off. I’m sorry Ainsley only thinks of you for money.”
“No. No.” She shakes her head. “You both suffered in foster care your whole lives. She gave you up instead of keeping you. I should help you, and I gave you what I don’t need.”
I hate that Ainsley made her feel this guilt. It was a choice our mother made, not Leni.
“No, stop, Leni.” I can’t stop the tears from forming in my eyes. “You don’t owe us anything except love. Just like your father gave you his form of love and ours didn’t.”
She reaches for my hand. “Ly, you, Ainsy, and Sparrow are all I have left. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for hitting me. I didn’t deserve that. I deserved to be cut off. I deserved to be doubted, but not for my job or life.”
“You’re right, you didn’t deserve that.” I lace my fingers with hers. It reminds me of Alek. I think of him every night.
I look down at our hands and remember his strong fingers lacing with mine. I want to see him, but I can’t. I need to keep my distance before they figure it all out.
“Tell me about Dmitri,” I say as I lean back and briefly close my eyes. I hide my tears, feeling my own pain, as she tells me about the man I know she’s already falling for.
Our conversation turns to the hacker I’m sure Dmitri hired to look into her, thus possibly exposing Ainsley and me.
We pull into the parking lot for Clare’s House, and she parks in her designated spot. We both get out, and I round the back of the car. I hug her and tell her I love her. Then I tell her to give her father and herself time. As for Dmitri, I advise her to give him a chance. Her father is wrong about him.
“Don’t have regrets like we do,” I say, and she looks at me in confusion. I wish I could tell her about walking away from a man I still crave and want. Instead, I tell her a lie. “We know he’s dead. I haven’t found proof, but he would’ve been bugging me to hack the Lucky Dice more if he were still alive.”
“I’m sorry, Ly.” She pulls me in for a hug, and when I pull away, I turn my back on her, not wanting her to see the pain that lying caused me. I hated doing it, but I can’t have her discover the truth.
No one can.
Alek
Ilook down at my phone in shock. A lot has developed in the past few months. I’ve been named the general manager of the casino. Grayson is remaining in Rhode Island with Erika after Jimmy Duncan kidnapped her and tried to kill her. Andrei had him taken care of, but the hacker is still at it.
Dmitri
We need to meet. I have information on the hacker.
I respond back that I’m available and tell him to name the place and time. Then I decide better and just call him. His phone goes straight to voicemail, but I don’t leave a message. He knows to call me back.
I head for my office, where I check on the latest damage the hacker has done. They’ve altered all the reservations in the restaurant system by thirty minutes. It’s not a lot and doesn’t hurt too much, but it causes some chaos until it’s sorted out.
My mobile rings, and I look at the display before I answer it.
“Hello, Dmitri,” I greet my friend.
His father is the second in command to Andrei’s father back in Latvia. However, Andrei couldn’t decide between his longest and most loyal friends, so he made both Dmitri and Mikhail his seconds. There was a time when I thought I would be alongside them and heavy in the Bratva, but Gray changed my life.
“Sorry, I was busy with my woman. The hacker who was trying to get through your firewalls is protecting Lennon,” Dmitri says instead of hello.
My heart clenches because I don’t have a woman. I thought I did, but every month when I return to the club, she isn’t there. I’m certain she had something to do with the hacker, but I think she’s afraid I’ll hurt her if she comes forward. I just want her back. I want her to explain the situation to me before I decide how I’m going to react. Pushing her away or hurting her isn’t an option. My body misses her.
“Who’s Lennon?” I ask.
“My woman,” he says and gives me nothing more.
I guess that’s how it’s going to be. He’s more protective than Andrei is with Sparrow. I want to chuckle, but I can’t because I’d be protective too.
“Fuck. Okay, have your hacker contact me with the information.” I huff.
“On it.” He disconnects the call.
My phone pings within minutes with another text message. It’s his soldier’s information.