Chapter 15
Dmitri
“You’re insane! Or suicidal. I think you might be both!”
I follow Brendan into an abandoned house on the edge of town. The air stinks of rot and old smoke.
“Shut up,” I mutter, scanning the corners as he hobbles around. “This place is a trap waiting to happen.”
“No one comes around here. It’s a perfect cover,” Brendan replies.
The place looks like someone left in a hurry. Pictures are gone, drawers yanked open, furniture abandoned.
“O’Malley better show up alone,” I warn Brendan as I glance at my phone to look at the message that I sent Sean earlier with a picture of the beaten man.
Meet at the house on Kline if you want Brendan to stay alive. 4 p.m. Come alone. We need to talk about Cara. – Ivanov
There wasn’t a response, but Brendan swore that it’s the right number to reach his boss.
“He should show since Cara’s still alive,” Brendan mutters as he moves to sit down on the stained, dust-covered loveseat. He stretches his broken leg out in front of him with a grimace, sweat lingering on his forehead. “You got any more oxy?”
“No, you ate it like candy. Ask your boss for more,” I tell him.
Brendan scoffs. “Yeah, right. I’m already dead for all that I’ve told you.”
“If he likes my deal, you might limp away from this.”
“A deal with Sean O’Malley?” Brendan replies with a brief laugh. “The Irish don’t make deals with the Russians. What could you possibly offer him?”
“Are you Sean O’Malley?” I question him, making him shut his mouth.
Honestly, I have no idea if this is even going to work, but I have to try. And I need to do it quickly. More rumors are going to spread whether I like it or not, and soon the Council will pressure me for proof that Cara’s been taken care of.
A car door clicks shut outside.
I slide the gun up to Brendan’s temple. Not to scare him, but so Sean sees I’m in control the second he walks in.
“So dramatic.” Brendan sighs.
“Shut up,” I warn him again. “If your boss behaves, so will I.”
“I can’t promise anything. You may not have killed his daughter, but you did fuck her. He won’t forgive that,” Brendan mutters as he continues sitting there, too tired and hurt to put up much of a fight.
And I’m not ever going to forgive O’Malley for killing Mikhail or Gabe.
Nothing he could do or say will bring them back, though. And continuing to fight with the Irish will only lead to more blood spilled by my men and his own.
A minute later, one pair of footsteps sounds from the front porch, making me tense up in preparation. Anything could happen. The Irish could storm this place and kill me, but that’s a risk I just have to take.
Hopefully, now that Cara has been returned to him in one piece, Sean is curious enough to hear me out. Part of me was hoping that she would come with him.
The doorknob turns, and the door slowly swings open. Sean’s large form comes into view as he stands in the doorway, one hand tucked in his coat pocket. I assume he’s locked and loaded as well.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, he’s alone.
“Well, well, well,” Sean says as he arches one of his bushy eyebrows at me. “You’ve got some balls on you, Ivanov.”
I keep the gun pointed at Brendan’s temple. “How many men did you bring?”
“Didn’t see any sign of your crew. You the type to hide them on rooftops?” Sean asks as he walks toward me, his eyes sweeping back and forth to check the house for any traps that I might’ve set or any men hiding in corners.
“It’s just me,” I tell him.
Sean narrows his eyes, not an ounce of belief in them. “You came to my territory to meet me alone? That’s not very smart.”
“It’s true. He’s alone,” Brendan says.
Sean turns to him. “I’m guessing you already squealed like a pig.”
“Forget about him. I have a deal for you,” I tell Sean.
Sean huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t work with the Bratva.”
“And I don’t particularly enjoy the thought of working with the asshole who killed two good men. But it’s safe to say that a lot has changed over the course of a few months,” I reply, our eyes locking.
Sean smirks. “You could say that. An alliance was planned. An alliance died, along with an arranged marriage.”
“Did you kill Mikhail?” I ask. “Say it.”
That’s been one of my main holdups, offering to make peace with this bastard for Cara.
“Did I kill the Pakhan?” he replies. “You mean the one who up and canceled our meeting at the last minute to fly back to Russia?”
“What?”
“I heard rumors he was dead and that you all were keeping it quiet until you voted on a new Pakhan. Guess it’s true, yeah?”
“You never met with Mikhail?”
“He was a no show.”
“If you have nothing to hide, then I want the casino surveillance footage of that day. Uncut.”
“You don’t get to make demands here.”
I scoff. “I’m the one holding your man’s pulse in my hand.”
And fuck, we’re getting off topic. If Sean denies it, then I want to believe him, even if I have no clue who else could’ve killed Mikhail.
“I’ve heard rumors that the Bratva Council is very upset with you for fucking up the alliance with Suyunov, and that you’re no longer on the new Pakhan short list,” Sean remarks.
“I don’t give a shit about being Pakhan. And I don’t want an alliance with the Suyunovs,” I state, the tension in the air growing thicker. “I want an alliance with you.”
The words land like a dropped gun.
Sean laughs once, short and humorless. “You want us as allies? What have you been smoking?”
“Did you take some oxy?” Brendan whispers to me.
I shoot him a warning glare, making him fall silent. Turning back to Sean I say, “I know it’s unorthodox for our families, but I think this could work out for both of us, if what you claim about Mikhail is true.”
Sean narrows his eyes in thought. “It’s fecking ridiculous, but I’ll let you amuse me. What are you offering besides returning what belongs to me?”
It’s a little odd how he phrases that last part regarding Brendan, but my heart is racing so fast that I don’t have time to dissect it.
“You know I initially came here because the Bratva wants to establish a firm foothold in Vegas. I’ll split territory with you. Real numbers. Real protection. And I only want one thing in return.” Only when I’m sure I have his full attention, do I say it. “I want Cara. I’m marrying her.”
Sean’s face turns stony. “You want what now?”
“I want to marry your daughter. Yes, your daughter, whether you want to claim her or not. She’s your flesh and blood, not your property,” I tell him.
“We’ll align our families, and we can share territories and resources.
We’ll figure out something that works for business, but I’m going to marry Cara. ”
Sean’s fingers flex like he’s ready to grab my gun and put a bullet in my head. He can’t be a dick to Cara and act like a father now. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I want to be with her,” I reply, hearing him immediately scoff and seeing Brendan shake his head out of the corner of my eye. “You sent her to deceive me, and it worked. But more happened while she was with me all those weeks.”
“She became your whore,” Sean says with an unsatisfactory look on his face.
“Say that again,” I tell him softly. “And you’ll leave this house missing your tongue.” When he clenches his jaw and stays quiet, I add, “I love her.”
Brendan makes a choked sound at that proclamation. We both choose to ignore him.
Sean shakes his head at me. “You really think I believe that? Do you think that I’m stupid?”
“No, I don’t think you’re stupid. I think you’re selfish, though,” I reply, watching his face start to turn red. “You know that the Ivanovs pull in a lot of money. We plan to buy property all over the city for distribution. We could share a cut.”
“And all you want in exchange for this alliance is my backing and my daughter,” Sean says.
“All I want is her,” I tell him.
Sean thinks for a moment before narrowing his eyes and shaking his head again. “This is ridiculous! You don’t get to keep my blood in your bed.”
“Things are different now. Do one good thing for your daughter and let her marry me,” I demand as I lower the gun from pointing at Brendan, fighting the urge to point it at Sean instead.
“That’s enough! Return her to me and stay the hell away from her!” Sean snaps.
My brow furrows. “Return her to you? I did. I released her earlier.”
Sean’s face tightens. “You released her? Why?”
“So that she could go home. The Bratva Council wanted me to kill her, and I refused,” I reply, an uneasy feeling spilling into my chest as he continues to look confused. “I knew I had to let her go.”
“She didn’t come home.”
I’m still trying to process his words when Sean reaches for his pocket.
I point my gun at him. “Stop!”
“I’m just getting out my goddamn phone so that I can call someone and find out where the hell she is,” Sean snaps at me.
I nod and lower the gun again. If Cara didn’t go home, then where did she go? “Maybe she’s at her apartment.”
“I’ll have my men check,” Sean replies as he taps around on his phone. He calls someone and holds the phone against his ear. “I need Cara’s apartment checked. Keep an eye out for her on the way there, then report back to me immediately.”
Hopefully, she’s still there and packing. That has to be what’s going on.
“When did you release her?” Sean asks me as he drops the phone from his ear.
“Early this morning. She took my Mercedes,” I tell him.
Sean rubs the back of his neck, his forehead creasing in thought. “If she’s not at her apartment or my house, I don’t know where she would be.”
“There aren’t any family members or friends she would go to?” I ask him. It didn’t seem like she was close to anyone in the city, but maybe I’m wrong. After all, I didn’t know much about her real life.
Sean shakes his head. “She wouldn’t go to anyone else.”
After ten minutes of tense waiting, his phone finally rings.
“Speak,” he says into the phone, no warmth, no worry. Pure command. Then he frowns and his shoulders sink. “No? And all her things are still there in the apartment? A big bag full of cash?” He eyes me curiously with an arched brow. “Did you spot a Mercedes anywhere?”
I drag my fingers through my hair, fear starting to creep up my spine. If she’s not at her apartment, and didn’t take her cash to run, then where the hell is she?
“Keep an eye out for her,” Sean demands before ending the call and turning to me. “No sign of her. It doesn’t seem like she’s been by the apartment yet.”
“Do you think she’s already left town?” I ask him. She told me that she wanted to get away from her father, but leaving the city without even going by her apartment to get her things seems too risky.
“Without any of her shit? Without all that cash? I doubt it,” Sean replies as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You said that the Bratva wanted to kill her. What if one of them snatched her up?”
I don’t even want to think about that being a possibility because the ending won’t be pretty, but it’s something to consider. She’s at the top of a lot of people’s hit list right now.
“If the Bratva had her, I’d have a picture by now,” I tell him as I motion to my phone with my gun.
Sean nods after a moment. “Something feels off, yeah?”
“Do you even want to find her?” I question him.
Sean huffs. “Yes, I want to find her. She’s my daughter!”
I doubt his concern is for the right reasons.
“I’m going to look for her,” I tell him after gathering a deep breath in my lungs.
Sean nods. “You need to find her before anyone else does.”
“I know.”
“Do whatever it takes to bring her back, yeah?” he says.
“I will,” I promise as I step toward him. “And when I do, you’re going to let me marry her without putting up a fight,” I say as I hold out my palm to him.
Sean stares at my hand like he wants to break every single one of my fingers. However, he eventually lets out a frustrated sigh and shakes my hand.
“Bring her back alive,” Sean says, jaw tight. “And if she says she wants you only then I won’t stand in the way. But if you hurt her again, Ivanov… I’ll gut you.”
I draw my hand away and look over my shoulder at Brendan. “Thanks for the help.”
Brendan shrinks back into the loveseat as Sean’s hard stare moves to him. I’ll let Sean decide what to do with him.
Without another word, I walk out of the house and around the corner to where I parked my car in the driveway of another abandoned house. Determination sets in as I get in the driver’s seat.
I don’t know where I’m even going to start looking, but I’ll tear Vegas apart brick by brick if I have to.
I won’t stop until Cara’s in my arms again.