by Leslie North
“That’s the time Salko gave me to meet at his office.”
Any hunger pangs she might’ve had quickly morphed into knots of tension.
“I called him first thing this morning like we discussed.” Kaz leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before sliding onto the stool beside hers and flicking open his napkin before digging into his food. “Don’t worry. I’ll stick to the plans we made last night. I’ve already told Danny and he wanted to go see your parents, just in case.”
“Oh, God.” Allie covered her face, the full reality of what they were going to be facing later that day hitting her hard. “Why did I agree to this? If anything happens to you or Danny …”
“Listen to me, kotenok.” Kaz turned and took her hands, pressing kisses to her knuckles and palms before pressing her hands to his heart. “I swear to you that I will keep Danny safe. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know.” After the shock of him beating up Danny, it was a lot to ask. “What’s your plan?”
Kaz bit his lip and looked away. “I can’t tell you that. If Salko were to somehow get ahold of you, I want you to have plausible deniability. The less you know now, the safer you’ll be. I’m sorry, kotenok, but this is where the trust part comes in. But if my plan works, it will end Salko once and for all.”
“And if it doesn’t?” she asked. The solemn look in his eyes gave her the answer she needed. If it didn’t work, they’d all be dead. Great. Just when she thought things were getting better—between them, between her and Danny, with this whole insane situation—another bombshell hit. She stared down at her food, feeling nauseous now. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can, kotenok.” He cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him, the rough pads of his thumbs stroking her cheekbones. “You’re the bravest, smartest, most loyal woman I’ve ever known. And once this is all over, I would very much like to date you.”
The absurdity of his last statement, given the turmoil of the moment and the fact they’d already slept together, struck her as funny. She started laughing and soon she couldn’t stop. Kaz looked confused at first, then angry, then amused.
“What is so funny?” he asked at last, once she’d calmed down a bit.
“You. Asking to date me at a time like this.”
“I like you. You like me too. Why not ask?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, giving him an exaggerated look of concentration, tapping one finger against her lips. “Maybe because we could all be killed by a psycho mobster later today? Maybe because everything I care about, everything you care about, is on the line? Maybe because we’ve already done the deed and dating seems a bit old-fashioned at this point.”
“I see.” He turned back to his food and devoured several bites before continuing. “When we are together at last, really together, I want it to be right. I respect you too much to do otherwise. And to me, that means wooing you, courtship, dating. If these things are old-fashioned to you, then perhaps we are not as right for each other as I thought.”
Her heart leapt at his words. He’d spent time thinking about this. Really thinking about it. She’d never been with a man so thoughtful or determined or annoyingly, terrifyingly wonderful. “Oh, well, I guess us dating would be fine then,” she said, the words feeling lame, but they were the best she could do at that moment. Her pulse was pounding hard in her chest and though she ate her food, it could’ve been cardboard for all she tasted it. Kaz wanted to date her, wanted to have a relationship with her after this was all over. If they survived.
At the moment, she wasn’t sure what made her more nervous, facing Salko face-to-face or really making a go of what she felt for the enigmatic man beside her.
Nope, it was definitely the meeting with Salko she decided later as they set off for the south side of Chicago. She kept fidgeting in her seat, pulling at the black sweater she’d thrown on over her black tank and pants. What did one wear to meet with a crazed mafia thug? She had no idea. Black seemed appropriate, however.
And it will hide any blood stains too, her brain supplied morbidly.
She shook off the disturbing images of all three of them getting their heads blown off in Salko’s office and stared out the window beside her. “What’s he like?”
Kaz frowned over at her from behind the wheel of the Cutlass. “Who? Salko?”
Allie nodded, and Kaz went on. “Like a self-centered asshole with too much power. Why?”
Danny gave a snort from the backseat and Kaz glared at him in the rearview mirror. “You do not get to laugh about this. This is not funny. You are the reason your sister’s in danger, you pathetic piece of shit. If I did not need you for this meeting, I would consider shooting you myself.”
Allie sighed and glanced at her brother over her shoulder. “He’s right, Danny. I’m sorry, but this time you’ve gone too far. I hope you learn a lesson from this, but you probably won’t.”
He shrugged. “I never meant to hurt anyone. I just get these ideas, you know? And I feel like I have to get them going right away or I might miss out.” Danny shook his head. “I’m not perfect like you, sis. You’ve always been the smart one, the reliable one, the successful one. Me? I got nothing but bullshit and my winning personality to get me through.”
This time Kaz was the one to chuckle. “I’d rethink that last one if I were you.”
“Wait a minute,” Allie said, shifting farther so she could look her brother in the face. “You’re the one who always got the special treatment at home, the one who could do no wrong in Mom and Dad’s eyes. They barely even knew I existed.”
“Right. They never had to worry about you because they knew you’d be great. They always had to help me because I’m nothing but a screw-up.”
Allie slumped back against the car door and crossed her arms, seeing her memories of the past in a new light. She’d always considered herself the second-best child in her parents’ eyes because of all the attention Danny got. But if what he said was true, then that made sense. Her parents didn’t worry about her because she was always so responsible and focused on achievement. They didn’t need to coddle her the way they did Danny.
When all this was over, if they made it out alive, she made a promise to herself to be kinder to her parents. They were all doing the best they could under the circumstances.
Minutes later, Kaz signaled then pulled into the parking lot of a dilapidated strip mall. The only shop in the place that looked like it was still open for business was a pawn shop. He pulled to a stop at the curb and got out, coming around the big boat of a Chevy to open her door for her. Danny climbed out of the backseat to stand beside her on the sidewalk.
“What’s going on?” Allie asked, frowning as she got out. The sun was still shining bright and the black of her clothes held the heat against her skin, making her even warmer. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she stared at a large neon-orange sign taped to the inside of the pawn shop window. Our prices have hit rock-bottom. From the looks of the place, the prices weren’t the only things at the bottom of the barrel. Weeds stuck up through the cracked pavement of the sidewalk and several of the empty storefronts had cardboard taped up or wood nailed over them to cover broken glass. Salko might be a shady mafia collector, but this place seemed like a step down, even for him. “This is where the office is at?”
Kaz didn’t answer, just walked over to the pawn shop door and opened it, the bells jangling merrily against the glass at direct odds with the smell of stale cigarettes and bad decisions reeking from the place. “Follow me,” was all he said.
As the trio weaved their way through the cramped store piled high with all sorts of crap, Allie caught the eye of the gal working behind the counter. She looked young, maybe early twenties at the latest, and was quite pretty in a Slavic ice princess sort of way. Even her hot pink Mohawk gave her an exotic air. The look she gave Allie was cool and assessing, mixed with a hint of sympathy. Given she and Kaz and Danny could be on their way
to facing a literal firing squad, that seemed appropriate.
They stopped before a metal door in the back of the store and she waited while Kaz cha-chunked them through into what appeared to be a hidden room behind the shop. This space was done up in various shades of faded red velvet and upholstery fabric and looked like every bad Russian mafia film reference she’d ever seen come to Technicolor life. As the metal door clicked closed behind them, all eyes turned to them. There were maybe ten men, all of varying ages and sizes, all with the same flat, stoic look on their faces, scattered about the room. There was a full bar against one wall, several flat screen TVs mounted on the walls, and three octagonal shaped poker tables. A layer of smoke hung near the water-stained ceiling.
Nervous, she crowded against Kaz’s warm back and whispered, “Is this where we’re meeting Salko?”
Kaz took her hand and drew her in beside him, looking down at her, his expression guilty. “No, kotenok. This is where you will wait and watch as Danny and I meet with Salko.”
“Like hell it is,” she said, pulling away from him even as he tried to keep her close. She gazed around at the other men in the room, all Kaz’s trusted colleagues and loyal supporters in his fight against Salko’s bullshit. “I’m not staying here. I’m going with you. This was not part of our plan.”
“No. You’re staying here, sis.” Danny stepped in, for once acting like a man and not a mouse, in Kaz’s opinion. “I need to do this myself. This is my mess to clean up. Not yours. And certainly not Mom and Dad’s. Kaz and I discussed it before you got up this morning.” He met Kaz’s eyes over the top of her head. “I’ll handle this.”
“We’ll handle this,” Kaz reiterated. He led Allie over to the bar where they had a modicum of privacy. “Please, you have to trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” she said, tossing her purse down on top of the bar. “Because I thought we were partners in this.”
“We are.” He took Allie by the arm and walked her over to a chair facing one of the large flat screen TVs on the wall. With a nod to one of his men, Kaz watched the black screen flicker to life. On it was a view of Salko’s empty office. He got Allie seated, then pointed to the screen. “You’ll be able to see everything happen from here. Salko has hidden cameras around his office in case he wants to blackmail someone later.”
“Nice. And this is supposed to make me feel better about all this how?”
Hating the quiver in her voice, Kaz knelt beside her chair. He wanted to pull her into his arms and assure her that everything would be all right, though there was no way he could know it would be. There were too many variables that could go wrong, even with all his plans and support. Now, more than ever, he needed her to trust him. Not caring about the others in the room, he cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him, savoring the velvet smoothness of her skin beneath his fingertips like an inmate on death row savors his last meal. “I will do everything in my power to protect your brother, kotenok. You must trust me on this. Much as I love having you by my side, letting you accompany me into Salko’s office would just be a distraction we don’t need. I need to know that you’re here and safe and protected. That will give me the strength to do what must be done today with Salko. Understand?”
The confusion in her too-bright eyes said she really didn’t understand at all, but at last she nodded. He leaned in and kissed her quickly and sweetly, then stood. She grabbed his hand before he could walk away.
“I swear to God, if you get yourself or Danny killed, I will never forgive you.”
Kaz smiled and squeezed her fingers. “Understood.”
After this was all over and life got back to normal—or as normal as it could for a guy like him—he wanted to start over with Allie. Start a real life and a real relationship with her, explore this crazy, electric attraction between them and follow where it led. That, more than anything else, spurred him on and kept him going where Salko was concerned. He could never have that chance with Allie as long as Salko was still in power. He could never have his shot at normal until this was over, once and for all.
“Zashchishchat' yeye svoyey zhizn'yu,” Kaz said to his men on his way out the door, Danny at his side. Protect her with your life.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in the parking lot outside the rundown industrial park on the shores of Lake Michigan. Kaz had never understood why Salko didn’t invest a bit of his ill-gotten cash and rent a decent office space somewhere that didn’t reek of dead fish and factory chemical waste, but now he was glad for the remote location. It would make putting his plan into effect that much easier.
Danny looked pale as a ghost in the passenger seat, his eyes wide and his throat working convulsively as he swallowed. A bald patch showed through the unconvincing comb-over at the top of his head. “I’m not sure I can do this. I want to do this, but what if I can’t? I swear I never meant for all this to get out of control. I was making an investment, that’s it. I never intended to cheat anybody.”
Kaz exhaled slow and stared out over the murky water in the hazy, overcast light. “That’s the problem, Danny. Your intentions never play out quite right, do they? You just run from one get-rich-quick scheme to another, hoping the next idea will be ‘the one.’ When it doesn’t work, you cobble together some solution to the problem out of thin air and bullshit. I’ve known a lot of men like you in my time, seen them come and go, but you need to pull yourself together this time. Not for yourself, but for your sister. Her life—hell, all of our lives—are at stake. I won’t lose her.” He gave Danny a pointed stare. “I won’t.”
Danny took a shaky breath then nodded. “You love her, don’t you?”
“I do. Crazy as that sounds. I will do whatever is necessary to make her happy.”
The two men sat in silence for a moment before getting out of the Cutlass. Kaz walked to the trunk and made sure he had ample ammunition for the Glock in his shoulder holster before leading Danny over to a rusted metal door in a seedy little office building near the corner of the complex. Tall grass waved in the steady breeze off the lake and a few seagulls gave a mournful cry overhead. Kaz paused with his hand on the door handle and gave Danny a final look. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
They walked into the dimly lit building and headed down a short cement hallway to another door, this one wood-paneled. A small brass plaque on the wall proclaimed MS Holdings, LLC. Kaz gave the thing a disgusted look before knocking briefly and pushing inside. Danny stumbled through the door beside him, looking like he might puke at any second. That was good. Kaz wanted the guy scared shitless. Maybe if he was frightened enough, he’d never pull this kind of crap again. Though, knowing Danny Charman, that was a long shot.
Salko looked up from behind his messy desk as they walked in, a gloating smile spreading across his face. Two bodyguards flanked him on either side, watching Kaz and Danny with impassive looks, their hands clasped in front of them and their weapons on full display.
“Well, if it isn’t my best errand boy, Kazimir Volkov. And look, he’s brought me a present.” Salko leaned forward, glaring at Danny. “A worthless, cheating piece of shit.”
Kaz and Danny took a seat on the couch as Salko’s men had moved into position in front of the desk, just for this occasion, Kaz assumed. As he sank down into the threadbare cushions that reeked of old booze and musty sweat socks, he gave Danny a quick glance, praying the guy kept it together. He’d moved past the nauseous look now into what appeared to be full-blown panic, his eyes wild and his body trembling with a mix of adrenaline and pure terror.
“He was supposed to be dead,” Salko said, turning to Kaz once more. “Why is he still breathing?”
“I told you, dead people can’t pay.” Kaz kept his tone measured and calm. “I figured you’d rather have some money than none at all, per our original agreement.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the copies of the deeds to Allie’s shop that he’d made the night before and tossed them onto Salko’s
desk. “Here.”
“What the fuck is this?” Salko scowled at the paperwork.
“It’s paperwork liquidating the inventory of Allman’s sister’s shop. It’s not the full amount owed to you, but it’s a partial payment and a start.” Kaz reached into his other pocket and withdrew a second check for the rest of the amount. Between the funds he’d won in the poker game and calling in a few favors from his half-brothers, he’d managed to scrape together just enough to cover the amount owed. “And this takes care of the rest. Debt paid in full.”
Salko snatched the check from Kaz’s hands and stared at it, eyes narrowed. “This is from your personal account.”
Beside him, Danny gasped. Okay, so maybe he’d not shared the entire plan with the guy, but that was because he didn’t trust him either. Kaz couldn’t afford to lay all his cards on the table. Not yet. Not until…
“I don’t want your fucking money, Kaz. You can’t buy your way out of this one this time. This asshole owes me and I intend to collect, in any way I choose.”
Kaz sat back, crossing his arms, knowing he needed to spell it out so there’d be no doubt in the minds of those watching on the hidden cameras. “So, let me get this straight. You’d rather violate your original agreement with this man, turn down the two-hundred-and-fifty thousand that’s yours for the taking, all so you can add another kill to your ever-growing list of sins? And you want me to do the dirty work for you?”
Chuckling, Salko reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a gun, aiming it between Danny’s eyes. “Yep. That about sums it up. But I guess if you’re too much of a softhearted pussy to take care of this worthless fucker for me, I’ll just have to do it myself.”
Salko cocked the gun and Kaz was surprised Danny didn’t die of heart failure then and there. He didn’t though, to his credit, just sat completely still, staring down his executioner.
With a snort, Kaz stretched out, doing his best to appear unfazed as he hiked his chin toward the bodyguards near Salko. “You won’t kill him. Not here. Not with all these witnesses around.”