“Now that we have all of our permits and tax abatements from the city, we can move forward,” Dmitry said, leaning over the edge of the truck. “I want no expense spared. This has to be the state of the art arms facility in the country.”
Anatoly was a few feet away by Vasily smoking a cigarette and pretending like he was paying attention to his father. However, he couldn’t get his mind off the deal that they were discussing when Vasily found out about Leo escaping from prison. “We’ve got to make sure that the deal in Ukraine doesn’t fall through,” he said to Gabriel, who was busy sending texts on his phone. Instantly, he wondered if it was business related or the woman everyone knew that Gabriel was seeing.
“If we don’t, we’ll be broke,” Gabriel said, not looking up from his phone.
“I don’t know about broke, but a few million lights,” Anatoly corrected. “I’m thinking we should send someone over there to broker the deal face-to-face.”
Gabriel dipped his head. “I don’t see why not. Sure.” He felt Anatoly’s eyes on him. He looked over at his cousin winking his eye. “Oh, hell no,” he blurted out.
Dmitry stopped talking and looked over at the boys. “Is there a problem?”
Anatoly smiled sarcastically. “Not at all, papa.”
Gabriel turned so that his back was turned to his uncle. “I’m not going to the fucking Ukraine. Get someone else to sort this shit out.”
Anatoly raised a brow. “Well, who else would you recommend?”
“Vasily,” Gabriel said, putting his phone in his back pocket.
“He can’t go.” Anatoly said in a matter of fact tone.
“Why not?” Gabriel asked.
“He’s got his family to look after right now.”
“And I don’t?” Gabriel asked.
“You don’t have any kids and you barely sleep in the same bedroom with Briggy, I hardly qualify that as family,” Anatoly said with a snicker.
Gabriel’s lips thinned. “It’s not like that. We’re just going through something.”
“It’s been a year. It’s either going to work or it’s not. If it’s not, then break up with her,” Anatoly said, walking out of earshot of his father.
“Let’s just set the record straight. My private life is my business. I don’t need you to tell me what to do with my girlfriend,” Gabriel huffed. “Before you married Renee, you literally fucked everything that moved. I seem to recall a New York Times bestselling author who got the title because you screwed her and posted it online.”
“It got her off my back. I screwed her literally, because she was trying to screw me. Let’s not forget that she, like someone else here, was a cop. .”
“Was is the operative word. Some days, you make me want to go back,” Gabriel snapped.
Vasily bit down on his lip to ensure that not even a breath came out. Everyone knew that this was an issue at the house. For a while, Gabriel had been at odds in his relationship with the woman that he was seeing. She also happened to be a woman that Anatoly had seen before he married his wife, and while that had been no big secret in the home, it had not been the easiest thing to maneuver around.
“Just because you dated her…” Gabriel began.
“This has nothing to do with me and Briggy. It’s about the integrity of the house. It’s about everyone knowing what the fuck you do when you leave there and the questions that we are asked when she’s moping around. Now, papa feels like you should be allowed to deal with it in your own time, but that’s because Royal doesn’t talk to him about it. Renee, on the other hand, wears my fucking ear out every time she gets a chance.”
Gabriel had heard enough about his broken relationship. He threw up his hand to silence him. “Briggy and I are working things out. That’s all you need to know.”
“That’s all I care to know,” Anatoly said, throwing his hands up. “But it makes a perfect argument for why you should go to the Ukraine and handle this deal.”
“I’m not going to the Ukraine,” Gabriel bit out. “And that’s that.”
“If you say so,” Anatoly said, turning to Vasily. “Do you think we have anyone we can send that we can trust to handle this thing?”
“We have a couple of runners who are reliable. I’m sure that we could send them, but it won’t be the same as sending someone from the family,” Vasily answered. He turned to see Dmitry look dead at him. “I think he wants our full attention.”
“Come over here and learn something,” Dmitry ordered. “Stop arguing over their like school girls. Leave home at home.” Evidently, he had heard more of the conversation then they intended.
“One second, papa,” Anatoly shouted. He pointed at Gabriel. “You’re the lowest man on the totem pole, you make it happen. Either you go to the Ukraine or you send someone who we can trust, but I’m not sending Vasily.”
“Fine,” Gabriel said, spitting on the ground.
As they walked back over to the truck, Vasily’s phone went off.
Dmitry rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. It was like having three grown sons instead of one.
“Sorry, boss,” Vasily said, seeing the call was coming from a blocked line. He stepped over the patches of mud by the trees and took the call. “Hello.”
There was a pause and then, “It’s Yakov,” the voice said.
Vasily looked up. “I’m guessing that this isn’t a social call?”
“No. Sorry. I don’t know how to say this but just come out and say it. Leo showed up at my shop with his boys. Sort of made me remember the old times when you and I were running and gunning. He’s got Taras with him now. You know how special he is. ”
“He’s a fucking idiot,” Vasily said flatly.
“Well, the years haven’t changed him at all. Look, Leo didn’t come here for old time sakes. He was running down Lilly. I told him that the story was the same. I went to find her…kill her and she was gone.” Yakov took a deep breath.
“But.”
“Why would he care? He’s a fugitive. Why is he looking for Lilly?” To Vasily, it just didn’t make sense.
Yakov knew that he was taking a gamble, but he decided to make his move. “He thinks that she has something of his…about twenty million dollars in diamonds.”
“What?” Vasily stepped further away from the small meeting behind him.
“When he got popped by the feds, he gave her $20 million in diamonds to hide for him,” Yakov said, looking across the bedroom at his wife, who was packing their belongings as quickly as she could. “She evidently turned on him, gave him up to the feds and had him locked away, and she took the diamonds with her.”
Vasily’s heart dropped. “Did you know that when you brought her to me?”
“Hell no,” he lied. “I’d never heard of them before now. For all I know, he was just saying that as a reason to get me to help him find her, but there is always the possibility.” Yakov made sure that he planted seeds of doubt with everyone to ensure a good rat race.
Vasily felt like he was being double crossed again, but he wasn’t sure by whom. “So does he plan to come here?”
“He plans to follow the diamonds.” Yakov slipped some clothes in a duffle bag. “Look, brat. I stuck my neck out as far as I could on this for you and for her. I have my own family now. I have to think of them.” He only wished his friend knew how fluid that statement was. “I’m getting my kid and my wife out of Little Odessa for a while as soon as I make sure that he’s already on the road. I just wanted to be the first to let you know. If you’re smart, you’ll put a bullet in his head and call it a day. Then she can start over new without worrying about looking over her shoulder every time that she walks out of her front door, and you don’t have to worry about going to war with a complete sociopath. And if she does have the diamonds then, well, you guys can start a new life together after he’s dead.”
Vasily had heard enough. “Let him come. For ten years, I’ve been wanting to get my own revenge on him for the bullet he put in my back. But no
w, it’s a lot more personal.”
“How so?” Yakov asked.
Vasily didn’t trust the man enough to tell him. After all, there had been many years between them. “Not important for you,” he said, looking back at his boss. He had to get back to work and deal with this personal stuff on his own time. “Do what you have to do, Yakov. Get out of town. Stay low. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Sorry about Lilly. I guess she got over on both of us. Have you been in touch at all?”
“No,” Vasily lied. “I put her on a train ten years ago and I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Smart man,” Yakov said, feeling as though he had kept his friend out of trouble, even if he had thrown Lilly under the bus.
As Vasily hung up the phone, he looked up in the sky and took a deep breath. She had hurt him once, pulled away from him, left him to bleed on the floor of her lover’s house, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she was playing him now. She could have had the diamonds hid until just the right time. Eventually, a man like Leo would get picked off by someone. With money like that, all anyone smart had to do was sit in the background and wait.
“Everything okay,” Anatoly asked, walking toward him.
Vasily nodded. “Yes, boss. Here I come.”
Chapter 11
Cleveland’s Bar
Jackson, MS
When Leo pulled up to the roadhouse bar off, packed with pickup trucks and American-made mini-vans, he took a second look around. Unsure if he was even in the right place, he stepped out of the black Yukon Denali that he and his men had driven half-way across the United States in and stretched out his body.
“This is rich,” he smirked. “I went to prison and so did she. Good for her ass.”
“The paystub at her house said that she worked here,” Taras, one of Leo’s men said, standing on the side of the truck to urinate.
As he unzipped his pants, a younger couple walked past them, cuddled up and laughing. The guy took one look at Leo and his men and made a joke to his girlfriend under his breath, then yelled out, “They’ve got a bathroom inside.”
Leo’s head snapped toward the man. “If you don’t mind your business, then we’ll use your girlfriend as our urinal, maybe you too, da.”
The man quickly hurried with girlfriend to the car and got in.
Taras shook his head. “Boss, you might not want to make a scene down here. We sort of stick out, you know. Don’t want them calling the police.”
Leo knew that Taras was right, but having been in prison so long, it was hard for him to control his temper.
As they walked into the small bar, a country band was on the small stage in the corner playing a cover song by Led Zeppelin and in its normal fashion, it was packed to the brim with people.
With his four henchmen behind him, Leo made a b-line for the bar, where Logan was standing, rag in hand.
“Welcome to Cleveland’s. Whatcha having there, chief?” Logan asked, trying not to make it look so obvious that he was gawking at the out of place group.
Everyone else in the bar, however, was not as civil. They gawked at the five brooding monsters and whispered among themselves. It was obvious to everyone that without saying a word, they were not from Jackson.
Leo looked at the selection behind the bar. “Vodka,” he said simply.
Logan nodded as he wiped down the bar. “Any old kind will do or are you partial to one in particular?”
Leo leaned in toward Logan. “Well, now that you ask, there is one that I was looking for.” With a smug smile, he pushed a picture of Lilly across the bar with a hundred dollar bill on top of it. “I’m looking for a very specific type.”
Logan looked at the picture of Lilly in her wedding gown standing beside Leo and then looked back up at him. A flicker of distrust laced his southern good looks. “Shit, man. She’s been gone for over a week from here. And we don’t have no idea where she is.” He turned from Leo and grabbed two bottles off the back bar display. Turning around, he slammed them on the bar in front of them. “Now, I got two types of vodka. This here is my top shelf; this here is the house stuff. Which one you in the mood for?”
Leo sucked his teeth. “Who would know?”
“Know what?” Logan asked, being difficult.
Leo over enunciated the words. “Who would know where I could find her?” he bit out, trying to control his growing temper.
Logan spotted the tattoos on Leo’s arm and narrowed his gaze on the man. “You might wanna try the police, maybe. Dude, I don’t know. She just worked here. It ain’t like we were best friends. Now you gonna by something or what? I’m running a business here, not a location service.”
Leo contemplated his next action carefully. He could have very easily snatched the man across the bar for getting smart with him and bashed his head in to the white meat. But it was a very good chance with as many good old boys in the place as there were, he’d have to shoot his way out.
“I’m going to pass on the drink, Jethro,” Leo said, snatching the hundred dollar bill up. He turned to his men and sighed. “Let’s get out of here. This music is making my ears bleed.”
As they headed back out into the parking lot, a small red headed waitress who had been listening and watching from the other end of the bar came running out of the front door out after them. “Hey, mister?” she said, waving her hand.
Leo stopped and turned to her. “Yes.” She would never know how her accent irritated him.
“That hundred dollars still up for grabs?” Approaching carefully, she pulled out her notepad.
“Depends,” Leo said, tilting his head. “Do you know where Lilly is?”
“No, but I know who would. Her babysitter is an old woman who lives in the same apartment complex as my sister. She’d know exactly where she is and when she’ll be back.”
“Babysitter?” he frowned.
“Her son, Dylan,” she said, like he should have known that already.
“How old is this child….Dylan?” Leo asked, stepping closer to her.
“Eight. He just had a birthday not too long ago. I remember because she took off that day to throw him a party.” She took a step back from him, watching his chest swell.
“And the father?” Leo pushed. “Where is he?”
“Hey man, the only reason I came to tell you is because Logan after you left said that Lilly must have been your wife at some point. And Dylan is obviously not all black, so I just assumed….”
Throwing up a hand, he stopped her. “Wait. What does he look like, if he doesn’t look black?”
She stuttered at his directness. “Well, he looks like you…well…”
Leo frowned.
She tried to explain. “Maybe not like you, but he looks white. Half white.”
“Just give me the address…now,” he said in a grave voice.
The woman did so quickly. At the same time that she tore the paper off the notepad, Leo pulled the money out of his pocket and dangled it before her like a carrot. Holding the hundred dollar bill in his hand, he slowly tore it down the middle.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“Half the information, half the payment,” he said, throwing one half of it in her face.
She was about to put the paper back in her pocket when he grabbed her hand roughly and took it from her. “Thank you,” he said, winking at her. “Let’s go!” he told his men.
When he got in the backseat of the truck, he had to take a breath. At that moment, he wanted to kill Lilly more than he had ever wanted to kill her before. It was bad enough that she had testified from him and stole from him, but this was completely unforgiveable.
“That bitch has my son?” he said aloud.
The other men were silent, giving their boss a moment to adjust.
Nostrils flaring, he passed the piece of paper up to the driver. He counted back the years to figure out exactly where he would have been when the boy was conceived. It was too hard to figure out without knowing exactly how old the b
oy was. Yakov said that he couldn’t find Lilly when he sent him to kill her. Did she pay him in sex to stay alive? Was the kid Yakov’s or was it really his. They had been together the night that he was carried away by the feds. “Lock that address into the GPS and take me to her now. Someone is going to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
***
Vasily had never looked forward to much in his life. In fact, it had been a comedy of errors for most of his adulthood, but earlier that morning when he gazed into his son’s innocent face, he was looking forward to telling him who he truly was. Somehow the boy had given him hope, and whether he admitted it or not, all of the old feelings that he had for Lilly had resurfaced
He had left with his bosses that morning in a good mood, though he never showed it, and was literally counting the hours until he arrived back at the compound.
Then he got the call from Yakov.
Now, his stomach was in knots and the questions that had lingered the first day that he had brought her and Dylan here were back on the table.
When they got to the house late in the evening after their many meetings in the city, Gabriel went to the home gym, Anatoly went straight to his see his family and Dmitry hurried to the west wing to see Royal and his three children.
Vasily envied them as they went on about their night, knowing that regardless of the nature of their relationships with their children and the women that they loved, there was no question of their places in each other’s lives.
Left alone, he grudged up the backstairs to his room trying to figure out how to handle the upcoming conversations that had to take place. Should he be direct? Should he be gentle? Should he even tell the boy who he was? One thing that truly bothered him was that if she would lie about the diamonds, maybe she’d lie about Dylan. Maybe everything was a lie and he was just too stupid to see it.
When he turned the corner of the stairwell to head down the long corridor to his room, he saw Dylan playing in the hallway alone with a stack of Legos, waiting patiently for him.
Scandalous Heroes Box Set Page 87