2. Andrei
Andrei
A shes float down like snow, blanketing everything in a coat that will linger here for weeks. When I come back, I’ll be tracking the evidence of this fire with me in the dust and smell that will cling to my clothes.
I stay back, watching from across the street as firefighters stalk around the ruined remains of my warehouse, dousing the few remaining embers.
I clench my fists in my pockets, taking a breath to get my temper under control.
This is the fourth warehouse that’s been destroyed in the past two months, but at least this one paints a clearer picture. It was public information that I owned the other three, but this one was owned by a shell company. And that shell company is owned by another shell company.
It’s enough layers deep that most people wouldn’t bother doing the work to trace it back to me. Including law enforcement. They’ll have to do the work for their investigation now, but I doubt the culprit behind this bullshit did .
That narrows down my list of suspects significantly.
It also means I don’t have to worry about cops trying to talk to me tonight. As long as they don’t see me here, anyway.
With that in mind, I slip back down the alley and make my way to my car.
Already, the acrid smell of smoke is stuck to my clothes. I make a mental note to ensure I get the smell out of the seats before it gets a chance to settle in and make a home there.
I spend the whole drive home trying to figure out how to approach my next steps.
What I should do is go home, toss my suit in the trash, and get some rest so I can deal with the rest of this shit in the morning. It’s not like I can actually prove who started the fire. Not yet.
If I try to make accusations at this point, I’d end up looking like an idiot with my pants around my ankles before I end up in a shallow grave.
At least this warehouse was empty, unlike the last one.
That doesn’t mean I can afford to have more attention on me right now, though.
I’ve been fortunate to keep my nose clean as far as the law’s concerned, but I’m under no illusions that it’ll stay that way. And if someone keeps shoving me into the law’s spotlight, I have no doubt my luck will run out sooner rather than later.
But pissing off the pakhan by accusing his son? I’ll be dead before I’m able to get a single step off his property.
Pavel’s been an issue since he officially became part of the Bratva at nineteen, but his attempts to follow in his father’s footsteps are dragging us into a pit we’ll never be able to escape even faster than Maksim has been able to .
He’s been whispering in Maksim’s ear about his grand ambitions with very little thought about the execution or consequences of his actions.
Add that on top of Maksim’s bloodthirsty, ruthless approach to anything relating to business, and we’re all going to end up in prison or destroyed in a matter of years.
I can’t do shit to stop their runaway train, so I have to focus on covering my own ass in the meantime. Even if that means I have to bite my tongue and let Pavel have his pointless destruction.
Shoving my suit into the garbage, I toss my phone between my hands, trying to focus on the issue at hand and ignoring the rest until it eventually boils over. It burns at my ego, but I’ll have to keep pretending that I’m an idiot for now.
Glancing longingly at the bottle of vodka sitting on the kitchen island, I shake my head. I’m sure I’ll have to be up by sunrise, and it’s already nearly three. Getting drunk isn’t going to fix it. I look back at my phone screen.
I know something else that will comfort me, but it’s just as stupid.
Then again, knowing that something is a bad idea has never stopped me before. Pulling up a contact, I press call before my conscience can tell me off.
“Kak?” Daniil barks, sounding tired. It makes me smirk, but it’s wiped away when I hear a woman’s voice in the background. “It’s work. Go back to sleep,” he soothes, voice dripping with affection that has my blood pressure spiking.
I roll my shoulders and look up at the ceiling.
“Are you at your place or Emiliya’s? ”
I’m not sure if I’m asking because I really want to know, or because I want to take my frustrations out on him.
“Fuck off, Andrei.” I hear the sound of a door closing. “Don’t ask me that shit when I’m around Blair. You know how she gets.”
“What, she doesn’t like hearing about your mistress? Imagine that.”
“Mudak,” he mutters under his breath. “What do you want?”
“Someone torched another warehouse.”
“Shit,” he sighs, and I just know that he’s running his hand across his forehead. “Was it in use?”
I squeeze the bridge of my nose, willing away the headache that’s brewing at the back of my skull. “No. Not unless you count construction supplies, anyway.”
“At least there’s that. Was it staffed?”
“Skeleton crew for security, but they all fucked off before anything happened.”
Daniil laughs. “You need new employees, my friend.”
“Considering what happened at the last place, I’d be worried if they had bothered to stick around.” The fact that there aren’t bodies to deal with is the upside.
“Sounds like it was clean and easy, so why are you calling me?”
Because I hate myself.
I’ve already called Alexei, another member of the Bratva, so he can have his lackey, Lev, can sort through the footage, and I don’t have to worry about cops tonight.
It was just property damage, so unless someone connects me as the owner of this warehouse as well as the other buildings, then this is a problem with little consequence.
But it still pisses me off, and hearing Blair’s voice, even when I know she’s in his bed, helps make it easier to deal with.
“Just wanted to give you a heads up. You’re probably going to have a couple detectives at your office in a couple days asking questions.” It’s a thin lie, but it’s the best I can come up with right now.
He laughs, dark and bitter. “A text would’ve worked, too.
But, hey, we both know why you really called, yeah?
Did you get what you wanted, jackass?” I grunt, but it seems to just piss him off even more.
“You need to get over this bullshit crush, Andrei. She married me. She had my kid. And calling me in the middle of the night isn’t going to change it. ”
I hang up, refusing to give him the satisfaction of gloating any more than he already has. He’s right, but I don’t have to listen to it. I made my bed before I even knew what I was doing, but that doesn’t make it any easier to lie in.
***
It feels like I’ve just fallen asleep when the sound of my phone ringing startles me awake, pressure instantly pounding behind my eyes. I scramble to answer, not bothering to check who’s calling before I do.
“Da?” I run a hand over my eyes, trying to get my bearings as I look around the room, lit by the first rays of light through the windows .
“You had problems last night. Why am I only hearing of them now?” Maksim’s gravelly voice and thick accent wake me up faster than a slap to the face. Blayd.
“Forgive me, Pakhan . The building was empty and unoccupied. The structure was the only thing lost, and I didn’t think it prudent to wake you.”
Should I have called him last night? Probably. Did I want to deal with him after talking to Daniil? Fuck no, but that’s not what he wants to hear. The truth is that I wasn’t going to tell him anything at all if I could avoid it.
It might not have been my smartest plan, but it’s what I had. And, fuck, I wish it had worked.
“My office. Thirty minutes.”
He hangs up, and when I check the time, the early hour glares back at me dispassionately.
His place is a half hour away without traffic, and he makes everyone who enters go through a security screening that takes at least ten minutes.
I roll my shoulder to relieve the tension that rushed back as soon as I woke up, and I make my way toward my closet to get dressed.
Maksim’s paranoia is already going to make me late. I might as well put on a suit before he chews me out for an hour.
And he does, but at least it isn’t for not being dressed appropriately this time.
He flips through the photos that my guy at the firehouse emailed me last night, thick brows drawn together as he inspects them.
Maksim’s office is still dark, the obnoxious blackout curtains still closed and only a couple of floor lamps casting the room with a dramatic glow that highlights the luxurious, deep red velvet of the chairs and dark wood of the built-in units.
He hopes the effect makes anyone who comes here uncomfortable, but it just makes him look like a melodramatic asshole.
Apparently, he never got the memo that trying to look like a supervillain just makes him look pathetic.
Crossing my legs at the ankle, I take in his graying hair, wrinkled face, and tobacco-stained fingers. Every time I see him, he manages to look more weathered. Idly, I wonder how much longer he’ll be able to stick around before someone takes care of him.
Maybe that’s why he’s letting Pavel take the reins on so many projects.
“Any idea who did this?” He slaps down another photo, glaring at me from under his brows.
“I have some ideas.” I shrug. I try to keep the corner of my eye focused on the open door.
It wouldn’t be unheard of for someone to be eavesdropping.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Pavel or one of the household staff.
I have to assume that anything I say here will end up being the subject of gossip by the end of the day either way.
“Pests don’t stay in their holes for very long.
Whoever it was, they’ll come crawling out soon enough. ”
Maksim leans back, running a hand through his thick hair.
“I don’t need more of this shit, Andrei. The feds have been circling as it is. We have too much going on and too many eyes on us. So fix it, or I’ll have someone fix it for you. Understand?”
Maksim’s definition of fixing things tends to rely less on subtlety or tact, and more on blowing everything to smithereens. And besides me, most of the men he calls on to clean things up for him follow suit .
If he wants this handled without attention, then he’ll have no choice but to let me handle it myself.
I nod, standing when he waves a dismissive hand toward the door. As I leave his home, I don’t spot anyone, but I still resist the urge to pull out my phone until I’m in my car and off the property, nodding at the guards at the gate as I pass.
It takes three blocks before I’m sure he isn’t having me followed. The old man’s not above spying on his own men, and I’m not going to make it easy for him.
Pulling out my phone, my jaw is tight as I call Daniil, waiting impatiently for him to answer. By the time he does, my knuckles are white against the steering wheel.
“Thank you so much for calling Maksim for me, you pizda . I really appreciate the heads up.”
He laughs, and I comfort myself with the soothing image of what it would look like if I bashed his head into a wall. “You woke me up in the middle of the night. I figured letting the pakhan know what happened was the least I could do for you.”
I’m seething, ready to rip him a new asshole when I hear children laughing in the background. Not just Niko, but several children.
“Where the hell are you?”
“Aquarium. I promised Blair and Niko I’d spend a day with them.
” I try to picture uptight, boring Daniil, no doubt dressed in a full three-piece suit, surrounded by happy families and endless displays of fish.
Then I picture Blair at his side, smiling at him while they both hold one of Niko’s hands.
A perfect little family .
A honk brings me back to the present, and I shake my head to clear the image, focusing on the Prius I apparently cut off.
“Well, tell Niko I said hi.”
“Sure thing. Anything else you need from me?”
“Yeah, just a small thing.”
“Make it quick, Blair’s waiting for me to catch up with her.”
“When you get to hell, make sure you’re easy to find so I can fucking kill you.”