10. Andrei
Andrei
I f I wasn’t already convinced that Maksim is doing everything in his power to make me miserable, this would have done it. As I leave Alexei’s place, my phone blows up with texts telling me to pick up Dmitri, insisting that I drive him all the way to the fucking deal.
I don’t like having people in my car. I like spending time in an enclosed space with loudmouthed, cocky idiots even less.
At least I don’t have to wait. When I get to his apartment complex, Dmitri’s outside and waiting, like an eager child on their first day of school. He slams the car door behind him, and I’m torn between cringing and chewing him out. Before I get a chance to decide, he’s already talking.
I want to hit my head against the steering wheel.
“Hey, you’re Voronov, right? I’m Dmitri Kamensky.” He doesn’t wait for a response, shifting the seat to make room for his legs while he drums his fingers against the center console, looking around like he expects me to have piles of weapons and cash in the back seat .
I don’t. There’s just a car seat.
I’ve driven around with Daniil and Niko enough times that it became a pain in the ass to keep taking it out, so it’s been a permanent installation since Niko’s grown big enough to use it.
Dmitri pauses when he sees it, but his enthusiasm doesn't dim in the slightest.
He looks exactly like what he is: a young kid who’s getting his first real job. Messy hair, cheap suit, and a muted panic in his eyes that he’s hiding behind a cocky grin. Fuck, I doubt he’s even old enough to drink, and Maksim’s trusting him with something as important as an arms deal?
I don’t try to fill the silence, pulling from the curb and starting the long drive toward the meeting point.
We’ve only gone five miles when he reaches over to turn on the radio. I slap his hand away, and he flinches, hissing as he pulls it toward his chest.
“Fuck, man. That’s still tender.” I look at him, only now spotting the tattoo on the back of his hand under the passing streetlights.
“Yeah? Is it fresh?”
“Yeah, it’s only a little over a week old. Looks sick, right?”
He turns it toward me, showing off a tattoo of a spider that takes up most of the back of his hand. It’s realistic enough that if it was on my hand, I’d probably end up smacking it every time I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye.
I’m not sure if he’s just that proud of it, or if he’s trying to impress me, so I nod. I’m no stranger to ink, but I don’t really care about anyone else’s .
But I’m also not trying to be an asshole. It’s not Dmitri’s fault that I’m having a shitty day.
“Sure, kid. Is this your first time on a job like this?”
He laughs, going right back to drumming his fingers incessantly, this time against the dash. “Is it that obvious?” I grind my teeth together so I don’t shove his hands down his throat. “I’ve been keeping my head down, but it must be working for me if I’m getting to work with someone like you.”
“What do you mean ‘someone like me’?”
He grins, looking even younger, and any thoughts I had about telling him he is just part of my punishment for pissing Maksim off fly out the window.
“What, you fishing for compliments?”
“That’s not worth justifying with a response.”
He laughs, the sound echoing through the car.
Fuck, maybe I should have let him turn on the radio. I just need to get through the next couple hours , I tell myself. Then I can check in on Blair .
“Man, come on. You know you’ve got a reputation, right? Working with someone like you is cool. And not to sound like some inexperienced kid or whatever, but it’s more than I thought I was going to get. Not this soon, anyway.”
I try to remember what it was like to be in his place. The problem is I don’t know if I was ever that bright-eyed and excited about this sort of work. I was raised in it. I grew up with the expectation that this would be my life. It’s all I’ve ever known.
Apparently, that isn’t the case for this kid.
“Do you know what you’re getting into tonight?”
Or is Maksim throwing you blindly into the deep end ?
If everything goes according to plan, it’ll be straightforward, but if Dmitri does something stupid and decides to run his mouth? There’s a real chance he’s not going home at all.
Dmitri shrugs, looking out the window with his grin still fully intact. “Not really, but how hard can it be?”
I grunt.
Blyad , how fresh is this kid?
“How’d you get into this line of work?”
He’s quiet for a moment, and I wonder if I’ve finally managed to find his mute button.
“I tried to hold up some tailor’s shop.” He shrugs. “It wasn’t anything serious, you know? I just needed some quick cash to hold me over until I got my next paycheck. And that’s how I met Mikhail.”
“Let me guess, he talked you down and promised you more consistent money?”
Mikhail’s an old prick who’s been working for Maksim since before I was born and runs his crew like a small army. And like any army, he has no qualms about recruiting young, desperate kids for cannon fodder.
“Pretty much.”
“Any regrets?” Even if he’s fine dealing with an asshole like Mikhail on a regular basis, the violence can be a lot for anyone who doesn’t go in with their eyes wide open.
“Not really. I can handle the work as long as I get paid. I…” He looks at me, a calculating look in his eyes. “Listen, you’re chill, right?”
“If you’re asking if I’m going to go around telling everyone what you say, then sure. I’m chill . ”
“Okay,” he sighs. “It’s just, I’ve got a little sister, right?
Our parents died in a car crash last year.
I need to have the money to prove to the state I can provide her with a stable home before I can get her out of foster care.
” There’s a quiet resolve in his words, and I get it.
If I was in his shoes, I’d put up with Mikhail’s bullshit, too.
“She’s turning ten next month. I don’t want her getting raised by strangers.”
Fuck, no wonder Maksim was so willing to put him on this job. He doesn’t have anyone waiting for him. Just some kid who probably has no way of knowing if something has happened to her big brother if he disappears.
My hands flex against the steering wheel.
“In that case, let me give you some advice. Learn to keep your mouth shut. Not just tonight, but any time you’re around someone carrying a gun.”
“Right. Don’t want to piss them off,” he mutters, shoulders curling forward.
“Not just that. You’d be surprised what people have to say when you let them fill the silence.
No matter what anyone tells you, knowledge is an underrated power.
When you know the right things, it doesn’t take much pressure to put someone on their back foot.
Take the guy we’re meeting tonight, Luca Sotero. Have you heard of him before?”
“In passing.”
I smirk. “He’s a hotheaded little shit, but he works with us. You know why?”
“Because his boss told him to? ”
“No. His boss doesn’t know about the little arrangement he has with us.”
A beat passes. “Seriously? Does he have a death wish?”
“No. But he’s racked up a hell of a debt.
Turns out he has a thing for gambling.” Dmitri laughs, shaking his head.
“He got in a bit of trouble back in Atlantic City, and it started chasing him home. One of our guys caught wind of the whole thing, and Maksim offered to take care of the debt. Now he owns Luca, and we get a pretty deal on weapons. At least until his boss finds out.”
“But the blowback won’t be on us. All the risk is on Luca.”
I nod. If the kid’s clever enough, he’ll find a way to go far. “Exactly. One guy kept his head down and passed along smart info, so we have a cushy deal and all the power.”
“Huh.”
“The only catch is that Luca doesn’t like it. Sure, he’s backed into a corner and can’t do anything about it, but he’s going to be primed to lash out when we get there. He wants an excuse to draw blood. Don’t give him one. Let his anger burn itself out, and we’ll get home before sunrise.”
The rest of the drive passes quietly. Whether it’s because Dmitri’s taking what I said into consideration or if he’s just thinking, I’m not sure.
But I'm not going to argue with the relative peace his silence offers as I pull into the familiar scrap yard, nodding at the man standing near the entrance as I pass.
Driving slowly toward the back of the lot, I nudge Dmitri’s side.
“Keep your head on a swivel. He can’t bring much in the way of backup without his higher ups noticing, not all the way out here.
But we don’t have any either. Check your gun before you get out of the car.
He’ll have the truck and a second man with him.
You’re driving the truck back, and I’ll be on your tail the whole time, but pay attention to who’s around you anyway. You hear me?”
He nods, already checking his gun under the sparse lights as I stop, putting the car in park. Sure enough, Luca’s leaning against the side of a box truck, looking like a wet cat in a suit and tie, arms firmly crossed across his chest.
“Andrei, what a surprise. You’re late,” he snaps before I’ve even shut my door. I roll my eyes, making an exaggerated show of checking my watch.
“We’re three minutes early. You have what we came for, or not?”
He points at the truck with a nod. “What’re you doing here, anyway? I haven’t seen your ugly mug in ages. I was starting to think this sort of thing was beneath you.”
I keep an eye on Dmitri as he circles toward the back, opening the truck with a blank face while he waits for Luca to get off his ass and follow us.
“Or, wait. Don’t tell me. You’re doing grunt work because you pissed someone off.”
I don’t answer, climbing into the back to open one of the crates.
“So, what’d you do?” Luca calls, laughing at his own conviction. “You fuck the wrong man’s wife? Or does Maksim just not trust a quiet motherfucker like you?”
I check over one of the submachine guns, satisfied to find exactly what I was expecting. Replacing the lid on the crate, I move to check one of the ones in the back. I don’t think he’s going to try to fuck me over, but it’s bad business to trust anyone. Especially not a man with nothing to lose.
By the time Luca finally joins me in the truck, he’s still running his mouth, like if he talks long enough, he’ll get a reaction that will justify picking a fight.
Unfortunately for him, his attempts to piss me off are almost identical to the ribbing I get from everyone else. It’s as effective as a mosquito.
I nod at Dmitri when I climb out the truck, and head to the trunk of my car.
“Here’s the usual,” I say, tossing a briefcase at Luca’s feet. He sneers but picks it up. I’m sure he’s itching to open it up and count the contents, but he doesn’t get that luxury. He’ll have to wait until we’re long gone and hope we didn’t short him.
Some guys might, but I won’t. Not when we’re already robbing him blind.
As long as his family is in one piece, he doesn’t have room to complain.