Chapter 31
Maserati Grancabrio
Alex
Iclicked my lighter and lit the cigarette. Number ten today, and it was only noon. I needed it. When Jade was around, I needed nothing except her. But now…
Jade was gone. The unknown was ahead and I was weeks away from prison.
What a fucking shit show.
"I’ll take care of Slater tonight. You called Moscow? They’ll locate Ilya?” I asked Andrei who pored over paperwork that was thrown all over my desk.
“Mm-hm,” he confirmed, engrossed in whatever caught his attention. “Are you sure you thought it through? Taking out both of them in the same week will raise a big red flag with Moretti.”
“Red flag?” I twisted toward Andrei, annoyed like never before. “Take a look around, man! We’re fucked!” I exclaimed, pointing toward his little spreadsheets. “Moretti’s probably printing a fucking search warrant as we speak!”
Andrei sighed, dropping the paper. He was getting on my fucking nerves lately. Always the careful type, the logical one, the pragmatic, and yet, here we were, in deep shit.
The rain drenched every single millimeter of existence outside our office. My own reflection stared back at me from the window, the street dark and depressing, matching my mood.
My phone buzzed on the table somewhere, but I didn’t even turn toward it. “I will take out Slater,” I repeated, feeling lighter just from the thought. “I’ll give him a job, and I’ll meet him there, and then—”
The phone started buzzing again and I turned it over to see a random number on the screen. I pressed the little button to end the call and faced Andrei again. “Once Moretti is faced with two sudden execution—”
The unknown number cut in a third time, and I nearly exploded, my temper flirting with homicidal. I ripped the phone off the table and put it on speaker. "What?!"
But in response, there was a giggle. Angelic and a little sarcastic. So utterly familiar it made my chest ache.
"Forgot about me already, huh?"
Oh my fucking God, it was Jade! Was it?! I was so lovesick and heartbroken, I didn't trust myself.
"Hi, Sasha,” she sighed into the phone, all of me melting at the sound of her voice.
At the sound of her voice calling me Sasha.
“I finally have a burner phone. It’s a flip phone, so I can sext you, but the images might be a little grainy.
” She laughed, and I glanced towards Andrei, who was fighting with a smile and failing miserably.
I took the phone off speaker immediately and turned away from him. “Malyshka…are you safe?”
It had been a week since she sailed off on fucker Knox’s yacht, and I’d aged a decade.
"I'm safe, baby. After Vova almost chopped his hand off, he didn't dare to even look my way." Jade sighed and I nodded. “Thanks for arranging that, baby. That was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me." She giggled again, lighting up my whole soul.
Her words swirled in my mind, and like a complete idiot, I responded so formally. "Oh, anytime. I'm glad it worked out." Ugh. I was so out of sorts.
Her light laughter sounded in my ear, making me realize how stupid I sounded.
"You're cute. I miss you." Oh God, I was dying without her.
It hit me that Andrei was still in front of me, so I covered the phone with my hand and whispered loudly, "Get out!"
Surprisingly, his eyes didn’t fall out of his head from the intense eye roll he served me. "Come on! Give me some gossip!" he whispered in Russian. "Olya keeps asking if you two are okay after everything. Let me listen!"
Was he fucking kidding me? My life wasn't some soap opera to indulge in. I lunged toward him across the desk, and he flinched, getting the hint. He raised his hands and ceded. “Okay, okay. I’m gone.” I watched him exit the office and close the door, but not before he paused, testing my patience.
"I miss you so much, Jade. I think I’m actually going crazy.” Did I just fucking whimper? “Please, God, please just let me kill Knox. I’ll come get you in the middle of the night, and we can just fucking leave. Fuck it all!”
Jade sighed, responding with what I was sure was a smile on her face. "I love that you don't give up." I closed my eyes and drowned in memories of her, the sound of her voice lulling me into a fantasy where everything was perfect.
“But listen.” She suddenly turned serious and I shot my eyes open. “My father is arranging for an expedited search warrant for your office. Next week. Investigators will arrive and turn the whole place upside down.”
Of course. The writing was on the wall.
“They can’t find anything, Alex. Nothing.
You have to clean it all! Don’t leave even a sticky note anywhere.
Don’t give them any ammunition," Jade spoke somberly, and I listened without interrupting.
“And also…they now know what you all look like. You, Andrei, Olga, your men. Slater gave up your names and addresses two days ago. Which is also how they know where your office is.”
We were falling off a cliff, just the way Andrei predicted.
"Fuck," I whispered, having no other words to say except, “When can I see you?" That's all I could focus on. I just wanted to see her.
"Soon,” she promised in that playful tone that got my dick hard in three fucking miserable seconds. "I'll call you in a few more days and we can figure it out, okay?"
Yeah, I was ready to do anything she told me.
"Yeah. Okay. I miss you, baby. I love you." I held onto the last of my sanity with the little strength I had.
"I love you, too. I'll call again soon. I promise." I nodded while the call disconnected, but then dropped my head back onto the chair, a heavy sigh stuck in my throat.
Soon. Soon seemed so far away.
My unfocused gaze slid around the office, and I knew there was no way we’d be able to clean it enough to destroy any mention of what we’d been involved in. Inevitably, they would find a trace of evidence.
I took a second to just breathe, just collect myself, just enough to make my next dumb decision—dialing Slater's number.
"Boss?"
Ah, his lying ass still preserved the illusion. "Hi, Alex," I repeated my own name back to him. Seven years. Seven years of hard work and trust, all flushed down the toilet.
The betrayal stung. He was paid well, he never caused any issues, and he always delivered what we wanted.
And what Moretti wanted, apparently.
"There’s a Grancabrio—this year's model. I’ve had a request from Moscow a few months ago." That was true; a contact in Russia had been asking for this car for a long time, but I couldn't find it. "It's finally been located near Sarasota. Can you go tonight to scope it out?"
"I can go,” Slater responded eagerly. "What's the pay for this one?"
Well, that was interesting. Alex hadn’t inquired about pay in the past.
"Solid. Let me know how it goes. What time will you be there?"
“Midnight.”
Midnight was the perfect time to die. I gave him the address, and he promised he’d be there. Just like me.
Exactly fifteen minutes before Slater was due to arrive, the soft rumble of my bike engine died down when I found my spot. Through my helmet, I had the perfect view of the address I’d given him.
This was good, everyone had cameras in these neighborhoods, the police would get access to the entire footage and Moretti would fucking lose it.
I waited, as calm as lake water.
Finally, Slater's car did a drive-by and stopped a few houses down from the target. I pulled up slowly.
"Holy shit!” Alex exclaimed, incredibly startled. “What the fuck are you doing here?" He rolled down his window after my knock almost gave him a heart attack. Damn, he was jumpy.
"Why’re you so rattled?" I posed the question, and he chuckled, looking incredibly nervous, but again, I’d probably be nervous too if I was a rat.
"Nah, man. Just wasn't expecting anyone to pull up right beside me. Phew!" Alex tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.
We stayed together in the darkness, him in his car and me on my bike, both of us waiting for the other to start talking. I watched him carefully, expecting him to chat like always, but he stayed silent this time.
Instead, he laughed, his voice shaking, which was odd because Alex was confidence personified. Staring straight ahead, he clutched the steering wheel again.
A feeling of unease tickled my insides, and I glanced around discreetly, noticing nothing out of the ordinary, except that’s when Alex checked his rearview mirror, sending my intuition into overdrive.
Fuck. Was he waiting for something?
"Why'd you do it, Alex?” I shot the question out, listening for anything unusual, but all was quiet and deserted on the street. “You didn't get paid enough? Or are you on a noble quest to find justice in this world?"
Men I’d trusted for years had new allegiances, and it was a painful stab in the back.
Alex’s blue eyes looked up at me from the front seat of his car, and that’s when it dawned on him: I knew everything.
"I—what? What are you talking about?" He made a last-ditch effort to deny it all.
"Fuck, man. We were doing so good, too. The shipment you helped fuck up would have landed everyone a huge bonus. Alas, now we're all on the brink of prison or death. Did we do something to make you turn like that?"
I was boiling inside. I had come to trust Alex more than some of my other seasoned guys. He was always genuine, eager, and came up with great ideas.
Alex shook his head, his defeat now evident to both of us. "You're too late,” he scoffed. “You're going to kill me now and only add more sins to your list of transgressions. They're always watching Alex, even now."
Even…now? What the fuck did that mean?
The realization crawled into my mind at a snail’s pace—this was a trap, and I wasn’t the one who set it up. Did I just ride into my own execution instead of Alex’s?
“Did you know I'd be here?" I kept my voice even, clasping my fingers around the handle of my Glock. Alex had no reaction—he stayed silent, staring straight ahead, as if looking for someone. Waiting for something.
It was eerily quiet, and my helmet muffled any subtle street sounds, sending a real shiver of fear down my spine. Something…something was happening in the background. I was blind and deaf to it, but I could feel it.
"Like I said…” Alex reached for his lighter and cigarettes on the dashboard. Slowly, he wedged a cigarette between his lips and turned to me, the look in his eyes cold like never before. “They're always watching.”
He flicked his lighter on, but it was nowhere near his cigarette. The flame flashed right above his steering wheel, and I understood it all then—it was a signal.
I pressed the trigger half a second later. The bullet flew straight through his forehead, and the little lighter flame went out just as Alex’s body slumped over.
But it was too late.
The dark and empty street flooded with red and blue lights, and sirens blared from all directions.
Well, fuck.
It was coordinated, planned, and perfectly executed, and I was the biggest fool on the planet.
I pocketed my weapon and clasped the handlebars of my bike, scanning my surroundings in a mild panic.
Police cruisers pulled out of three driveways up ahead, and a few screeched to a stop right behind me. I was a fucking idiot. Jade was out there giving her all to keep me out of prison, and here I was, voluntarily waltzing in there.
Wasting no time, I revved the bike, going zero to fifty within seconds. I jumped the curb and sped down the sidewalk, past the flashing lights, the officers running my way, and away from Alex’s dead body.
My blood pumped through me a mile a minute. There’s no fucking way I’m getting arrested tonight!
But just then, three cops filed onto the sidewalk, blocking my path. There’d be no way to hold on if they piled on me, so I swerved instead, flying back onto the road and across the small street, trying my luck on the other side.
There were shouts from all directions, but my vision was crystal clear and my mind worked in overdrive as I calculated every single escape path.
Each one was blocked, a cop with their gun drawn standing at every single point of possible exit.
Their loud shouts and threats permeated through my helmet, and I couldn't figure out how to get out of this fucking unexpected ambush!
Jade was out there giving her all to keep me out of prison.
Trapped like a mouse in a maze, cops ahead and behind, there was nowhere to go, unless I somehow vanished into thin air. Jesus fuck, I was not going down like this! Slightly out of breath, I hit the brakes right in the middle of the street, illuminated by the headlights of a half dozen police cars.
"Hands behind your back!"
My adrenaline was threatening to send me into cardiac arrest, but then—
I fucking remembered who I was.
Nobody had ever been able to catch me. For decades. And we sure as shit weren’t about to start now. Collecting myself, I meticulously scanned my surroundings and made a split-second decision, moments away from being jumped by a group of men in uniform.
My bike—a trusted companion—carried me with neck-breaking speed through a white picket fence right onto the lawn of a mansion, leaving the group of cops disoriented and chasing after me. Their bullets flew right past me, chaos breaking out full force.
They wanted me dead or alive.
Leaves and other vegetation whipped against my helmet, but I didn't dare slow down, pushing the engine faster, past the side of the house and right into the backyard.
But then, I paid dearly for my split second of inattention. I twisted my head back to assess the scene I’d just escaped, and that was a huge mistake. Something baby-blue shimmered right beneath me, and I was promptly submerged in the cool water of a backyard pool, tumbling in fully, bike and all.
What a fucking night.