Chapter 24
Dmitri
Sean and I agree to meet in a neutral spot today.
With everything going on and the doubts that I have about him, it’s too risky to meet with him in one of the Irish-owned establishments, and I don’t even want him near any of mine. Like Andrei said, I need to make sure this guy isn’t fucking me over and using his own daughter as a distraction.
I step out of the SUV and shut the back door before tapping the back window, signaling for my driver to circle the block and park nearby.
My eyes sweep up and down the quiet sidewalk, barely spotting a soul. We’re a decent way from the center of the city, more toward neighborhoods and strips of old, local businesses. It’s less hectic here.
More private.
I walk down the sidewalk, passing by old storefronts with foggy glass windows and faded paint. I can’t even tell if they’re operational anymore. They’re probably all forgotten like this part of town.
Eventually, I spot Scott’s Bakery and Eastpoint Bank then the alleyway between the two brick buildings, prompting me to head down it where Sean is already waiting near the middle.
“Took you long enough. It smells like a dead rat and bad decisions,” Sean mutters, grimacing as he glances at a nearby dumpster.
I shrug, ignoring the sour smell. “Well, this is a neutral spot. No one from any family or organization will find us here.”
“You were specific about that. Something you want to tell me, Ivanov?” Sean questions me as his eyes narrow.
I lift my head up more as I tuck my hand in the pocket of my black jacket, feeling the groove of the handle of my handgun underneath.
It would be easy to put him down. It would also ignite a war we can’t afford, not with the Council circling and Cara still out there.
The Irish mob would call for an all-out war, and I don’t think that the Bratva is in the right place to deal with a full out war. We have way too much shit going on right now. Admittedly, most of that has to do with me.
“The Albanian boss wasn’t at the poker room like you said he would be,” I tell him.
Sean scoffs. “Well, I can’t decide for him if he wants to play poker or not one night. I just said that he was often seen there, yeah?”
“I questioned one of the Albanians. He didn’t even know Cara existed. He swore up and down that the Albanians have nothing to do with her or the shooting at the Wynn,” I reply evenly, keeping my temper at bay for now. I’m already frustrated by the lack of results that we’re both getting.
“You believe him?” Sean asks me as he lifts an eyebrow.
After a moment, I nod. “I don’t think they’re behind this. They do have some motive but not as much as the other suspects.”
Sean crosses his arms over his chest, fixing me with a stony look. “Oh, yeah? Who do you think has the most motive?”
My jaw tightens. “I still don’t know how much of this ‘concern’ is about Cara and how much is about saving face.”
Sean lets out a loud scoff and shakes his head at me. “Are you serious? We’re back to this?”
“What she told me about you? It’s sick. I couldn’t imagine a father treating his daughter like that,” I say, disgust flooding my voice.
Sean glares at me. “Cara and I don’t have a close relationship. That’s true. But she’s still family.”
I step closer to him. “Family doesn’t mean a damn thing if you treat her like property!”
“I pushed her to be better, tougher, just like my father taught me! In our world, ‘soft’ gets you killed,” Sean argues, redness starting to spread across his face.
I let out a dry laugh. “You treated her like shit! She’s your only child. How could you beat her down like that?”
Sean sighs sharply. “Maybe I was harsh. Maybe I pushed her too much at certain points. But it’s better than coddling her.”
“How about you try being a father instead of a handler?” I snap at him, anger boiling deep within me as Cara’s words echo in my head. “You practically disowned her! And she completed her mission. She literally did as she was told, and you still didn’t think that she was good enough.”
Sean lowers his eyes. “I accept her as my daughter, and I know that she did as she was told.”
“And you told her to kill me knowing that she refused to kill anyone,” I bite out, still pissed about that little assassination plot that he dropped on her shoulders.
“She needed to grow up!”
My anger flares out of control. In a blink, I lunge at Sean and grab the front of his blue jacket, shoving him up against the nearest wall. I grab his throat as I lean closer to him. “You used her as a weapon! You never treated her like family!”
“That’s bullshit!” Sean shouts in my face.
I tighten my grip on his throat before pulling him forward and then slamming him back against the brick wall. “You put her in danger! Called her a whore! Demeaned her!”
“As long as she did her job and kept her identity hidden, she was safe,” Sean argues.
“So, you didn’t try to kill me at the Wynn? Because if you were behind it, you gambled with your own daughter’s life,” I say, remembering the concern that pierced me when those shots rang out that night.
The first thing on my mind was making sure that Cara got somewhere safe.
“I wasn’t behind that shooting! How many times do I have to tell you that?” Sean spits out, trying to wrench himself away from me. “I wouldn’t have staged any sort of attack if I knew that she was with you!”
“You’ve treated her so damn bad that it’s still hard to believe you. How can I trust you when you claim that you want to find her?”
“Because she’s fucking family!” Sean growls breathlessly as he tries to pry my hand off his throat.
“You should’ve treated her like family.” Blood rushes in my ears as we glare at each other, years of fury building up in the small amount of space between us.
“When she’s safe, you’re going to stand down.
No more orders. No more threats. You don’t get to touch her life again. I will take care of her from now on.”
Sean grits his teeth. “Such a good job you’ve been doing so far, yeah?”
“Shut your mouth,” I grit out before shoving myself away from him, my skin burning hot. My fingers flex as the itch to strike him tremors through my entire body. “You act like you’re so damn innocent. Like you do nothing wrong. You’re a goddamn liar.”
A cold laugh breaks from him. “It’s not my fault you want to blame everything on me. Yes, I was cruel to her, but that’s not going to happen again. I’ve been doing everything that I can to help you find her!”
My eyes pierce his, my hands forming fists. “And we’re nowhere.”
Sean sighs heavily. “That’s not because I’m not trying hard enough.”
“I know what you can accomplish when you’re trying hard,” I say with a sneer.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sean questions me as he steps away from the wall, meeting me in the middle of the alleyway.
“I’m done swallowing another lie from you. I know that you killed Mikhail!” I snap at him. I haven’t seen my friend in forever because of him. It has to be him.
Sean throws his hands up. “I didn’t kill him! He never made it to the meeting!”
I shake my head at him. “You’ve given me that excuse over and over, but I don’t believe you. Mikhail isn’t the type to miss anything.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Dmitri. I never laid eyes on him that day!” Sean assures me.
“Prove it!”
“Fine!”
I stare at him as silence rings up and down the alleyway, our shoulders lifting and falling with heavy breaths. “Fine? You can prove it?”
Sean pinches the bridge of his nose and nods. “I’ll give you the surveillance footage of the place we were supposed to meet so you’ll stop telling people I killed him.”
“Why didn’t you just give it to me weeks ago when I asked for it?”
Sean narrows his eyes bitterly. “Because I was hoping that you would take my word for the situation and leave it be.”
“He was my friend and the Pakhan. I’m surprised the Bratva hasn’t jumped down your throat about this,” I growl.
“I guess they don’t care about him as much as you do,” Sean replies with a shrug. When I tense up like I’m about to swing, he holds his hand up. “Relax. I’ll get you the footage, and you’ll see that Mikhail was never there.”
“The footage better not be edited or doctored in any way,” I warn him.
Sean rolls his eyes. “I’m not trying to piss you off even more, Dmitri. You’re already exhausting. I’ll give you the original video file.”
I grind my teeth for a second at his attitude, but I’m glad to be getting the footage. Aside from rescuing Cara, finding out what happened to Mikhail is a huge priority for me. Things just don’t feel right.
“Fine. I want it soon,” I tell him.
Sean nods. “I’ll get it sent over. Are we done here?”
“Well, we’ve made no progress on finding Cara, so I guess we are. There’s nothing more to discuss,” I mutter as I take out my phone to double check that a call hasn’t come through. I can’t begin to count how many times a day that I check my phone.
“You heard anything else from her captor?” Sean asks me.
I shake my head, a frown tugging at my lips. “They said they wanted to trade. If they’re not calling, it means they’re setting something up.”
Sean rubs his jaw in thought. “I’m interested to know what they want. Obviously, I don’t have it since they called you and not me.”
I have access to a lot, and if I’m determined enough, I can get just about anything. But what will it cost me? My life?
For Cara, I’m willing to give it.
“When I hear something, I’ll let you know,” I say, my anger starting to ebb away. At least he’s working with me regarding what happened to Mikhail.
Sean nods. “Let’s hope it’s soon. It’s been too long already.”
As I watch him walk out of the alleyway, concern twists and turns in my guts. He’s right. It has been too long.
I don’t know what kind of conditions Cara is dealing with right now. Where are they holding her? Are they feeding her? Treating her like they’re decent human beings?
If she’s suffering, someone’s going to pay in pieces.