“Finally, we get to the negotiations,” Langston said with a smile. His thin lips spread across his perfect teeth to show a snake’s grin. His eyes told that he would consider most anything for the deed.
With fingers laced across each other and legs crossed at the knee, he narrowed his gaze on the man and in a low, clear voice Dmitry said, “I want the current death certificate for Royal to be sealed and her to resume the ability to travel in and out of the United States freely.”
Langston looked over at Royal assessing her worth quietly. “Fine,” he said, raising his brow at her. “She serves as no direct threat to the country, and she is a citizen.” Looking back to Dmitry he asked, “Anything else?”
Dmitry was far from finished. “Yes, I want the current investigation on my son to be dropped by the FBI.”
There was a rude snort. “Are you kidding? Former Memphis Police detective Destiny Palmer, - the one your son fucked in the pool and posted on YouTube while she was undercover - just signed a book deal with a major publishing house for her memoir, My Night with a Mob Boss.” Langston huffed as if the request was too much. “It’s going to be a New York Times bestseller,” he stressed.
Dmitry cut Langston off, unimpressed with his false apprehension. “I’m not done with my requests, yet. And it’s all or nothing just in case you’re wondering. You can find someone else to do your dirty work otherwise.” He took a deep breath as he contemplated what else he wanted. “I want my nephew, Gabriel Medlov, off the watch list. He’s done nothing wrong.”
“Yet,” Langston implied. He knew well that Gabriel was here and had been commissioned to do what the Medlov’s where known for - assassination. Still, Dmitry had not asked for anything unreasonable.
Dmitry continued on. “I want a nice sea-side villa in Krysykstonia once the rightful royal family comes out of exile and resumes its position. Nothing under 7,000 square feet and nothing under $10 million.”
Langston moved in his seat. “Don’t you have enough real estate, Dmitry? You own half of the universe.”
“You can never have enough real estate, and I want the CIA to lean on the powers that be to stop pursuing the Victoria Jackson situation, because you and I both know that she’s not coming back to the states any time before… judgment day,” Dmitry said, clasping his hands together.
Royal looked at Dmitry with a frown, and for the first time was sure that he had killed her former nanny. Only, like so many other sensitive points in their lives, now was not the time to discuss it either.
Of course, Dmitry could feel Royal staring at him over his shoulder, probably bubbling over with questions and accusations, but he chose to ignore it and her. After all, it was she who wanted to be in the loop. Now, she was.
“So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?” Dmitry ended.
“That’s a pretty expensive tab that you’re asking the American government to pick up,” Langston reminded Dmitry. He folded his left arm under his right elbow and cupped his chin in between his thumb and index finger. The movement so natural, you could tell he had done it a million times before.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll make up for it with the untapped oil reserves and the gold and diamonds and the opium in Krysykstonia,” Dmitry said, showing his cards. He didn’t bat a single lash. He didn’t have to. He knew that Langston would bite.
Langston sucked his teeth when he realized that his cards were on the table as well. “You are familiar with the Krysykstonia situation, huh? Alright. So, let me get this straight. Death certificate sealed, Anatoly’s investigation ended, Gabriel off the watch list, the Victoria situation forgotten about, and a new villa for you and the wife to go and vacation with the kids in exchange for one very dead dictator?”
“That’s right.” Dmitry waited.
“Fine. It’s done,” Langston confirmed.
Royal exhaled a deep breath. Swallowing hard, she pinched herself to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming this. Even though she was married to Dmitry and had witnessed him do many unsettling things, this was by far the most bizarre.
Dmitry turned to her and in the sweetest voice that he could muster said, “Darling, go and get my black journal from my desk and bring me a phone. Any phone will do.”
Upon hearing that Langston was on his property, he had purposefully left his cell in his office, right after taking out the battery. He was quite familiar with the CIA’s ability to tap phones as long as they had a battery inside of them even if they were off. For that matter, he was also familiar with The World News’ ability to do the same. Regardless of the fact, he planned on having this room swept for bugs the instant that his guests left.
Without a word, Royal stood up, posture erect, and excused herself out of the room. The sound of her stilettos echoed down the hall as she moved quickly, attempting to set a record time for a house errand.
All the men in the room listened carefully to her steps and when she was far enough out of earshot, Dmitry sat forward in his seat. His voice was deeper now, more sinister. “Now, about those files.” He eyed Langston.
The agent beside Langston on the left stood up and walked over to Dmitry with three files in his hands: one on the dictator and two that would help get Anya back.
“The guy who took your daughter…his name is…” Langston snapped his fingers as he made a production out of his recollection.
“Balthazar,” Dmitry interrupted.
“That’s right, but you don’t have any contact information on him.” Langston knew because he had his team hack into Upheil’s computer and steal the information before deleting it from his computer right before the colonel’s untimely death. “We do, however. It’s in that file along with his lover’s last known whereabouts, his current banking accounts, some aliases, a few next of kin and professional and some personal affiliations. Also, we know that he’s working for someone else and that person is working with Vladimir Sidorov.” Langston’s eyes sparkled with malice as he said the name.
Dmitry looked up with an icy stare. “Vladimir Sidorov is dead,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Langston put an index finger on his nose to rub in his clue. “According to whom? If you look at the composites that we have of him, they are from three months ago in Paris, France. And he looks pretty alive to me.”
Dmitry looked through the file quietly and then sat back disgusted. Rubbing his temples, he tried to calm his rage before it escaped from its cage.
“He’s Khalid’s son, right?” Langston asked, repressing a grin. He already knew the answer to his question.
“He is,” Dmitry answered. “What else do you have?”
“In the last few months, Vladimir has been seen with the woman in those photos. We haven’t been able to get information on her, but we know that they are working together and nine times out of ten, they have Anya…together.”
Dmitry looked at the picture of the blonde woman and instantly recognized her.
Langston picked up on Dmitry’s sudden mood change. “She’s tall,” he commented. “Six two without heels. Blue eyes. Perfect features. Maybe you guys are related somehow?” Langston said, looking over at Royal who came back into the room with Dmitry’s book and phone as he had requested.
Dmitry closed the file before Royal could see the photos. “Thank you,” he said to her, taking the phone. He opened the book and pulled out a number. His eyes moved from the paper to Royal as he seemed to be calculating something in his head.
A voice broke the quiet chaos.
“I’m just curious about how you are going to maneuver around the other Vory who have lucrative relationships with our dictator,” Langston said, leaning forward on the sofa. He gave a pensive stare full of determination to see this deed done.
Royal instantly recognized her husband’s irritation with the man and wondered why he continued to egg Dmitry on.
But Dmitry kept his cool for the moment. There was no way that he was going to let this little government shit get under his skin in his own house.
“Other relationships are not relevant at this time. I assume that this agreement will not be documented,” Dmitry said, waiting with his hand on the phone.
“No. Completely undocumented. Wouldn’t want this to be exposed on a Wiki-leaks document, now would we?” Langston asked rhetorically while raising his hands. “I think that after you make that call, we’re all done here. You and I go back to not knowing each other.”
“Not so fucking fast. Once I make this call, you’re going to make all of your calls from this room. It will all be done now, or none of it is done period. You must have forgotten who you are dealing with. You don’t just walk into my house and throw down orders. Daughter or not, wife or not, I’ll have your fucking heads. All three of you. And I’ll take them myself,” Dmitry ordered, pointing at Langston. His voice was still calm and low. The unnatural serenity of it made his threat even more alarming. “I don’t trust you, and you don’t trust me. Let’s not pretend to be friends. It goes against the code to even work with the government, but since you hold the very key to the door between me and my blood, I’ll deal with those consequences later.”
Royal looked at Dmitry and realized that he would be putting his own life in danger with the call that he was about to make, but he did it anyway because he loved their daughter. Yet again he put his life on the line for them without so much as flinching.
“Thank you,” she said aloud before she knew it to her husband.
Everyone in the room looked at her. It was obvious even during this very awkward moment how much the couple actually cared for each other and mutual respect that they held for one another.
Dmitry looked at her with a loving gaze in his eyes and then nodded. Dialing the number, he stood in front of them all, confirmed the dictator’s impending arrival and put out a hit on the entire Berkovich convoy once they were in the country, but just to make sure, he also sent a team to the man’s home country. When he ended the call, he walked over and bent down, handing the phone to Langston.
His breath brushed against Langston’s skin like a lion on his prey right before the feast.
They looked each other in the eyes-words passing in silence. It was evident at that very moment how much both of them loathed each other and under other circumstances how they might do each other serious bodily harm, but the present situation prohibited anything short of compliance on both of their parts.
“Make the calls,” Dmitry said menacingly, “or none of you will leave here alive.” He didn’t blink. The lines in his face were evident in his dark scowl as he gripped the phone hard enough to crush it between his meaty fingers.
The men on either side of Langston looked first at Dmitry and then each other. The gall of the man simply baffled them, but it was his stare that sent a chill down their spines.
Dmitry was dead serious and capable of fulfilling the promise with only the snap of his fingers. After all, they were in his layer now, far from home and completely outmanned. No government could save them if things got out of control, and they were here unofficially. At most they would be a star on a wall, and they might not warrant that.
Langston took the phone reluctantly and smirked. “It must be lonely up there at the top,” he said, raising the phone to his ear. He paused. “Is this a clean patch?” He didn’t show an ounce of outward worry about the threat. He had after all been making deals with devils like Dmitry for many years.
“You know it is,” Dmitry answered without flinching. He caught Langston’s eyes scan both of the guns in his holsters. With a devious smile, Dmitry titled his head.
“The only thing that I know is that you are seriously invading my private space.” Langston dialed the first number and sat back. His voice became more authoritative on the call. “Yes, this is Agent Langston from the Central Intelligence Agency, get Agent Lee on the phone for me now,” he said, pursing his lips at Dmitry.
Chapter 17
Renee could barely breathe. Holding her chest for a minute, she gathered her wits about herself after what she had witnessed with her own eyes. The CIA knew about her baby. They knew about her. It was the most absurd thing that she had ever heard in her life. Most bad boys, if they were lucky, made the FBI’s most wanted list but her boyfriend had gone straight to the top. And while she should have known that she was under surveillance simply because of her relationship, she never imagined that every point in her mostly boring life was probably going down in some secret agent’s log book.
The thought made her dizzy.
She only had one parking ticket in her life, in essence making her an absolute nobody in the larger criminal element, but the company she kept… Good grief.
Quietly, she and Briggy cooked breakfast for everyone side-by-side without saying a word. Only the sound of food burning on the oven could be heard echoing throughout the airy kitchen. Vasily sat in the corner of the kitchen on a stoop watching them and reading a newspaper - never leaving their side as he had been assigned by Anatoly- but wishing that he could be anywhere but there. His presence didn’t even register with Renee, because she had become so used to him as permanent fixture in her life, but Briggy couldn’t help but look over at him, brooding in the corner like a regular wise guy.
Every once in a while, Briggy would look across at Renee and smile gently, but inwardly she was waiting on Renee to open up about her secret.
The idea of giving birth to Anatoly’s child consumed the both of them. Renee seemed to grapple with the fact that it was actually happening while Briggy thought about the fact that it could have easily happened to her. Though she was certain that the entire outcome would have been dramatically different. For one thing, Anatoly would have likely asked her to have an abortion.
As they whipped a large bowl of eggs to go with the large meal of bacon, pancakes, French toast and fruit that they had to prepare for everyone in the house, Royal came barging into the kitchen.
“Renee,” Royal said, walking up to her. Taking the bowl out of her hand, she led her to the chair closest to them and made her sit down. “Why didn’t you tell anyone about the baby?”
Briggy stopped cooking and turned to watch, hoping for an answer as well. She looked over at the two women talking an then involuntarily at Vasily, who kept his eyes on the newspaper, even though she knew that he was listening to every word.
Renee shook her head emphatically. “I honestly didn’t think that now was the time to share something like that. Anya had just been kidnapped and I doubted that you felt like celebrating.”
“Do you really think that I’m that selfish?” Royal asked offended. She frowned and put her hand to her chest. “This isn’t about celebrating. This is about recognizing the fact that you are pregnant. This is about helping take care of you during your time of need also.” Royal threw her hands up. “If I have learned anything else about this family, I’ve learned that all we have is each other.” Her heart beat fast against her chest as she finished and her hands shook, clammy from all the ruckus this morning.
Renee felt her lip quiver at just the acknowledgement that she was in this with more than just herself and that she was truly apart of this family, no matter how screwed up it was.
Anatoly had never offered more to her than the title of girlfriend, and before that had not bothered her, but now it just didn’t seem like enough. However, thinking about that could send her spiraling down a myriad of deep-seeded emotions, so she chose to quickly box it up and not think of it again.
Royal took her friend’s hand in her own and put it on her face. “Renee,” she said lovingly, her eyes full of conviction. “You’re carrying my grandchild.” A wide smile pulled at her full lips.
Briggy’s brow rose with amusement.
The three ladies couldn’t help but giggle together at the cleverness of Royal’s statement. It was funny how such an obvious thought said in just the right way could change a mood from solemn to happy.
Renee, for one, had never thought of things that way. She was carrying a Medlov,
Anatoly’s first son, Dmitry’s first grandson. There was something suddenly awesome about that. She wiped the tear from her eye and laughed aloud.
“Yeah, I guess I am,” she chuckled.
Royal corrected herself quickly. “Well, technically he or she will be my step-grandchild, but we don’t believe in those kinds of titles. In this house, you’re either a Medlov or you’re not.”
That statement hit Briggy right in the middle of her stomach. She felt her diaphragm leap. While she loved Gabriel, and he loved her, there was nothing tying them together. Royal had a marriage and Renee had a baby. All she had was his graciousness. But the moment he decided to stop being gracious, she might find herself booted out of this tight circle of intriguing people. Briggy hoped against hope at that moment quietly that Gabriel wouldn’t wait too long to ask the question that she longed to hear. Marry me, Gabriel, she thought to herself. Make me a Medlov, too.
Tears ran down Renee’s face, but she couldn’t help but smile. Instinctively, she ran a hand over her flat stomach, giving small acknowledgement to the small being inside of her. “I really needed to hear that,” she admitted in a hoarse voice, pulling together her composure. “I had just found out Monday afternoon about the baby, and when I came home to tell Ana, he wasn’t there. Then when he got home and found out, it wasn’t what I expected. Now, I don’t even know if he wants it. Imagine that.”
Royal could relate. She knew her stepson well, but she also knew the good side of him that he fought hard to conceal. “Anatoly can be a real prick sometimes, but I’ve seen him with Anya, and I can tell you that he’s going to make a wonderful father.”
Royal’s vote of confidence warmed Renee’s heart.
“I sure hope so,” Renee said, outwardly cheering up. Suddenly, things didn’t seem so dark and gloomy.
Hope had entered the equation. She felt like trying again – trying to reach Ana in her own way and trying to keep this relationship going between the two of them.
Saving Anya Page 14