Chapter 15
Daniel
Michael is standing with Henry in the entryway when I arrive. Beyond him, I can see just how late it actually is outside. I drove here in such a fog that the time never really registered to me.
Michael and Henry are playfighting, which is amusing given their size differences. Michael appears to be a man poised for violence at any moment, whereas Henry is a carefree youngster. Despite this, they both laugh and make dramatic sound effects with each punch they throw. It”s even more amusing to me because I”ve seen firsthand, more times than I can count, how deadly of a fighter Michael can be. I believe he is more lethal when he does not have a weapon at his disposal.
Henry really couldn’t ask for a better teacher than Michael. My nephew’s brow furrows in concentration as he keeps his hands poised in front of his face. My sister would hate this if she were here. She would complain and protest that there was no reason whatsoever for him to know how to fight. She never would have wanted him anywhere near this life. She should have known that sooner or later it was bound to happen. This isn’t the sort of life you escape from. She should have known that better than just about anybody.
At the very least, there”s nothing wrong with him learning how to defend himself. The rest will take a few years. And all I have to do now is honor my sister”s memory.
At first, they don”t notice me. So I let them finish their first round of shadow boxing before clearing my throat. Henry”s fists immediately drop, and his shoulders follow. I half expect Michael to cuff the kid on the shoulder for letting down his guard in such a way. When he doesn”t, I almost want to mock Michael for being too gentle with him.
“Aw, man…” Henry groans loudly. He knows that I’m about to send him up to bed. “Can’t I just stay up and box a little bit longer? It’s been like… forever since I saw Uncle Michael!”
He knows that Michael’s not really his uncle. But other than myself, he is the only one in this world that I would trust to take care of Henry, so it’s a fitting title nonetheless.
“Not tonight, kid. Your Uncle Michael and I have business to attend to,” I say as I slide my hands into my pockets.
“But it’s the weekend!” Henry protests once more. “And you’re always doing business stuff!”
“I get that, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are already up later than you’re supposed to be. Isn’t that right, Henry?”
Henry grumbles something under his breath as he slogs toward the stairs. He glances over his shoulder to make sure that I heard his mumbling and then quickly reconsiders his stance on bedtime when he sees the displeased look on my face.
“I have an idea!” Henry interjects. He looks like he’s just discovered how to make fire. “How about I stay up and help you with your business stuff? I’m real smart. I can help. Bet I’ll even be real good at it! Whatcha’ say?” He wags his finger about as he makes his case.
Something about the casual way he’s volunteering himself up makes my stomach churn. He doesn’t have any idea what he’s volunteering for, and it won’t stay that way for much longer.
“In due time,” I answer tightly.
“What’s that mean?” Henry yawns, betraying himself. “Oh… it means no, doesn’t it?”
“That it does,” I answer and point up to the top of the stairs. “There will be plenty of time for helping with business things when you’re older. It’s not something that you need to go rushing yourself into. Just be a kid.”
“But kids have bedtimes,” Henry protests.
I don’t even have a good rebuttal for that. I just nod my head in the direction of his room. He sighs dejectedly and turns. His feet thump up each and every step like his slippers are leaden and filled with concrete.
It’s a strange sight—wanting to run away and join the mafia just so that you don’t have a bedtime anymore. But he doesn’t know that’s what he’s asking.
He gets to live a different childhood than I did. I had au pairs and nannies on occasion, but I mostly raised myself. I never had to worry about bedtimes or schools because I could take tutoring and private classes whenever I wanted. At Henry”s age, I had to deal with more adult issues than any child should have to. It gives me a strange sense of accomplishment that Henry is given the opportunity to have a normal, sort of, life for now.
I learned to fight because I had to in order to survive, not as a method of bonding with the male figures in my life. It was the bare minimum of what my father expected from me. He demanded perfection and helped me achieve absolutely none of it. The man that I am today, I built from nothing.
Neither Michael nor I move until we are certain that Henry is in his bathroom getting ready for bed. Michael follows me as I nod my head toward the backyard. Onceoutside, the lights turn on, illuminating a large pool and meticulously manicured lawns. Floweredbushes decorate the space, and hidden lighting illuminatesit with a soft, yellow glow. A small greenhouse can be seen in the distance. It”s where Henry wanted us to plant the small vegetable garden. He started gardening with his mother and isn”t ready to give it up just yet.
I cross to the outdoor bar and step out of my shoes as I start making an Old Fashioned. I like the ritual of it. I like going through the motions of making something so elaborate to help clear my mind. If nothing else, I need it tonight in order to keep from letting my mind drift off in the direction of the hidden guest house… where Helena is likely doing everything in her power to break out of her room.
Miachael lowers himself into one of the poolside lounge chairs with all of the grace of a man whose joints were aging prematurely from constant fighting. Not that I have much room to talk. I hand him a glass, and he takes the drink happily and toasts it to me in the air.
“To good jobs swiftly done, eh, boss?”
“Here, here,” I agree and tap my drink to his. I don’t wait before dropping the bomb of information on him. “Helena’s in the guest house.”
If I had given him the time to take his first sip, he might have spit out his liquor. He sits up quickly and swivels to look at me, waiting for the rest of the information. My consigliere shits into business-mode faster than I can blink.
“Good jobs very swiftly done, indeed,” Michael answers, his fingers tapping against the glass in his hands.
I hide my triumphant grin behind the brim of my glass and take another swig before continuing. “Turns out she wasn’t as well hidden as we thought she was going to be. She was pretending to be a teacher at Henry’s school of all things. Can you believe it? I took her out for dinner tonight, offered to bring her home and voila.” I shrug.
I don’t need to tell him about all of the rest of it. I could. I could trust Michael with anything. He’s locked down tighter than Fort Knox. No matter how things happened, he won’t judge, but the details of fucking her aren’t something I feel the need to share. Just like if he asks to see her, I will decline because I’m sure she’s still in that bedroom naked and pounding at the bedroom door.
“That’s good, right? When are we turning her over?” Michael asks easily. I know that he would rather not have to deal with the Russians any longer than we need to. He knows why this is a great deal for the family… but he doesn’t like them any more than I do.
I don”t respond right away because I haven”t figured it out for myself. I”m not sure how I want that to work in practice. If I hand her over while she”s still alive, I know exactly what Nikolai will do to her. It would be a mercy if I were the one to kill her... but something inside of me doesn”t want to do that either. It”s unavoidable that I”ll lose her... but I don”t have to—yet.
“Boss? We are turning her over still, right?” I can hear the unspoken, underlying question in Michael’s voice. I know that he will back my choices without question. There is nothing that he would not do if I asked it of him, but I simply don’t have an answer to give him yet.
If I keep her… then what happens? Nikolai will turn on me in an instant. He will do everything in his power to strike me and the entire Colombo line down—which will then put Henry in the line of fire. Above all other things, that cannot happen.
If I choose to not turn Helena over, then I will need to come up with a plan.
That’s incredibly hard to do when all my blood and good sense keep rushing south.
Perhaps after this conversation I might head back over there anyway to handle the issue.
Michael eases himself back into his pool lounger and rubs a hand over his face. He sighs slowly and then downs the rest of his drink in one large gulp. He sets the glass down on the small table and eases his hands behind his head, scratching at his short hair in contemplation.
“Well, if we don’t have an answer to that particular question soon, Volkovich might be inclined to send some more of his goons this way, boss. The boys found out today that Nikolai’s been in communication with someone, and that he knows Helena is in the area. What they heard heavily implied that we’ve been keeping information from him.” Michael sighed. If he knew who it was or what information had been given, he would have said so.
Fucking Volkovich.
The arrogance of that bastard.
Even if I ran absolutely every lead past him, he would likely accuse me of hiding something anyway. The sheer gall to think that I should be expected to run each of my movements by him; that I should have to report to him every piece of information that I find as if I am a common foot soldier under his command. Absolutely not. I will fulfill my end of the bargain, and I will inform him of things when they are relevant.
“And who is this rat?” I ask through my teeth. I take a long, slow drink from my glass in an attempt to steady my temper.
“Unclear. I have the boys working on decoding those encryptions right now. They have covered half the hospital records you asked for before they found these texts being sent to Nikolai and diverted their attention in that direction.”
It’s not the answer I want to hear. I know that there is no magical solution for things like this. I just wish that there was an easy, convenient way to send a message to Volkovich that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated going forward. Our deal is supposed to work both ways, and I will not stand for being belittled.
“I want them to double and triple check every piece of information that we have been given so far on this. I want everything about Helena’s knowns and unknowns ready for me by morning. If they need to bring in more people, tell them to do it so long as they are all sworn to my brand of secrecy,” I say simply. It would even make more sense if Nikolai had purposefully given me false information about Helena. “Have them cross reference the information that Volkovich supplied on her as well. Just to be sure.”
“You got it,” Michael pulls his phone from his pocket and starts putting things into motion. It needs to happen quickly if I’m to ensure that all of it gets done exactly the way I want it to.
“Boss,” Michael says while still typing. “We are going to have her out of the picture soon, right?”
I hope that my attraction to her isn’t obvious to him. I don’t want to have to try to explain myself.
I nod. I”m going to have to get over it one way or another. With the smaller families in New York becoming too close for comfort, I don”t want to put my plans on hold for too long. That means that, as much as I despise having to do it, I have to make Nikolai happy. Right now, I don”t have the luxury of time.
“Don’t worry about that,” I say mostly to convince myself. “She will be taken care of soon.”
Michael doesn’t look convinced but would never question me or my choices. Nonetheless, he sits up on the lounger once he’s finished texting and levels me with a serious look.
“There is one more thing that I wanted to tell you, sir. Something I doubt even Nikolai is aware of.”