Chapter 18
Grace
”Three warehouses,” Rome told me as we stood by a burnt-down building, the firemen still putting out small fires. ”One in Huntsville, one in Dallas, and here. All burnt down on the same night. That”s some coordinated effort going after BBH.”
”What”s the loss?” I was almost afraid to know.
Rome shook his head in despair. ”It”s gonna hurt something fierce. Every time I think I”ve gotten this shit under control…merdé, we have another situation.”
We were expecting a fallout after Blaze met with Alina Volkov in Henri”s office in the Central Business District. The building was beautifully restored, retaining its original architectural elegance while being equipped with modern amenities. It was a damn expensive space, but then Henri made good money working for the Doucets.
Alina Volkov had been there with the VK Corporate lawyer to negotiate a new partnership agreement. It would be legally on the up and up—but the underlying goal that they didn”t clarify at the meeting but only insinuated (since lawyers were present) would be to continue using BBH to launder money.
Blaze had turned their offer down and stated clearly that the Doucets would not do business with the Volkovsyndicate. The conversation went to hell after he accused Alina of being the Russian mafia. Blaze was not supposed to go ham on her ass, but he was still grouchy from quitting smoking, he declared, and we were all lucky that he hadn”t done any physical harm to the bitch who tried to get him killed.
”The arson squad will work this with the Fire Marshal,” I assured Rome. ”But my money is on the Volkovs making you pay for not working with them.”
”Putain!” He ran a hand through his hair. ”Sometimes I think I should just quit, pack up, and take Gaia to New York. I have a company there where there are no criminal motherfuckers trying to kill us or drive us out of business.”
His phone rang then, and he immediately answered. ”Ma chérie, I need you to stay put.” He paused, and then I saw his jaw tighten. ”You keep your pretty little ass at home, Calla Lily, or I”ll fucking tan your behind until you can”t sit.”
I smiled, unable to help myself. The couple was adorable. He growled a je t”aime and hung up.
”Merde! Between her pregnancy hormones and Blaze”s nicotine withdrawal, the whole situation is a clusterfuck,” he muttered. ”I got to go, Grace. My wife is freaking the fuck out.”
”She”s worried you”ll get hurt,” I remarked.
”Yeah, I know. God! This needs to end. I”m so fucking sick and tired of everything being a sack of shit.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. ”We”re working through it.”
”Oui. Now, you make sure you get Ash to take you home.”
I raised an eyebrow. ”Excuse me?”
”Grace, I need to make sure you get home safe. Something happens to you, Zephyr”s gonna fuck me up.”
”Zephyr?” I could barely speak in full sentences.
Rome grinned. ”Come on, you”re with him” — he raised a hand before I asked him to eat shit — ”whether you like it or not…hell, whether he likes it or not.”
He looked around, waved at Ash, and pointed to me. Ash gave him a thumbs-up sign.
”I”m not with Zephyr,” I snapped. ”I”m an ADA, and I know how to take care of myself.”
Rome leaned and kissed my cheek. ”Be good, Grace.”
I touched my skin where he”d touched his lips and felt a warm feeling inside me. I was part of the Doucet clan it appeared. They were all going to take care of me…whether I liked it or not. It made me feel…well, it didn”t make me feel bad.
Ash and Nick finished talking to the Fire Marshal and gave me an update.
”Zakone was their arsonist,” Nick said thoughtfully, ”and since Ash put a bullet clean through his head, we think the Volkovs have a new torch.”
”Or an old one.” Ash rubbed his jaw. He had a five o”clock shadow and what looked like a hickey on his neck.
”What do you mean?”
He slanted his head as he looked at the crime scene. ”Good old Ivan used to be a bit of a flamer himself in Mother Russia.”
Anatoly Volkov and Ivan Kuznetsov were the owners of VK Corporation. From what we”d learned from the Feds, which wasn”t much. Anatoly was the boss man and Ivan his right hand. Alina was the face of the business.
”We needed that detailed dossier on all of them yesterday,” I murmured. I”d asked the OC for that information, but we were still waiting. The Organized Crime department was still in chaos.
”We have another source who can do research for us, Grace,” Nick interjected.
”Who?” I waved to the Fire Marshal. I”d worked one of my first cases with him when I came to New Orleans. He was a meticulous and competent investigator. I had no doubt he”d give us a clear picture of how the fires were set and if there was a signature that may help us identify the perp.
”Imran Naqvi.”
”He”s a civilian, Nick.” Imran was Rome”s partner at ICeR and had recently joined the BBH board. He was a security expert.
”But he”s damn good,” Ash piped in. ”We use civilian consultants all the time.”
”I”ll talk to my boss and see if we have the budget for that. I can”t take his work for free; you know that will be something defense counsel will use against me if we go to trial.”
I looked at my watch and sighed. It was late. Zephyr had the day off because Jazz Sessions was closed on Mondays, and he usually spent the day in the office doing paperwork. He”d asked me to come to him after I was done with work. He”d probably heard by now from Rome where I was.
”I better get home. We need to prep the Doucets and Rome on how to handle the board meeting.” I was feeling exhausted. The days were long and getting longer. Emotionally, I was still reeling from last week when I had a mini nervous breakdown. Zephyr was fucking with my head.
”I”ll take you home and—” Ash began, and I cut him off with a glare.
”I can get myself home,” I clipped.
He grinned. ”Something happens to you, Blaze, Rome, and Zephyr will all fuck me up.”
I sighed. Rome had said the exact same thing, though now he was on my protection squad as well.
”Just accept it,” Nick suggested, grinning. ”Fighting it only makes it worse. They aren”t gonna listen to you, sha. They”re all as stubborn as a gator on a log. Blaze was going to put a security detail on me…I”m a fuckin” cop, and he was ready to do that, the crazy mutha fucka.”
I was about to tell her that she was Blaze”s fiancée, and I was no one when an arm came around me. I wasn”t even surprised to smell Zephyr”s cologne.
”Cher, imagine findin” you here next to a torched Bayou Belle warehouse.”
He kissed my mouth and both Nick and Ash sniggered.
”You were saying somethin” about not bein” with him, sugah?” Ash was amused as hell.
”What da fuck?” Zephyr growled.
”Jesus! I feel like I”m in a comedy routine, and I don”t know my lines,” I exclaimed.
”Get used to that, too. I”m going to go talk to patrol and see what they found on canvas. Z, you be nice to Grace here, alright?” Nick said before walking away like she was a supermodel on a runway.
”You takin” her home then.” On that note, Ash joined his partner.
”You good, Grace?” Zephyr”s tone changed from being playful to serious.
”I should be asking you that. This is your family”s business that”s being hurt.”
He shrugged. ”I say burn the whole company to the ground. I have no love for anything to do with Bayou Belle. Maybe if Blaze builds a new Bayou Belle mansion, it can be one that doesn”t have the taint of the assholes who came before us…but I don”t give a shit about BBH. That”s Blaze and Gaia. And I guess Rome because he feels he needs to save it for Gaia and his kids.”
I looked at him keenly. ”Why do you hate it so much?”
”Cause it”s poison, Grace. Money like ours? It eats a family from within like a termite and hollows us out. We almost lost Gaia because of it. Blaze left the country for years. Look at the rest of my family. Hugo, Pierre, Aunt Clare…no one is living a healthy life. My mother is in hiding. The most stable person in our family is Henri, and he”s not even a Doucet.” Zephyr sounded horribly tired, and my heart went out to him.
”Let”s go home.” I took Zephyr”s hand in mine.
As Zephyr”s gambling problems became more evident, he and I would also have to stay away in public. No way would the Volkovs go near him if he was dating an ADA.
”I”d like that, Little Tempest,” he said softly.