Chapter 16
LEV
Ichoose a public place on neutral ground to meet the Kozlov’s. I don’t control the cameras here, but I’ll have my men pull the footage later. I pay the manager handsomely to keep the place closed to the public today. The last thing I need is some tourist overhearing and tweeting about it.
My men sweep the room twice, then take seats with their backs to the wall. Yuri stays at my flank. Two of my newer guys post near the front. The waiter pours water and leaves us alone. I keep my hands on the table so no one misreads my intent.
The Kozlov messenger comes through the door exactly on time.
He’s a midlevel thug, not incredibly important to the operation, but not so low that his whereabouts would be questioned.
When he sits, he reeks of expensive, douchey cologne.
He opens with a smile and a line about friendship.
I let him talk until he runs out of breath.
When he’s finished, I lay the ledger pages on the table. I highlight the shell vendors, routing numbers, dates, and amounts. I tell him money is disappearing through a chain that could easily be linked back to the Petrovs, though there’s always another explanation.
“If the Kozlovs are stealing my money,” I say, my voice low, “I will not be merciful.”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree, my friend.” He smirks, satisfied. “None of our men would be stupid enough to start a war with you. It sounds to me like you’ve got an internal problem.”
He reaches for his glass. It rattles on the table. He’s either scared or pretending. I don’t care which.
“You’re lying,” I say. “I think you know exactly who’s stealing from me, and you’re trying to protect them.”
“I have no skin in this game,” he says, hands up in surrender. “But if you have a trust issue in your organization, I’d suggest an outside audit.”
We’re getting nowhere. I do believe he knows nothing, but that doesn’t mean the Kozlovs don’t have a hand in this. I stand to dismiss him, but something is off.
The first wrong note is the kitchen door that should swing and won’t.
It sticks for a beat, then opens. Two men step out in server jackets that don’t match the house uniform.
Their shoes are too heavy and their haircuts too messy.
I clock the difference almost immediately.
I shove my chair back with my calf and move right.
Yuri’s hand is already under his jacket.
The closest man reaches for his pocket. Oliver, one of my newer men, lifts a plate and smashes it into his hand.
The gun skids under a table. The second man goes for me.
I meet him halfway and turn his wrist until I hear a crack.
He drops to the floor. A third man I didn’t clock stands from the bar with his jacket open.
The weapon is small and black. He aims for my chest. I take one step left, and the shot hits the pillar.
Glass bursts behind me. I hear people on the street screaming.
Yuri chops the shooter in the throat with the edge of his hand and follows through.
The man goes down and doesn’t get up. Oliver shoves me toward the corridor.
We cut through the staff hallway. A cook shouts at us.
The fire exit alarm wails. We’re in the alley before the kitchen staff understands what happened.
The SUV is already rolling toward the curb. Oliver yanks the rear door and drags me in by the shoulder. I do a top-to-bottom check. I’m not bleeding. Yuri tumbles in after me, checks my eyes, and nods. He slams the door, a signal for the driver to go. We’re moving before the tires catch.
“What do you want?” Oliver asks.
“Lock the scene,” I say. “Have our lawyer call the manager in two minutes. Pull their footage before anyone has the chance to edit it. Someone knew we were there.”
“Copy.”
I take the second phone from my inner pocket.
There’s only one thought in my head: Mari.
She has a dentist appointment this afternoon.
She’s with Jareth and Thom, but that means fuck all if she’s in danger.
I dial her. It goes to voicemail. I call again.
Voicemail again. My chest tightens in a way I don’t like.
“We need to get to this address. Now,” I tell the driver, handing him my phone.
Yuri is watching me. He understands faster than anyone. He calls her detail. Thom answers on the first ring. I hear him say she’s inside the building, and traffic behind him tells me he’s not at the door.
“Get eyes on her,” I order. “Nobody loses that hallway.”
We hit three lights wrong. The driver runs one. The SUV surges, and we make the left into the garage. I’m out before the car stops. I take the elevator and don’t wait for someone to hold the door.
The dental lobby is bright. The receptionist lifts her head with a practiced smile that dies when she sees the men with me.
“I’m here for Mari Gonzales,” I say.
“I’m sorry, sir, we can’t—”
“Where is she?”
“I can’t disclose patient information.”
I lower my voice.
“She’s under my protection and could be in grave danger,” I tell her, my tone cold. “If you don’t tell me where she is right now, I’ll tie this practice up in litigation so overwhelming your grandchildren will feel the consequences. Is that what you want?”
Her hands shake.
“She isn’t here,” she says. “No one by that name checked in.”
I look at Yuri. He’s already on the phone with Thom. I hear the words I hate.
“She told me to wait in the lobby,” he says.
“Find her,” I say.
Yuri touches my shoulder.
“Lev—”
“Find her.”
We sweep the floor. The hall is clean. There’s a doctor’s office down the hall with a frosted glass sign. The clipboard at the desk has six names. None are hers. I’m five seconds from pulling open every door when Oliver pings Yuri.
“Got her on the security cams,” he says over the channel. “She exited the elevator on the fourteenth floor.”
I move, finding a staircase and taking the stairs two at a time. There’s only one office on this floor. A nurse behind the glass starts to stand when she sees me with my men.
“Can I help you?” she asks, her voice frosty. She shoots an annoyed look between us and the worried patients in the waiting room taking in the scene.
I quickly scan the check-in clipboard and see that Mari had an appointment thirty minutes ago. She’s still here.
“No,” I tell the nurse as I push through the door to the exam rooms.
“Sir, you can’t go back there,” she shouts, and I’m sure she’s ten seconds away from calling security. Yuri will handle it.
I head down a narrow hall with several doors closed. There’s no way to know which one she’s in, so I just start knocking and entering. Thankfully, she’s in the first room I try. I’ve caused enough of a scene. I don’t want Yuri to have to pay off every patient in the practice.
Mari is on the paper-covered exam table, sitting upright in a loose gown, cheeks pale and eyes wide. A female doctor stands with a chart in hand. Mari stares at me, horror in her eyes. The doctor looks between us, then eyes me with anger.
“Sir, this is a private examination—”
“Leave,” I say.
The doctor’s eyes flick to Mari. Mari swallows and nods once. The doctor slides past me, careful not to touch me. I wait until the door shuts. Then I look back at Mari.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Her chin lifts defiantly. “I needed to see a doctor.”
“You said you were going to the dentist.”
“I needed to confirm something.”
“What?”
She takes a shaky breath, her eyes never leaving mine. She’s pissed, that’s obvious, but I see something else underneath. She’s afraid of whatever she’s about to tell me.
“I’m pregnant,” she answers, barely audible.
The room narrows to almost nothing. I feel like I can’t breathe. This isn’t remotely what I expected her to say, and yet all the signs have been there. She’s been pale, withdrawn, and moody. She’s avoided me for days. All this time, she must have known.
“Would you have told me if I hadn’t caught you here?”
“I don’t know,” she says truthfully. I’m impressed by her honesty. “I didn’t know how you’d react, so I’ve been weighing my options. I didn’t want to decide anything until I knew for sure.”
“And now you do?” I prompt.
“Now I do,” she confirms, pulling her paper gown tighter around herself. “Are you mad?”
I think this over for only a second.
“I’m angry about a lot of things,” I say. “But not this. I wish you hadn’t kept it from me, but I’m not angry we’re having a baby.”
“You want this?” she asks in an impossibly small voice.
Again, I only have to consider the question for a second. Years ago, I wanted this more than anything I could have expressed. Then the chance was stolen from me, and I didn’t think it would ever be given to me again. So I answer as truthfully as I can.
“I want both of you breathing and safe,” I say. “I’ll do anything to make that happen.”
Some color comes back to her face. She looks like she might cry, but she holds it back. I take the chair from the corner and set it by the table so I’m not towering over her.
“That’s good,” she sighs out, looking lighter than before.
“I am angry that you slipped your guards,” I add. “And I do need you to get dressed right now. We have to go.”
Her eyes go wide again as she reads between the lines. She hears the warning I don’t say out loud. She just nods and shoos me out the door so she can change.
I wait in the hallway, nodding to a very pregnant woman who walks by with a nurse. They both eye me suspiciously, but I don’t mind. Seeing the woman, it hits me how real this is. Mari is having a baby. My baby. I’m going to have a family. And losing them is not remotely an option.