Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Nico
Adrian is acting shifty, moving around in the passenger seat, wringing his hands as he looks at me. He keeps fiddling with his watch. He’s been like this ever since we visited the previous warehouse. In total, we’ve investigated four… and each was fine, no reason for suspicion. But this time, it’s different.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
He looks across the street at the warehouse. This one is in a much quieter location. No cars pass us by, and the surrounding buildings look abandoned.
“I want to clear this last one out so we can hit the bottle,” he says, forcing a laugh, but it sounds fake. “Shall we get moving?”
“I’m not so sure,” I tell him.
“Huh?”
“I’ve been getting calls from a prominent client all afternoon. I’ve missed enough work as it is. I’m going to need to spend the next two days working from sunrise to sunset just to make up for today. Let’s leave this one until then.”
“For two days ?”
“Or we can have the men check it out.”
He swallows. Oh, Adrian. He couldn’t look more suspicious if he tried.
“No, we can’t do that,” he replies. “Think about it, cousin. We need to make sure that none of them are leaking crap. We can’t risk it.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm?” he says.
This is clearly a setup. It’s the whole reason I hired Adrian to begin with, to clarify if something like this was going on. There’s a real chance that when I walk in there, he will have men waiting for me, guns at the ready, either Russians or those loyal to him and my uncle. Perhaps these are men who want the old regime, Father and Luka’s filth, to return.
“I need to get to work,” I tell him. “Wait for my call.”
“It won’t take long,” Adrian says.
“I’ve made my decision. Is there a problem?”
“Nuh-no.”
“Good.”
* * *
I’m not lying about the work part. For two and a half days, I haven’t had time for anything else. I try to put Sienna out of my mind. That soon proves to be impossible, so instead, I settle for pushing her to the back of my thoughts… for as long as I can.
But she constantly pierces through. It’s hardest at night when I drag myself from the shower to bed to grab a few hours’ shuteye before doing it all again. The only way I can sleep is obsessively stroking my solid length, thinking of her, remembering the taste of her kisses, the sensation of her breath shimmering over me.
I lie awake, imagining her beside me, but also knowing that if she were here, I wouldn’t want to go to work tomorrow. I’d just want to be with her. The best I can do is order her some gifts, hoping she likes them.
Once I’ve caught up with my mammoth pile of work, I drive to one of my armories and put on a bulletproof vest. I wear a heavy jacket to hide the extra bulk, then stow two pistols in concealed-carry holsters. Adrian doesn’t notice anything suspicious when I pick him up.
I notice something, though. He’s even more on edge than last time.
“Get all your work done?” he asks, seeming jittery.
“Yes,” I say.
“Had time for anything else? Anything fun?”
“No,” I tell him truthfully. “If I leave my work, it accumulates. I’ve worked almost all day, every day. Now, let’s handle this.”
Adrian nods far too eagerly. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
I return to the rundown district where the warehouse is located, looking for any sign of secret gunmen or anyone else. But there’s nothing except Adrian’s skittishness to make me think something is going on here. I listen to my instincts as we walk across the street together.
I should have backup with me, but that might tip Adrian off. Also, if I’m wrong – if he’s still on my side – I don’t want to risk causing a rift between us. A Don has to think of all angles.
As we walk across the empty parking lot, past broken bottles and graffiti, I find myself thinking about Sienna. Perhaps it’s the graffiti. It reminds me of her neighborhood. I quickly push her away.
I need to be savage, focused. She makes me feral, sure, but in an entirely different way. I know she’s doing well; she’s been spending time with my mother the past couple of days, even when they’re not painting. I like the fact they’re getting close.
Dammit. There I go, thinking about her again.
When we approach the entrance, I know something is wrong. Adrian bends down. “Need to tie my laces.”
I jump on him. “What the fuck?” he yells.
I seize the gun from his ankle holster and toss it to the ground, then take him by the neck and spin, using him as a human shield as three men rush from the warehouse, each of them with guns in their hands, each of them wearing full balaclavas so I can’t see their faces.
“I knew this was a trap,” I growl in Adrian’s ear.
“It’s not,” he whines. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“No?” I chuckle darkly. “Then these fine gentlemen should have no problem opening fire on us. Go ahead.” I look at the masked gunmen. “Unless you don’t want to hit Adrian, unless he lured me here. As if a pathetic plan like this would work on me.”
I take a gun from my holster, keeping one arm wrapped around Adrian, and aim it at the men.
“I’m going to make my way slowly to my car. If you shoot, you better be prepared not to miss, because I won’t.”
My suspicions are proven correct when the men don’t open fire the moment I drag Adrian toward my car. He whimpers and whines like a child, but he can’t deny the cold fact that he set this up. Otherwise, we’d both be dead.
The men halt at the edge of the parking lot, looking at each other.
“They’re waiting for you to give them orders, cousin,” I snap, shaking Adrian.
“Please,” he wheezes.
“I should shoot you on the spot for even thinking about doing this. Don’t say please.”
I’m almost at my car when one of the masked men jogs over. I keep my gun aimed at him the whole time, my grip on Adrian ironclad. From the whining noises he makes, I know I’m hurting him, but I don’t care. It’s better than he deserves.
“You let him go,” the masked man says in a Russian accent. “Or we have a gunfight. Perhaps kill you both. Let him go. Drive away.”
I grind my teeth, thinking about it. I could drag Adrian into my car and drive off without getting shot. But there’s also a chance that a bullet clips me and ends everything.
“Some friends you’ve got, cousin,” I snarl. “They’re willing to put you down.”
“I’m sorry,” Adrian moans.
“You’re only remorseful because I saw through your plan,” I snap.
“No more talking. Make a decision.”
The other two masked men still have their guns aimed in our direction. I want to snap Adrian’s neck, truthfully. Wring it and watch his body drop limply to the ground for daring to risk the safety of this city, safety I’ve worked so hard for.
I push Adrian hard, causing him to stumble toward the masked man.
I don’t wait to see how they react. Quickly, I dive into my car and screech away, calling my mother.
“Yes?” she answers.
“We were right about Adrian. He just tried to walk me into a trap. Three masked men were waiting for me. At least one of them was Russian. We’re heightening security and surveilling the Russians. Sienna will need to stay at yours for the time being. She needs your security.”
“What should I tell her?”
“The truth. She deserves that.”
Mother sighs. “Good, because Nico… I may have already told her about us.”
“How did she react?” I ask, even if my mind should be on other things.
“She’s difficult to read. I don’t think she knows how to feel about it, honestly. But I think she wants to take a chance. I think she wants to try.”
“I won’t get my hopes up,” I groan. “If I did that, I’d go mad.”
“You like her, don’t you? More than like her?”
“I’ve got too many plates to spin, but yes, Mother, I like her. Go and get her. Now. Explain what’s happening. Keep her safe. I need to go. More calls to make.”
I hang up, then call one of my men, spitting out a list of orders.
My heart is pounding. The last thing this city needs is another mob conflict.