Chapter 8
Rain lashed Sergei’s back, sweat mixing with cold as he decoded the message on his phone. Five digits, a slash, seven more Kryvaya Stal code. His thumb traced Belarusian consonants in his head.
Tiana. Foster home. Tonight.
His stomach knotted, the bodega’s empanada turning to stone.
He scanned the cramped store. Three locals at the coffee counter, an old woman eyeing beans, the clerk wiping the lottery display. Sergei pocketed the phone, edges biting his palm, fingers brushing his knife’s handle.
Mateo arranged cigarettes behind the counter, eyes meeting Sergei’s. A faint nod that was risky and could be costly.
“Gracias,” Sergei murmured, dropping bills for his coffee, leaving change.
The danger they all faced burned in his mind. Keisha audit into Coastal Futures’ adoption scam made her a prime target. Kryvaya Stal thrived on fear, examples. Tiana and Keisha would be both. His hands shook, fists clenching, nails carving half-moons.
“I don’t need your protection, Sergei.” She crossed her arms crossed, body angled to run. “I recognize the look in your eyes.”
“I was part of it,” he’d said.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” She’d stepped back.
The bodega’s bell jingled, a teenager bumping him. Sergei checked the phone again. He should walk away. Keisha didn’t want him. She’d trusted him under his needle before she saw his truth.
Svetlana’s betrayal-eyes flashed in his mind. Never again. His heart hammered. Tiana was bait to control Keisha, a society tactic.
“Let’s move.”
He hustled Tiana and Keisha out of the bodega. A bus rumbled past, plantain fumes mixing with exhaust.
Sergei trashed the phone.
“We need that,” Keisha protested.
“Not anymore. I’ve used it for almost twenty-four hours. Anything beyond that is dangerous.”
Her eyes darted, then locked on him. “How do you know?”
“I was them. I know how they operate, which is why we have to move.”
She shook her head. “You worked for the kid-traffickers?”
“Not directly.” He replied as he checked for anything out of place. “I enforced rules. Protected interests. Punished betrayal.”
“You hurt people.” Her voice flattened.
“Yes.” No hiding it.
“You expect me to trust you?” Her hands shook.
“Just hear me out, Keisha.” He glanced at the teenager huddled against Keisha’s back. “They’re targeting you and Tiana tonight. Hate me later, but you need what I know.”
“Tell me,” she said, low.
“I joined at seventeen, after my parents died.” His tongue thickened. “For security when I...we...didn’t have any. Svetlana, my sister, was only fourteen.”
Her eyes searched for lies.
“I rose fast in the ranks. Did their bidding. Didn’t question.” Regret filled him. “Till they targeted a politician’s kid, thirteen. I refused. Tried to leave.”
Her jaw tightened.
“They don’t let you go.” His voice dropped. “They took Svetlana to teach me loyalty.”
“What happened?” she asked, knowing.
“I was too late.” He glanced at her as they moved. “She died because I thought I could keep her safe alone.”
Her breath quickened. “So you’re what...redeemed? Helping me for absolution?”
“I’m keeping you from my mistakes.” He met her gaze. “You can’t protect Tiana by staying separate. They’ll use her to break you.”
“Jesus.” She pressed her temple, tremor spreading. “You’re not trapping me?”
He rolled up his sleeve, showing scarred tattoos. “Deserters get marked. They made sure everyone knew.”
Her eyes traced the scars. “These men are they really after you?”
“No. They are after Tiana, and now you, because you got in the way.” He rolled his sleeve down. “They’ll try to take me out because I’m helping both of you.”
“I can’t do this.” Her voice cracked.
“You have to if you want to live.”
“You want me to run with you? Trust you with Tiana?” How many lives did you ruin?”
“Enough.” The question cut deep. “I’ll never wash all the blood I’ve spilled off my hands.”
“Take me and Tiana somewhere safe, then leave us.”
“Keisha—”
“No.” Her hands tightened on the strap of Tiana’s backpack. “You don’t get to drop this and expect...forgiveness? Partnership? I protect kids from people like you.”
Her words cut deep.
“I just want you safe.”
“I want that too.” Her eyes glistened. “That’s why we can’t be near you.”
Sergei froze before quickly pulling Keisha and Tiana into an alley between buildings.
“What—”
He silenced Keisha with a look.
“Trouble. They found us.”
He peered around the corner. Mikalai hadn’t seen him. The enforcer flicked his cigarette, rolling his shoulders, ready. But if he was this close, somehow they’d managed to track them.
Then Mikalai tapped his thumb against his thigh. Three short, two long. Extraction signal. Sergei’s pulse hammered. A grab team was nearby.
Sergei looked behind them to see if there was a way out. It was his luck that he’d chosen one that opened out to the other end of the street. The problem was he didn’t know what waited on the other side.
That signal hadn’t been for him. It meant someone else was close enough to see it.
“Can you climb?”
Keisha looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”
“They are ready for an extraction. It won’t be pretty. Climbing is our best option. We can hide out on the roof, but it also gives me a better viewpoint. I need to check it out first.”
“You think someone is up there waiting?”
He studied her for several seconds. “I don’t know, but it’s a chance we have to take.”
Before she could respond, he heard the sound of footsteps. He lunged, grabbing her and Tiana, pulling them several feet until they reached a large dumpster. He pushed them against the brick wall before shielding them.
“Ow,” Tiana complained.
“Quiet,” he snapped. “They’ll kill us.”
Silence ensued, his urgency sinking in. The alley reeked of piss and garbage. He waited, knife ready. They trembled behind him.
The sound of footsteps faded as whoever it was continued past the alley.
“Stay here,” Sergei ordered. “I’m going to check out the roof.
As Sergei gripped the first rung of the nearby ladder, he hoped he wasn’t taking a risk that would come back to hunt him.