by Hamel, B. B.
“I understand. I surprised you and you don’t like surprises.”
“Not on job nights, no, I really don’t.” He stood up and rubbed his back. He shaded his eyes with the other hand. “What do you want to do with her?”
“Ransom,” I said. “I figured we could make some extra money on the side.”
“How much were you thinking?”
“Fifty thousand. Maybe a hundred.”
Hedeon smiled. “It’s almost hard to hear, isn’t it?”
Robin looked at me. I nodded.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” she said.
“Oh, I doubt that. We’re talking about how much money we think you’re worth as a human being. That can’t be easy to hear. I wonder if you thought it might be more?”
“I thought it might be less.”
Hedeon laughed and dropped his hand from his eyes. “All right,” he said. “Keep her around and see how she does. But the first sign of trouble and we’re getting rid of her.” He stepped on his garden patch. “I could probably fit a body under here. And I bet it’d be a very good fertilizer.”
Robin stared down at the dirt and winced.
“Have you heard from Maksim yet?” I asked.
“Not yet.” Hedeon walked over to a bag and took out a strange-looking tool with a ten-inch wooden handle and a sharp blade like a sickle at the end. He used it to dig up weeds and slice them off at the root. “I sent word that I was the one who killed Vlas. I have to imagine he won’t be happy.”
“And we’re ready for that?”
He looked up at me. “I hope so.”
“That doesn’t inspire confidence.”
“We have the girl. She can be insurance as much as ransom.”
Robin’s face paled. I frowned at her then made a gesture at Hedeon. “We’ll see about that. Just tell Pavel to get his shit together. And the other guys need to go around armed from here on out. As soon as Maksim realizes it’s you, the whole crew’s going to be in his sights.”
“Pretty much. But we all knew it before we started this.”
I nodded and looked back over my shoulder. The old woman yanked up a large weed then leaned back on her knees and rubbed her lower back.
“All right. I’ve got to get this girl some stuff. Can’t leave her in the same clothes forever.”
“There’s blood on her jeans,” Hedeon said. “Better burn them.”
“Good thinking.” I nodded at Robin. “Come on. Let’s go.”
She hesitated, but followed. I took her back through the garden. The old woman didn’t even look up as we left.
Robin said nothing when we got into the car. I started the engine and pulled out. She chewed her lip and stared straight ahead before turning to me.
“What the hell do you think you guys are doing?”
I smiled and glanced at her. “I was wondering when you’d ask that.”
“You killed my uncle’s son. I mean… he’s going to kill you guys. The Volkov family…” She trailed off.
“Now you’re finally thinking.”
“Don’t be an asshole.”
“You’re right, killing Maksim’s son was a provocation. But it was a very purposeful provocation.”
“Why would you want to provoke the most powerful Russian mafia in the city? I mean, what the hell are you thinking?”
I looked at her then, at the sunlight slanting in through the glass through her auburn hair, at her pink full lips and her white teeth, and felt something strange drift over me, a desire for her, a need for her. I remembered that awkward, painful kiss from the night before.
“The city’s changing, birdie,” I said. “The sun’s setting on your uncle. The Italians aren’t what they were five years ago. Things are happening, and you’re at the center of it all. So you’d better get used to it.”
She took a breath, shook her head, and looked out the window.
I smiled as the car glided through traffic.
She had no clue what was about to happen. But soon she’d figure it all out.
When the city began to burn around her.
4
Robin
I sat in the car and tried to digest that conversation.
For my whole life, the Volkov family was invincible. At least that was how it felt. There was a war with the Italians that didn’t go well, but the family never went away, and my uncle remained in charge. He quietly grew more powerful during the years that followed, and it never occurred to me that he could be vulnerable.
Or that I could be a target.
“You’re quiet,” Leo said as he pulled into traffic.
“Nothing to say.”
“Come on. That was a big conversation. You’ve got no opinions at all?”
“I think you’re insane. And I think your boss is a moron.”
He laughed. “Hedeon is a lot of things. But he’s not a moron.”
“I don’t understand any of this.”
He squinted ahead and slowed at a stop sign. He rolled through then swung the car north. “There’s not a lot to understand,” he said. “Hedeon believes your uncle’s weak right now. He believes the Volkov family is vulnerable.”
“But why?”
“Because they are.”
I shook my head. “You don’t get it. My uncle… he has hundreds of guys all over the city.”
Leo made a face. “Not so many anymore.”
“I don’t understand.”
He let out a breath and continued to drive. We lapsed into silence for a while as we wove through the city. He cut west and got onto I-95 heading north, driving fast and aggressive, weaving in through traffic.
“You’ve been in that family your whole life,” he said. “I’m not surprised you can’t see it. I bet you think the sun shines out Maksim’s asshole.”
“I’m not a huge fan of my uncle,” I said.
“Even so, all you’ve ever known was a strong Maksim Volkov. But let me ask you something. If Maksim were so strong right now, how the hell did we manage to find and kill his son?”
I opened my mouth then closed it again. He had a point about that. Even though Vlas was a disgraced failure in Maksim’s eyes, that was still his son. Maksim would do anything to keep his son alive.
But somehow, he failed, and that failure seemed utterly inexplicable. I never would’ve believed that Maksim could let Vlas get murdered in cold blood like that.
And yet it happened. I watched it happen right before my eyes.
“It’s just the way of things,” Leo said. “Maksim’s getting old. His benefactors are getting weak. He’s not the same man he used to be, and so a lot of his followers are deserting him, breaking ranks, forming new crews and shit.”
“Is that what you did?”
“No,” he said. “We were never on the inside. Never wanted to be.”
“Who are his benefactors?”
He gave me a look. “You really don’t know shit about your family.”
“I told you, they don’t care about me. They don’t tell me anything.”
“The Leone Family,” he said. “They used to hate each other, but then they made this agreement a few years back. Made your uncle strong again, but it didn’t last. Not ever since the Leones began to move into Chicago and abandoned Philadelphia.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” I shook my head and took a few deep breaths. “I knew they had an alliance, but why would it matter?”
“Your father was always for show, that’s my theory anyway. The Leones were always the ones behind the scenes. Now that they’re moving on to a new city and growing weaker here, your uncle’s losing his most powerful backers.”
“So your boss thinks he can just swoop in and take over?”
“Not exactly,” Leo said. “We’ll need to kill a lot of people first. Show everyone that we’re not weak. Then we need to do something harder.”
“What’s that?”
“Prove we’re not stupid. Anyone can be strong with a gun in their hand. But most
people are pretty damn stupid.”
“I kind of wonder about you and your boss.”
He laughed. “Think what you want, little bird. But Hedeon’s not as stupid as he may seem.”
Leo took an exit on the right and slowed down as we went around a wide bend then merged onto another highway. This time though, I recognized where we were. He moved over to the right and took the first exit.
Franklin Mills Mall loomed up over a mostly empty parking lot. The main entrance had a bright red metal kite with a little yellow lightning bolt painted in the top right corner perched above large green glass doors. He parked in a spot toward the back of the lot and turned to me.
“Now, this is going to be tempting as hell,” he said.
“You’re not seriously taking me in there, are you?”
He nodded slowly. “That’s the plan.”
“Why?”
“You need clothes. You need other shit. I figured we can get it all at once.”
“You want me to buy a whole new wardrobe?”
He shrugged. “Let’s say your budget’s a few thousand dollars. Will that work?”
I gave a bitter laugh. “That’s probably more than my actual wardrobe is worth.”
“Then consider this an upgrade.” He leaned toward me. “But I’m going to warn you right now. If you fuck around and try to run, I’m going to bring you into the men’s room and spank your bare ass raw.”
“What the hell?”
He didn’t smile. He didn’t laugh. I couldn’t tell if he was serious at first, but his eyes burned with a strange, intense desire.
I thought back to that rough first kiss in the street.
“If you go up to someone, if you try to find a cop, I’ll do it. You might enjoy it or you might not, but I’m not sure you’re ready to find out just yet.”
“You’re a psycho. How’s that going to stop me?”
“I could threaten to kill you, but that’s bullshit. I could threaten to hurt you, but you know I probably won’t. Spanking your pretty ass? Now that I’ll actually do.”
I opened my mouth to call him an asshole, or a total nutcase, or any number of insults, but decided not to bother.
He smiled, took off his seatbelt, and reached around into the back seat. He fished a sweatshirt from off the floor and shoved it at me. “Put this on.”
I sniffed it. “Smells old.”
“It is old,” he said. “And it’ll be too big. But what you’ve got on is stained with blood, so better safe than sorry.”
I felt my cheeks drain of color. I’d forgotten that I had Vlas’s blood on me still. The red specks turned to a bronzish-brown.
I pulled the sweatshirt on then he got out of the car. I followed him and we walked toward the mall together.
It wasn’t crowded. The floors were a high-gloss hardwood. Stores lined either side of the space, crammed together, their windows bright and inviting, their signs glowing a dull white. The mall was a single story and a long, twisting maze with ramps that dipped down and moved up again.
Retail workers looked bored. Weekday shoppers looked dazed. Every person we passed was another chance to try and get away.
But I didn’t do it. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he was so close to me, walking almost right up against my shoulder the whole time. I didn’t think he’d hurt me in public, but he seemed smart enough to convince someone that I might be insane. Either way it would make a scene and he’d drag me back to the car and I’d lose my chance.
No, if I made a move, I’d make sure it worked.
He took me to a few places. Gap Outlet, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren, Levi’s, Marshalls, and a parade of others. I bought tops, bottoms, underwear. I got a toothbrush and some shampoo. I got shoes, socks, an obscenely expensive pair of boots that he didn’t even bat an eye over.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had let me buy whatever I wanted. Probably never.
It was strange and exhilarating.
He carried most of the bags and didn’t complain about it.
“Let’s go in here.” He stood outside of Victoria’s Secret.
I shook my head. “No thanks.”
“I’ve been good. Not going to reward me?”
I looked at him like he was insane. He probably was.
“No thanks.”
“I’m sure you need something.”
I wanted to argue but thought better of it. “Fine,” I said. “Lead the way.”
He didn’t even hesitate. Most men are afraid of Victoria’s Secret. He looked around like it was Walmart.
I browsed their stupidly expensive sweatpants and loungewear. I picked out a few things and tossed them to him before moving toward the underwear.
I saw a little glimmer in his eye and had an idea.
“Pick me out something,” I said.
He tilted his head. “What’s that?”
“Pick me out something. Since you want a little treat.”
He smirked. “I’m not falling for this.”
I shrugged. “There’s plenty of stuff in here. I bet I’d look good in half of it. Just pick something and let’s find out.”
He tilted his head and watched me carefully. I could tell he didn’t believe me, but it didn’t matter. My heart raced as I formulated my little plan.
It might work. If I was lucky, it might work.
“All right,” he said. He walked over toward a rack of skimpy bra and panty sets and pointed one out. “How about those?”
I found my size and took it down. “Anything else?”
He narrowed his eyes then looked around. He walked over to what was probably the most embarrassing thing in the whole store: a set of black lingerie that left very little to the imagination. It was the kind of thing I’d never, ever wear in a million years, but I just smiled and found my size.
“Let’s go,” I said.
He followed me. I could practically taste his suspicion. I took him back to the dressing rooms where a bored older woman with a short, severe haircut stood folding shirts. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“Can I have two dressing rooms?” I asked. “He wants to try those on.” I pointed at the sweatpants.
Leo grinned. “What can I say. They’re soft.”
The woman rolled her eyes, walked around the corner, and unlocked two doors. “Go for it,” she said then pushed the little rolling cart she was using to fold the shirts away from the dressing rooms.
Leo went into the first room and turned to me. I lingered in the doorway. “Stay there,” I said.
“You’re going to run.”
I shook my head. “I’m not.”
“Leave the door open.”
“I’m not going to run.” I went to close the door.
He caught it. My heart began to race.
“Leave it open,” he said.
“Fine.” I stepped away. “Be right back.”
I walked into the second dressing room and shut the door.
My heart was beating so hard I thought I might throw up. I stripped off my clothes and slipped on the matching bra and panty set. They were nice, and I looked good, except my face was pale and I had a cold sweat dripping down my skin.
But this was part of the plan.
I left the dressing room and walked around the corner into his room. He looked up as I stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind me. I wore nothing but the bra, panties, and my shoes.
“Here I am,” I said.
His eyes moved over my body. “Here you are,” he said.
“What do you think?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I think you’re up to something.”
“If you don’t like it—”
He grabbed my waist and pulled me against him. I let out a breath as surprise and excitement rushed through my stomach and chest. I felt my skin flush as my lips parted.
“I didn’t say you could go,” he said. “I know you’re trying something. But you look pretty fucking good right now.”
He let out a little purr. I felt that shiver run down my spine and roll between my legs. His body was hard and large and I was suddenly very aware that I had almost no clothing on. If he wanted to rip the bra and panties off and take me, right then and there, I doubt anything could stop him.
His hands gripped my hips for a terrifying, exciting moment. I shimmied my hips ever so slightly, ashamed at how soaking wet I felt. This wasn’t part of the plan, not even a little bit.
I wanted him off guard. I wanted to surprise him and set him off his game. I thought if I could get him riled up and wanting me then maybe he wouldn’t be so careful.
But it seemed to be having the opposite effect. He was wary of me, and this was only making me even more agitate and confused.
“Are you just going to stare at me?” I asked.
“For as long as you let me.”
I chewed my lip. “You like this, don’t you?”
“I like it a lot.”
“I don’t normally dress up for guys like this.”
“Maybe you should. Really suits you.”
I pushed him back. He released my hips but I could tell it took some effort.
“Stay here,” I said. “One more to go.”
I turned to leave. He grabbed my wrist. I looked back at him.
“Don’t do it,” he said.
“Don’t do what?”
“Run.” He squeezed my wrist. “Don’t do it.”
“Why do you think I’m going to run?”
“Because why else put on this little show? As much as I like it, little birdie, we both know it’s bullshit. So don’t try to run. Come back in here in that sexy little piece of lingerie and give me something to dream about tonight.”
He released my wrist. “I’m not going to run,” I said.
Which was a lie.
He just shrugged and crossed his arms.
I slipped out of his dressing room. I closed the door and he didn’t protest.
I hurried back into the other room and stood there as my heart raced. I stared at the clothes left on the bench then looked up at the bit of lingerie hanging against the wall. I could put that on and go back into his room. Maybe he’d even reward me somehow.
Or I could follow through with my plan.