by B. B. Hamel
“I thought his favorite thing was money.”
He grinned and shrugged. “Then you’re the second favorite, if you’re putting yourself up against the beautiful goddess that is cold hard cash.” He leaned forward toward me and lowered his voice. “Seriously though, the boss can’t take his eyes off you, and it’s kind of cute.”
I glanced over at Luke and sure enough, he was watching me from the corner of his eye. He smiled slightly and narrowed his eyes as if to ask, what the hell does Marvin want? I only smiled back then looked away and tried to calm myself, the worry in my gut, the strange shifting way my muscles seemed to want to keep moving.
“It didn’t start out that way,” I admitted, not sure why I was telling this guy anything at all.
“Hey, I’m not saying it’s anything, you know, it’s not my place to say it’s one thing or the other, I’m only saying, I see the way the boss looks at you and it’s not like in a friendly manner, you know? He looks at you like he wants to keep you.”
That sent a chill down my spine. Luke stood up, banging the cash on the bar to straighten it out before pushing it aside, then walked over to the table. Marvin leaned away from me and grinned up at his boss, the serious look suddenly gone, replaced by his goofy grin.
“I told you guys not to bother her,” Luke said, frowning down at Marvin.
“He’s all right,” I said quickly. “I could’ve told him to fuck off if I wanted to.”
Marvin laughed and gestured at me. “See, boss? Strong, independent woman. Just your type.”
“You don’t know shit about my type.” Luke turned to me. “Ready to go?”
“What, we’re not staying until this place opens? I thought we’d get a show.”
Luke snorted. “I don’t think you’d like this sort of show. If you want to see dancers, I’ll take you to a classy joint.”
“Didn’t realize strip clubs could be classy.”
“There are all sorts of places, darling,” Marvin said, stretching his arms above his head.
I stood up and kicked the base of his chair. He nearly toppled back and Luke laughed, punching him in the arm as he barely managed to straighten himself out. Marvin grinned and winked at me, and I smiled back. I had the feeling he liked me, whether I deserved that or not. At least I felt slightly comfortable around him—not comfortable enough to be alone in a room, but enough to have a conversation with him at least.
Luke turned to the door and I stood behind him. Outside, an engine revved, and Luke tensed slightly. The whole room went still, like a beach before a tsunami, the tide rolling out for miles and miles and miles, the wave building so far away it was impossible to see, but coming faster and faster.
The front door kicked in and three, four, five men piled inside. Luke shouted something and shoved me aside, diving on top of me and pushing me back into the corner next to the door.
The first man through opened fire.
I watched in horror as Marvin’s chest blew open. He toppled backwards out of the chair in a spray of blood and a groan of pain. Vlad and German threw themselves down and flipped the table up for cover as the rest of the guys came inside, firing their guns.
Luke shoved me behind him, wedging me into the corner. He had a gun in his hand and opened fire, hitting the nearest shooter in the leg. German came up and fired, hitting one of the guys in the head, and Vlad screamed something in Russian and began running and shooting. Bullets slammed all around him, but Luke kept firing and shot another. Three of the attackers were down in a flash, but two were still up and starting to move toward the bar, seeking cover.
Vlad charged like a bull. One of the shooters stopped firing, his gun jammed, and Vlad rammed into him, tackling the man to the floor. German came up again and fired, hitting the last guy before he could get behind the bar. Luke ran out and finished off the men on the floor as Vlad slammed his prisoner down against the ground over and over, smashing him into the floor like a doll.
“Enough,” Luke growled, pulling Vlad back. The man lay there groaning, still alive, but broken into a pulp.
The floor was slick with gore and blood. I couldn’t move, could barely breathe. I looked over at Marvin, at his corpse lying there motionless and still leaking dark blood from multiple wounds in his chest. His heart must’ve stopped, and he was gone.
“Are you okay?” Luke knelt in front of me, breathing hard through his teeth. “Cara, are you okay?”
I blinked a few times then nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I think I’m okay, yeah.”
“Don’t move.” Luke got up and stalked across the room. He kicked the last living guy in the side hard. “Who sent you?”
The man groaned. “Fuck you, asshole.”
“Wrong answer.” Luke shot him in the head.
Vlad growled with anger. “Why would you do that? We could’ve talked to him.”
“They’re Maher’s guys.” Luke spit on the dead man then rolled the first shooter over with his foot. “I recognize this one, a guy named Billy, works for Maher sometimes. The rest of them are either from Maher’s crew or hired fucking muscle.”
German was on the phone, saying something to someone. My ears rang like bells, and I tried to get to my feet, but couldn’t quite make it. I stayed there on the floor, staring at Marvin’s body, at all the other bodies, at the brains splattered across the tiles, at the way Luke looked so angry, so disgusted, and so filled with a vengeful wrath.
It all happened so fast.
“Clean this shit up,” Luke said to Vlad. “Get rid of Marvin, that poor bastard.”
“What about you?” Vlad asked. “You just going to dip out?”
“I’m taking Cara somewhere safe. German’s calling for backup, so wait until they show up.”
“Yeah, all right boss.” Vlad looked back at Marvin. “He didn’t deserve that.”
“No, he didn’t.” Luke put a hand on Vlad’s shoulder. “We’re going to make it right.”
“Can’t make it right. Don’t matter how many of them you kill.”
Luke grunted something softly, then walked back to me. I stared up into his angry eyes and managed to get to my feet with his help. I wiped flecks of blood from his cheek.
“Come on,” he said softly. “We’ll get you home.”
“They just came in and started shooting.” I felt dizzy and I thought I might be sick. I should’ve been sick, given all the death and blood around me. I didn’t know how I was still walking, let alone talking.
“Thought they could surprise me in my own fucking club. Maher must’ve gone insane or he lost all damn respect for me.” He clenched his jaw then pulled me along by my arm. “Come on, let’s get you out of here”
I glanced back at Marvin and wished I could do something for him—I was just starting to get to know him and thought maybe I could make a friend in Luke’s crew.
But now he was gone. The fate of all men like him, murdered in violence.
Dead in blood.
That’d happen to Luke one day. I felt it startlingly clear, right in my chest.
It would happen to Luke, like it happened to Marvin, like it happened to my dad.
Like it would happen to me if I didn’t get away from all this.
Luke dragged me outside, pulled me into the car, and we drove off in silence.
15
Luke
I got Cara back to my place and had Yuri watch over her while I went back to help with cleanup. A few guys from another Morozov crew showed up, and together we managed to get rid of the bodies and mop up most of the blood. Needless to say, the club wasn’t opening that night until we could get a legit deep cleaning crew in there.
“What a fucking mess,” German said on the drive back to my place a few hours later. He leaned back in the passenger seat, looking exhausted, a set of haggard bags under his eyes. “Marvin was a good soldier. Not much of a fighter though.”
I gripped the steering wheel. “That never should’ve happened.”
“How did it happen, Luke?”
I heard the accusation in his tone. I knew what he meant, and I couldn’t help but blame myself, too.
Maher never should’ve felt confident enough to attempt a hit like that.
He’d been nipping at my heels for years, but he never had the balls to send a crew into my home with guns blazing. It never should’ve happened, because Maher should’ve been terrified to even try something like that—although I had to note that he wasn’t among the crew that tried to take me down, and they were all dead.
“I don’t know what he was thinking,” I said through clenched teeth. “The bastard’s been a coward all the time, and now he suddenly thinks he can step into my own club.”
“What are you going to do about it?” German leaned closer. “You gonna walk away from this too?”
I stared at him. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, this isn’t the first time Maher’s tried to kill you, and yet the guy’s still running around on the streets. What more do you need to finally attack back? You need me to surgically implant some fucking balls on you, or what?”
I grabbed German by the collar and slammed him back against the car. His bared his teeth and I slammed my forehead into his nose. It didn’t break, but it came close, and German growled in pain as I stared into his eyes.
“Say that shit again and next time I’ll kill you.” I held his collar tighter and pushed him harder against the door.
“Save some of that anger for Maher.” German held my gaze, not breaking away. “I know you used to be friends with him, but that friendship is long dead.”
I let out a sharp breath, like he’d kicked me in the ribs, and released him. I moved back to my chair and leaned against the headrest, staring up at the roof before squeezing my eyes shut.
I knew Maher, back in the day. We came up together, learned how to hustle on the same corners, and would’ve stayed friends if we hadn’t joined different families. Slowly we drifted apart until that friendship turned into rivalry, and now he was trying to kill me in my own club.
German was right. I let that old friendship blind me to the present reality. Maher didn’t give a fuck about me anymore and was going to do whatever he had to do to get himself in the good graces of the Lionettis. If that meant killing me, then he’d pull the trigger himself. I couldn’t lie to myself and pretend otherwise.
“Set up a meeting with Franklin,” I said.
German grunted. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I want to kill Maher, and the last time Maher attacked me, it was after I had a meeting with Franklin.” I glanced at German and waited a beat. “You putting it together?”
“You think he’s following Franklin around.”
“Pretty much. Set up a meeting with Franklin, tell him I’ll sell the dossier for twenty grand. He’ll jump on that shit.”
“Your pricing’s all over the place, boss.”
I glared at him. “Don’t be funny now, asshole.”
German only shook his head. “You’ve got a hard head, you know that?” He climbed out of the car and walked off, hands shoved into his pockets.
I watched him go. I should’ve been pissed that he’d talk to me like that but I knew he was right. I was soft on Maher because of my past with him, but like all things in this life, the situation had changed.
Maher put Cara in danger.
If we hadn’t reacted fast, if I hadn’t thrown her into the corner and out of the way, if Marvin hadn’t been such a big, juicy target, if those stupid morons had found cover instead of standing right in the middle of the room—well, she could be dead. We all could be dead.
I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
German was right.
I climbed out of the car and walked up my stoop. I opened the door and instantly something felt wrong. I had my gun halfway drawn as I stepped into the living room and found Yuri sitting in a chair, Cara sitting on the couch, and Pakhan Evgeni pacing across from them. Several of the Pakhan’s guards sat at the kitchen table.
Evgeni glared at me and waved a hand. “Put the gun away, Luke.”
I shoved it back into my waistband and pulled the door closed. “Pakhan, I didn’t expect to see you here.” I looked at Yuri who only shook his head slightly. Cara stared down at her hands, and I could feel her tension rolling off her in waves—first the shooting, and now this. What a fucked-up day.
“I heard about what happened and I wanted to come give you my condolences. I liked Marvin, even though he was a loud-mouthed moron and a mediocre earner at best.”
“Thank you, Pakhan.”
“Sit down. We need to talk.” He gestured at the couch.
I sat next to Cara. I tried to get her to look me in the eye, but she avoided my gaze. I put a hand on her knee and she brushed it off. I decided not to push her further.
Evgeni sat in the chair to my left. My living room felt crowded and I wanted to take a shower to clean off all the residual blood still caked in the wrinkles of my fingers, but whatever the Pakhan wanted must’ve been serious. The man rarely, if ever, made house calls like this.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees.
Evgeni gave me a shrewd look. “I heard rumors. Nasty rumors about the Lionettis and one of their clients.”
I tensed and glanced at Cara. She still wouldn’t look at me.
“What did you hear, Pakhan?”
“One of their reliable washers decided to step back away from the game. A businessman named Jeff, some real estate developer. Apparently, the Lionettis were blackmailing him into cleaning money for them, but he suddenly decided to refuse their shipments of cash and skipped town this morning. I was wondering why a man being blackmailed would suddenly decide to take off, and I thought of you, Luke.”
I took a deep breath. I expected to have more time before the Pakhan found out about this. Selling the dossier, or at least pretending to sell it, that was one thing. But taking the fight to the Lionettis so directly was another matter entirely.
That was an act of war, and it would pull the whole family into it.
“We approached him, Pakhan,” I said, and heard Yuri suck in a surprised breath. Poor guy didn’t have any clue what we were doing—none of them did, except for German. “It was my idea. I thought, since we have the dossier, we could use it to do exactly what the Lionettis were doing, only in the reverse. They wanted to blackmail people to do their bidding, while I wanted to blackmail people into hurting them.”
Evgeni let out a grunt and tilted his head. “It’s an interesting idea.”
“I understand the dangers of this game, but it was my idea and mine alone, nobody else should be to blame.” I felt Cara tense next to me, and I was about to tell her to be quiet if she decided to speak up—but she kept silent.
I could protect her. The Pakhan would hesitate to kill me at least, since I was still valuable to him. But Cara was nothing more than a minor annoyance, only alive at my behest, and if he understood that she was the one who set this blackmail scheme into motion then I had a feeling he would take his frustration out on her.
I had to do my best to keep her safe, even if that meant taking the punishment myself.
“You did a serious thing, Luke,” Evgeni said very slowly, enunciating each word. “The Lionettis do not take this sort of provocation lightly. They will realize it was you behind this developer’s sudden change of heart, and they will come to me for retribution. The Morozov family is strong at the moment, but I do not know if we’re strong enough to win a war against the Lionettis, should it come to that.”
“We will be,” I said, sitting up straight and staring into my Pakhan’s eyes. “Let me hurt the Lionettis further, and if they decide to start a war, we’ll have the upper hand.”
“You can’t possibly know that.” He frowned at me, head tilted to one side.
“Have you ever had a chance like this before?” I asked, but didn’t wait for him to answer. “In all your y
ears as the Pakhan of the Morozov Bratva, have you ever had an opportunity like this? The Lionettis are strong, but we’re just as powerful, and even more so now that we have this dossier. They thought they created something that could shield them from harm, but in my hands, it’s a weapon they won’t be able to protect themselves against.”
Evgeni sat back in his chair and regarded me for a long moment. The air felt heavy, thick with tension and uncertainty, and Yuri looked like he might topple over at any second. The poor guy had no clue what was happening, and he was only now just realizing how much danger I’d put them all in. German knew, and he approved, but only because he felt it was a risk worth taking—the others might not agree so much.
Nobody wanted war, not even the most bloodthirsty among the Bratva. War wasn’t profitable, war led to bodies on the street, and bodies meant more police surveillance. The Bratva survived by keeping in the shadows away from the mainstream and far, far away from the cops. But once war broke out into the streets, there was no more hiding, no more running away, and we’d all be sucked into the dangerous spiral.
“I have to admit, this is an audacious plan.” Evgeni gave me a tight smile, head tilted to one side. “There aren’t many men in your position that would have the courage to take on a task like this, let alone to follow through with it under my nose. When I said you could keep the girl and the dossier, I expected you’d sell them both to the Lionettis for an embarrassing sum of money, but I didn’t think you’d start a war.”
“It was never my intention, Pakhan, only the side effect.”
He laughed and shook his head. “All right, Luke. You want this war? Then you can go ahead and get me this war. But if the Lionettis aren’t weakened by the time the fighting starts, then you will be the one on the front lines, you and your whole crew, and I’ll make sure that little toy girl you’ve been keeping all to yourself pays the price. Do you hear me, Luke? You make sure the Lionettis are bleeding, or you all die.”