Chapter 28 Tatiana
TATIANA
The drunk at table seven is already on his fourth whiskey and getting handsy—ah, the good ol' days.
I dodge his grab for my waist and set his drink down just out of reach so he has to lean forward to get it.
It's a trick I learned my first week working here.
Give them what they want but make them work for it just enough that they forget about pawing at you.
"Thanks, sweetheart." He winks, and his friends laugh. "How about you stick around and keep us company?"
"I've got other tables." I force a smile and pick up his empty glass as I say, "But I'll check back in a bit."
I'm already moving before he can respond.
My heart's racing and my hands are shaking slightly as I carry the empty tray back toward the bar.
It's been weeks since I worked a normal shift and I'm pretty sure everyone here knows I was assaulted, though they don't know all the details why.
Linda has hovered a few times, but her feigned concern eats at me.
I'm supposed to be acting like things are normal, but I'm struggling.
Because everything is very much not normal.
Timofey's behind the bar mixing drinks and he grins when he sees me.
"Look who's back from the dead. We thought Dimitri had you locked up in his penthouse permanently.
" His joke is in jest. They all knew that he reappointed me to his personal detail, which wasn't my idea.
So I'm not sure what story he told Linda in order to put me back in the rotation down here.
"Just taking some personal time." I lean against the bar while he pours vodka into glasses. "How've things been here?" I do miss this sometimes—of course, not the grabby customers and shitty tips, but this. Talking to my coworkers and hearing about their lives.
"Same as always." He slides the drinks across to me. "Drunk idiots losing money and hitting on the staff. You know, the usual."
I load the glasses onto my tray and scan the casino floor. Cameras are positioned everywhere and I know Dimitri's watching from his office upstairs. But still I feel nervous. I know how desperate those men are to kill me. All it would take is one well-placed bullet to end me.
Scary how fragile the human body is.
Zoya appears beside me looking exhausted. "Table twelve wants more champagne and they're getting rowdy. Can you handle them while I take my break?"
I almost chuckle, because it's like I've never missed a day or skipped a beat. Even when I came in already seeding the "gossip" of my impending appointment with investigators, the normal busybody types were hovering like honeybees on a flower.
"Sure," I tell her as I balance the tray and head toward table twelve.
The men there are celebrating something are and already too loud. I smile and pour their champagne while they make crude jokes and try to look down my shirt. I've dealt with worse—much worse. But a few drunk businessmen are nothing compared to being kidnapped and nearly killed.
When I finish serving, I head back to the employee break room.
Linda's there checking the schedule, and she looks up when I walk in.
Of all the folks I've dropped the bait in front of, she's the only one who hasn't heard my news.
We know based on the picture placed in my locker that it was done by a woman.
No men were ever seen going into the women's locker room.
So setting up our mole means making sure every woman in this place has heard about the interview with investigators that's not really happening.
Linda is the last one to hear, though after some strange things in the past few weeks, I have already pegged her as the most likely candidate.
"Tatiana, it's strange to see you back." Her voice is cool. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon after your incident."
"I needed the money." I grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
"And sitting around wasn't helping anything.
" Dimitri is certain it's not her—says he vetted her himself.
But I don't trust it. And being back this evening has only shown me how odd her behavior has been.
I was just too stressed out to notice before.
"Still." She sets her clipboard down. "After everything that happened, I'm surprised Dimitri's letting you work the floor again."
The way she says his name makes my skin crawl. And how does she know what "everything that happened" really is? Is she referring to the murder here, or my kidnapping? Because no one really knows about that. Just that I was assaulted.
"He doesn't control what I do." I take a drink of water. "I make my own decisions."
"Of course." Linda's smile is so fake. God, I really hope she is the mole so she gets called out. "I just meant with the investigation and everything, it seems risky to be so visible."
"I'm fine now." I lean against the wall. "Actually, I'm meeting with the investigators again this Friday to give another statement."
"Why?" Linda frowns. "I thought you already told them everything." Her eyes narrow on me, and the expression on her face is a strange mix of confusion, fear, and anger. It's like she's happy to hear this but conflicted at the same time.
"I did, but they want me to look at some photos." I'm making this up as I go, but it sounds believable. "They think they might have identified one of the men I saw."
"That's good, right?" another server asks as she walks past with a soda in hand. "Maybe they'll finally catch whoever did it."
"Maybe." I drop my voice like I'm sharing a secret. Making it feel conspiratorial might just help us. "The thing is, I saw a tattoo on one of the shooters. The detective thinks it might belong to someone from the Kozlov family."
Linda's shoulders square, and the other girl's eyes grow wide. Everyone knows about the Kozlovs. In this town, the name is synonymous with crime, just like dropping the name Gravitch.
"You saw a Kozlov?" Her eyes are wide. "Tatiana, that's dangerous. What if they find out you can identify them?" I glance at Linda, who busies herself with stooping to tie her shoelace.
"That's why I'm meeting at the police station instead of here." I keep my voice steady, though I’m starting to get giddy the more Linda reacts. "The detective said Friday evening would be best because the station will be mostly empty. Less chance of anyone seeing me come and go."
"I don't know." The girl whose name I don't know shakes her head. "This seems really risky. Are you sure you want to get involved with organized crime stuff?"
"I'm already involved." I push off the wall. "I witnessed it. I can't just pretend I didn't see anything."
Linda straightens and clears her throat. "We shouldn't be gossiping. We should work…"
"Yeah," I mumble at the other server, "we should get back to work."
The server scatters, and I head back toward the casino floor, but Linda intercepts me before I make it three steps.
"Do you know what you're doing?" she asks cautiously, narrowing her eyes. If this is some sort of warning, she's not acting like it. It seems more like she's genuinely concerned. It's not a threat at all. Maybe she's not the mole, after all.
"Yes." I watch her carefully. "The detective wants me to look at some photos… I said that."
"It's a terrible idea." The sing-song way she says it makes my stomach churn. I have no clue what this woman is up to or why she's doing it, but I don't get a good feeling about her.
"The detective assured me it would be safe," I lie smoothly. "The station will be mostly empty that evening. No one will even know I'm there."
"Still." Linda seems genuinely agitated now. "You should reconsider. Tell them you can't make it. Tell them you don't remember anything clearly."
"Why are you so concerned about this?" I tilt my head. "It's my decision whether or not to help the police."
"Because I don't want to lose another staff member to gang violence." Linda scowls and purses her lips. "This casino has enough problems without our servers getting caught in the crossfire."
"I'll be fine." I step around her. "But I appreciate your concern."
I walk away before she can continue arguing. My heart's pounding and my hands are shaking again. Linda is too invested in talking me out of meeting with the investigators for my gut feeling to be a coincidence at all, and after that weird interaction, I've made up my mind.
She's the mole. I'm almost certain of it now.
I make my way across the casino floor and stop at the bar to pick up another order.
While Timofey mixes drinks, I glance up at the security camera mounted above the bottles.
I know Dimitri's watching. He promised me he wouldn't take his eyes off me all night, so I know he saw my conversation with Linda.
I look directly at the camera and give a small nod. Subtle enough that no one else would notice, but clear enough that he'll understand.
The message is sent. Linda's our target. She's the one feeding information to the Kozlovs.
Now we just have to wait and see if she takes the bait.
Timofey slides drinks across the bar, and I load them onto my tray. My hands are steadier now. The plan is in motion and there's no turning back.
Friday evening, I'll walk into that police precinct pretending to meet with investigators. The Kozlovs will be waiting because Linda will have told them exactly where to find me. And Dimitri will be ready to protect me while the rest of his family tears apart every Kozlov stronghold in the city.
It's a good plan.
I just have to survive long enough for it to work.