Beguiled

Chapter 16

Stash

“You know how I feel about the Armenians.”

Kazimir was currently playing father of the year with both children in the Pakhan’s home office. Artem was already walking like a champ, running around and trying to get into everything. I could see my brother’s frustration on the Zoom call.

Within the family, only Dimitri had a real issue with them from his past skirmishes. He knew nothing of traditional close ties between nationalities.

“No. I’m aware you don’t believe they’re an issue, but as far as whether you’d like to have one as a son-in-law, I don’t know about that.”

While I wasn’t in a joking mood, after the night and being scalded by hot coffee that morning, I was trying to find humor in something. Anything.

One eyebrow arched as he glared at me, the laptop screen unable to hide his obvious frustration. “Very funny. The fight must have been a doozy. Maybe you got your head bashed in and have a concussion.”

“I see Dimitri was determined to ruin my day.”

“So he called. Not about you, but he had the same concern. With every new regime, there is always some level of anxiety about how the new man or woman will prove themselves. There’s no difference in any culture, legal or underground.

You’ve been exposed to our business now long enough to realize greed and power are no different. ”

“I’m aware. How quickly you forget my circumstances.”

Kazimir lifted his head. “Untrue, brother. And your continued anger is noted.”

He had a way of reminding me our family wasn’t normal on anyone’s scale and that he was the supreme leader even before he was my brother. “Yours should be just under the surface as well.”

“Low blow, but you know exactly how conflicted I feel about Mikhail. You couldn’t possibly understand how destructive it was seeing him go through cancer. When he began to recover, it was as if I could breathe again. Half his damn childhood was taken from him.”

“Yes, I do understand. Then he betrayed you. You can’t forget that.”

“Don’t say it, Stash. Alright?”

“Yes, sir.”

We locked eyes. There was no need to return to the subject of our father’s wandering eyes. I would always be a living, breathing reminder of Vladimir Chertov’s infidelity.

“We find him, we end it this time. No more games.” His voice was strong, full of commitment, but I knew just how difficult it would be to end a brother’s life where he’d become the child’s closest parent.

The murder of their mother had affected them differently, the tragedy stealing what had been left of their innocence. Nothing I would want for my child.

“Agreed. And my gut tells me he’s attempting another game.”

Kazimir sighed and kissed the little one on his head.

“Your instinct has kept us from harm’s way more than once.

Go with it. Just don’t get yourself killed in the process.

If he’s true to form, he’ll go after you next.

If I had to guess, I’d say he’s already been lying in wait.

He has nothing but time on his hands, and he’s become a master of disguise.

And never forget, he’s not unlike any other enemy. He’s going for the jugular.”

Meaning my Achilles heel. Up until recently, I’d had none.

Until Saige. He was right. Mikhail had an uncanny way of fitting in, disguising himself.

My thoughts drifted to Dimitri’s concern about a mole.

If Mikhail was already entrenched in the organization, he wouldn’t make any noise.

Until he was ready to strike. Something for me to keep in mind.

“I don’t like the buzz in the streets. It’s disconcerting.”

“What buzz?”

For lunch, I’d taken a trip to Bayside, Queens, an area where there was a heavy population of Armenians.

What had struck me more than anything was how people on the street had shied away from me.

I’d parked away from the business community and hadn’t uttered a word to anyone while taking a stroll on a beautiful day.

I didn’t look much different than anyone else, although the area had been more casual than Manhattan.

Still, it wasn’t as if I was a public figure. Had a warning been issued? As if I was the bad guy, which was close to what Dimitri had warned me about. That would be an interesting twist on Mikhail’s usual method of play. Something else to remember.

“Just a feeling. As if something is about to occur.”

Kazimir lunged away from his desk and the screen. Instantly, I bristled, as if I could do anything thousands of miles away. Hearing giggling brought a wave of relief.

When he returned to view, he had Artem in his arms.

“Sorry about that. We’re trying to childproof everything, but this kid is a magician.”

The little boy was waving at me, still giggling his little heart out. What did I find myself doing? Cooing and making baby talk while waving back.

Kazimir laughed. “You will make a good father, brother. One day. Mark my word.”

“You should eat your words. Brother.”

Even after several years, I was still getting used to having him as a brother. He certainly wasn’t anything like what I’d expected when my mother had sat me down one day and said we were going to be a part of a new family.

“Maybe I need to expedite my trip to New York.”

I gave him a look he couldn’t stand. “If you’re eager to escalate whatever Mikhail has planned then by all means do. He wants you front and center for his… display of affection.”

“Oh, that hurt,” he teased. “However, we do have the one-year celebration coming up.”

“If you think Mikhail can easily be tricked again, you’re crazy. We can’t pretend to have a celebration where no one shows up.”

“Who said it’ll be pretend?”

“Kazimir. You’re playing with fire, which is what you accuse me of all the time.”

He grinned. “And you’re still playing with fire. Mikhail wants a show. I think we should give it to him.”

Over my dead body. I couldn’t imagine he’d risk his family to try to entrap Mikhail. The thought was a dead weight in my stomach.

“Isn’t it late in our beloved hometown? Aren’t the kids supposed to be in bed?”

He rolled his eyes. “My bride was helping a friend. She’ll be back in a few minutes. She likes to sing to them.”

Meaning they liked to put the children to bed together. “I see,” I said while smirking.

“Seriously. What vibe are you talking about? Don’t you dare try and change the subject.”

“You know what I mean. Everyone knows something is about to shift.”

“Well, with this election coming up, an older leader being forced out, I can understand. No one likes change. Especially older people.”

That was true enough. “I’m going to do a little digging to eliminate who Mikhail might be working with on my own.”

Working with meant manipulating into doing his bidding. Mikhail was a master puppeteer.

“I don’t need to remind you that you’re just one man.”

Kazimir knew what I was capable of. I’d shocked the hell out of him after the murder of our father and the betrayal of our brother Mikhail. Until then, I’d been a church mouse determined to remain in the woodwork. I’d simply been in observation mode, biding my time.

“I have no intention of doing anything that will get me killed. I’m enjoying New York.” I was. To a point. For a reason.

Her. My cock twitched for the hundredth time in thinking about Saige.

He narrowed his eyes, moving closer to the screen. “Are you on drugs?” He knew more than anyone I’d abhorred the city at first.

“Just taking your advice and finding situations I can tolerate. I’m just going to do what I do best. Observe.”

Kazimir took a deep breath. “Be careful. I also don’t like change and don’t want to have a need to replace you.”

While he was being serious, he also didn’t want to face the inevitable in finally killing his own flesh and blood, but until one of us did, the curse would follow us year to year and from country to country.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of dying anytime soon. By the way. How do you feel about taking the company stock public?” I laughed as soon as I noticed the swift change in his expression.

I thought my brother was going to choke to death. “What?”

“You heard me. My… financial analyst is preparing a presentation with pros and cons. As well as making recommendations for purchasing other businesses.”

“Oh, my God. Let me guess. You find that attractive.” He wagged his finger, which meant he’d suspected I’d had a thing for Saige. He’d seen me at the Christmas party when I’d attempted to hunt her down.

“As hell.”

When Artem giggled after what I’d said, Kazimir cocked his head and grimaced. So the kid would grow up learning cuss words in both Russian and English. Good for his psyche.

“Maybe she can get you out of your house for longer than five minutes.”

“Didn’t Rafaela show you that all good things happen behind closed doors?”

It was good to see him laugh. “Yes, she certainly did. So the rumors are true.”

“What rumors?” There was no reason for every muscle to bristle, but that’s what happened.

“Come on now. The girl at the Christmas party you couldn’t get out of your mind.

Then you hired her. Then you saved a girl under attack.

Should I put the pieces together about who that girl was?

You’re not paying her enough if she was forced to take a second job.

Now, you’re willing to take her advice? To me, that smell of romance in the air. ”

I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached. “That’s not anything of your concern. I won’t allow it to interfere with business.”

He leaned forward in his seat. “I’m your brother, Stash.

I know you didn’t want to be a part of this family.

I completely understand why, but no matter the betrayal we both experienced with Mikhail, blood is thicker than water.

We are family. And I want you happy. Just proceed with caution.

Because there is a flaw in our bloodline. ”

“We’re killers?”

His laugh caused me to do the same. “We don’t like being alone. Mikhail is no different.”

While I hated to admit it, he was right.

“To answer your question, I don’t have a problem with considering taking the stock public or with any other business opportunity.

That’s your end of business. Maybe it’s hers as well.

Maybe doing so will be good for our reputation.

And maybe you working closely with her will answer all the questions you have about whether she’s the one. ”

If what I feared came true, publicly traded stocks wouldn’t erase the blood pooling in the streets. “I’ll let you know my thoughts after her presentation. With every aspect.”

Damn the man for grinning as if he’d won a round.

“Let me know what you decide about the Armenians. If there’s any concrete sightings of our brother, call me. Day. Or. Night. Watch your back.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” With the call ended, I yanked off my glasses, tossing them on the desk and rubbing my eyes. While I was used to going on little sleep, the night before had been surprisingly both stressful and the most enjoyable evening I’d had in a long time.

Still, all because of her.

Just thinking about Saige at this point was driving me crazy. I’d spent the better part of the day staying behind closed doors in my office, but what work could I say I’d done? Not shit.

All because she was sitting twenty feet away from me.

Damn it. Maybe leaving the office was in my best interest. Hmmm…

I sat up, hitting the space bar. I brought up the photographs of Davit and the woman I’d had Dimitri email me.

Where was this restaurant? After blowing up something I noticed on the wall behind where they were sitting, I managed to capture a name.

After a little internet surfing, I found what I was looking for.

A lovely Armenian restaurant close to where I’d been earlier in the day. Why not continue my reconnaissance work I’d started earlier? That couldn’t hurt. If the location was a hub for the mob, then I might find the information I was looking for.

Or I could get myself killed. I yanked out my weapon, checking the magazine and grabbing my jacket.

Before I left, I noticed Dimitri had followed through with sending me a list of recent threats we’d received.

I took a little while to go through them.

Most were random from the company’s social media sites from people who believed our ownership with the oil and gas company meant we were killing wildlife.

I was ready to turn my computer off when one caught my attention.

It had come to the email that had been established for me after coming to work at this location.

Before I’d insisted on using the old one used by legitimate contacts.

I’d thought the email had been shut down but apparently not.

Someone had checked it recently. And how did I know?

Because as of the night of the attack, a message had been sent from a Gmail account with two words and nothing else.

Tick. Tock.

My guess was that Dimitri had someone else checking the account, adding it to the list of threats.

But for a million reasons, the fact it hadn’t been brought to my attention pissed me off.

Enough, I simply clicked out of my email and the file I’d been working on and shoved back my chair. Goddamn it.

There was nothing worse than being toyed with like a damn doll.

Grabbing my jacket and keys, I headed out the door, fighting not to slam it in the process.

Saige was still behind her desk, a dutiful employee who bristled when I opened the door but didn’t bother looking in my direction. However, she did close the window so I couldn’t see what she was working on.

“I’m headed out for the night,” I told her, biting back my anger. She didn’t need to endure my wrath. “Enjoy your evening.” I slowed my pace involuntarily. I don’t know if I was expecting she’d stop me and strike up a conversation.

She didn’t.

Maybe it was just as well. We needed to keep a distance between ourselves.

For the betterment of the company.

And perhaps our sanity if not our lives.