by Kenya Wright
Max shut the door behind him and kept his voice down, so she wouldn’t hear us. “Valentina leaves and then motherfuckers come in shooting the place? I don’t know about that.”
“Would it be that simple?”
“She might have something to do with it. She’s not even worried about what happened.”
I let out a long breath. “That doesn’t mean she’s guilty. It could mean that shit is always happening around her. Personally, since Kaz has come into our life, there has been a bomb explosion, Shower Posse people dead in my apartment, my revelation of being a serial killer, and a luxury flight with hundreds of fighters following us. Since we’ve been here…it’s been all types of crazy shit—POW prisoners and shit.”
“POW prisoners?”
“That guy in the shackles. And what was up with the mother and child?”
“I don’t remember a mother and child, but I did see tons of girls strolling the property that looked like hookers.”
“How do hookers even relate to what we’re talking about?”
“They were sexy as fuck.”
“Either way, I’m thinking the idea of a normal day to Valentina deals with blood and death.”
“But what about the children’s book?”
My head pounded and ached. “What?”
“The guys were in black, red, and white, same as the riders in the children’s book.”
It could’ve been a coincidence, but the one thing I learned about Kaz was that there was no such thing.
“It could be a meaningful coincidence. So, what do we do? This is no longer Chinatown.”
“No, the hell it is not.”
I leaned against the sink. “If we don’t go, then what? We stay in the room until Kaz decides what he’ll tell us.”
“Or go with her, and have her kill us?”
“You think she’s trying to kill us?” I shook my head. “What’s the point? I’m not in the way of anyone killing Kaz. Those men showed that tonight. They shot X…they…tried to get Kaz.”
“Breathe, Em.”
I hugged myself and realized I’d been shaking. “I need a drink and some fresh air.”
“You want to go with Valentina behind your Russian’s back?”
“It’s his sister. He should be fine with it.”
“Unless she’s helping Sasha go after her own brother.”
“That’s another good reason why we should go with her.” I rose from the sink. “If she is behind this, I’m going to fucking slice her pretty throat.”
“That’s your sister-in-law you’re talking about.”
“Very funny.”
He wiped his face. “I guess we’re going to Prague. If your Russian comes after us, you deal with him.”
“Don’t worry about that.” I limped away. “I’m definitely going to have a conversation with him soon.”
“Alright, Em. This is Chinatown without the killing.”
“This isn’t Chinatown. This is fucking Dante’s Inferno without the poetry.”
“I don’t remember that job.”
“It wasn’t one.”
“Then why the fuck you bring it up for?” Max paced, completely on edge. “Did you know that Valentina has a baby?”
“Kazimir talked about his new baby niece.”
“No one knows who the father is.”
“That may relate or not.” I sighed. “Look, I said it myself that we must stay together and not trust anyone. I get what you’re saying about Valentina, but I don’t want to sit in this room and wait. Who knows when Kaz will finish with that guy and if he’ll tell me everything that’s going on?”
“Okay.” Max walked over to the sink, bent over it, turned it on, washed his face, and turned the faucet off. Silence filled the space. After a few seconds, he stared at me in the mirror. “I say we go with Valentina, but…she might be trying to kill us.”
“If that’s true, then we’ll kill her first. If not and she’s our friend, then we get information and protect her.”
“What do you think about her so far?”
“She’s hiding something, but we’re so far behind in this world. It might not have anything to do with us.”
Max shook the water off his hands and then wiped them on his pants. “Fuck it. Let’s get drunk and try not to die.”
“And X?” My voice came a little shaky.
“We’ll get him a drink too. He’ll love a bottle of something good on our flight to Moscow.” He reached out to touch me and then stopped himself. “Em…”
I was scared, but I tried not to show it. “Yes?”
“Everything is going to be okay.”
“If X dies, then it was my fault, just like Kennedy.”
“No. If X died, he did so with a smile. You took him from a graffiti-covered bus in an alleyway to far across the world. Before those shooters came, he was laughing, loving life, and talking about puppets.”
The weight of the world lay heavy on my shoulders. Pain twisted my heart.
I rose from the sink. “Let’s go.”
Ten
Kazimir
The two men sat on the floor. Neither shook or showed fear. I didn’t recognize them. They were Russian, and most likely Moldovan. I’d spent some time in Moldova. It was in Eastern Europe and had been part of the former Soviet republic. It was full of varied terrain including forests, rocky hills, and vineyards. The area had some of the best wines and largest cellars. Unfortunately, the area also had a special brand of assassin.
I spoke in Moldovan. “Who are you?”
They looked up at me, but neither said anything.
I signaled at my man. “Get me a couple of sharp items. These two need motivation.”
They exchanged looks.
I returned to speaking in Moldovan as someone gave me a hand saw. “You know you’ll die tonight. You came into my uncle’s home. You shot him and others. Ruined my dinner. These are all things that will end your life.”
I walked up to them.
They didn’t crouch or inch away. They’d been prepared to die, which meant they had a purpose. They weren’t interested in saving themselves, but there was something that was on the line.
You may not want to save your lives, but there’s someone you want to save.
“You know you’ll die, so that won’t be my threat.” I stopped a foot in front of them. “I think our discussion should be how long, before you die. Don’t you agree?”
One of them trembled, understanding where I was going. A sound came from behind me. A few seconds later, a nurse stood on my side, scared and shaking. She rolled in two IV units and had a bag with several other items.
I smiled at her. “Thank you for your services this evening.”
Her bottom lip quivered.
I returned to the men. “This is a nice woman. She’s an amazing nurse. She’s going to keep you alive just in case I come close to killing you. What I plan on doing is cutting and breaking, and then she will sew and mend. I’ll have a snack during that time, and then I’ll return and cut and break some more, and she’ll fix that too.”
Finally, the men broke. One began praying. The other begged me to kill him in Moldovan.
I stood in front of the man Emily had caught. “Who sent you?”
Instead of answering, he said a prayer. It wasn’t a good decision to make. He’d already wrestled Emily to the ground. Somehow, she’d kept the upper hand since he’d been shot in the leg. That being said, if any of them were going to die first, it would be him.
I grabbed him by his hair.
He went silent.
Everyone in the room went quiet too.
I touched the edge of the blade to his neck. “Who were you coming for?”
The man shook. “You.”
I figured, but you were ready for me. This was planned.
“How did you know I was here?” I pressed the blade into his skin. Blood beaded around the edge.
He trembled against me. “I got a text, yesterday morn
ing.”
“You were told I was on my way?”
“Yes.”
They knew to come to Prague before we even got on the plane. And Sasha knew I wasn’t dead. Who told him? It wouldn’t have been Emily or Max. Not X either. It had to be one of mine. Someone who was close to me in New York.
That thinking made me go too far.
The nurse shrieked behind me.
I looked down and realized I’d dug the blade deep into his neck. He been spasming against me and I’d had no idea. Warm blood sprayed from his neck and got on my hands and pants, and still I hadn’t noticed.
I dropped him on the ground. “If you can save him, do it.”
The nurse ran to him. The guy fell into seizures.
One of the closest around me texted him. Who did it?
I went to the other guy, grabbed him by his hair, and placed the blade against his neck. My men stepped in.
Luka got to my side. “We can’t find Em.”
It took everything in me to not slice the guy’s head off. I ignored Luka for that minute, scared I’d kill him too.
Where the fuck did you go, Em?
I gritted my teeth and stared into the man in black. “What did the text say?”
The man closed his eyes.
I placed the edge of the saw to his neck. “Who sent the text?”
The man screamed and then pushed his own neck deeper into the knife. Blood dripped out. I moved the knife away, but it was too late. He hit the carotid artery, toppled over and fell to the ground. Red liquid spilled out, puddling into the floors. Bubbles gurgled from the neck’s opening.
Luka stared at the man and said in Russian, “It must’ve been Sasha.”
“No.” I dropped the saw. “It wasn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Fear made him kill himself. Sasha doesn’t incite fear like that. It’s someone else. Someone who makes promises and doesn’t break them.” I took off my jacket and wiped my hands on it. “Someone promised to kill his family and he knows they will. That’s not Sasha. That’s someone else.”
“Sasha would—”
“Where’s Emily?”
The man’s body shook as he continued to bleed out in the middle of us.
Luka didn’t look excited. “I waited for her in the banquet room. She never came. We rushed to her room. She wasn’t there. Neither was Maxwell.”
I put my back to him while the others dealt with the mess.
“I will find her. Trust me.” Luka opened the door for us. “And after I find her, we’ll need to get out of Prague tonight. We shouldn’t stay.”
I stormed into the hallway and headed for Emily’s room on the other wing.
“Kazimir.” Luka rushed to keep up with me. “I have to tell you something.”
I stopped and stared at him. “There’s more.”
“Yes.”
“What?!”
Luka frowned. “Igor passed and…Xavier too.”
A storm rained down inside of me. Lightning and thunder. Pain and blood-hungry rage. There would be no corner of the earth where Sasha and any of his helpers could hide. There would be no redemption for anyone who helped him.
“Did Emily know about Xavier, before she disappeared?”
Luka showed sadness for a first time in a long time. “No. I was going to let you tell her.”
I walked off.
Luka hurried to my side. “We need to get out of here. This is bigger than we thought—”
“You’re scared?”
“No.”
“Good, I’m not. Let them come in more different colored capes—purple or yellow. Their mistake was coming after me tonight.”
“We need to leave tomorrow.”
“I’m burying my uncle.” I entered the hallway toward Emily’s room.
“Why not take the body to Moscow?” Luka asked.
“Because Igor didn’t want to be buried there. This was his home.”
“But—”
“Why aren’t you with Emily?” I stopped.
Luka grimaced. “Someone tried to kill you tonight.”
“And Emily almost took the bullet,” I growled. “And I fucking told you to stay with her.”
Luka said nothing.
I thought about the bleeding out man. “Who else knew I was coming to Prague?”
“Oleg, Anton, Boris, Valentina—”
“Valentina’s men. And none of them would do anything without her.”
“They could with enough coaxing.”
“No.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Each man would chop their own dick off if she asked.”
“You think Valentina is behind this?”
“I think you need to be with Emily at all times.”
Luka grimaced. “Sorry, Kazimir.”
We walked off. It took us no time to get to Emily’s room and confirm what I already knew. She was gone. It looked like she’d taken a shower. Her ripped and bloody gown was folded and placed on the desk as if she didn’t know maids would clean it up in the morning.
I scanned the space, hoping for a clue of where she’d been. For a minute, I thought I didn’t have anything. But then I looked at the cart full of clothes.
There are four carts in here, instead of two. Last time it was just gowns. Now there’s a cart for jeans and dresses.
I looked at Luka. “Valentina was with her.”
Usually that would’ve been a good thing. Even now, I didn’t want to doubt my own sister. I loved her. We’d never had any major problems besides typical sibling behavior. I would’ve rather believed that her men had gone rogue and plotted against her than to think she tried to kill me.
Could it be Valentina? No. Not my sister.
“Where’s Valentina and Oleg?” I asked Luka.
“They took the car and headed out for a drink.”
“How do you know?”
“I did a survey of everyone trying to find Em.”
“Do you know what bar?”
“Oleg has a tracker on his phone. We’ll find it.”
“Find the location.” I headed out the room. “I’ll change. We leave after that.”
Act Two
Definition of Dirty
2: conveying ill-natured resentment.
dirty looks
dirty bonds
Eleven
Maxwell
This shit won’t turn out right.
We sat in the back of the car. Oleg drove. Valentina rocked back and forth in the passenger seat, oblivious to the violence around us. We’d caught her up and she didn’t seem sad at the news of her uncle possibly being dead. Granted, it wasn’t her real uncle and she didn’t look like she liked him anyway.
“Where do you want to go?” Valentina looked back at us.
Em watched her. She’d been studying her the whole drive like a science project. This was never a good moment with Em. When she studied, she was wondering about the best way to kill a person.
Valentina smiled at her. “We could go to the Bermuda Triangle?”
Em’s face remained neutral. “Where’s that?”
I gazed at Oleg as he watched me through the rear-view mirror and continued to drive.
“It’s in Old Town Square.” Valentina shook her head. “No. It’s just tourist idiots, big breasted gold-diggers, and football players. We should go somewhere else.”
“I like the idea of Old Town Square,” I chimed in, trying to push the tension out of the car. “My vote will always be for the big breasted gold-diggers.”
Valentina and Em continued to stare at each other. Both surveyed the other with blatant audacity.
“No.” Valentina smiled and turned around. “I have another place.”
I checked for my gun. I’d filled it. Em had a new one with bullets. There’d been weapons all around the castle after tonight’s events. After so many had watched us all try to help catch the men, they seemed to see us as their friends. One man offered the guns.
I’d gotte
n them, gave one to Em, and did it all before Valentina and Oleg met us. I was sure Oleg knew we were carrying. He stared at my leather jacket as if he could see the piece behind him. He didn’t even glance Em’s way, and she was the one he should’ve been worried about the most.
Valentina turned back around in her seat and directed her attention to me. “Do you play PokémonGo?”
I gave her an odd look. “What?”
“Pokémon.” She flashed her phone in front of me. It had animated characters glowing. “There’s a legendary Pokémon over there. Rayquaza.”
“Good.” I shrugged. “I guess.”
“You two are too serious.” She laughed. “What do you think we should do now? Someone has tried to kill you, right?”
Em nodded.
“So, do we wear a frown?” She fake pouted. “Do we get scared? No. There will be a time when we die, but now is our time to live.”
“And what about if others have died tonight?” Em asked.
“Then, we live even more.” Valentina widened her eyes. “We drink in their memory. Would you want everyone to be crying and sad if you were killed tonight?”
Em’s expression softened. “No.”
“If I die…” Valentina turned serious. “If I die, then you must dance all night long. Don’t you cry for me. I’m okay. But dance and drink and fuck. Fuck a whole lot!”
Em widened her eyes.
“Promise?” Valentina asked.
“I’ve got you,” I said.
“Promise.” Em nodded and appeared to relax a little. “Where are we going then?”
“We are going to my favorite place, Parukarka Park.” Valentina clapped and switched her attention to the radio, messing with channels. “I’m so excited. You’ll love it. You two are so dark. It’ll be right up your alley.”
She moved through channels as if sure of what radio number she was looking for. She’d probably been here tons of times and had certain stations memorized. Most of the channels played classical music. A few blasted some Latin grooves with Spanish lyrics. Pop music played on another. I swore there was some sort of country song on another.