14. Nikolai
Nikolai
Pasha drops into the chair across from my desk and props one foot on his knee.
“So,” he says. “How’s your adopted kid doing?”
I don’t even look up from the inspection report I’m reading.
“The wiring inspection,” I say. “Where are we?”
He accepts the redirect without comment.
“Expedited,” he says. “I made some calls this morning. Inspector will be back on site by tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be cleared by the end of the week.”
“Good.”
“Going to cost us.”
“Everything costs us.” I set the report down. “The Italians. Have they responded?”
Pasha’s expression shifts. “There was an incident last night. They tried to get into the casino. Three of them. Back entrance near the loading dock.”
“Tried.”
“Security stopped them before they made it past the second door. No shots fired. They left.”
I lean back in my chair and look at the ceiling. It wasn’t about damage. It was about testing the perimeter. Seeing what we have. Seeing how fast we respond.
“They’re mapping us,” I say.
“That’s what I think.”
“Increase the rotation on the loading dock. I want two more bodies on the overnight.”
He writes it down. “Done.”
I stand and move to the window that looks over the floor. Midday crowd. Thin, but steady. A woman at the slot bank near the entrance hits something small and claps her hands. Her companion leans over to look.
“You know I have to ask,” Pasha says from behind me.
“Then ask.”
“Is it smart? Having a woman and a kid in your house right now? When we’re in the middle of this?”
I keep my eyes on the floor below. “I’ve been at war with the Italians for ten years, Pasha.”
“I know.”
“It never changes. There’s always something.” I turn away from the window and go back to my desk. "If I waited for a quiet moment to act, I'd be waiting forever."
“But we both know it’s escalating. We poked back hard, and they’re not the kind of people who absorb that quietly.”
“No,” I agree. “They’re not.”
“So, a woman and a child at your private residence might be risky.”
“They don’t know where I live.”
He snorts. “We all pretend they don’t know, but they do. They’ve never dared to strike, but we know they know.”
“That’s why I have the best security money can buy,” I say. “They’re not unprotected.”
“You know how these things go,” he says. “It’s been building. We know the big hit is coming. I’d guess they’ll come for you before the new property opens.”
“I hope they do.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m in the mood to fuck shit up.”
He laughs. “You’re in a good mood.”
I shrug. “It’s been a while. The action down in Miami was fun.”
Pasha shakes his head. “I always knew you were fucked up.”
“And yet, you’re still my friend. How’s my goddaughter?”
“Good. Growing too fast. My mother thinks she’s too sassy. I happen to like her sass.”
“Because you’re not the one dealing with it.”
“Is the kid sassy?”
“Luke. No, he’s not. He’s a good kid. Quiet. Observant. We had Froot Loops for breakfast.”
“Really?”
“She’s safer under my roof than she was on the street. So is the boy.”
“Okay. No point in trying to talk you out of it. Your mind is made up.”
“It is. I gave her the week off. She’ll need to hire a nanny.”
“Maybe I can bring Mila over,” Pasha says.
“Why?”
“To hang with Luke,” he says. “They should get to know each other.”
I’m not sure what I think about that. I know it’s normal. Kids play with other kids. I always had my brothers. Luke has Gabby.
“Yeah, sure. We’ll figure something out.”
He gets to his feet and moves to the windows. “You know this is going to get hot, right? Every dollar that used to flow their direction now flows yours. They don’t like the idea of you taking over.”
This almost makes me smile.
“It’s not taking over,” I say. “I’ve already done it. This city is mine.”
He chuckles. “Of course, you have.”
“Which reminds me. Henderson.”
“What about it?”
“I want to move on that property. The one we looked at in February. The old venue space off Water Street.”
He raises an eyebrow. “The Henderson property. You want to open another casino?”
“Not a casino.” I fold my hands on the desk.
“A club. I’ve been watching what Maksim built in Miami for years.
The revenue model is different, but the margins on the right club in the right location are significant.
Henderson is growing. Younger people don’t want to mingle with the old farts who gather on the Strip. We can get the old and the young.”
“You want to take a page from Maksim’s book,” Pasha says.
“I want to expand intelligently.” I pause. “Don’t tell him that.”
Pasha grins. “My lips are sealed.”
“Pull the property details again. I want to look at the numbers this week. If it makes sense, I want to move fast. Before someone else gets the idea.”
“The Italians don’t have a real foothold in Henderson,” he says, thinking it through. “It’s newer. Less established territory.”
“Exactly.”
He nods slowly. “I’ll pull the file.”
He smooths the front of his jacket and starts toward the door. He’s halfway across the room when he stops and turns back.
“For what it’s worth, having a kid under your roof makes life interesting. In a good way.”
“Like?”
I try to remember Maksim as a child. Unfortunately, my life was very different back then. I struggled to get through a day. I didn’t have a lot of energy left to pay attention to my little brother.
“They talk a lot,” he says.
“Not Luke.”
Pasha offers a half smile. “Sounds like someone I know.”
“What else?” I ask. “Does he need toys?”
“Yes.”
“Like what?”
“Ask him. I’d guess kids that age play with trucks and stuff. If you’re going to have him there, you need to childproof your home.”
“What the hell is that? The guns? I know I need to put them higher. Hide them better.”
“Nik, talk to her. She’ll know what you need to do. She knows her son. Yes, put the fucking guns away. Make sure your staff knows to close the pool gate. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about him sticking his finger in an outlet.”
“Why the hell would he do that?”
Pasha laughs. “Talk to your new roomie.”
“I’ll talk to her.”
He nods. “Good. I’ll get the information on that property.”
“I want to go out there today if we can.”
“I’ll let you know.”
I turn back to the window.
He’s right to be worried about an escalation. I should probably take extra precautions at home. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Luke.
I’m halfway to the door when Pasha comes back through it.
I know before he opens his mouth. Five seconds ago, he was relaxed, easy, and thinking about Henderson and property files. Whatever changed happened between here and the hallway.
“What?”
He closes the door behind him and doesn’t sit. That tells me more than his face does. When Pasha doesn’t sit, he wants to be able to move.
“About Collins,” he says.
“Something came back from the search I already had running.”
I wait.
“The identity traces back to a real Gabriella Collins. Born in 1912. New Jersey.”
“Dead infant,” I say. “Whoever built her identity knew what they were doing.”
“The first employment history I can actually verify under Gabby Collins is Seattle. Before that, nothing. No record. No footprint. Like she didn’t exist.”
I nod. “Why didn’t our background check pick it up?”
“It’s a good ID. And you know we don’t dig that deep. If we did, half the staff would be gone. Shady isn’t a bad thing.”
“Did you find an ex-husband? Violent baby daddy?”
He chuckles. “No. But I don’t know who she is yet. How deep do you want me to dig? You know she’s hiding from something. If I dig deeper, I might trigger an alert.”
“She was afraid of the cops,” I say. “What if she’s a fugitive? It might have nothing to do with a dangerous ex.”
He considers that. “That makes sense. What do you think she did?”
I think about Gabby. She’s soft-spoken, but she’s strong. She doesn’t take my shit.
“Maybe she killed her ex,” I suggest.
“And you moved her into your house. Better sleep with one eye open.”
“I can handle one woman.”
“I’m sure that’s what her ex thought, too.”