27. Andrei
Andrei
“ D on’t go where I can’t see you!” Blair calls as Niko races toward the mass of people crowding the dinosaur exhibit. He looks back at her with a smile, but slows down, remaining in her line of sight.
When I suggested a trip to the Field Museum, he looked at me like I was the sun in the sky, but I’m starting to understand why Blair immediately looked exhausted.
I’ve never been here before, but I think I realize why they both like it so much.
Both of their faces light up when Blair reads Niko the placards in front of the displays, and all his attention is on what’s in front of him.
I’m mesmerized as I watch them, looking carefree and relaxed as they stroll from exhibit to exhibit, hand in hand.
When Blair told him that he had to wait to see the dinosaurs, and they’d be the last exhibit we’d go to, I thought he would have rushed through everything to get to what he wanted, but it’s only taken a little prompting to get him to cooperate .
When he got bored and tried to wander off, I kept an eye on him while we let Blair look at whatever she wanted, sitting on a bench and playing nonsense games until she was ready to move on.
He started to flag when he asked me to tell him about everything in the gem exhibit, but now I’m pretty sure he was just conserving his strength.
His seemingly endless well of energy kicks up to another level the closer we get to the dinosaurs. This whole trip only happened because I was hoping to have a single day without having to hear the Jurassic Park theme song, but I think I bit off more than I can chew.
I level a glare at a mother that steps closer to Niko, trying to get a better view for her child, but she quickly heads in a different direction when Blair catches up with him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
She looks like she’s reaching the point of buying a child leash, and if he runs off again, I’m going to beat her to it.
He smiles at me again, like I’ve made his whole year just by being here with him, and I wonder how I can talk Blair into coming back more often. Is once a week too much? Maybe she’ll settle for once a month. I’d be willing to work with that. Niko deserves to have a fun day that’s all about him.
And maybe I just want to enjoy the fact that he likes spending time with me.
I’ll never be able to step into his father’s role, but I hope he can learn to lean on me. Even if I haven’t earned the privilege, I want to have some small part in shaping his life .
When the crowds become too thick for him to shove through, he asks me to carry him so that he can see the fossils, eagerly telling me everything he knows about every single dinosaur species.
By the time we’re getting ready to leave, he’s practically catatonic and reaching for Blair. She takes him with a smile while we walk back to my car, adjusting his grip on the stuffed brontosaurus that he picked out in the gift shop.
“Thank you for suggesting this.” She looks content while she rubs his back, smiling at me. “I’m pretty sure you made his whole week.”
“Yeah?”
She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear as she nods, masterfully balancing him on one hip.
“I’m pretty sure you’re his favorite person.”
I wrap my arm around her, holding tight around her shoulders.
I never thought I’d manage to find an actual place in this little family, but her words move something inside me.
Her gentle smiles, the way she speaks without any hesitation or resistance.
It makes me feel complete. Like I’ve finally managed to stumble through the dark to exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“ Zolotse …” My voice trails off as the hair on the back of my neck prickles. I sweep my eyes around us, pushing Blair quickly toward my car.
I can feel her looking at me curiously at the same moment I catch sight of a black SUV rolling down the street toward us.
The windows are tinted dark enough that I can’t see anything inside, and when one window rolls down just enough for the barrel of a gun to poke out, I shove Blair behind a parked car, keeping my body between her and the SUV.
“Get down!”
No sooner do the words leave my mouth before the sounds of semiautomatic gunfire ring out. Around us, people scream and run away while I pull out my own gun, aiming over the hood of the car with one hand while I push Blair and Niko further down with the other.
Glass showers around us as bullets shatter the bullets shatter the windows and tear through the metal frame with heart-stopping thunks .
I return fire, taking no solace when I see their back windshield crack and shatter while they tear off, weaving through traffic and away from the chaos. There are bullet holes in the building behind us, and the sweet smell of coolant invades my nostrils as I pull Blair into my arms.
Her whole body is curled around Niko, who’s sobbing into her chest, eyes wide with terror and confusion. I check him over before I look at Blair. I don’t see any blood, but it’s a small consolation.
My hands are shaking while I run my hands over her cheeks, pulling them into my arms.
Who the fuck did this?
“We’re okay,” she pants, like she’s trying to convince herself just as much as she is Niko. “We’re going to be okay.”
I rock them back and forth, but my mind’s a hundred miles away.
They’re physically okay, but I can’t spend too long here.
I can already hear sirens coming, and we need to make ourselves scarce before the cops get here.
My heart demands blood, but I can’t afford to let it rule in the heat of the moment.
I need to push my feelings aside and make sure my family is safe and never in this position again.
I pull Blair up, scooping up Niko’s forgotten toy, and urge her to walk, but she seems numb while we hurry to my car. Thank fuck it’s far enough away and didn’t get hit by any stray bullets.
I push her into the car, driving off while she holds Niko in the back seat, trying to calm him down.
I should call Maksim. The windows were too dark for me to identify anyone in the SUV, but I’d bet anything that this was retaliation for the hit on Sotero.
If The Outfit managed to take me out, they’d have Maksim pinned.
He needs me to clean up his messes before the law can get involved, and without me, he’d have to fight against both of them.
But with how he’s been acting? There’s a real chance this is exactly the sort of ammo he’s been looking for to stage an all-out war.
And if this was any indication, he’s already been sloppy. If he tries to antagonize the Italians any further, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my family out of the crosshairs. This was already too fucking close.
Fuck .
Gritting my teeth, I pull out my phone and call Alexei, trying to take a calming breath before he answers.
“What do you—” he asks, immediately shutting up when he hears Niko’s panicked wailing. Blair’s trying to hush him, but that’s not going to happen before his ears stop ringing. Blyad , this could have been so much worse than it was. “What’s going on?”
“There was a shooting.”
“You guys alright?”
I look at Blair and Niko where they’re curled up in the backseat. His face is buried in her neck as he cries, and she still isn’t looking at me. My heart lurches in my chest, and for a moment I’m not sure I can breathe.
“Physically, sure. Not sure about the rest of the people outside the museum.”
Honestly, I can’t remember if there was blood or bodies around us. I wasn’t worried about anyone else.
Just my family.
“Fuck. Any clue who’s responsible?” Alexei asks.
I change lanes as I shift through traffic, keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. I don’t see a trail, but I’m not going to take the risk of assuming we don’t have one.
“I can take a fucking guess,” I bite out, cringing when I look at Blair. Niko’s too upset to hear a word I’m saying, but I’ll still have to make sure to apologize later. “You’re my first call.”
Hopefully he recognizes the significance of that. If Maksim’s in the wrong mood, he might view that alone as treason.
I hesitate, weighing my next words carefully.
I can’t trust Maksim to handle this. Anything he’d do would probably just lead to further violence, and I refuse to let that touch my family.
I only have the vague outline of a plan, but it’s more than enough to get me killed if the wrong person were to find out .
Even though our friendship—if you can call it that—is fraught at times, I trust Alexei more than most. Still, I’m not sure I want to put my life in his hands.
I risk another glance at Niko and Blair.
Regardless of the personal risk, I have to make sure they’re safe, and if someone’s coming after me, they aren’t.
I don’t have a choice.
“Do you have a number for Marcell Renzuto?”
If I want to keep my family safe, I need to cut a deal with The Outfit. And I don’t have time to go through the whole fucking chain of command.
Marcell is only the puppet the actual boss uses to draw heat, but he still holds power. As far as The Outfit’s soldiers—as far as the feds are concerned, Marcell Renzuto runs the show. He can give me what I need, and he’s under too much scrutiny to kill me as soon as I walk into the room.
Hopefully.
Alexei’s answering silence is deafening. Niko’s sobs have settled into hiccups, muffled against his mother’s chest. I tap my thumb against the steering wheel as I take a last-minute exit, cradling my phone against my shoulder.
“Why do you need that?” Alexei eventually asks. I don’t answer right away, trying to keep the growing dread in my chest at bay. He sighs. “Why do you need to talk to Renzuto, Andrei?”
His concern isn’t misplaced.
I shouldn’t have any reason to talk to anyone from The Outfit, especially not after today. I certainly have no damn reason to talk to their front boss. But it feels presumptuous to ask for a meeting with their actual boss .
I’m not looking to dodge more bullets today.