Chapter 1 - Konstantin #2
Vagrants wandered around aimlessly about a block away, a scraggly, halfhearted tent encampment was set up further down the main boulevard.
But the side road leading to this particular building was devoid of any pedestrians.
The place was as locked down as Fort Knox, and I was careful to stay out of the range of cameras I’d spotted on the nearby fences and the few shopfronts I suspected were also owned and operated by the Yakuza.
No one who didn’t belong got in or out of that building, and when I had the chance to stake it out, I had been carefully taking pictures of everyone I saw to add to my database.
I even got lucky and was able to get a tracker on a car belonging to one of the top men, and had it set to alert me whenever it was heading this way.
I would have loved to get some answers from Riku Yoshida, the deadly and power-hungry eldest son of the crime family who put the original hit on me in Tokyo.
There was no way that wasn’t connected to this little war they were stirring up with my family here, and now Grigor was involved and possibly making it easier for them with his vast knowledge of the Fokins.
Now that I had unfettered free time to gather information, I could get serious about nabbing the guy, but I had to be careful.
I didn’t want to make things worse or involve my nephews more than I already had.
Riku was well guarded and dangerous as hell, even when he wasn’t.
Underestimating him would make me break my promise to Sofiya, and that wasn’t going to happen.
God, stakeouts were hell, worse since I was operating on little sleep.
My family was treating my visit as a vacation, and even while we were fending off attacks, we were going to my nephews’ many clubs and restaurants.
As much as I loved meeting the newest generation and doting on all their kids, I meant to cut that out now and get serious.
My eyes were drifting shut when something red caught my eye at the opposite corner where I had parked. I jerked to attention and gaped at what I saw. Blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again as the vision headed toward little Fort Knox at the end of the short side road.
No fucking way she was here right now. But even though I hadn’t seen her in more than a year, there was no doubt in my mind who I was looking at.
Tatiana Kanatova, Grigor’s only child, was sashaying toward the Yakuza headquarters like she belonged, her petite figure wrapped up way too tightly in a red blouse and ridiculously short black skirt.
She tossed her long, dark chestnut hair behind her shoulder, causing the shiny fabric of her top to cling to her lush curves.
I blinked a few more times, but she didn’t disappear, and why would I be dreaming up Grigor’s daughter anyway, even if I fell asleep while on watch? This was the last fucking thing I needed, and now that I was certain it was her, my fury at Grigor doubled.
Why the hell was Tati here right now? Didn’t she know whose territory this was?
It seemed she did as she stopped when the guard came out the door.
I trained my binoculars on his face. His wary look disappeared as his eyes slid down her body.
My hands clenched around the binocs, and I swore under my breath. When did she get so damn gorgeous?
Tati and Sofiya had gone to school together, but since they were complete opposites, they hadn’t been very close friends.
Grigor’s daughter was shy, unassuming, a bit of a mouse, usually keeping to herself even when she was invited to one of Sofiya’s parties.
Grigor was determined from the day she was born to keep her out of the Bratva life, even more so when his wife was murdered when she was six.
She didn’t know shit about what we did, so why was she flirting with the guard at the Yakuza’s stronghold in a city thousands of miles from her home? Was everything an act? Grigor’s friendship, Tati’s disavowal of the Bratva?
I scowled, still muttering low curses as I watched her throw her head back and laugh while she reached out to touch the guard’s arm. I stiffened, expecting her to end up on the ground or in a chokehold, but the guard only laughed along with her.
Did they know each other? There was no way. Not sweet, innocent Tati, who blushed beet red when anyone looked at her for more than two seconds.
My phone pinged, and I ignored it until it made the distinctive noise again, pulling me out of my trance of trying to figure out why the hell Grigor’s sheltered daughter was dressed up like a freaking bombshell and practically hanging all over one of Riku Yoshida’s guards.
Fucking hell. That was the alert attached to the tracker on Riku’s car. I dropped the binoculars and pulled up the map to find out that he was less than a mile away. Within minutes, he was going to drive around the corner to that secluded street and lay eyes on Tatiana.
It was easy to determine that she had no one with her. I had the best hiding spot in the area, and there were no other places for guards to hang back, no matter how well-trained and discreet they might be. Tati was on her own here, but why? Why the hell would Grigor put her in such danger?
Unless she wasn’t in any danger at all, and already knew Riku. But if that was the case, why hadn’t the guard already whisked her inside? I didn’t have much time to think about what to do, and the moment I focused my binoculars on Tati again, my mind went into overdrive.
Rage was canceled out by a need to protect her so strong it felt like a kick to the gut from a giant boot.
It actually rocked me backward in the seat.
My heart hammered in my chest as the guard finally had enough of her and sent her on her way.
She teetered on her high heels back the way she came, and my relief was cut into pieces when I saw that Riku had already turned off the highway and was going to pass her in another minute or two.
She might have been my enemy’s daughter. She might have actually been my enemy, but as I watched her, my chest constricted. No one was going to lay a hand on her, least of all Riku Yoshida. That boot in my gut wasn’t going to let that happen, no matter what her reason for being there was.
Nobody was going to touch her.
“Damn it.” I hissed, putting the car into gear. My brain was trying to get past the fog of protectiveness that wouldn’t fade, but only grew to envelop me as I slid away from my hiding spot.
Did Riku know who she was? If so, what was her involvement with the Yakuza, and possibly her father’s betrayal?
I should have waited to find out, see how Tati and Riku interacted, if at all, but that wasn’t going to happen. It was already set in stone in my mind that no one was getting near her. I was already in motion, well past ignoring my daughter’s plea not to do anything crazy.