Chapter 16
Alexsey
“What in the fuck is happening?” Glaring at the news report wasn’t going to give me any answers. The news had carried the assassination attempt all day, acting as if I was the fucking president instead of a wealthy businessman in the community.
That didn’t bother me nearly as much as realizing that someone had been following me, capturing pictures of my evening with Halle.
They’d followed us to the hotel, setting up the assassination attempt perfectly.
I was furious. Hell, I’d gone beyond furious at this point.
I was fucking enraged and that didn’t bode well for anyone around me.
Given I’d been sent to wait inside my condominium, protected by two soldiers assigned by Mikhail, I was about ready to crawl out of my skin.
Yes, I knew the stakes were high. Second on the evening news had been the raging fire at the warehouse.
True to the soldiers’ expertise, only a portion of the building had been destroyed, the other half saved by the firefighters.
I’d wondered if Halle’s engine company had responded.
From what I’d seen on the television, they hadn’t been called to the scene. Two others had.
Hissing, I’d made a mental list of things that needed to be done, including having a nice long chat with the owner of the restaurant. He’d been paid a hefty sum of money to keep our dinner private. Someone had sold out.
The main question was whether that someone worked for Papadakis or the Irish clan. For some reason, the thought the O’Learys might have had a hand in at least hiring someone to take the photographs lingered in the back of my mind.
I’d possibly need to make another unannounced trip to the bar where Halle worked.
Halle.
Goddamn it. I couldn’t get her off my mind. I needed to talk with her. Not only to see if she was alright, but to ensure she knew she could call me if she needed anything.
Who was I trying to kid? Yes, I wanted to see her again, but in addition, I also needed to rule out that she had anything to do with the assassination attempt. It seemed ridiculous, but Mikhail had raised the point. Better to rule out her having a possible motive.
If she didn’t, a worse thought nagged the back of my mind.
Now that her picture had surfaced, she could be in real danger.
On top of that, she’d seen me kill someone in cold blood.
From what I knew about her, she was a lawful kind of woman.
At some point her guilt could cause her to have a long conversation with the police.
Yes, they could be controlled, but if she went over their heads to the FBI, there would be an issue.
Fuck it.
Waiting around in my condo wasn’t solving any issues. It was time to have that discussion.
Whether she liked it or not.
“Where are you headed, Mr. Dmitriyev?” Mario was one of the two soldiers Mikhail had assigned to me. While I’d never been one for having guards follow me around as if they were babysitters, I did understand the level of danger.
Instead of barking at him as I might normally do, I took a deep breath. “To see a friend. You can follow me, but you won’t interfere unless there’s confirmed danger and you will not relay the address to anyone. Is that clear?”
Mario glanced at Vladimir, one of several Russians who’d joined the ranks over the years. “Yes, sir. We’ll only be there to add support if needed.”
After nodding, I headed to the elevator, the soldiers dutifully following.
The bar had risen after the attack on the warehouse.
We knew it was only a matter of time before Papadakis retaliated.
If he could. Between the fire and the police finding enough drugs to make a few arrests, the two men would be busy for a few days.
At least that’s what we were counting on.
I didn’t waste any time, taking roads that would avoid as much of the evening traffic as possible.
When I pulled into Halle’s neighborhood, I was once again reminded she lived on a tight budget.
I found a parking spot near her house on the street and before I even turned off the engine, I dialed Alessandro, surprised I hadn’t heard anything from him regarding Liam O’Leary.
“I was just about to call you,” Alessandro said, half laughing.
“Well then, I’ll take it as an omen. What did you find?”
“As suspected, Liam O’Leary is heavily in debt. To the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. His credit is shot and no one will offer a loan. From what I can tell, he’s a month away from the bank foreclosing on both his home and the bar.”
“Any direct connection to the Papadakis clan? Other than for business with the bar?”
“There are calls back and forth, but usually between the food sales rep and the kitchen manager at the bar. So far, I’ve found nothing on their personal email accounts or cellphones. They could be using burners.”
“That’s what bothers me. I still find the possible connection odd. The Greeks and Irish don’t traditionally mix.”
“Maybe it’s two smaller criminal elements up against the big time meaning us. I heard what happened. You’ve hit a bad stretch of luck. From what I can tell, Liam also owes Viktor a significant amount of money. Gambling.”
“Something else I’d guessed. And Sean O’Leary?”
“Clean as a whistle. Squeaky clean. Too clean. Did you know his death was labeled suspicious?”
“No.”
“Yes,” Alessandro stated. “Supposedly faulty equipment, the family suing.”
“Halle?”
“No, Liam.”
A laugh was brought to the surface. “Let me guess. Money that could help pay off a hefty gambling fee.”
“Absolutely.”
I had to wonder if Halle had any idea about Liam’s character. If she did, that could mean she had been coerced into helping with the attacks on my family. God, I hated thinking that way.
Sean’s squeaky-clean efforts were either a front, or the man had pulled away from his family, which would cause strife between the two brothers. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t released the insurance money to Halle. But only if the lawsuit had been settled. Questions were mounting.
“See if you can discover if Liam was granted power of attorney over Sean’s estate when he died and the status of an insurance claim that was supposed to be paid out to the widow.”
“I’ll see what I can come up with. Do you need our assistance in your sinful town?”
I turned off the engine, actually debating his question. “Not yet, but stay tuned. Things could get very messy.”
“There’s nothing better than a good fight.”
Now he had me laughing. “Thanks for the info.”
“Anytime.”
At least working with the Costa family had proven beneficial.
I remained in my car for a few seconds, peering out the windshield toward her house.
It was quaint and she’d done everything to make it a home, including flowers in pots on the front porch.
Her car was in the driveway, which meant she was home.
We could have a decent conversation. And if she was working at O’Leary’s tonight, I might need to stop by for a few drinks.
Why not stir the pot, as my mother used to tell me.
Grabbing the two bottles of wine, I headed for her door. After a sharp knock, I overheard what sounded like music. Kid’s music. That meant Emily was with her. I wasn’t the most kid-friendly person in the world, but I had to admit that Emily was adorable.
“Mommy will be right back.” Halle’s voice had an entirely different lilt than when she’d been with me, yet the sultriness of her tone was already making me uncomfortable, my cock aroused to the point of aching.
She threw open the door and instantly, her smile faded.
“What are you doing here?” Her lips were pressed into a tight line and she immediately placed her hand high on the door, one foot on the threshold.
She was doing her best to look bold and formidable, her eyes flashing with such fire I was mesmerized by them.
There was only one problem with her power stance.
She was wearing pastel pink pajamas, fuzzy slippers, and she had her hair in a ponytail. Even though she looked very young, entirely too young for the monster standing in front of her, the attraction was off the charts.
I wanted to peel away the pajamas slowly, revealing the sweet prize underneath.
When I slowly smiled, allowing my gaze to fall, she finally realized she was fighting a fire while her appearance was too sweet. Too adorable. A warm blush swept across her jaw and it was all I could do not to carry her inside, lock the door, and ravage her on the couch.
Common decency didn’t stop me. Emily’s little voice did.
“Who’s dat, Mommy?”
Halle managed to smile. “No one, baby girl. No one at all.”
“Now, why do you want to be like that? I thought we had a really good time together on our… date.”
Her little nose wrinkled and she snorted, another adorable if not nervous twitch she’d done before. “It’s hard to look back and say I had a good time since it ended with gunshots and the police.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. May I come in?”
“No, you may not. This is my time with my daughter, a cherished night off and I already have enough monsters in my life.”
“Ouch. I did bring a peace offering.”
When I held up the wine, she shook her head. “You can’t ply me with alcohol. Now, what we shared is over, so please leave.”
“That’s not going to happen. We need to talk.”
She threw a quick look over her shoulder, which prompted me to do the same.
Emily had a coloring book and a huge box of crayons on the table in front of her.
From what I could tell, it seemed she was wearing an identical pair of pajamas.
I wasn’t a sentimental guy in the least, yet it struck me how peaceful the moment seemed, how beautiful the connection the two shared.
Before I’d interrupted their moment together.
“Are you terrified I’ll tell the police you’re a killer?”
“You had an opportunity to do so, but you chose not to.”