Chapter 3
Prime
Her phone didn’t ring. It went straight to voicemail for the twentieth time.
The voice mailbox was full, mostly with messages I’d left over the last eight hours.
I didn’t have any other way to reach her.
Calling Petrov and asking what he’d done to punish Zoe wasn’t an option, and even if it was he wouldn’t give me an answer.
In his world I had no right to any information about his daughter. She was untouchable by the likes of me.
“Fuck!” I screamed as I put my fist through the thin layer of wood that was my office door.
I pulled a blade from its sheath on my hip and slammed it into the door sending it all the way through to the other side.
I knew in my head that I was using anger to cover the fear inside me, yet I didn’t give a damn.
Logic wasn’t exactly where my head was at.
The damn woman was taking too much of the blame for betraying Petrov on herself.
She was shouldering the entire burden to keep the Sinners from being punished, perhaps executed due to her father’s wrath.
I didn’t like it one bit. I was used to fighting my own battles and never had I hid behind a woman. I felt stupid and powerless, and it was screwing up my head. I knew there were far bigger problems to worry about, but Zoe kept taking over in my mind. It pissed me off more than I wanted to admit.
“Damn you, Zoe! Why wouldn’t you let me be there to face him with you?” I kicked the door and it splintered from top to bottom. The blade fell to the floor with a loud ping.
“Because she’s as stubborn and hardheaded as you,” Ditch, the VP of the Serpent Sinners announced as he pushed open what remained of the broken door. “Sorry boss, but it was easy to hear you through the hole in the door. I’m guessing she’s still not answering the phone.”
“No, and her voicemail is full, so she hasn’t listened to any messages either.
If I knew she just didn’t want to stir things up by talking to me I’d be calmer.
It’s what I’d expect her to do, lay low until Petrov’s anger cools.
But I’m worried that he’s done something to her because after talking to her and letting her know I was concerned I thought she’d have gotten some sort of message to me, so I’d know she was okay,” I explained.
“There’s the possibility that she’s unable to get a message to us. I don’t mean she’s hurt!” Ditch quickly amended when he saw the raw look of fear cross my face. “I’m talking about blocking her communication, taking her phone. That’s all, Prime.”
“If there’s a way to get in touch she’ll find it. She’s resourceful and intelligent enough to get around that shit. It’s just that the waiting is damn hard. I prefer action, even if it’s a battle. Sitting around knowing nothing tears me apart.
“Never mind, it’s not something you need to concern yourself with. I assume you brought an update on Rage. Let’s hear it. I could use some good news,” I replied, having lowered my voice to a less than explosive tone.
“Vikki reports that Rage is healing quickly and ready to report back to work. He wants to know if Petrov has asked for more drug runs as payback, or if there’s another way he can help keep his retaliation at bay,” Ditch confided.
“That’s the strange thing about this shit.
Petrov hasn’t said anything to me. He’s held his silence, and I don’t think that’s a good sign.
There’s no rumor that he’s going to punish us at all.
None of our informants have heard even a whisper of his name.
That’s why I’m so on edge, which is damn well what he wants.
It’s hell waiting for something to happen, and he knows it. ”
“Well said, Prime,” Sweet, our huge, bald enforcer said as he entered.
“I’ve tripled security measures just in case.
We’re ready no matter what that asshole comes up with.
I’ve even got extra coverage for Jackson and Jemma, at my own expense of course.
Vikki won’t be stepping foot out of the clubhouse alone for a very long time, and Rage is as locked up as we can make him. ”
“Is there any news on Aguilar, any sightings at all?” I asked.
“Not a word. Flame listens closely to every conversation in the bar and there’s been no mention of him or where he could be hiding out.
Colt’s asking questions around town and having some of the other men who work out at the gym asking them too.
He’s probably licking his wounds and plotting revenge.
Millions of dollars in female flesh escaped that night, and we blew his compound to hell and back,” Ditch reminded me.
“It was a hell of a mess once we were done,” Sweet added with a chuckle.
“That bastard has to be seething. He won’t sit on his ass for long.
We’ll find him when he makes a mistake and opens his big mouth to the wrong person.
We’ve got friendly spies everywhere, people who owe us their loyalty for helping them out of tight spots. ”
“He has loyal spies too. He’s obviously even infiltrated the mafia, which is nearly impossible.
How else could he have so easily made it look like Petrov was responsible for the sale of all those women?
He’s got access to the organization’s secrets somehow.
I’m guessing Petrov needs to clean out his fucking organization more than he needs to mess with us,” Ditch proclaimed.
“And he might be doing that at this very moment,” Flame said rushing in almost breathless. Her dark hair swung across her shoulders making the red tips seem to dance the same as the fire she took her name from.
“Rod is working on some rich bastardo’s jacked up plane out at the airport and he called to tell us Petrov’s personal jet fueled up hours ago and took off in less than an hour after he saw the crew rushing around like rats running out of a sinking ship. Something big is going down,” she added.
“Shit! What if he’s exiling Zoe back to Russia?
She’ll never be free again if he does that.
She’ll more than likely be imprisoned for treason, and it’ll be our fault,” I yelled in frustration, hitting the desk with my fist and causing everyone to go silent and watchful.
I wasn’t acting normally, and it was making them nervous and confused.
Flame took a deep breath and put her hand on my bicep, risking my wrath.
I ground my teeth together to stop the nasty tirade that was about to erupt, choking on the curses instead of allowing them to fill the room.
My arm tensed under her hand, but I held back from shoving her away.
I had to gain control of myself before I did something I’d regret.
“I don’t think that’s his plan, Prime. Rod managed to get a look at the flight plan.
The idiota got into the computer system and almost got his ass caught by security.
The plane is going to Chicago, not Russia.
It shows as a final destination, not a stop before leaving the country.
And only Petrov is supposed to be traveling according to the paperwork,” Flame explained quietly while her fingers squeezed into my muscle to help me contain my violent nature.
“If he was sending Zoe to his brother there would be guards going too, boss. It has to be Petrov, which means there’s some kind of trouble in the organization. We need to find out what it is asap,” Ditch stated.
Air whooshed out of my lungs and the burning sensation in my gut settled down a little with this information. I wasn’t sure why I was so easily overcome with anger and violence every time I thought of anything bad happening to Zoe, but I was getting a bad vibe about it.
I shook it off the best I could and growled, “Well, that’s the understatement of the fucking year, Ditch.
How do you suppose we can manage that? Huh?
Any clue whose going to talk to us? Zoe was our best bet.
She’s the only one who was ever willing to give us real information.
It’s not like Petrov wants us to know what the damn mafia is up to.
And I guarantee the men who helped are too scared to say anything right now if they’re even still alive. ”
“It’s kind of funny that we didn’t realize how much we depended on Zoe to supply shit to us. She made it so damn easy we didn’t bother with gaining the trust of an insider,” Sweet said with a wry twist of his lips.
Flame stepped back out of the men’s reach before she said, “You idiotas! Las mujeres have been doing a lot of the heavy work around here lately. Vikki infiltrated the cartel and got us the info we wanted. Hell, Zoe walked right in there with her, then she kept watch over her and was the main reason she and Rage are alive and well. I think you idiotas better start showing us more respect. I want my cut, Prime, and so does Vikki. We damn well deserve it.”
“This isn’t the right time for this discussion, Flame,” Sweet quickly advised and began pushing her toward the door.
“Then when is it the fucking time?” she argued. “When isn’t there going to be trouble with Petrov or Aguilar or somebody else? Can you answer that?”
I sighed and replied, “We’ll make time somewhere along the way to talk about it. Because you’re right, you both deserve recognition. Just please don’t push me right now. I’m in a bad space in my head I don’t have any information that will get us anywhere at the moment.”
“We’ll leave you be, boss. We’ll deal with the usual business and let you call some of our informants in Chicago. Maybe they’ll know why Petrov rushed off to big brother,” Ditch replied. “I’ll buy Flame a few drinks and she’ll be fine.”
Everyone left and I plopped down in my chair and stared at the unsalvageable door.
I’d destroyed it in a fit of temper which shocked me to the core.
Anger wasn’t my style. I was the cool-headed sort who used logic and an icy anger to control my crew and deal with men like Petrov and Aguilar.
Losing my temper would make them laugh in my face.
Like a fool I gave in to the temptation to try Zoe’s phone one last time. I wanted to hear her voice and have her swear she was okay. I told myself she’d been able to stand up to her father and just refused to speak to me.
I saw her in my head with her hands on her hips and wearing tight jeans with a gun in the waistband. Her face was a beautiful mask of fury and stubbornness as she argued her case. Even when he threatened her with a dozen lashes to her back she stood tall and strong until he gave in.
When there was no answer and her voicemail declared it was still full that fantasy shattered. Deep down inside I knew she meant more to me than an ally or informant. I simply wasn’t ready to admit it. I’d fight it because having more with her was impossible.
I gritted my teeth and made a call I’d rather avoid. The Chicago informants weren’t reliable and asked for too much in return for not always accurate information. But I couldn’t continue doing business in the dark.
“Prime! I figured you’d be calling soon,” Frank, the asshole lawyer who used his position to get paid by almost anyone who wanted to know about Dominik’s business said the instant he answered.
“It took you longer than I would have liked. I need some extra cash. I may have to jump ship and relocate to a place without extradition any moment now.”
“And why would that be? Did you finally get caught overbilling hours or maybe taking money with both hands under the table?” I asked.
“Not yet. But I figure it’s better to get out before that happens and wipe the books clean so all evidence is gone.
Things are changing fast around here. I assume that’s why you called.
I’m sorry but information costs double these days.
I have to cover my ass before the shit hits the fan,” he complained.
“I’m out of the loop and I need to get back in, so I’ll pay your greedy ass double. Since I have no clue what you’re talking about let’s start with an explanation of that,” I replied.
“You really should check out the news once in a while, Prime. It’s free. Tell you what, I won’t charge you for this little tidbit. Dominik is dead. He keeled over from a heart attack. It’s all over the national news.”
“That’s why Drago rushed off in his jet. He’s there to pay tribute to his brother. Didn’t Zoe come with him?” I asked, feeling slight relief at the thought even though Rod had said only Petrov was aboard the jet.
“I don’t know where the girl is. I know she’s in trouble up to her pretty little neck, though.
Dominik spoke to Drago before he died and demanded the girl be punished.
He would have preferred to beat her into submission, but Drago would have none of it.
His territory, his men, and his daughter, so his business. That’s all you get for free.”
I held back my expletive and inquired with a churning stomach, “What did he do to her?”
“Nothing yet as far as I know. That’s worth a thousand. What I say next is another three.”
“Fine, just spill it,” I answered.
“There’s about to be a fight between Drago and Damien to take Dominik’s place as head honcho.
Once the funeral is over things are going to get bad.
I see a fight to the death or something even worse.
Either way, I’m toast if I don’t get lost and cover up everything.
So, this may be the last you’ll hear from me.
“Buckle up for trouble, Prime. I can promise you’ll be affected by this change of the guard in one way or another. Good luck and get the money to me within the hour. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to hand over some info on you to Petrov, or better yet, Damien.”
He was a greedy, double-crossing asshole, but he was right. Trouble was coming. The Sinners wouldn’t be allowed to sit this war out. Drago Petrov was going to get his retaliation by dragging us into this battle for supremacy.