19. Chapter Nineteen
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“ C ome with me,” I growled at Makari.
I’d just gotten a text from Roman. One of the street runners caught an overdose of Bubbli . Not only was the runner able to capture the dealer, but Roman wanted me to transport him personally for questioning.
“Where are we going?” Makari followed behind me. “I don’t normally like leaving the house.”
“A little birdy told me there was a lead on that new drug that’s all over our territory.” I smirked as we headed to the car.
“Oh, live bait?” Makari’s tone sounded like he was grinning.
“Squealing,” I confirmed.
We got into the car and took off. A few men were going to follow us, but from what my intel told me, we didn’t need them with us as backup. We headed to the meeting spot, and I wove in and out of traffic.
The alleyway was just up ahead, behind a bar.
Nothing looked out of place, so the drug dealer didn’t have backup on this street with him. Rookie mistake. I parked and climbed out of the car, Makari hot on my heels. We went down the alley and, at the back, right next to the bar’s back door, was my runner.
“Hey, Nikolay,” I waved in surprise. “Shouldn’t you be stealing something at this time of night?”
Nikolay was one of the Brotherhood’s best thieves. Why he was in some dingy bar, in the middle of Russia, made no sense to me. I didn’t even know he was in the city, let alone the country.
I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if Viktor knew what he was up to.
“Not early enough for me to do my next job,” he lied.
His tell was small, but ever since we were children, his pinky used to twitch every time he told a lie. He may have had less silver hair in his mane, but he was still old. And we all knew that there wasn’t a way to teach an old dog new tricks.
“Right,” I said unconvincingly. “So what have you got?” I motioned to the man on his knees, sniveling quietly, and the scene before me.
Nikolay yanked the guy up by the back of his neck. “I caught this parasite selling behind the bar. As soon as the deal finished, the junkie slid the needle into their veins.” Nikolay nodded to the stiff body on the ground just behind him. “I watched them convulse and then, a minute later, went still and didn’t get up.”
Makari whistled. “That’s a quick reaction time.”
Nikolay nodded. “Fastest I’ve ever seen.”
The drug dealer started babbling. “Look, man. I don’t want any problems. I’m just selling my load, just like anyone else.”
“Except these aren’t your streets to sell in,” I corrected him.
He shrugged, trying to swipe at his nose. “That’s not what I was told, man.”
“Who told you differently?” I casually leaned against the wall to hear him out. Interrogations were an art form. Brute force when necessary but, sometimes, talking as if two friends are catching up works better .
Just depended on how stubborn the victim was.
“My boss’ boss, man. I mean, that’s the word as it trickles down. I was just following orders.” He was a little high himself, from the way he was acting.
“This is Petrov territory,” I told him, and watched in satisfaction as his eyes widened in disbelief. “And you are trespassing. So, I’ll ask you one time. Who do you work for?”
He babbled on about his kids and his family at home. I ignored all that shit. I nodded to Nikolay, who pulled a knife out of his boot, and stabbed the man in his shoulder. His screams rang in the quiet night air.
“This time I’ll ask,” Nikolay growled, as he twisted his knife deeper. “Who sent you?”
The man screamed louder, his cries echoing off the buildings.
“T-the-” he trailed off.
I motioned for Nikolay to try it again. He grabbed the man’s other shoulder, and tore his knife through the muscle. The man wailed and fell to the ground.
Makari knelt in front of his pained form. “Tell us who sent you, and you’ll be able to make it to the hospital, before your arm is no longer useful to you.”
“V-Ven-” he stopped what he was saying, coughing up what sounded like his lung.
Makari sighed, like this was all beneath him, and dug his finger into the wound. I was honestly sick of hearing this man scream, and debating putting a bullet between his eyes if he didn’t answer the question.
“Venezuelans,” he panted, before he collapsed on the dirty ground.
“Get someone to dump his body at the hospital. Maybe they can fix him up before he bleeds out,” I ordered.
Two men came running down the alleyway after Makari sent out a message. They hauled the rat away .
“Well, we knew the Yakuza was mixed in with the Venezuelans, but I didn’t know it was this deep,” Nikolay broke the silence.
“Need to know basis,” I said gruffly. “And you didn’t need to know.”
“Right. Guess I’ll just go back to stealing paintings. No need to thank me for helping you figure out who was selling drugs in the Brotherhood’s territory.” He waved a one-finger salute behind him as he walked out of the alleyway.
“So dramatic,” Makari muttered.
“I’m putting that on his Christmas card,” I mused.
We headed back to the car, so the cleaners could get in the alley, and clean up any evidence we left behind. They weren’t just good to have for body disposal. Our team could do it all.
“I noticed you didn’t get your hands dirty this time,” Makari said as we got into my car.
“Well, it takes less cleanup time.” I gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse that I thought of a few days ago. The real reason was that I didn’t want my malen'kiy angel worried about me. If I came home all the time covered in blood, her precious mind would be concerned with my whereabouts.
I didn’t want to worry about her pretty little head like that.
“What are you planning on doing with the Cartel?” Makari asked.
“Well, since Roman is still on his honeymoon enjoying his new wife, I guess it’s my job to bother the Pakhan with this, and see where he wants to take things.” I had been hoping not to get Viktor involved.
“Do you have a solution to the problem?” Makari looked over at me.
I hesitated to tell him. “I do, but I would rather wait for the Pakhan’s orders.”
Makari nodded. “Understood.”
We drove the rest of the distance in silence. Once we reached the mansion and climbed out, I headed straight for the Pakhan’s quarters. They weren’t in a specific wing, rather there was a top section of the house that was closed off to all but close family.
That was where Viktor and Tiffany were now living.
I climbed the stairs and headed to Viktor’s study. I glanced at my watch. At this time of night, he was probably drinking a stiff vodka, and puffing on the gifted Cuban cigars he’d gotten from the Argentine Cartel.
They were far more welcoming, and I could see an alliance forming with them once they got their house in order. The line of succession was murky there, but it wasn’t pressing, nor did it affect my organization.
Not yet anyway.
I knocked and waited for Viktor to let me in. I stepped inside once he allowed me, and took a seat in front of his desk.
“What brings you here at this time of night?” He swirled his half-filled glass.
“I have news of the rat, and who they were reporting to.”
After a beat, Viktor said, “Well, spit it out. I don’t have all day.”
I nodded and caught him up with the information we could glean from the drug dealer. Viktor nodded along without interrupting.
“I have a plan that will attack both issues, with the Yakuza and the Venezuelans.” I outlined what would be expected, but Viktor was shaking his head no.
“That will work for the Yakuza, it’s clear that they care for that girl. Using her as leverage will cause them to heal. The Venezuelans, however, are a different beast entirely.”
“What do you know that I don’t?” My spies had been thorough in their information.
“Well, I have met her father, and he is a bitter man. They need to be attacked where it hurts, and his daughter isn’t one of those things.”
“So, what do you propose?” I didn’t enjoy thinking that my malen'kiy angel wasn’t more important to her family.
“I mean, it’s easy to see. If they cared, they would have retaliated when you married the girl. No, I think this is more about what the fiancé of hers wants.” Viktor sipped on his drink.
“And what do you think it is that he wants?” I clasped the hilt of my knife, playing with it in distraction.
“Well, to save face, for one. I think he also wants to fuck with us. He wants a beautiful woman that he perfectly tailored for himself.”
I glanced at my Pakhan sharply. “What do you mean?”
Viktor sipped his alcohol again. “I came across some notes from that piece of shit Headmaster. It would seem he wrote down a lot of notes on what kind of wives these girls were going to be. Some, like your wife, needed more hands-on training than others.”
I didn’t like what Viktor was insinuating, but it made sense. Fuck. Why hadn’t I seen it? I was torn too thin, and missing out on what was going on with my wife. I would not allow her fiancé to swoop in and kidnap her from me.
No, there must be some other plan.
“What do you propose I do?”
Viktor shrugged. “Take the fight to them.”
I rose with his permission, feeling invigorated. My Pakhan was right, I didn’t need to put any more of our people in danger. This fight was too close to the mansion, after they infiltrated and took shots at my wife.
I would hunt them down and kill every one of them. That I had permission, just meant the carnage would be overlooked. I allowed myself a savage grin as I stalked to my room to prepare.
I needed to see my wife one more time, before I went to murder the men in her nightmares. Just one more time.