I stared at Karina. Had she started with the mafia to pay for her braces? My heart broke a little for her at that moment. I noticed Gina staring at me. She gave me the stink eye, I’m sure wondering why I’d been staring at Karina. So, I spoke up. “I don’t think she needs braces, either. What do you think, Gina?”
“I think she’s perfect how she is.”
“I agree.” I loved that new friendships were forming. I looked at Hank. It was all thanks to him. The world could be changed if we could put one of him in every school in America.
Viktor met me after school, and when he looped his arm through mine, he slipped something in my pocket. I pretended not to notice. “You ready for tonight?” He spoke with a quiet voice.
“I think so.” I answered, matching his volume.
“Good. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay. I’ve given you a cell phone that you’ll need to keep on you all the time during lifting periods.”
I put my hand in my pocket and looked up at him like I was startled. “How did you get that in there?”
He pushed a sharp breath out of his nose, pressing his lips tight together in a show of what he thought was cool. “I’m good at things like that. You’ll have to either sneak out or tell your parents you have a study session or something. You’ll get a text with a time, place, and a particular vehicle for you to lift. It will also have a link that you press once you start the lift. You’ll then follow the directions the phone gives you to the drop off. Mikado will be there to assist you today in case there’s a problem.”
“Mikado? Like the Mikado here at school?” I had to play along, and a good part of me was glad I hadn’t been given Jericho as my partner. The bad part was that Mikado had tried to warn me away from this, and I’d not listened. He’d probably be upset about it.
“Yes. However, you won’t treat him like a friend here at school. You can’t let it seem like you two work together or even see each other outside of school.”
I nodded.
“It’s very important that you don’t give yourself away or anyone else on our team.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” He squeezed my arm, hard.
“Ouch!” I jerked my arm away.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just have to be certain you understand this is not a game, and there are strict rules that must be followed.”
I looked at my shoes and then up at him. “I don’t want to let you down, Viktor, but I’m new at this, what if something goes wrong? Am I out then?”
“It’s not going to happen. It can’t. Alexander is my uncle, and anything you do reflects on me now. Don’t make any mistakes.” He leaned toward me, his face reddening.
Not the right move on my part to play the underdog. He wanted someone who would make him look good, like a Ferrari or Mustang. I’d have to be more direct. “I do know what I’m doing. I guess I’ll be okay. Are you sure your uncle will like me? Maybe if I could spend some time with him, he wouldn’t scare me so much.” If I was to be a Ferrari, then he’d want to show me off to everyone. It was time he did just that.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Succeed tonight and maybe, just maybe I can arrange to have you to dinner or something.” His green eyes flashed.
I smiled and leaned on him. The thought of dinner with Alexander Molgilevich sent my heart racing. If I could get into his house, possibly sneak a peek at his files, his paperwork, it could tell us a lot. This could be the break we needed. “I’d like that,” I said.
“Now, can I take you out for a treat? It can be our second date.”
“And when was our first?” I angled my head up toward his face. My arm still ached from him pinching it.
“Certainly you haven’t forgotten our dinner at my family’s restaurant.” He pulled away from me.
“I thought that was business.” I suppressed a laugh.
“After dinner was business.”
I tilted my head to the side to question the statement.
“All right. We won’t count that. Our first date can start right now. No business.”
“I don’t know. You said yourself that your uncle wouldn’t approve. I don’t want to upset him.” I chuckled and punched his arm.
“You’re such a tease.”
“No, I’m not. I’ve told you straight up that I wanted to get to know you better before there could be anything between us. And besides, I just don’t know if it’s smart for me to start work with the score in the negative for me simply because we’re going out. I want to be amazing at this job.”
“Leave my uncle to me.” His face was resolute. “I’ve no doubt you’ll wow him.”
I stepped away from him. A gust of cold wind whipped my hair around, and I pulled my hoodie on. “I’ll do my best.”
“Well, what if…what if I told him how I felt about you first and got his blessing?”
“Could you? That would really settle my mind.” I shoved my hands deep into my pockets.
He chewed on his lip. “Perhaps if I brought you to family dinner on Sunday…”
“Seriously? Oh, you don’t think he’d think we were railroading him, do you? I’d hate for it to backfire.” Heat spread through my chest in anticipation of truly getting an invitation even if I had to be that Ferrari.
“Nah! Yes. That’s what we’ll do. You’ll amaze him tonight, and I’ll bring you to dinner on Sunday. Not only will that ease his mind, but hopefully yours too.” He smiled. “I’m anxious to get to know you better.”
“Me, too.” I leaned on his shoulder. He wanted to get to know me better? What happened to the guy who tried to force me into a bedroom at Jericho’s? “Without anyone getting bent out of shape because of it.” Inside, part of me was celebrating while the other half cringed in fear.
“A rain check on our first date, then? Sunday at six? I’ll have to get you around five. He lives in Brooklyn.”
“All right, then. It’s a plan.”
“Just wow him tonight.” Agitation scored his face again.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Good. See you at school tomorrow, and be amazing!”
I hurried into the subway hole with a marked spring in my step, and he headed for his car, whistling as he went. It shocked me to run into Carson at the bottom of the stairs leading to the platform.
Chapter 19
“Carson? You’re not taking the subway today, are you? Did something happen to your car?”
Carson was one of the last people I thought I’d ever see going into the subway. I waited for his answer. “Actually, no. I mean, my car is fine and no, I don’t intend to take the subway. I wanted to talk to you.” He looked around and then took my arm and led me to the platform. “Let’s talk down here, though.”
“I looked for you at lunch.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I had some things I had to do.” Once on the platform, he took me to a bench, and we sat. “I wanted to finish telling you about Viktor. He’s not what he seems.” My heartbeat quickened at the thought of getting some inside information on Viktor and his family.
“You mean he’s not a self-centered, egotistical boy?”
He chuckled. “No. He is that. But his family—they aren’t the best of people. And it seems that people who get caught up with him end up either disappearing or turning into sullen, mean, angry people.”
I turned quickly to him. “You’re not suggesting that he’s some kind of sociopath are you?”
He leaned closer to me and licked his lips. “Maybe. I don’t know. I only know that people who get tangled up with him come out with problems or never come out.”
“And you? How have you avoided his influence?”
He swallowed hard. “I haven’t.”
Chills ran up my arms, but I had to play it cool. “Ah, Carson. You’re the nicest boy I’ve met at school. If you’re a product of his friendship, then I have nothing to worry about.”
“I’m serious. I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t. Please. I don’t want t
o see you get hurt.” His shoulders curled, and his eyes appeared wet.
I could hear the train coming. Why was everyone always trying to save me? I wanted to scream at him and tell him I was a very capable girl and could take care of myself. Instead, I held my anger inside and spit, “Thank you for the warning, but I can take care of myself.” Did every great guy on the planet see me as some weak thing who needed his protection? Ugh.
He looked as if he wanted to argue more, but I cut him off, not wanting to lose it right there.
“I think my train is coming. Really, Carson. You don’t have to worry about me.”
We stood, and he hugged me goodbye.
I was dying to find out if he worked for Viktor in some capacity. I would find out. It would be difficult if I didn’t get an assignment that put me working with him directly, but I would find out.
***
Back at the brownstone, I told the team about Carson’s warning, and my suspicion that he was somehow involved with the bratva. Jeremy pulled up Carson’s file to see what we knew about him. Discovering it wasn’t much, he sent Halluis to comb through the audio recordings from the school and Ace to find out anything he could on Carson’s family.
“We need to know exactly what he knows—or thinks he knows.”
The two agents disappeared upstairs, and I looked expectantly at Jeremy.
“You, study up on the felony you’re about to commit.”
“Isn’t there something more useful I could be doing?”
“The best thing you can do is make an impression tonight, so even though you might think you know this stuff, you’d better put a little more study time in.”
I bit back an argument, nodded, and pulled out one of the team’s laptops, hunkering down to study hotwiring, the docks and container ships. Jeremy disappeared into the kitchen and, I assumed, out the back door.
The sensation of waiting—for more information on Carson, for Viktor to call, for Jeremy to come back—was enough to drive me insane. I couldn’t concentrate at all on the videos I was watching, and my mind kept drifting, and strangely enough it kept landing on Jeremy.
A few hours later, Jeremy returned with a large pizza, and we ate in near silence. Halluis and Ace hadn’t found anything to connect Carson with the bratva, and Jeremy said nothing about where he’d been. The only thing to disturb the tense quiet of the evening was a brief argument about trackers. Halluis thought I should carry some with me tonight and place them on the cars I would be stealing. Jeremy disagreed.
“They’ve been able to find and disable every tracker we’ve attempted to place. If Christy puts trackers on her cars, and they find them, they’ll have reason to suspect her.”
“But if they don’t find them, the trackers will lead us right to the cars. Voilà, mission accomplie.”
“If it were that easy, we’d have done it by now. The trackers are no use to us. Whatever tech the bratva is using to detect them, it’s nothing we’ve seen before. They’ve outsmarted us in that arena. We have to find the cars through other means.”
“But your FBI friend—what was his name, Karloff?”
“Kozlov.”
“Kozlov, then. He said himself that they would never reveal the whereabouts of the shipping yard to a low-level member. If we don’t risk the tracker, we may not find the car before it is too late.”
Jeremy said nothing, just stared back at Halluis.
Before the argument could escalate, it was interrupted by the chime of my cell phone, announcing a text message.
It was time. I was to be at a particular restaurant at nine sharp to lift a very nice vintage Mercedes. It had been retrofitted with the latest security advances. The bratva must have a very specific buyer who wouldn’t be showing it about for a long time. There were only three of this car left on the planet.
“I’ve got to leave now if I’m going to make it on time,” I said apologetically, not sure to whom I was apologizing.
Halluis pursed his lips. “Very well, no trackers, then. Off you go, mademoiselle. Know that I will be there—in the shadows.”
***
I met Mikado at a small park near the restaurant. He looked upset to see me coming toward him.
“I thought I told you to avoid dinner.” He only looked at me for a second then looked past me.
“You did. And your words only made me that much more curious.” I fingered the charm on my necklace, and I stomped on some dirty, crunchy snow.
He gave me an exasperated look. “You’ll regret it.”
“Maybe. But it’s hard to tell just yet.” I bent my knees and then straightened them, looking out at the frozen park and wishing spring were already here. I wanted to see New York with color. The drabness of winter with the leafless trees and brown grass echoed my feelings of gloom.
He shook his head. “Don’t come running to me when things get hard. This is awful work.”
“Why not stop, then?”
He rolled his eyes. “You don’t get it.” He grabbed my upper arm. “There is no out. Once you’re in, you’re in until you die.”
“I don’t get it. It’s just a job.”
“Oh, I see. Let me guess, Viktor told you what a good job this was to get you through college. And what exactly do you want to do with your life?” He was speaking through his teeth with forced restraint, and I cowered slightly under the pressure of his touch. If I hadn’t been wearing a coat, his nails would most likely have broken the skin. “I’m going to be the head engineer for BMW.”
He laughed, a wretched sound in the darkness. “And I was going to be a lawyer.” He started to pace, his fists balled at his sides.
“So—be a lawyer.”
“No. They won’t allow it. Or if they do, I’ll just be their lawyer, doing all their dirty work. No. The only way you or I will be engineers or lawyers is if the Pakhan needs us to be. And even then, he’ll choose exactly what we do with our studies, and he’ll own us. Forever.”
I let my eyes go wide and said, “You’re exaggerating.”
“Not one bit. I tried to tell you. Why didn’t you listen to me?”
“Say what you want. I’m not scared.” I jutted my chin out.
“You should be. Let’s go.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head, a deep sadness shadowing his face.
Our phones beeped. Mikado said, “We’re on.”
It turned out that Mikado and I were quite the pair. It only took us three minutes and twenty seconds to get me in the driver’s seat.
“Impressive, Amber. Now, press your finger on the button on the last message and follow the directions.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I have another car to pick up.” His eyes darted away from me. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, but act as we always have. We are not friends.” He walked away. I drove out of the parking lot.
Once on the main road, I followed the directions as they were spoken to me from the phone. I was led to a semi with its back doors open and a ramp attached. Two men stood on either side of the ramp. I drove straight in, turned the car off, and hurried out.
Once I was out, they lifted the ramp, and the truck rumbled away. One of the men pointed to a subway hole, and without a word, I walked toward it. To my surprise, I got another text that sent me to another location. I guessed Mikado and I weren’t finished with each other after all. As I rounded the corner to arrive at my assigned location, I took a stutter step. Mikado wasn’t standing there; it was Jericho. He spotted me and moved toward me.
“Guess you were expecting someone else?” He had a smirk on his face.
I braced myself for his pompousness. “No. I mean, yes. I was just with Mikado and figured—”
“Never assume anything, and never talk about prior or future assignments with anyone. Maybe I was here for some other purpose.”
“Sorry. I—”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s a rookie mistake. I’m here to make sure you don’t make any more of those.”
&nb
sp; His soft demeanor and voice surprised me.
“What is the code message they gave you at the bottom of the text? That’s what you’ll say to anyone you think is the contact you’re supposed to meet.”
I pulled the phone out and scrolled through the message. Sure enough, at the bottom of the text was the statement, Crazy how there aren’t any stars out tonight. And then another, presumably the reply, Only in this neck of the woods.
So, I repeated the first phrase to him, and he responded with the other phrase. “At that point you’ll move into position for the lift without another word passing between you.”
I scanned the area for the car listed and spotted it right away. It helped that Jericho was headed for it already. I walked purposefully, but without haste. No one was around. No one. The bratva had an amazing handle on their operations.
Once in the car, driving it to the pickup location, he spoke again. “Do you always play hard to get or just with me?”
I had a choice, I could own up to it or pretend with a bit of sass that I didn’t know what he was talking about. I went with my gut, which told me he liked sass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If I thought someone like you would want little ol’ me, don’t you think I’d jump at the chance?” I spoke in monotone and looked him straight on.
“I think you and I are going to get along just fine.” He nodded. “Definitely.”
I snickered. Definitely a sass kind of guy.
We drove the car inside a truck. This time the two guys standing near the ramp jumped inside when we exited. They raised the ramp, and the doors to the truck shut behind them.
“Why are they staying inside this time?” I asked as we walked to our next lift.
“They’ll relocate for the next car. While they wait, they’ll reassign the VIN number, remove the plates, and put the new title information in the glove box. Great, efficient system, don’t you think?” He raised his eyebrows.
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