by B. B. Hamel
“It’s a complicated situation, but we came to discuss things with you.”
Evgeni grunted and gestured at the table. “Sit then. Want something to eat?”
“No, thank you,” I said. Cara took the chair next to me, and German stayed on his feet, leaning back against the counter nearby.
We were outnumbered six to one, and if it came to a fight, we’d easily lose. I just had to hope I could keep things under control.
Evgeni eyed Cara with a strange frown, his head tilted to the side. I wished I could read his mind, but the Pakhan was notoriously fickle and difficult. He was an intelligent man, but emotional and prone to outbursts of anger, and though I’d never been on the receiving end, he sometimes got violent with anyone he deemed as going against the family.
“What can I do for you today, Luke? You don’t normally come to me like this. I respect that about you, very much an independent man.”
“Thank you, Pakhan,” I said, nodding slightly. “Unfortunately, this isn’t a situation I can decide on my own. I’m sure you’ve heard that the Lionetti family is actively searching for Cara, although I’m not sure how much you know about that.”
Evgeni tilted his head with a shrug. “I know they want something her father took and they want to make an example of her, although looking at her now, I wonder if that’s a mistake.”
I grimaced slightly but tried not to let it be seen. “Her father stole some money and a dossier filled with compromising photographs of some very prominent politicians and local leaders.”
Evgeni’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “A blackmail folder?”
“I think so, yes,” I said. “I can’t imagine why else they’d have it. Cara didn’t know what it was when her father gave it to her, but she managed to hide it and keep it from the Lionettis.”
“And now you have it?” Evgeni sounded hungry as he leaned forward.
“Yes, Pakhan. I think now you can appreciate my situation.”
He roared a laugh. It made German flinch, and I halfway reached for the gun tucked into my belt. Cara’s face was pale and she looked like she might be sick as Evgeni leaned back and cackled, shaking his head.
“Fucking Lionettis think they’re so powerful. They own the biggest network of whores in the city and what, that makes them special? So they take a few photos of some politicians getting their dicks sucked, so the fuck what? But now we have the goddamn dossier. Luke, you’ve always been one of my favorite soldiers, but this is almost too much.”
“Thank you, Pakhan,” I said grimly. “It’s not that simple though. The Lionettis want the dossier back and they’ve already hired out some of the Doyle family to come get it.”
Evgeni waved a hand. “Let me guess, Maher is involved? That boy always is when you’re sniffing around something. Don’t worry, Luke, this is a good thing.”
I felt my stomach clench. It couldn’t be this easy. “What are we going to do about the folder?”
“We’ll make the Lionettis bleed for it, of course. Perhaps we make them pay for it, or perhaps we simply keep it and make it our own. Either way, this is going to give us a very nice advantage over them for some time.”
“I thought so too, but they’re not going to let us get away with this. They will hit back, and they’ll come hard, especially for Cara.”
Evgeni glanced at her. “Maybe she’s not so necessary for our plans.”
I clenched my jaw. “Pakhan, with all due respect, she’s necessary.”
“She’s some girl. Daughter of a piece-of-shit thief. What do we care about her?”
“She’s important to me,” I said, leaning toward the Pakhan and trying not to look at her. I felt her stiffen beside me when the words trickled from my lips, and I sensed the men around me paying closer attention.
Evgeni narrowed his eyes. “Important to you? What, you’ve fallen for some pussy, is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m saying that handing the girl over to the Lionettis as part of some deal is out of the question. I have some ideas about how to handle this, and I’m here asking for your support.”
He leaned back and stroked his scruffy chin. “I’ll admit, it takes balls to come here and say that.”
“Sir, it’s important that we don’t give Cara over to the Lionettis. You want to fuck them? Then let me keep her. They want to make an example of her, but the longer we keep her safe and protected, the weaker they look.”
“I do like the idea of a weakened Lionetti family.” He let out a rough grunt. “But you’re right, they won’t like this.”
“Let them be angry. That’s the idea, isn’t it?”
Evgeni looked from me over to Cara and leaned toward her. “What do you have to say about all this, girl?” he asked roughly. “It’s your life in the balance and you sit there all quiet and meek. Did Luke tell you not to say anything?”
She hesitated then nodded once. “He’s afraid I’ll make things worse.”
I leaned back, scowling, but said nothing.
Evgeni smiled. “Maybe he’s right. Luke knows me fairly well by now. How long have you been working for me?”
“Ten years.”
“And in those ten years, Luke has become one of my best soldiers, and he runs one of my best-earning crews. If he says we should spare you, I’m inclined to listen to him.”
“Obviously, I think he’s right.” She smiled slightly, head tilted. “Honestly, I didn’t know what my father was up to until he threw me into the middle of all this. If I could go back, I’d do some things differently.”
“Like what?” Evgeni asked.
“Like tell my dad to go to Hell.” Her smile slowly faded as she looked down at her hands. “He was a drunk and a bastard and I put up with him for way too long, and now he got me into this situation because he was too selfish to deal with it on his own. Honestly, I wish I could turn back the clock and let Luke kill him before he ever came to me with that stupid dossier.”
I took a deep, slow breath and let it out. I knew the boss had some human pity inside of him, and Cara’s story was tough to hear without feeling something. I wanted to reach out and touch her leg or take her hand, but she stared resolutely ahead and faced the Pakhan like she wasn’t afraid, even though I knew she must’ve been terrified.
She wasn’t a part of this world. As much as her father was a bastard, she managed to avoid becoming the burned-out, used-up, broken human so many girls in her situation inevitably turned into. Somehow her soul remained untouched, and it was that small cleanliness in the midst of all this filth and fucked-up heartache that I wanted to preserve above all else.
“Touching,” Evgeni said, “but I think you’d be more useful if we gave you to the Lionettis.”
Cara sat back like she’d been punched in the face and I half stood. “Evgeni,” I growled, dropping the respectful title as I leaned over the table. “I can’t let you do that.”
The Pakhan’s guards stood up, some of them already pulling guns from their coats. German looked around, his body tense and ready to move, looking to me for the okay to start getting violent, but I couldn’t let it come to that. I didn’t come here to get German killed.
“Tell me why not,” Evgeni said, staring at me. “Give me a good reason why she’s useful, aside from the fact that you want to keep her for your little pet.”
“If you take her from me, I’ll walk. Maybe you kill me, maybe you kill her, but you’ll lose my crew. You know all of them will abandon you, and what’ll that say about the Morozov family, huh? Ten years of loyal service, all of it thrown away on a fucking whim.”
Evgeni’s jaw worked. “You’re giving me an ultimatum here, boy?”
“That’s right, it’s an ultimatum. You want to give her to the Lionettis? Then you’re going to lose me. But if you want to keep a loyal and productive soldier, then all you have to do is show a little mercy and let me keep her safe.”
Nobody moved. The entire room felt like it was packed with anxiety and uncertainty. The deli’s empl
oyees were nowhere to be seen, probably ran off the second things got a little dicey, which was smart for them. German seemed like his usual steady self, but I caught his hand drifting slowly to his waistband where he kept a gun tucked into his belt.
And Cara stared at me with her mouth hanging open.
She probably didn’t expect this. Hell, I didn’t expect it. I figured I’d fight back a little bit, at least argue to spare her life, but I didn’t think I’d actually threaten to sacrifice myself for her, and now it was obvious this was how it had to happen. Evgeni didn’t give a shit about her, but he had to understand that I did and I was willing to go a long way to keep her safe.
Evgeni let out a slow, rumbling growl. “I don’t like being pushed around by my own men.”
“Then don’t look at it that way. You’re rewarding me for ten years of service.”
He leaned back and crossed his big arms over his massive chest. “You want this that badly then?”
“Yes, Pakhan, I do.”
“You will double your tribute. And I will never give you something again for as long as you work for me. You will accept my orders without question, and if you ever so much as make a face or some fucking annoyed comment, I will remind you of this moment. I will own you, Luke, do you understand?”
“Yes, Pakhan,” I said through clenched teeth. I didn’t like the idea of owing another man that much, but I saw no other way out of this situation without bloodshed.
“Very well then.” He waved a hand at his men. “Stand down, all of you. The girl is free to go home with you, but if she becomes a liability, we will talk about this again.”
“She won’t.” I glanced at her and she stared back like she wanted to argue, but said nothing, only closed her mouth and hung her head quietly.
“I’ll give you two weeks to figure out a way to hurt the Lionettis with that dossier,” Evgeni continued. “I want a real plan from you, not some bullshit. I want to hit them and hit them as hard as we can, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “I’ll make it happen.”
“And this girl better not cost me.” He shook his head. “Now get the fuck out of here before you ruin my breakfast completely.”
I stepped away from the table. Cara stood, looked like she wanted to say something, but turned away. I grabbed her hand and tugged her along, and German came up behind us.
We were lucky to walk out of that deli alive.
“I’ve never seen the Pakhan give in like that before,” German commented as we got into the car.
“Yeah, well, he’s not a stupid man.” I stared straight ahead as I drove back to the house.
Cara said nothing. What could she say? Thanks for saving my life? She didn’t ask me to do this for her, and she didn’t owe me a goddamn thing.
But as we walked toward my place, and German stalked off to tell the other guys what had happened, she grabbed my wrist before we went inside.
“You didn’t have to do that.” She looked at me with those big, gorgeous eyes.
“I know I didn’t, but I wanted to.”
“I’m not going to—” She stopped and took a breath. “You don’t own me now, Luke. I’m not going to just do whatever you want.”
I let out a sharp laugh then grabbed her and pulled her against me. She let out a surprised yelp as I held her hips hard and moved down to whisper into her ear.
“I don’t need you to give me a goddamn thing. When you’re good and ready, you’ll come to me. You know what I want.”
“What do you want?” she asked, sounding almost desperate. “Seriously, Luke. What do you want?”
“I want you.” I pulled back then kissed her.
She seemed too surprised to kiss me back at first until I bit her lower lip—then she pressed herself tighter against my body and melted against me. It was heaven, like electric sparks ran between our lips in zinging arcs. She tasted like candy canes and mint chocolate chip, and I wanted to strip her down then and there, to take her on the stoop, to make her taste me, to make her moan and come, her back arching, her body sweating, but I slowly broke away, barely controlling myself.
She blinked up at me and stepped back. “We shouldn’t do that.”
“Give me a reason why not.”
She threw her hands up. “Because this whole thing’s fucked up. You do realize that, right?”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”
She shook her head and turned away, walking up to the house. “I just need to think, okay?”
I watched her disappear inside before following.
If she needed to think, she could think, but I knew what I wanted already. Her lips were only a temptation, and her body was the main course. I had to strip her down and take her, and if it didn’t happen now, then it would happen soon enough.
10
Cara
I couldn’t sleep that night. I stared at the ceiling thinking about everything Luke was going through to keep me safe and I kept seeing the way Evgeni looked at me like I was some kind of trash that was only getting in the way. It was cold and terrifying, and I couldn’t imagine that man caring about anything but himself, let alone an entire family of soldiers.
Luke couldn’t see it. Maybe he was in too deep to realize that his Pakhan didn’t give a damn about him and only cared about his own success. I wished I could make him see the monster that lurked beneath that man’s surface, but I knew it would come off petty and stupid.
I tossed and turned for a couple hours before getting up out of bed. I walked softly out into the hallway then down into the living room. The house was dead silent, all the lights turned off, and I stood in front of the refrigerator staring inside for way too long before I took out a beer, cracked it open, and drank it half down before I walked back out to the front door.
The locks opened easily, and I sat outside on the front stoop, beer held loosely in my hands. The street was silent and the street lamps shone a weak yellow across the dead parked cars. A biker sped past with red lights blinking, and I leaned back against the cold stone and stared up at the blank, dark sky.
For the first time since this all started, I felt alone. Maybe it was because my dad was dead and now I truly had nobody else in the world, or maybe it was the way Evgeni was willing to throw me away for not being useful enough. Either way, the only man that halfway gave a damn about me was inside this house, and he couldn’t quite see the danger from his own people, and I knew I’d never convince him.
There was a sound back in the house. I sat up straight as the door opened and Luke stepped outside. He frowned down at me for a moment, and I stared back. He wore only a pair of black gym shorts, and his bare muscular chest almost glistened in the moonlight. He stepped forward then sat down next to me with a sigh and took the beer from my hands without asking. He took a long drink then handed it back.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
“Can’t sleep,” I confirmed. “What are you doing up?”
“Got an alert that the door opened.” He arched an eyebrow. “I guess I should’ve warned you about the security system.”
I laughed softly. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s all right. Next time, turn off the system first, or come get me to do it.” He tilted his head, frowning. “Really, you should just stay inside.”
“I needed some air.” I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned back on my elbows, stretching my legs out. When I opened them again, he was staring at me, at my legs then up at my chest before lingering on my lips. “Did I interrupt a pleasant dream?”
“You were in it, so it must’ve been pleasant.”
I took a long drink of the beer and finished it off. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“How’d you get involved with the Morozov family?”
He took a deep breath and let it out. “Typical story. Grew up with shitty parents and didn’t know any better. Met a few guys hanging around the block and they introduced me to some more guy
s, and eventually I was robbing houses and pulling small jobs. I moved my way up through the ranks and here I am today.”
“You’re loyal to them then.”
“Evgeni was the only one that ever gave me a chance in this world. Without him and the family, I’d probably be working some shitty construction job right now.”
I smiled and shook my head. “I doubt that very much.”
“There’s nothing for men like me in this world.” He watched me carefully, pretty lips parted ever so slightly, and I pictured them against my neck. “I was raised with nothing, you know? My parents were both drunks, Mom died when I was twelve, Dad’s off somewhere in Florida getting high or whatever the hell he does now. A lot like your old man, actually, except my dad had the good sense to fuck off.”
“You’re lucky then, I guess.”
“Lucky, maybe.” He stared out at the street, frowning to himself. “I had no chance. School was never going to happen for me, not with a home life like that, and what the fuck do you do without a high school diploma? I decided to sell drugs and steal and get in fights, because the other options were all worse.”
I chewed on that quietly as he cracked his neck from side to side. I knew what he meant—my life never seemed like it would amount to anything, either. My father was an anchor weighing me down, and the world didn’t care enough to give me a chance doing anything but the most basic jobs. I had the house and that was good, but I could barely afford the taxes on it each year while still feeding and clothing and heating and cooling, and it felt like I was forever running behind and desperately trying to catch up again.
The difference was, I didn’t turn to crime like Luke did. Maybe I should’ve—my father would’ve been more than happy to teach me everything he knew about breaking into houses and all the petty stuff he got into. It only seemed like it would be worse than working dead-end jobs. At least as a waitress, I wouldn’t get thrown into jail, even if the pay wasn’t great.
“I admire what you do, you know,” I said softly, almost whispering it.
He laughed. “Do you? I would’ve guessed you hated me and all the guys in the family.”