Chapter 19 - Arseny
When I arrive, I park a block away. I check the trunk of the car, strap a gun to myself, and take three knives, holstering the knives on my belt. I put my suit jacket over everything and walk the rest of the way to the storage lockers where we’re meeting.
It’s quiet, and no one is around to disturb us, which is why I picked this spot.
I keep a keen eye open for anything that could prove to be dangerous. I have Elena as leverage to ensure I’m not hurt in any way. They won’t want to find her dead from starvation.
I glance at the time. They should be arriving now. I pace back and forth and then realize that makes me look nervous, not the look I’m going for at all.
I lean against the wall and cross my arms instead, watching the only entrance to the area. If anyone comes, they have to come through there.
I glance at the time again. It’s ten minutes later, and Emery Sokolov and his sons haven’t shown up. I don’t want to leave Elena for too long. She’s safe, but I don’t want her to be uncomfortable.
The minutes drag by, and when it’s been forty-five minutes, I assume he’s a no-show. I scan the surrounding area before I get back into my car and take off. I don’t drive straight to the warehouse, just in case I have someone tailing me. I maneuver around the streets to ensure I lose anyone following me before I approach the warehouse.
I park and get out, and the first thing I notice is that the door leading into the warehouse is open.
I don’t wait. I immediately break into a sprint and rush to where I had chained Elena up. She was gone, with not even a sign of the cuffs. Someone broke her out of here. There was no way she would get those cuffs off without the key. She would have gotten out of them ages ago if she were a skilled lock picker.
She’s fucking gone.
That sinks into my stubborn brain, and I am frozen for a moment, probably for the first time in my life, unsure of what to do.
I take a few steps toward the chair where I’d left her, and the anger starts to boil inside me like a blind rage. I grab the chair and throw it across the room. I move to the next chair and throw that one as well, and the next, and the next, and the next. I flip two tables, and then I punch the nearby door repeatedly, ignoring all the pain shooting from my hand.
Blood splatters as my hand goes straight through the door, and I wince as I withdraw it from the door.
Fuck.
I walk out to my car. I need to get rid of this pent-up frustration. I can clean up my hand when I stop at the butcher”s shop. I get in and decide to drive straight there. There’s a medical aid kit for cuts in the back, and Roger won’t ask any questions.
Traffic is light, but it still takes me forty-five minutes to get to the other side of Vegas to the butcher shop. It’s closed. There’s a large sign over the front.
Bought by the Kimbar Group. It is probably a shell company held by the Sokolovs, but it will be so buried in paperwork I won’t be able to prove it.
I sit in my car and watch the front of the shop. I feel something dripping on my pants and look down to see my hand is dripping blood. I’m not going to get any help here.
I look at the time. It’s lunchtime on a Sunday. After church, my family will be at my mother”s house. I start my car again and drive to her estate.
When I park outside, I note all my brothers and their wives are there, which means their kids are there too.
I consider not getting out, but Kervyn steps out of the house and makes eye contact with me. I sigh and put the car in park before I get out and walk into the house.
“What happened to your hand? Where is the girl?” Kervyn doesn’t beat around the bush. “Danil!” he calls. “Luka.”
My two brothers come out of the living room and take a look at me.
“Look who’s returned,” Luka says cheerfully. “I thought you’d never come back.”
“I had business to attend to,” I say quietly.
“Business that has now been concluded?” Kervyn asks.
I look at him and shake my head. “She got away. Probably back with her family now.”
“Let me get this straight,” Kervyn says through gritted teeth. “You kidnap a well-known Mafia princess, keep her hostage, and then lose her when she was your only bargaining chip in this whole fiasco. Is that right?”
I hunch my shoulders at the scolding, then feel a sudden slap on the back of my head. We all turn around to see my mother standing there. “You fucked up,” she seethes. “Even I am hearing from neighbors and friends what you have done. Taking that girl was stupid, and doing it in daylight was even more so. Now you’ve caused unnecessary problems for the family.”
“Mama,” Kervyn begins to say, but she silences him with a look.
“What are your plans now? Before war breaks out between our families.” She stares at me as though I’ve got a magical plan, but honestly, I don’t. I don’t have any plan.
“I doubt Emery Sokolov will go to war now he has his daughter back,” Kervyn says quietly.
I shake my head. “He won’t. Elena will persuade him not to.”
“How can you be sure she’s on our side?” Mama asks, and everyone stares at me.
Kervyn sighs. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
“You slept with Elena Sokolov!” Mama declares. “You fool!”
“It isn’t what you think, Mama,” I say. The side of Mama nobody knows comes out. The side that fiercely protects our family. “It wasn’t like that.”
“What was it like? Your brothers made sure to keep business and love separated, and you just couldn’t resist, could you?” She is spitting mad.
Kervyn puts an arm around her. “Go get lunch ready, Mama. We’ll be through in a minute.”
She leaves reluctantly, and I scowl. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“She probably knows better than any of us. She was the Mafia princess who was married off to the Mafia boss.” Danil says it quietly, possibly afraid Mama would hear. “You need to leave the girl alone, Arseny.”
“I need to investigate the problems with the butcher shops,” I say as Luka inspects my hand.
Kervyn shakes his head. “We can’t prove they bought them or that they’re making any power moves. Emery Sokolov is outright denying doing it, and now that he has Elena back, there’s no more leverage to use to question him.”
“So I should just let this go? Is that what you’re saying?” I shake my head. “I can’t do that.”
“You will do exactly that. I am ordering you as head of this family,” Kervyn says. “I mean it. Leave the Sokolov family be. Now, Penny can take a look at your bleeding hand before we have lunch.” He walks to the living room. “Penny love. We need a doctor”s touch.”
She comes out and hands Samuel to Kervyn. “Who’s hurt? Oh, hi, Arseny. How am I not surprised it’s you again? Come on, let’s go to the bathroom.”
She leads me upstairs to the bathroom, and I sit on the edge of the tub while she sits on the closed toilet. She takes my hand, and using some antiseptic, she cleans the wound gently of the clotting blood. Then, she takes a tweezer and slowly picks out the splinters from the wound. I don’t wince. Wincing is for people who haven’t endured pain.
“I overheard the conversation. Didn’t take you for someone to fall in love.” I stare at Penny.
“I didn’t fall in love,” I say quietly.
“A wooden door somewhere disagrees with you,” she puts a plaster on the worst cut. “The rest will clot in no time and heal nicely.”
She stands up and starts to pack away the first aid box.
We go downstairs and sit at the dining room table, where Mama prays over the food she’s made before we all sit and eat. Hannah and Luka sit with the children and make sure they eat while the rest of us sit at the large dining room table and eat our lunch.
“I want everyone to be on alert in case the Sokolovs decide to try and kidnap one of us as revenge.” Kervyn looks at me. “And under no circumstances is anyone to seek them out.”
I look down at my food and feel a hand on my shoulder. It’s Asher who gives my shoulder a squeeze before she turns back to her food.
“That being said, we’re glad Arseny is back because Penny and I have some news,” Kervyn says, clearing his throat.
Everyone looks up at him. “Penny and I are expecting a little girl in five months.”
Everyone gushes over the news, congratulating my brother and his wife. It’s what they wanted. A son and a daughter. I know Asher’s been trying to get pregnant with no luck yet, so this might sting for her, but she seems happy enough for her best friend. Perhaps she already knew the news.
After lunch, I sit in the living room with my brothers, having a beer. Kervyn and Danil decide to leave, each giving me a last warning to stay away from Elena. I hear Luka next door saying goodbye to Hannah, and he comes to sit next to me.
“Rough day?” he asks.
“You’d think so.” I sip on my beer. “A fucking right shitty day.”
“Arseny, don’t get so hung up about this girl…”
“I’m not hung up about her,” I snap. “I am fucked off because I was double-crossed by someone who apparently does business up front.”
“You did kidnap his only daughter. I doubt anyone would want to meet you after doing that. Kervyn was pissed to high hell when you told him.” Luka takes a deep sip of his beer. “Are you into this girl?”
“No,” I say quickly.
“Because if you are, perhaps the reason you’re pissed is not because you were double-crossed but because she hasn’t reached out to let you know she’s okay.” Luka shrugs. “Just a thought.”
“It’s a stupid thought.” I down my beer. “I’m going home.”
“Don’t,” Luka stands up as I stand. “Come to the casino with me. We’ll have some drinks. I’ll introduce you to some girls. I might not be able to partake in the ladies, but you still can. We’ll have Elena as a distant thought in no time.”
Do I want that? Do I want to forget Elena ever entered my life? I remember that night at the cabin, the way we blended into one person. The pleasure she felt at my touch. Maybe I am pissed that she hasn’t reached out. Maybe I wish she had.
I nod. “Let’s go. But I’m going in my own car.”
Luka nods. “Let’s go say bye and leave.”
Mama kisses me goodbye, which means she’s forgiven my stupid decision. Before long, I’m driving behind Luka toward his casino.
When we get there, we go straight to the VIP section, where Luka orders us each a double vodka and lime. I down it and order another one. Luka signals for some girls to come over, and true to his word, he doesn’t touch any of them, but they are all over me. One even dares to kiss me, and all I can think about is how it’s not Elena: how Elena tastes different—sweeter, sharper.
Luka gets up and goes to the bathroom, and with liquid courage in my gut, I know one thing. I need to see Elena.
I excuse myself from the group and sneak out of the side entrance.