Chapter 19
Icome out of the bathroom, my face glowing from the lovely facial I received from Ivan. “Thank you for that,” I say, running my fingers over my lips.
“Don’t tease me any further, darling. I don’t think I could handle another adventure like that,” Ivan says, looking genuinely exhausted from what I did to him.
Glowing pride warms my chest, and I hum in satisfaction. I thought he could do everything by himself, with no real need for me. As it turns out, we can both give each other something that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
I’ve found my talent, and he’s found a reason to be even more obsessed with me.
“Come,” he says, taking his cigar from the ashtray on his desk and puffing it back to life. “I want to ask you something. Maybe you can provide some insight on this maddening riddle.”
I’ve always liked riddles. One of the first presents Dimitri ever gave me was a book full of riddles. I’d stay up all night sometimes, trying to solve them. Occasionally, Dimitri would give me a hint, but he never believed in giving the answer away.
“You see this piece of cotton,” Ivan says, pointing to the little white tuft on his desk.
I nod.
“I believe it means something. I just don’t know what,” he says.
I frown, leaning against the desk and examining the unassuming object.
Is this a joke?
“I… I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to get from this,” I say. “Is it supposed to mean something?”
“Yes,” he replies, rubbing his chin and taking another puff of his cigar. “Something terribly important, I’m afraid. I found it in Dimitri’s safe, and I have reason to believe it’s related to his research on Project G.”
Ivan might as well be the one speaking in riddles right now. I have no idea what he’s on about, but if it has to do with Dimitri, I feel like I should know.
“What’s Project G?” I ask, looking at the cotton again.
“Something your uncle was working on. He poured all his time into it when he was getting close to passing, and I believe the work was almost finished. Since you’re already initiated into the Bratva, I can go into further detail if you’d like.”
“Please do,” I reply softly.
He twirls his cigar between his teeth, thinking for a moment before leaning forward in his chair and lowering his voice. “Project G was nothing more than a pipe dream ten years ago. We heard rumors of something developing a chemical compound that could dilute gasoline without being detected by modern methods. A secret way to shave roughly ten cents off a gallon. It adds up quickly when you’re selling in bulk.”
I gasp as I’m hit by a memory of Dimitri, and I explain it to Ivan excitedly. “One night, about a year ago, Dimitri came back from a trip absolutely reeking of gasoline. He said he spilled some at the station, but it smelled like he had been swimming in it.”
Ivan holds up his finger, wagging it at me. “You see, that could actually be useful information. You say he was gone from the house. Do you know how long?”
“Not more than a few hours,” I reply.
“Good. I doubt his laboratory is at the house, then. Maybe all the research is stored elsewhere. I just don’t understand what the cotton has to do with anything.”
“I mean… there’s a cotton farm a few miles out of town. Dimitri took me there once, but he never told me why. He just wanted to hang out there for a little while and look at the crops.”
Ivan’s green eyes light up, and he leaps from his chair. His large hands come down hard on my shoulders, shaking me until my brain is rattling around in my head like loose change in the clothes dryer. “You’ve done it! Lily, you’ve goddamn done it!”
My head is spinning once he lets me go, and it takes a second to steady myself. “Sorry, but what exactly have I done?”
“Project G wasn’t being developed in the house. That much, I’m certain of now,” he replies, his eyes open so wide that I can see the full curve of his whites. “You said Dimitri took you to a cotton farm. Which one? Where?”
“I… I don’t know,” I admit. “It was a while ago.”
“No worries, no worries,” he mutters, dropping back into his chair and reaching into a drawer beside him. He pulls out a laptop and lays it on the desk, opening it and typing in a password so fast that his fingers blur.
“There we go, almost there,” he mumbles, opening a browser and slamming his fingers into the keyboard again. “Maps! Let’s find the nearest cotton farm.”
“Can you find that sort of thing?” I ask, leaning in. “They’re private property, right? Unlabeled.”
“Sure, but you can see which areas are farmland if you zoom out and move around Dimitri’s neighborhood. This lab is close by, probably hidden on or near a cotton farm, possibly one in his name.”
“That makes sense,” I reply, leaning in further to get a better look at the screen.
As Ivan scrolls through the map with the concentration of a man on a definite mission, I find myself distracted by the way he smells, the visceral musk of his body combined with the smoke from his cigar. Even though I just finished him off, I find myself drawn to him again, eager to please him the way he pleases me.
“There it is,” Ivan says, jolting me out of my lustful daze. He points at the map on his screen, zooming in on the image of a cotton field taken from a satellite. “Does that look familiar?”
I shrug. “I mean, it’s a cotton field. They all kind of look the same. Are there any others in the area?”
“Not that I can find,” he replies, zooming out a bit. “No… there aren’t any… But look!” He points to something else on the screen, the roof of a small shack in the dead center of the cotton field. “That’s odd, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, weird placement,” I agree, feeling a stir of excitement. “You think that’s his lab?”
“It could be, but there’s only one way we’re going to find out. I suggest you wear something warm, and be prepared to do a bit of walking. We can’t park anywhere close to this place or it’s going to draw attention from passing cars. One police report and the Red Hitters will be buzzing like flies around that place.”
I step back, my heart hammering in my chest so hard that it hurts. “You want me to get ready now?”
He stands up, grabbing the little piece of cotton from the desk. “Yes, and don’t delay. This is time sensitive. The sooner we find the lab, the sooner we can finish Dimitri’s research.”
Once I change my clothes and come back downstairs, Dimitri hands me a belt with a holster on it. “Put this on,” he says, wrapping it around my hips.
“You want me to carry a gun?” I ask, my heart leaping into my throat.
“It’s required if you’re on business. Really, everyone in the Bratva carries a hundred percent of the time, but you don’t have to carry if you’re at the house. It’s just when we go out.”
The weight of the belt and subsequent gun on my hip are unusual but not uncomfortable. The heaviness reminds me that I’m carrying a significant burden with me now: The reality of being a member of a powerful criminal organization. One wrong choice could land me in prison or six feet under.
I try not to think about that consequence too much, though. It distracts me from being in the moment and enjoying the life that I’ve fallen into. I’m more positive now about everything than I was when Dimitri died. Maybe this is the universe’s way of apologizing.
Or maybe it’s just another curse. Only time will tell.
Ivan is already at the door with his shoes on by the time I’ve adjusted my holster to where it doesn’t flap around. The thigh strap is useful, but the elastic was a little loose at first. I think it used to belong to Ivan, because his thighs are so large from all the muscle he has.
“Ready?” he asks, smoothing his curls back and flashing me a winning grin.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I reply, slipping into a pair of plain white sneakers.
He pulls open the door. “Let’s take the convertible. The weather is just begging for it today.”