by Hamel, B. B.
“Leo,” I said. “She’s not supposed to be here.”
“That motherfucker. He fucked up. He almost got Hedeon killed. Of course it was him, who else could it have been?”
“Leo,” I said again, louder this time. “Ursula’s in there. She’s supposed to be hiding right now. She’s not supposed to be out there.”
He shook his head and I wasn’t sure he could hear me. He was so lost in his own mind, in his own anger, that I don’t think he would’ve noticed an elephant charging right at him.
“That motherfucker,” he said. A vein popped out on his neck. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to fucking murder him.”
“Wait—”
But it was too late. He stormed past me to the door, grabbed it, and flung it open.
He started shooting right away. The gun popped and boomed in his hands. People screamed, ran, shoved each other, got trampled. I screamed for Leo, but it was chaos, pure and simple chaos. I shoved my way through the door as customers ran for their lives.
Leo shot and killed a man at the counter that drew a gun on him. He stormed forward, killed another man, was tackled by a third. They struggled and I watched as Maksim and Enrico made a break for it.
Leo kneed the man he struggled with in the face and shot him in the head.
“Leo!” I yelled, trying to get to him.
He didn’t stop. He charged forward, fired two more shots, reloaded the gun. There was a yell from behind and bullets sprang out. I flinched, ducked down. Leo ran to the back and threw himself around a corner. I followed, heart beating hard, fear lancing through me. More gunshots rang out behind me and I thought I was going to die at any second as they slammed into the walls all around.
A door ahead read Emergency Exit. It was slowly closing as I ran to it and shoved it open. I found myself in an alley, the stink of trash and rotten food heavy in the air. Leo stood a few feet away, gun in the air, firing shots. A man staggered, silhouetted by the night, and nearly fell.
I recognized him as he stepped onto the sidewalk, into the light of the streetlamp. It was Enrico, his face twisted in anger and pain.
“Don’t run from me,” Leo bellowed. “Don’t you dare run from me, you coward, you traitorous fuck.” He stormed after Enrico, and I ran after him.
I tripped on a packing crate and slammed my shoulder into the wall as Leo stepped out into the street, firing at a black car. Sparks bounced off the body as he lit it up. The glass shattered, broke, but the car pulled out. Leo shouted rage and frustration, his voice an animal growl of pure loathing. But the car kicked up black smoke and left tire tread on the street as it peeled out and drove away, leaving Leo alone in the street, venting his frustration on nothing.
“Leo,” I said.
He turned and for a second, I thought he was going to kill me. He raised his gun and I thought, oh, god, now he’s going to finish what he started.
Instead, he fired off two shots. A man grunted and fell to the ground just outside the door ten feet behind me. Leo fired again and a second man threw himself back in through the door.
I ran to him. I wasn’t thinking. Madness, fear, and confusion warred. He caught me by the waist and pulled me against him in a brief embrace, then grabbed my wrist.
“Come on.” He ran and I struggled to keep up. We went around the block the long way and found ourselves back at the car.
He threw open the driver’s side. I jumped into the passenger seat.
He drove in silence, drove bad and reckless, but never spoke until he was forced by traffic to drive at a more reasonable pace.
“I lost it back there.”
I chewed on my lip. “A little bit.”
“I should’ve gone in slower. Gotten slower before I started shooting.”
“They got away.”
“They did. But I wounded Enrico at least.”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry, Leo. I really am.”
He nodded. “Enrico was an asshole. A real piece of shit. But he was one of us.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Tell Hedeon. From there, I don’t know.”
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Flashes of gunfire, of screaming people, of anger and frustration and confusion passed before my eyes.
I realized as I stared out the window and my body slowly calmed down that my life with Leo would always be this way. Maybe not so explicitly violent but we’d never be safe. There’d never be a moment when I could sit down and relax and think that I could have a normal life. He lived on the edge of danger, on the razor-thin margins of life and death.
Forget babies, family, anything resembling a regular existence.
If I wanted to keep doing whatever the hell it was that I was doing with him, I’d have to accept that I was leaving all that behind.
The idea terrified me.
But strangely, it didn’t make me want to leave the car.
That’s what Leo was.
It was like being angry that a tiger had claws, or a shark had teeth.
If I wanted him, I had to accept him for himself.
Otherwise I’d be trying to perform dental surgery on a great white.
I’d never do that to him, not in a million years.
Which made me wonder just what I really wanted from this life.
19
Leonid
“I fucked the hit up.” I stared out the window of yet another fancy hotel room. They all seemed to blend together: thick curtains, heavy carpet, modern minimalist style. They even smelled alike, vaguely plastic and bleach.
“What happened?” Hedeon sounded tired, more tired than I’d ever heard him sound before. I knew his wound was giving him trouble, but Oleg assured me he was healing okay.
“I got to the diner and expected to find Maksim there alone, but he wasn’t.” I took a deep breath, not sure how to say the words, so I just took the plunge. “He was eating dinner with Enrico.”
A long silence on the other end. “Our Enrico.” Not a question, but a statement.
“Yes,” I said. “Ours.”
He let out a soft curse in Russian. “How could this happen?”
“I don’t know. But I saw him and I just… I saw red. I literally saw red. I went in there, killed some low-level soldiers, tried to get Maksim and Enrico, but they ran out the back. I wounded Enrico in the fighting though.”
“Enrico.” He grunted and coughed. “Do you know how I first met Enrico?”
“I don’t,” I said. “You don’t talk about the other guys much.”
“We were in school together. In high school. I saw him getting the shit kicked out of him at lunch one day and I thought, there’s the most pathetic kid in the whole school. Then I thought, I bet he’ll worship me if I save him. So I did, I punched this fat bully in the teeth and I hit the other one in the nose with a lunch tray. Got suspended for a week, but after that, Enrico never left me alone.”
“I guess he doesn’t still feel like he owes you.”
Hedeon laughed. “That’s the thing about Enrico. He never thinks enough is enough. He wants more, and more, and if he doesn’t get it, he’s angry. I never gave in to his childish whims and demands, and I think he’s always resented me for it. I think he might still hold that against me.”
“So he didn’t get some promotions and an extra cut of loot. So that means he can betray everyone?”
“No, it doesn’t, it’s only an explanation.”
“Fuck explanations. And fuck Enrico. Hedeon, you put too much trust in these goddamn amateurs, and Enrico’s a fucking amateur.”
His tone was tense and angry. “You don’t know them like I do.”
“I don’t give a shit. All I know is we’re trying to take down a major crime organization, and you’re still running with shitheads from high school.”
“Careful. I let you get away with a lot Leo, not like the others. I value your opinion, and if I try to muzzle you, I know you’ll only try to bite more. But you n
eed to watch yourself, damn it.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m just saying. You can’t keep defending them.”
“I’m not defending Enrico. He betrayed us, and now his name’s been whispered. I’ll make sure the whole crew hears it, and as soon as he’s found, he’ll be put to death like he deserves. But I won’t sit here and act like the rest of my boys are worthless.”
“Fine.” I touched the window and ran my fingers down the cold glass. “I hear you.”
“Good. Now, you did good work, even if you fucked it up. And I bet you scared the hell out of Maksim.”
“I’m sure I did.”
“I’ll see what I can do with this information. For now, sit tight before I decide what to do next.”
“I will.”
“Good.” He coughed again. “Talk to you again soon.”
He hung up. I looked at my phone then tossed it onto the couch.
Frustration lingered. I was angry with myself for screwing up that opportunity, and angrier that Hedeon wasn’t trying to burn the city down to find Enrico. He was a traitor, the worst possible thing he could be, and yet Hedeon didn’t seem all that angry.
But fuck, maybe I was going overboard. Hedeon did say that Enrico was a dead man, and I believed it. If Enrico was still in the city, he wouldn’t last more than a few days, not with the whole crew on the hunt.
Things would be okay. I just couldn’t lose my cool like that again.
I turned from the window and found Robin lingering in the doorway. She frowned at me, head tilted, her hair spilling down her shoulders.
“How’d it go?”
“Hedeon said he’d whisper Enrico’s name to the crew.”
She didn’t react. “What’s that?”
“Means there’s a price on his head now. Everyone will be out looking for him.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“I guess so.”
“You don’t seem happy about it.”
I fell back onto the couch. “There’s nothing to be happy about. I fucked up the hit.”
“You discovered the traitor.”
I made a dismissive gesture. “Fine, so he can’t fuck with us anymore, but so what?”
“Leo—”
“I fucked up, okay? I lost my cool back there. When I saw Enrico, I just… I wanted to kill, and I fucked up.”
She drifted over and sat down next to me. She chewed her lip then put her hand on my leg. “It’ll be okay. Even if he’s not dead, he won’t be able to hurt the crew anymore, right?”
“True.” I tilted my head and looked into her pretty eyes. “That’s a good point.”
“So take a deep breath. You hurt them badly, even if you didn’t kill Maksim. Everything’s okay.”
I nodded and looked away. “I hope you’re right.”
A short silence fell between us. I felt my heart beating hard in my chest and could almost taste it in my throat. I wanted to get up and do something but I knew there was nothing to do but wait.
“I heard from Ursula a couple hours ago.”
“Your source?”
“My friend.” She inched closer. “Maksim’s angry about what you did.”
“I bet he is.”
“He’s not nice when he’s angry. Apparently, he’s been taking it out on the girls. Thinks one of them ratted on him, and they’ve been pretty aggressive with all the girls working that night.”
I tilted my head. “That’s not good.”
“She’s afraid, Leo. She’s really afraid.”
“What can I do?”
“I want to help them.”
I took a breath and shook my head. “Too dangerous.”
“But she’s my friend.”
“I know. I hear you. But I’m sorry. He’s going to be watching every one of those girls close, just waiting for you or me to show up. He wants them to fuck up. He wants us to fuck up.”
“I can’t just abandon her.” She pulled her hand away, anger lighting up her face.
“Robin—”
“No, don’t try and make some excuses.” She stood up, paced away. I could see the tension all around her, like it wanted to warp the air. “You talk such a big game about how important the crew is to you, how they’re like family, how traitors are the worst thing in the world. And now you want me to leave a woman that tried to help us in a horrible situation. She might end up dead, or worse.”
I grunted and spread out my hands. “I understand that. But this is his play. He wants to draw us out. You can see that, right?”
“It doesn’t change anything. He’s still hurting them. Ursula says it’s not too bad so far but she’s afraid it’s going to get worst. Just this morning Maksim burned a girl named Katya with a cigarette and gave her a black eye.”
I grimaced. “How many girls were working?”
“I don’t know. At least five, that’s how many I’d put on shift.”
“Damn.” I leaned my head back. “If it were more, it’d be easier.”
“We can’t just let them get hurt.” She walked toward me, hands extended. “Please, Leo. Don’t just leave her there.”
“Fuck.” I stared up at the ceiling then looked at her. “You’re going to get us killed. You know that, right?”
“Killed for a good reason then. We put her in this situation.”
I patted the cushion next to me. “Sit down. Tell me how masculine and impressive I am.”
She smiled a little and drifted back over. “Does this mean you’ll help?”
“Of course I’ll fucking help.”
She sat down next to me and kissed my neck. “You’re a joy and a delight. And did I mention just how masculine you are?”
He tilted my head back and kissed me. “You didn’t mention that yet.”
“Very masculine.” She leaned forward and bit my lip. “Very. Masculine.”
I laughed, kissed her again.
“Find out where she’s staying. Find out where they’re all at, if you can.”
“I will. The bosses keep them in the same house. Easier to watch them that way.”
“Easier to get them all out at once, too.” I took a deep breath and sighed. “Now, little birdie. I want you to pay me back for my generosity.”
“You haven’t done anything yet.”
“I haven’t, but I will.” I tilted her head back and kissed her neck. “Go ahead, whisper my name. That’s all I really want to hear.”
She sighed. “Leo, you asshole.”
“That’s music to my ears.” I grabbed her hair tighter, kissed her deeper, and let my hands drift over her body.
20
Robin
I followed Leo down a street dripping with rain. I had a black sweatshirt on with the hood pulled up to cover my hair. Leo’s eyes swept around him like Volkov men with rifles might jump out from behind cars or from inside of row homes at any moment.
He slowed and half turned, offering his hand. I took it and pulled close against his side.
“I think I should warn you,” he said, his voice gentle over the rain. “Hedeon hasn’t been in a good space since that shit went down.”
“Really?” I took a deep breath. I wasn’t confident about this trip to begin with, and if Hedeon was in pain or in a bad mood, that was only going to make it so much harder.
“The wound’s been bothering him. It’s healing and shit but I don’t know.”
“He almost lost it. I mean, I saw what happened.”
He grunted. “Hedeon’s strong. He’s been through a lot and he’ll get through this. But you should be aware that he might not be the same guy you met.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
He shrugged and slowed his pace. I looked up as he stopped in front of a nondescript row home with a black door and bars on the windows. He rang the bell, waited a few seconds, then rang it again.
Oleg answered. His big, bearish face peered out from the cracked door.
“You’re late.”
“Rain held
us up.” Leo gestured at him. “Let us inside. My shoes are getting wet.”
Oleg snorted and pulled open the door.
Leo let me go up first then came in behind me. Oleg shut the door behind us and it took me half a beat for my eyes to adjust.
The room was almost barren. Two folding chairs and a couple of stacked Amazon boxes with crumb-covered plates on top sat in front of an old TV on the floor. It was tuned to static and the white-noise sound drifted into the room. The rooms beyond were equally barren, with a single beat-up table and a few chairs acting as the only other pieces of furniture.
“Welcome to home,” Oleg said.
“Where’s Hedeon?”
“Upstairs resting. Arm hurts him.” Oleg walked past us and toward the kitchen. “Want a drink?”
Leo gave me a look then followed him. I lingered in the living room and frowned at the folding chairs and the dirty plates. I couldn’t imagine Hedeon living in a place like this, not the guy that was tending to a beautiful garden and had a nice house in a good, quiet neighborhood. This place was a dump and it was about as far from civilization in this city as possible.
I heard Oleg take out some glasses and followed them into the kitchen. They stood next to the kitchen counters as Oleg poured whiskey. Leo took his glass, sipped it, made a face.
“This shit’s terrible and this house is a dump.”
Oleg grunted and threw his whiskey back in one. “No kidding.”
“How’s Hedeon dealing with it?”
“Not well. He’s not used to living like this.”
“And you are?”
“More than him, at least.”
Leo looked around and sipped his whiskey again. “You could at least get some chairs for the living room. Or maybe decorate. Fuck, this place is depressing.”
“We can’t all live in luxury hotels like you.”
Leo snorted. “That’s not fucking true and you know it.”
“Anyway, no use in getting things. We’re leaving here in a few days.”
Leo nodded and looked back at me. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s no wonder he’s been in a shit mood.” I made a face and sniffed the air. “Smells like rat poop.”