Rough Diamond (A Mafia Romance)

by Knight, Leslie

  “Just one hour Chloe,” said Vladek. “In one hour it will all be over and we’ll be on our way home.”

  “Yeah, one hour, I think I can last that long. Do you think I can turn my phone back on now, I mean, now that we’re actually here and everything?”

  She saw him hesitate and couldn’t help but think he was being over cautious. “Maybe just wait a while, until you actually need to start filming, just in case.”

  “Ok, we’ll play it your way, but I’m sure Abbie or my dad has been texting wondering where I am.”

  “Yeah sure, but maybe just leave all that until we’re safely on our way again. It’s only another hour and then you can text them all the way back to Ithaca, yeah?”

  “I guess, I should probably stay concentrated on what’s in front of us for another hour.”

  “Exactly. Come on, let’s do this.”

  Chloe got that Bonnie and Clyde feeling again as she watched Vladek slam the driver door shut and sling the bag of jewels casually over his shoulder. She made an effort to pull back her tense shoulders and they walked towards their rendezvous with the Russians.

  - 25 -

  Vladek

  Vladek’s mind was racing by the time they reached the park. It felt like he had a bunch of spinning plates and was trying to manage them all at once. He wondered if Mirko was already there and in position, wondered how many Russians would come and if they’d try anything and thought about what kind of messages Chloe would get when she turned her phone back on.

  Maybe they’d never have got so close so quick if it wasn’t for the robbery and the fact that he’d brought her away to safety. But if anything had happened to her father or her friends because of what he was involved in, then maybe she’d never want anything to do with him again. He wouldn’t blame her if she hated him then. She deserved a lot better than a stupid ex-con who got mixed up in trouble.

  It had just gone one when they saw the ship. The park was packed with tourists and office workers looking for a place to have their lunch. They hadn’t really considered the huge police presence in lower Manhattan but it would hopefully make the Bratva just as careful and unlikely to try anything.

  A group of Asian tourists bustled past in matching fluorescent jackets and crowded before the clipper taking photos. Vladek scanned the area but there were so many people about it was hard to pick out anyone suspicious.

  “Look they might already be here and watching so we should probably split up before they spot us together. Why don’t you buy a hat over there at that kiosk and pretend you’re just a tourist. Turn your phone on at half past and try and resist checking any messages, don’t get distracted. If you can film the handover, great, but don’t take any risks. It’s not worth it. They’re bound to have guys here as well so keep your wits about you and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

  “Yeah, I know, don’t worry about me, I’ll stay well out of the way and that idea with the hat is great. It will be fine, just don’t let them provoke you or anything, I’ve seen just how fast your blood gets up.”

  He looked at her quizzically, not sure if she’d just made a joke and was referring to his performance of the previous night at the motel. “I’ll just say my piece and tell them about the video. They have to just take it, don’t they? We’re giving them everything. Damn, I hope to fuck this is the end of it. I’m gonna live like a fucking monk after this.”

  “It will be fine, I’m sure of it. Just do it like we planned.”

  “You’re the best Chloe. I’m sure I would have fucked this up on my own. I’m gonna make it up to you so much once we get through this. Ok, we should probably split now. You go get your hat and I’ll hang around the meet point.”

  They shared a quick, fierce kiss and then he watched her walk briskly towards the kiosk to get her disguise. He ambled slowly towards the clipper, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone suspicious. There were almost too many people and he was beginning to think they hadn’t chosen such a good spot.

  He continued walking past the meeting point and then stopped for several minutes, making a show of gazing out at the bay and his surroundings as if it was his first time in the city. Then he walked back again, still looking for anything out of the ordinary but finding no one who caught his attention. He saw Chloe further away, almost totally concealed by her new hat and turning her face to the sun, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.

  The agreed time was fast approaching and so Vladek stood near the throngs of tourists who kept stopping to take photos of the ship. His arm was getting stiff from holding the bag so long over his shoulder but he had no intention of letting it out of his grasp.

  Throwing another quick glance towards Chloe he could see she was pretending to take selfies with the Statue of Liberty in the background. She looked just like a normal tourist on her first trip to Manhattan.

  A stocky older man with short steel-colored leaned hair leaned on the railing nearby and looked out across the bay. He looked unremarkable and seemed to just be reading the paper but when he spoke Vladek knew it was him.

  “There are lots of tourists here, lots of people. That’s clever in a way, but amateurish too. You have our property?”

  Vladek moved a little closer to him and leaned casually against the railing nearby. He could see his profile better then and recognized the wide face and squashed features from Ithaca. “I’ve got what you want if you’re the guy. Where am I travelling from and what do I have?”

  “You’re from Ithaca, am I right? Nice town with some nice shops, there’s a nice jewelry store.”

  “Yeah, yeah ok, you’re Boris? I’m gonna just drop the bag on the ground here and you can take it when you leave. It’s everything alright, everything we got that day. Fuck, I never wanted it anyway. I just want to be left the fuck alone, and the girl too. She had nothing to do with any of this. You never should’ve have gone near her. I said I’d hand it all over, you just had to wait.”

  “Well Vladek, the problem with the world is that most people have to follow orders. For instance I don’t have the luxury of being able to think for myself. I get told what to do and I do it. In many ways it’s a simple, stress-free existence. I don’t give a fuck about you or the girl, I’m just trying to keep my boss happy. You can understand that can’t, you?”

  “I’ve heard about your boss, I know who he is. Look, I’ve recorded a confession, everything I know about the heist and who planned it and who was involved. If anything happens to me or the girl the video gets sent to the authorities. We’re not a threat to anybody, we just wanna forget the whole thing ever happened and we don’t wanna be looking over our shoulders.”

  The man shifted and looked him in the eye for the first time. “If you know who my boss is then you know how… unpredictable he can be. I’ll pass on your message but he makes the decisions.”

  “And you just follow orders?”

  “I am a good soldier, that’s the way it works. It wasn’t always like this, there were times when the orders made more sense, maybe that time will come again. I shouldn’t tell you but if you really want to be safe, I wouldn’t make yourself too easy to be found. Like I said, my boss can be..”

  “Unpredictable”

  “Right. Now drop the bag and go. We’re done here.”

  Vladek could feel his fury boiling up again but he didn’t have any choice. Lashing out wouldn’t help their situation. He’d promised to keep a cool head and the last thing they needed was a brawl on the promenade.

  “You tell your boss about the video, I’ll even send a copy.”

  “Sure, I’ll make sure he sees it, now leave the bag and get out of here. And it better all be there, we know exactly what was taken so if you’ve decided to screw us your fucking video won’t save you.”

  “It’s all there, I’m done with it, and you and your fucking boss. You got what you want so just stay away.”

  “If you threaten me one more fucking time I’ll deal with you right now and right here. Get lost.”


  Vladek was tempted to retort again but knew there was no point. It was time to go. He shared one final stare with the thug before spinning and striding away. With one final glance he saw Boris take a proprietary step closer to the bag then return to his newspaper.

  He stalked away fast, glad it was over but left with an unsure feeling about whether that was the end. It was Alexei they really had to worry about and how he’d react to news of the video even if he did get all the jewels from the heist.

  He made his way in the direction of the car and looking around saw how Chloe was shadowing him about twenty feet parallel. There might still be eyes on him and she was being clever. If she’d managed to make a video of the exchange that would be a bonus.

  After walking fast for a few minutes he slowed down confident that nobody was following and shortly after Chloe caught up with him.

  “God, I thought you were trying to leave me behind there. I almost had to run to keep up.”

  “That asshole wound me up, sorry, how about you, did you manage to record anything?”

  “Kinda, I was being super careful in case anyone was watching so the footage is probably not very good but it’s better than nothing I suppose. Do you think that’s it then, is it over?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s like the guy said, their boss Alexei, who knows how he’ll react. We shouldn’t expect him to just be reasonable. I hope it’s enough, it should be. We gave them everything and there’s the video. I’ll call Mirko later and tell him how it went, I know he has his own plans so maybe he’ll come through for us.”

  “But it’s over at least, I mean, we don’t have the jewels anymore, do we?”

  He stopped walking and turned to her, held her close and looked her in the eye. “You’re right, we took a big step, we did it and that should be the end of it. You’ve been brilliant Chloe, that you came along and wanted to help despite everything. It’s just, you put so much trust in me despite only just meeting and everything that happened. I love that you did that, that you’re like that. I haven’t had much of that in my life.”

  “That’s just the way it is,” she replied. “I don’t think I could’ve done it any differently, because of how it happened, and because of you.”

  A part of him cracked a little at her words and he thought of the news he was holding back about the visit they’d paid to her father.

  “Come let’s get the hell out of here and get on the road. Let’s go home.”

  - 26 -

  Chloe

  Chloe was still buzzing after what they’d done. It had all been so simple in the end and she could hardly believe it. They’d had a good plan and had carried it out and nobody got hurt or anything. The diamonds were out of their hands and the Russians had no reason to come after them.

  Looking across at Vladek she could see he was reluctant to see everything as a success. He was still worried about repercussions but it didn’t make any sense to her. Why would they even bother if they had what they wanted? They weren’t a threat.

  Vladek drove skillfully through the traffic and seemed eager to be out of the city and on the open road. He was a strange and intoxicating mix, she thought to herself, dangerous but loyal, impulsive but brave. And he cared about her, liked her and had taken the job of protecting her seriously. The more time she spent with him the more time she wanted to keep spending with him.

  Once they were on the bridge and crossing the Hudson again she pulled out her phone. She hadn’t had time to check her messages earlier, she’d been too preoccupied with trying to take the video and then keep up with Vladek. But now she had a four hour car journey and time to go through them all.

  There were a number of missed calls from her dad and also a bunch of messages wondering where she was. She felt terrible knowing he’d been trying to get in contact and was probably worried out of his mind. She decided to call him straight away and to let her know she was safe but when she phoned it went straight to his voicemail.

  She started to worry because her dad always had his phone with him and almost always answered straight away. Looking again she saw she had a bunch of other messages, mostly from Abbie, wondering where she was and pleading for her to call.

  “I think something might be wrong,” she said to Vladek while phoning Abbie. He shot her a concerned look and his arms tensed against the wheel. She could feel her heart flutter and drop to her stomach while she waited for Abbie to pick up.

  “Chloe! My God Chloe!” came Abbie’s shrill voice. “Where have you been? I’ve been going out of my mind, are you ok, where are you?”

  “I’m fine, really I’m fine. I just had to take care of something and leave for a couple of nights on short notice. I’m travelling back now and will be there in a few hours.”

  “But are you really ok, what happened, why did you have to leave town and why didn’t you have your phone on?”

  “I’m sorry Abbie, it’s just complicated and I couldn’t have my phone on. I’m absolutely fine, really. I’m really sorry for making people worry, I didn’t want that at all. Is everything alright there? I’ve been trying my dad but couldn’t get through.”

  “Oh Chloe, that’s why I was trying so hard to reach you, he’s..”

  Chloe felt her vision contract as darkness seemed to rush in from every side. She curled involuntarily forward on the seat in expectation of the worst. “Oh my God, is he alright, he’s not..?”

  “No, he’s alive, but he’s in hospital. He had an attack or something, the doctors said it’s his heart.”

  “He was attacked?!”

  “No, no, he had a small heart attack or something. He’s doing ok though, he’s just had a bit of a scare but he’s stable and comfortable. You really need to be here Chloe. He’s been so worried about you and has been asking after you constantly.”

  She couldn’t hold it in any longer and tears poured from her eyes as deep sobs wracked her body. “Oh God, it’s all my fault. I never should have gone off without telling him and letting him know I was ok, how could I be so careless? Are you there with him? Can you please tell him I’m fine and I’ll be there very soon?”

  “I was just on my way there, I’ll tell him. He’s at Cayuga Medical Center, on St. Anne’s ward. Look. I don’t know why you had to run off without telling anybody, it’s so unlike you, but it’s good to hear your voice and I’m glad you’re safe. Just get back here Chloe.”

  “I’ll be there as fast as I can,” she sobbed. “Thank you for being there Abbie.”

  “It’s fine really, that’s what friends are for. Just be safe and get here as soon as you can. I’ll let your dad know.”

  Once Abbie was gone Chloe balled up her fists and pressed them to her tightly shut eyes. How could she just run off like that and think no one else would be affected? It wasn’t her, she didn’t behave like that. She felt Vladek reach across to rub her back but she batted his comforting hand away. If she hadn’t got mixed up with him then none of this would have happened and the last thing she wanted just then was his hand on her back.

  “What is it Chloe, is it your dad, did something happen?” he asked, his voice laced with dread.

  “He’s in the hospital, he had a heart attack or something. I should’ve been there, what the hell was I thinking just running away and not even bothering to call.”

  “Oh fuck, really? Is he ok?”

  “How could I have been so stupid and irresponsible? I got so caught up in everything. They said he’s stable apparently.”

  “Thank God. But you had your reasons Chloe, you shouldn’t blame yourself. You were in danger, we didn’t know if they were able to track our phones. You dad wouldn’t have wanted you to take those risks.”

  “But I could have found a way, I could have just used a payphone or bought a throwaway or something. I barely thought about him at all, I was only thinking of myself. I was so selfish and now he’s in hospital.”

  “But he’ll be ok, yeah?”

  “I don’t know, I think so, that�
��s what Abbie said. I just gotta get there, can you just get us there as fast as you can. I’m such a bad daughter, what the hell was I thinking?”

  “I, Chloe,” began Vladek slowly, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

  She spun towards him and wiped the tears away. There was something about the tone of his voice that put her on high alert.

  “When I phoned that guy the other night, about arranging the handover, he was a nasty piece of shit. He threatened me, threatened us really, just to make sure we’d hand it all over to them I guess and not be tempted to renege on the deal.”

  “And? What did he say Vlad?”

  He sighed deeply and she watched his shoulders sink and knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. Her whole body and face felt tight as she prepared for his news.

  “He told me he’d paid a visit to your dad looking for you. He didn’t harm him, just asked questions I think, but I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant for your dad.”

  “Are you fucking serious, he went and threatened my dad?”

  “I don’t think he threatened him, just asked after you but it must have got your dad worried, you know how intimidating that bastard was. He threatened us both when I was on the phone with him, our friends and family. He wanted me to know what was at stake if we didn’t give them everything they wanted.”

  “Friends and family? But you don’t even have any friends or family, that was all about me, my friends and my dad! And why didn’t you tell me Vladek? That fucking thug bastard called to my dad and threatened him and you knew and you didn’t even say? You just let me continue on believing everything was fine and the plan was working perfectly, and meanwhile my dad is in hospital because this Russian asshole scared the shit out of him.”

  “Shit Chloe, I know, I know it’s bad. I wanted to tell you I really did, but we were so close. I didn’t know anything about your dad being in hospital, all he said was that he’d paid him a visit. I’m sorry Chloe. You seemed happy and we were just so close to putting it behind us, I thought it would only be a distraction and I was gonna tell you on the way back.”