Chapter 5
Maximo
“I’m so sorry about all this, firefly,” I repeat as soon as we’re settled in the backseat of the Expedition idling just outside the precinct.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Constance says as she shakes her matted hair back from her face. “There was no way we could know something like this would happen. If anything, what you taught me and the time we’ve spent together prepared me to handle those two.”
“I’m not good at apologies.” I give her a half smile. “I don’t make them very often. It should never have come to this,” I add with a sigh. “I can’t help but blame myself. I should’ve seen this coming, should’ve known that revenge is a banquet that never truly ends.”
“We’ll put a stop to it together,” Constance says as I reach over and place my hand on her knee.
Leaning up to speak to Trenton, I tell him, “Get the word out to all our crews that I want any information they can dig up on Irina Volkov, or any other Russians doing any business in the city right now. We need some leads to track her down and end this.”
Trenton nods as he pulls out his cell phone. “You offering any incentive?” he asks, scrolling through his contacts. “Some monetary compensation might help loosen some lips.”
“Absolutely. Get the captains together first and tell them there’s a hundred thousand in it for them if they bring me information that helps track Irina down. If they actually find her and bring her to me, I’ll triple it. And I’ll be in their debt.”
“Got it,” Trenton confirms as he sets up a text group with a large number of contacts. “I’m going to get the boys together at your office later today and talk to them in person there.”
“It’s never good to conspire by text.” I try another smile at Constance, which she tentatively returns. It doesn’t reach her dark, haunted eyes, which seem fixed on something far away.
“After I get cleaned up, can we come back to the hospital to see Melissa?” Constance asks as she places her hand over mine and gives it a squeeze.
“Of course. Joey, can you hang around today and act as our driver and bodyguard?”
Joey shrugs and says, “Sure. Trenton says I’m salaried now, so I’m all yours whenever you need me.”
“Yeah, I had Joey put on payroll,” Trenton confirms. “He’s good people,” he adds, giving his friend’s arm a backhanded slap.
“We came up together and we can trust him. I was actually going to talk to him about taking over my old spot and becoming my lieutenant when we went out for drinks tonight. That plan sort of got derailed with all the excitement, so congrats, I guess.” He smiles at the man driving.
“Thanks,” Joey grunts.
“That’s why I like you.” Trenton slaps him on the arm again. “I inherited Enzo’s other two lieutenants, Sam and Jamie, and those two never shut the fuck up. You don’t ask a million questions, and you get shit done.”
“Yup,” Joey agrees with a single guttural syllable.
“That’s good. I like to hear that you’re settling in,” I tell Trenton.
“Tony should have some of his boys back at the estate by now, and we’ll have a cop keeping an eye out as well.
We should be safe enough for now until Irina comes up with her next gambit.
” I lean back in the seat, shifting my grip until my fingers intertwine with Constance’s.
“No matter what she does, I will keep you safe,” I reassure her.
“I know you will try,” she replies absently as she stares out the window. “They took my knife as evidence. Do you have another one I could have?”
“Of course. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll go down to the armory and find another one you like. I can have another one like yours made, if you prefer,” I offer.
“I’d like that,” she agrees. “If you can get another one made, I’ll just borrow something else in the meantime. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it makes me feel more secure.”
“It’s not silly at all after what you accomplished today. I’m proud of you, Constance. I know that must sound insane, but I mean it. You might be the strongest woman I’ve ever known.” I raise our hands to my lips and kiss the back of her knuckles.
“Yeah, you’re a certifiable badass.” Trenton twists around in his seat to talk to us. “Those two must have thought you were just some scared little girl they could throw around. God, I wish I could have seen their faces when you went off on them.”
“I stabbed the first one in the throat. His eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of his skull, and he sprayed blood all over me when I opened his throat. The second one just looked horrified at all the blood. He tried to draw a gun, but I had already grabbed the pistol from his dead friend. I shot him through the window and then leaned out to shoot him some more. I got scraped up by the broken window glass. The EMS team said the cuts weren’t too bad. ”
Constance pats at her side where her sweater is ripped, and when she twists in the seat to show me, I see the abrasion on her fair skin.
“It doesn’t hurt, does it?” I ask her.
“No, it doesn’t feel like anything,” she says as she turns her gaze back out the window. “I don’t feel much either. I’m just kind of numb right now and tired.”
“That’s probably shock,” Trenton says as he turns back to face the front. “You’ve killed a man before, sure, but have you ever actually fought one to the death? That sort of thing can fuck with your head.”
“I’m okay, but I think he’s right about the shock.” Constance calms me with another squeeze of my hand. “Once I’m cleaned up, I’ll feel better. I just need some quiet. The detectives had a lot of questions.”
“If you feel up to it, can you tell me what they were asking about?” I ask in a gentler tone.
“They wanted to know if I had any information about the shoot-out at the dock warehouse or the gunfight at the marina. They also wanted to know if I had any connection to the bombing at the nightclub. They know they were all related to the Volkovs but aren’t certain how.”
“Why would they think your kidnapping was related to the Volkovs?” I wonder aloud.
“Their first theory was that I was kidnapped to get back at you for funding the police surge that ran them out of town. I mean, you did give the police quite a few tips on how to intercept the Volkovs’ shipments and who was on their payroll. They have to wonder how you had that information.”
“They can wonder all they want,” I snort. “Did you have to tell them anything, or did they leave you alone once the major intervened?”
“How did you know about that?” Constance turns to me and asks.
“I made a phone call and encouraged the mayor to lean on the police commissioner and the major over that department. I wanted to make sure you were treated well and not harassed.”
“Thank you,” she says, managing a smile for me. “Detective Tillman had a lot of suspicions, but I didn’t tell him anything.”
“I know you didn’t, firefly,” I reassure her, using my free hand to pat her leg. God, now that she’s safe and back with me, I can’t stop touching her. “If you had, I doubt they would have let us leave so easily.”
Constance falls silent as the city slides by outside the truck windows. After a few miles, she asks, “What are we going to do, Max? I don’t think…I don’t think I can keep living like this.”
“Hey, don’t talk like that,” I say in the most soothing tone I can muster. “You’ve had one hell of a day, and you’re exhausted. I’m going to protect you and take care of these loose ends with the Russians. Nothing else is going to happen. Not to you.”
“I trust you. But I don’t know how to face Melissa after what happened. I feel so bad for getting her caught up in my mess. Can I have your phone and text her? I don’t know what happened to mine.”
“Yeah, of course.” I pass my phone over to her. “Let her know she’s welcome to text you at that number anytime.”
She takes my phone and enters Melissa’s number, but then just sits there staring at the screen. “I don’t even know what to say. How do I make this up to her?” Tears threaten in her eyes.
“Just let her know you’re okay and that you’ll come see her as soon as she feels up to having visitors tomorrow. Let’s get you home tonight. You need some sleep. Then we can go see her tomorrow and make sure the doctors are taking good care of her.”
Constance considers my words for a bit, then types out a long message to her friend. Once she hits send, she holds onto my phone, staring at the screen anxiously while she waits for a reply.
“She might be sleeping, or they may have taken her into surgery,” I say, trying to ease her mind.
“She’s probably still knocked the fuck out from all the drugs,” Trenton says with a laugh. “The drugs they gave her at the hospital, I mean,” he adds quickly, glancing back at Constance.
“You’ve seen her?” she asks, turning to me.
“We got word that she had been taken to Mount Sinai before we got the call that you were okay, so we went over there to speak to her and get more details on the men who attacked you.”
“How was she?” Constance had let go of my hand to type out her message, but she grabs it again and squeezes my fingers as though she might wring the information out of me.
“She hadn’t been there long when we arrived.
I’m not even sure if they had time to run any scans on her yet.
She was conscious, though, and able to talk to us about the kidnapping.
She didn’t know much unfortunately, but while we were there, Detective Tillman reached out to my office, and they patched him through to my cell. We left immediately to come find you.”
“How did she look?” Constance presses me. “I was terrified they had killed her with the way they beat her.”
“She looked rough,” I admit. “One eye was swollen shut, and the other looked bloodshot.”
“And her nose didn’t look much like a nose anymore,” Trenton adds unhelpfully. “Made her talk funny, too.”
“Oh God. Poor Melissa.” Constance sighs. “Let me know as soon as you hear from her, please,” she reiterates as she hands back my phone.
“Of course. I’ll wake you up if she reaches out late tonight.”
Constance nods to me and then leans her head against the cool glass window.
We all fall silent as Joey drives us home.
The only thing that disrupts the quiet is a text from Leonard at the estate letting me know Tony and some other members of Enzo’s old crew showed up with a bunch of food from Rostiq Rotisserie.
“It’s just Leonard,” I tell Constance when her head jerks toward the sound. “He says Tony and the boys brought food over for tonight. You guys hungry?”
“No, I ate before I got kidnapped,” Constance says, causing Trenton to bark out a laugh.
“What?” He looks back at the two of us glaring at him. “It was funny. I could eat, though. Always pays to have a fat friend like Tony to take care of the important things.”
Joey snorts, which I take to mean he’s either amused or in agreement. Regardless, I turn my attention back to Constance. “Relax, we’ll hear from her soon. In the meantime, let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.”
Once we arrive back at the estate, Trenton waves Joey to a stop by the gate.
He steps out to speak to the guard for a minute, going over the events of the day and our plans for heightened security.
I can see a local patrol officer sitting in his car on the far side of the cul-de-sac, keeping an eye on my driveway.
Trenton hops back into the truck and at his gesture, Joey drives us along the meandering path through my front garden and right up to the staircase leading to the main doors.
“I’ll go gas this thing up. I’ll be back soon,” Joey says as the rest of us pile out of the truck.
“Good work today,” Trenton tells him as he waves him off. I don’t reply. I’m already halfway up the stairs with my arm around Constance’s waist.
Leonard throws open the doors as we approach. When he sees me guiding Constance up the steps, he rushes forward as if to offer her his arm on her other side. “Are you all right?” he asks, concern etched in every line of his aged face.
“I’m fine. Someone has just been overly handsy ever since they picked me up from the station.
” She gives me a half smile to soften the blow of the words as she plucks my hand from her waist and pulls away from me.
“I can make it upstairs just fine, you two. I can’t wait to get into the shower. Please, excuse me.”
“I can’t help it,” I tell her as she walks away. “I can’t stand the thought that I could have lost you today.”
“Let’s save that talk for when we’re alone, shall we?” She pauses and turns back to give me another weary smile, then trudges up the stairs to our bedroom on the second floor.
“I need a drink,” I tell Leonard after she disappears on the landing above us. “Let’s go see what Tony brought for dinner and have a nightcap. Have you been able to turn up anything yet about Irina?”
“Nothing yet. She’ll turn up, Maximo. What happened to Constance today was her best shot at you, and she missed. If she’s smart, she’s already on a plane back to Russia putting as many miles as she can between the two of you.”
“The Volkovs killed Enzo and Luca,” I say, as if he needs any reminder. “If I had abandoned my attempts to kill Kirill after what he had done to your son, would you have just let it go?”
“No, I suppose not,” Leonard agrees. “But let’s not dwell on Irina Volkov right now. You’re safe, and so is Constance. She won’t make any move against us here, not while we’ve got our guard up. Try to relax tonight and take care of Constance.”
“I intend to try, if she’ll let me,” I say with a frown.
There’s been a distance between us since I picked her up at the station, which I assume is just the lingering trauma of everything that’s happened to her.
Constance is just tired, I tell myself, but I can’t quiet the gnawing anxiety that the more she sees of the life I live, the less she wants to live it with me.