by A D Seeley
Patting Crystal’s knee as she stood up, she said, “Thanks for giving me some ideas. I’m gonna go think now.”
Crystal just smiled at her before turning back to the TV.
Chapter Six
***
“Santoni, my man, what brings you here?” Inac asked the thick-necked giant walking into his hospital room early the next morning.
Inac was a good 6’6”—and six millimeters, if he wanted to be exact—and two hundred and sixty pounds or so of solid muscle. As it was, they didn’t atrophy when he didn’t use them, so he never weighed less than that. Santoni was even larger in stature at a minimum of 7 feet and at least three hundred forty pounds on a skinny day. That fact in and of itself had made him Inac’s go-to guy for anything and everything. People did as Inac ordered when such an intimidating man was there to hurt them however Inac wanted them hurt.
He’d found Santoni on death row for murder about twenty years ago, right after Micah had quit to go straight after murdering Hara’s family. He didn’t usually let people “quit,” but Santoni was better and Inac was in such a good mood over the girl’s death that Micah had been given that rare reward. Of course, it was a reward that, over time, Inac had decided was a liability, which was how Micah had found himself in the midst of a tragic and fatal car “accident.”
Inac now found himself wishing that Micah was still alive so that, upon finding out that Hara was alive as well, he could have made the man sorry he’d failed him by sending Santoni after him. The car accident had let him off too easily….
Feeling Santoni’s eyes upon him, Inac tuned back into the here and now, suppressing his rage and anger for a long dead man. Instead, his attention went back to his current right-hand-man.
With his head shaved close so that he didn’t have any stubble, large tanned muscles made larger from the tight black muscle tee and black slacks he wore, and a teardrop tattoo in the corner of one eye, Santoni looked every bit the cliché of the murderer that he was. In exchange for his life, Santoni agreed to work for him. If Santoni ever went against him, though, he knew he’d be dead within moments. Or, worse, have a drawn-out death like Inac exacted upon those who crossed him.
“Couple things. First of all, how ya doin’?” Santoni asked in his deep bass once it was obvious he finally had Inac’s ear.
“I’m good. Did you really have to hit an artery when you shot me, though?”
With a smile that made him look less like a murderer and more like a little boy, he said, “We both know it wouldn’t’ve killed ya.”
“I know. You’re still lucky that it actually made everything go better than planned, though. The girl was here waiting for me to wake up,” Inac said, returning the smile to show how proud he was that things were working in his favor.
“That’s good news.”
“Yes, it is.” Losing the smile, he said, “Just make sure that she never sees us together. She’s not dumb. She’d put two and two together. I doubt there are many men your size in this city.”
“I know, sir. But I had to come.”
The way he said it made it obvious that he was coming with less than stellar news.
“What?” Inac grumbled, his good mood now gone.
“It’s the Israeli Prime Minister, sir.”
Inac felt his heart beating faster with anger. He was sick of the kid—really a sixty-something-year-old man—not playing by the rules.
Exasperated, he asked, “What’s Aviv doing now?”
“He’s refusing to cooperate, saying he’ll no longer be a part of the Mokolios. Also, he’s giving the go-ahead to build more Jewish properties in East Jerusalem, even though you ordered him to leave it to the Palestinians so they can have their own capital to worship in.”
Inac couldn’t help but laugh. “And he actually believes he has a choice?” He was laughing so hard it actually brought a tear to his eye.
“What would you like me to do, sir?”
All business, Inac said, “Ready the jet. We’re going to remind him exactly who’s really in charge and what I’m capable of.”
“And the team?” Inac had his own team of elite soldiers within the Mokolios. Though Santoni wasn’t a soldier, he was their team leader since he was the one Inac trusted the most. He was loyal, not only out of fear, but because he liked Inac and the job. One couldn’t beat that combination when looking for someone who would dirty their hands so Inac wouldn’t have to. This way, he had minimal effort with maximum results. It was nice after thousands of years of doing things the hard way.
“Have them stand by with plans for kidnapping every member of the prime minister’s family. If he doesn’t comply, we’ll need to act quickly.”
“Yes, sir.” When Inac stood up and began ripping out his IV, Santoni asked, “Sir?”
“You didn’t think I was going to send you alone?”
“Of course not, sir.” Though it was obvious that he had. “But what about the girl?”
“She’ll still be here when I get back. After all, we’ll only need a day at most to convince Aviv.”
“And if we don’t? Even after killing his family?”
Inac couldn’t believe what an idiot Santoni was being. He’d been with Inac for two decades. He should know by now exactly what Inac would do.
Grabbing the studs for the facial piercings that had healed over in his few days here so he could re-pierce them on the plane, Inac said, “I’ll do what I always do. We’ll kill him and anyone else we have to before ‘electing’ a more willing individual.”
***
“What do you mean he’s gone?!” Hara demanded of the haggard-looking nurse.
“I mean that he up and left. And without the doctor’s authorization, too.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“Honey, if I knew where he went, he wouldn’t have gotten away, now would he?”
The nurse seemed stressed. She had probably been yelled at for losing a patient.
Flashing her an appreciative smile, Hara said, “Okay. Thanks anyway.”
But the nurse was already stalking down the hall, her white tennis shoes squeaking along the sparkling white tile floor.
Hara turned to go back home, the black gift bag in her hands swinging from her momentum. She’d spent days knitting Inac a black and gray beanie as a thank you gift for saving her life.
She would try to get his number or address from Vinnie so that she could take him the gift, but she didn’t want to seem like a stalker. She just hoped that, wherever Inac was, he was alive and well.
***
“Nice of you to join us,” Inac hissed from the shadows as the prime minister stepped into his fancy home office. He spoke in Hebrew, the native tongue of the prime minister, figuring that doing so might make it easier to get him to behave.
Suddenly a light blazed overhead, illuminating Inac, who was sitting with his feet perched on the grand white marble-topped desk and his hands clasped together in his lap.
“How dare you break into my house!” the short and slender prime minister yelled back in the ancient language, glancing between Inac at the desk and Santoni behind him. Like most every language, Inac spoke it fluently, to the point where it sounded as though it was his native tongue. When in a country, he always took on their language, style of dress, and accent; it helped him to blend in so he could go about his seemingly anonymous life.
Inac couldn’t help but be impressed with Aviv’s spunk, seeing as how Santoni had closed the door behind him, trapping Aviv in here with two hostile men who both towered over him.
“Your house?” Inac hissed as he brought his feet down and leaned forward in the leather chair, placing his hands, still together, on the desk where his feet had been. “This is my house, and don’t ever forget it. I was the one who fixed the election. You knew what that meant. That made you, and everything you do, subject to me.”
“That was before I knew who you were and what you have done. I know you’re responsible for the slaughter of my
people.”
Inac stood up straight and walked over to Aviv. Doing so made his shoulder kill, but he wasn’t about to show any weaknesses.
“I just gave it a little push.”
“So you don’t deny it?” he asked, looking down his large Jewish nose at Inac, even though he had to look up to do so.
“Hitler was an angry kid who didn’t know where to aim his hatred. I just nudged him in that direction. I didn’t know how obsessed he’d become.”
“But you didn’t stop it!”
“Actually, I did.”
“When?” Aviv scoffed. He was acting tough, but Inac could see the sweat beading at his hairline, as well as he could smell the fear emanating from the other man.
“When I had the President of the United States drop atomic bombs on Japan. He didn’t want to, but I can be quite persuasive,” he said with a smile he hoped would scare the little man.
“I don’t believe you. You don’t care about anyone but yourself. You especially don’t care about God’s chosen people.”
“And who says I did it for anyone else? I never pretended anything different.”
“Then why did you do it?” he asked as he took a small step backward.
Taking a step forward into Aviv’s personal space since the man was obviously trying to distance himself, Inac said, “Because Hitler was out of control. He got greedy. He thought that he could own some of this planet for himself. What he didn’t realize is that I’ll do anything to remain in control of it.”
“Is that why you’re here? You’re afraid to lose Israel?”
Inac couldn’t help but laugh; a laugh that caused the prime minister to flinch.
Ceasing his laughter as quickly as it had come, he said, “I won’t lose Israel. If I can’t convince you to jump back on board and beg my forgiveness, then I’ll just get rid of you like I did your predecessor.”
“I would rather die a martyr’s death than work for such an unholy beast!”
“And what about your family? Do you want them to die as martyrs for a cause they know nothing about?” he asked in a venomous whisper. He was bored with this. And when he got bored and lost his patience, he could become cruel. It wasn’t that he cared whether or not Aviv died. It’s just that it would take too much time and energy to replace him, and Inac had other projects to devote himself to at the moment.
The prime minister’s blue eyes opened wide. “You wouldn’t!”
“And why not? You know exactly what I’m capable of and who I really am. I’ve done worse things than kill a couple of innocent people to keep a servant in line.”
He wasn’t bluffing. And he knew Aviv knew it.
Aviv divided his attention between Inac and Santoni for a moment before his gaze turned to one of defeat. “Okay. I’ll do what you want.”
Inac’s grin was from ear to ear when he replied, “Music to my ears. All I ask for is your loyalty.”
“And everything that entails,” Aviv mumbled to the beautiful Persian rug that covered the floor, his nose casting a long shadow along his face.
“Yes, and everything that entails. But you also know that loyal servants are rewarded graciously.”
“Is this what you consider graciously?” he said, looking up at Inac again. “Threatening me and my family?”
Inac flashed him another feral smile. “Of course. You are all alive, aren’t you?” He then lightly pat Aviv’s cheek as he said in English to his man blocking the door, his eyes still on the old man’s, “Santoni, let the team know that they can stop tailing the prime minister’s family and to get back on their jet.”
Santoni, who didn’t speak a word of Hebrew so the entire conversation was lost on him, got on his phone and walked out the door. Inac smiled again; a nice smile this time.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Prime Minister.” When he got to the door, he turned back around, saying in a cordial tone that barely veiled the threat in his words, “Oh, and don’t forget, you can’t go to anyone to help you out of this because everyone of any importance works for me.”
Chapter Seven
***
“So Hara,” Vinnie called as he tried to pull his pants up around his massive waist—it was an eternal struggle that he would never win. “You gonna help clean or just eat your weight in onion rings?”
“I am cleaning,” she said in her sweetest voice from the elevated barstool she was sitting on. It always felt odd to sit on the wrong side of the bar.
“Oh yeah? And how do you figure that?”
“I’m getting rid of all the onion rings.”
Not even Vinnie could help but smile at that.
“Well, can you at least help wipe up the tables while you eat?”
“I most certainly can,” she said, plopping another ring into her mouth and jumping to her feet, now clad in comfortable red ballet flats. The moment the club had closed she’d traded her uniform heels for them, which was the only reason she didn’t fall from such a quick movement. Crystal and Hara always cleaned side by side, so it was actually kind of fun to wipe down the tables and other such things.
They were trading stories from the evening, mostly laughing at the lame pick-up lines guys had tried on them, when Vinnie and Tracker came out of the kitchen, a few of the kitchen employees following them. She was so jealous that the kitchen employees got to wear whatever they wanted. So not fair.
“Are you girls cleaning or just yappin’ away?” Vinnie asked as he worked a comb through his greasy dark hair. He could get so annoying sometimes.
“Yapping,” they replied in unison, which made them both giggle.
It wasn’t really funny, but at this hour in the morning, things just seemed funnier.
“Mr. Adamson,” Vinnie said suddenly, looking worried as he pushed his white dress shirt farther into his black dress pants, trying to smooth out his large stomach as he did so.
Hara stopped dead in her tracks, a stool still in her hands. She just didn’t have the willpower to put it on the bar as her body tensed, her ears tuning outward to catch what Inac’s reply would be.
“Mr. Crookston,” a masculine voice said from behind her.
Crystal looked meaningfully at Hara as she re-stocked the glasses on the other side of the bar, though Hara barely caught it between trying to breathe as well as willing her body into moving again.
“What can I do for you, sir?” Vinnie asked in a tone Hara had never heard him use before. Vinnie was nervous. Maybe he just didn’t like having someone higher up the corporate ladder now that he no longer owned the club. Of course, it was strange for Inac to be showing up so late. Vinnie probably thought it was a spot check to gauge how well he managed the place since, despite its massive popularity, he’d almost run it into the ground.
“To be honest, you can’t do anything for me,” Inac replied in a clipped tone. He didn’t seem to be in a good mood. That didn’t matter to her, though. For some reason, for the first time in her life, she really felt angry.
That anger caused her to turn on him, not thinking, or caring, about any consequences as her momentum made her long hair whip her cheek much like she wanted to berate him for turning up smug and full of life.
“Where have you been?! The hospital said that you just up and disappeared!” she yelled as she marched into his personal space. “Did it not occur to you that people would be worried?! You’ve got to be the most selfish person I’ve ever met!”
Attempting a joke, he said, “You certainly didn’t look worried just now, joking around with your friend.”
“Well I was! You weren’t ready to leave the hospital. You could have died!”
A large frown hardening his face until he appeared to be carved from stone, he said, “As you can see, I’m fine.”
“Maybe that’s why I’m so angry! I’ve been worried and you come strutting in here like you didn’t do anything wrong. What was so important that you had to do?” she demanded. She knew she was acting crazy—if he’d been interested before,
he certainly wouldn’t be now—but she couldn’t control herself. All the ups and downs with her emotions since she’d met him were coming out, making her appear psychotic.
“I had a business matter I had to take care of in Israel.”
Israel? That stopped the next heated sentence from making its way out of her throat.
Her eyes suspicious, she asked, “Are you lying to me, Inac?”
“No.”
“But Israel?” She’d heard guys give Crystal some pretty lame excuses before….
“My business interests are global.”
“But…I thought you were in the nightclub and restaurant business?”
“Among other things.”
Sick of his secrecy, she said, “So what brings you to our little neck of the woods?” She hoped that would tick him off. He was staying too calm for someone being yelled at. Did he not care about anything?
“You,” he answered so simply that her brain froze. She hadn’t expected that; especially in front of everyone she worked with. Now her stomach was nervous again. Why did he have to give her such a roller coaster of emotions? He was picking now of all times to tell her how he felt?
She had the sudden urge to kick him; an urge she wouldn’t submit to. She had never been a violent person and would hate herself later if she succumbed to it now.
“Me?” she asked, not believing him in the slightest; especially after he’d seen her go all nutso.
“Yes, Hara, you,” he said, his tone lacking any guile as he stepped closer to her, the corners of his mouth upturned in a charming grin. “You think I’d get shot for just anybody?”
The way he was talking was going to melt her into a puddle right here and now. Out of all the emotions she’d seen him have, gentleness had never been one of them until now—it didn’t count when he was trying to woo her in front of her date the other night. He was acting just like she’d fantasized. She could almost feel one of his hands on her face….