by Leslie North
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the little girl who thought she could spy on me and get away with it.”
“What do you want?” Desi demanded as the uglier of the two goons pushed her to the ground. She pushed herself up, gaining her feet and dusting her hands off on her pants.
“It’s not about what I want, but what my boss wants.”
“Who’s your boss?” Desi inquired, needing confirmation that all Grigori had told her was true.
Ivan looked at her for a moment, then let out an evil laugh. “I guess it doesn’t really matter if I answer your questions. It’s not like you’ll be in a position to share it with anyone that counts.”
Desi didn’t like the way that sounded, but she couldn’t give into the panic that was threatening to consume her. She needed to stay alert and try to find a way out of this mess.
Ivan took a step nearer and looked her up and down before saying, “You’re a looker, ain’t you? Maybe you’ll get lucky and Leonid will decide to keep you for himself. At least until he tires of you.”
“Leonid?” Desi asked, playing dumb and hoping he would continue talking.
“Leonid Sobolevsky is the leader of the Ogalla Bratva and soon to be the leader of the largest Russian organization on both the east and the west coasts of this continent.”
“How is that possible? He’s only one man.”
Ivan laughed. “But what a man. He has already laid the groundwork with the largest West Coast organization, and after securing his leadership, there will be no stopping him. He’s working not only with the Colombians, but also with the Yakuza. With their support and resources, he will be even bigger than the Italian mob bosses of years ago.”
Desi was amazed at the depth of the plan, and also the insanity of this Leonid person. She’d heard about the Colombians but not the Yakuza, at least not in depth. “So he’s deluded?” she commented, not being prepared for the hand that flew out, connecting with her cheek and sending her sprawling on the ground.
“Watch your impertinence!” Ivan turned to the two goons and told them, “Put her in the back and make sure she can’t go anywhere.”
They picked Desi up, manhandling her into the back of the SUV, where they handcuffed her to the metal tie downs that had been inserted into the cargo area. With her hands secured to the floor of the vehicle, she couldn’t sit up, and because of her small stature, she couldn’t even see out the window.
“Don’t go anywhere,” the ugly one told her with a slap on her ass and a chuckle.
Desi tried to kick out and catch him, but he merely stepped back and slammed the door on her. She felt tears threaten and tried unsuccessfully to stem their flow. Don’t show weakness. Don’t give them that edge over you. Be strong.
She laid her head down on her arms and tried to conserve her energy for whatever was to come next. Maybe Grigori will return and come looking for me. Please let him come looking for me.
Chapter 20
Grigori and Stefan had spent the morning looking at satellite images of the Ryndin estate, as well as contacting David Patterson and advising him to go to ground and stay there. David had informed them he would be leaving immediately, and Grigori had given the man his private cell phone number, encouraging him to make contact once he was settled some place.
He bore no prejudice against the man, and in fact owed the completion of this part of his mission to the man’s willingness to put himself in harm’s way. Something that earned him Grigori’s respect.
Grigori and Stefan’s men placed themselves around the Ryndin estate, easily disarming the few guards the brothers had employed to ensure their safety. The entire operation took less than fifteen minutes before Grigori was strolling through the back door of the estate, much to the astonishment and alarm of both Misha and Karl Ryndin. He joined the three men in what appeared to be a rather well-appointed library.
“Grigori?” Misha asked, easily recognizing a man he’d worked alongside of years ago when Grigori was but a youth and coming into his own.
“Misha. I would say it’s good to see you, but I think we both know that is not the case.”
Misha and Karl looked at each other, ignoring Stefan for the moment. Misha asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Settling a debt. You orchestrated the hit on Konstantin and his family.” It wasn’t a question, merely a statement needing confirmation.
Misha couldn’t hide his dismay that their connection to that hit had been found out. “Danil talked?”
“In a sense. Konstantin’s daughter is alive and well and being prepared to take over the San Moreno organization with Nikolai’s help.”
Karl spoke up then. “That will be short-lived. Leonid already has things in place to take over the entire West Coast.”
Grigori hid his surprise at that news and made a mental note to contact Nikolai as soon as this dirty business was finished. “Don’t worry about that. Leonid will pay for his crimes. Before you pay for yours, I need answers.”
Karl and Misha already knew they wouldn’t live to see another sunset, and in the way of the stoic Russians, they were prepared to meet their end with as much honor as Grigori would afford them. “If we provide you the answers you require?”
“I will make your deaths as quick and painless as possible.” Grigori stared at both men, not needing to tell them the alternative. His reputation preceded him.
Karl and Misha communicated silently, and then Karl nodded. “We will cooperate. What do you want to know?”
“Who killed the two Clearwater cops?”
Misha shook his head. “It wasn’t us. In fact, I was furious that those detectives had been so stupid as to kill two of their own.”
“They were killed by dirty cops?” Grigori asked.
“Yeah. The younger one stumbled across the detectives repackaging their goods and told his father. Luckily, one of the detectives overheard them discussing it and lured them out on a phony distress call.”
“So you didn’t authorize the hit?” Grigori asked.
“No. Believe me, if I had authorized it, I would have instructed them to dispose of the bodies and to do so quietly. Those idiots had to cover it up because they turned it into a huge crime scene.”
Grigori filed that information away. Desi still wanted justice for the killings, but now she would have to get it by taking down a large portion of the Clearwater Police Department. That’s a problem for another day. First things first.
Misha looked at Grigori and inclined his head. “One other request?”
“What?”
“I have a daughter.”
Grigori raised his eyebrow, wondering how that piece of information had eluded all of his sources of intel. “Where is she?”
“I want your personal assurance that you will find her and take her to a place of safety.”
“I will do what I can. Does she know who her father is?”
“No. Her mother took her when she was eight months old and I haven’t seen her since.”
“How old is she now?” Grigori asked, wondering how Nikolai would feel about this condition, then wondering how Desi would feel about it.
“She turns ten next month. I want her found and taken to safety.”
“Who else knows of her existence?” Grigori asked, needing to know whom he would be going up against if he agreed to this.
“Only Danil. He promised to give me the information on her whereabouts once Konstantin was no longer a threat to Leonid’s takeover of the East Coast groups.”
All of a sudden everything fell into place and Grigori nodded. “I will make sure she is found and kept safe. I will even go one step further and give you ten minutes to gather as much information as you can about her to aide me in my search. Do not leave this room.” Grigori nodded to Stefan, and the two men exited the small library, shutting the doors behind them.
“Aren’t you worried they might try to escape?” Stefan asked, confused that Grigori would leave the men unsupervised.
&n
bsp; Grigori didn’t answer, but leaned against the closest wall. “No.” He glanced at his watch and mentally prepared himself for what he assumed was coming.
Five minutes went by. Seven minutes went by. At nine minutes, the loud rapport of two guns being discharged simultaneously echoed through the house, causing Stefan to rush to the library doors. He threw them open to be greeted by the sight of Misha and Karl Ryndin lying on opposite sides of the library floor, both of them missing good portions of their heads, having fired at each other at close range.
Grigori stepped into the doorway, grimly looking at the gruesome scene and understanding that they had needed to end their lives in this way. His private cell phone rang and he answered it without looking at the caller. “What?”
“Grigori, David Patterson here. I just got a call from Ivan and he has a special delivery for the Ryndin brothers.”
“They are no longer available to receive packages. Any idea of what it is?”
“Your girl.”
Chapter 21
“What? Where and when?” Grigori asked, already heading for his vehicle. Ivan is a dead man. If he’s hurt one hair on her head, I will rip him apart inch by inch.
“Clearwater Harbor. Dock nineteen. A ship named the Santa Dominga. She’s scheduled to sail at twenty-two hundred hours.”
“Who is he expecting to meet him?” Grigori asked, throwing the Humvee in gear just as Stefan jumped into the passenger seat.
“I told him I was sending someone to take possession of the package. Grigori, you should know that there is a strong possibility Leonid will show up tonight as well.”
Grigori placed the phone on speaker. “Explain all of that again so Stefan can hear.”
David did so, and then silence filled the vehicle while each man mulled over the significance of what was about to go down.
Finally gaining the freeway once again, Grigori finished his conversation with David, urging him to make an anonymous call to the Clearwater Police Department. With any luck, the dirty cops would show up and this entire mess could be cleaned up in one big swoop.
Stefan made a few calls and organized his men to be at the docks as soon as possible. David made the call to the Clearwater police station and then headed for the airport. At Grigori’s insistence, he was getting on the first plane west and not looking back.
Grigori and Stefan drove by Ivan’s dry cleaner, and Grigori stopped at the diner, not seeing Dennis in his usual spot. The waitress inside was only too willing to tell him what had happened earlier in the day, including Desi’s kidnapping and the fact that Dennis had been taken by an ambulance to the local hospital. I’ll check on him as soon as I retrieve Desi.
Stefan’s men had been instructed to shoot first and ask questions later. There was no telling how deep the corruption in the police department went, but Grigori was counting on the fact that only the dirty cops would show up tonight.
Stefan managed to find out the ship was registered to a Colombian coffee company, one that had also been known to bring drugs into the States every now and then. Stefan’s men had been instructed to seize control of the ship as soon as possible, thereby eliminating any chance of a two-sided gunfight in the dark.
At six o’clock, Stefan received confirmation that the ship was secure, his men had the perimeter secure, and they had a clear path for Grigori and Stefan to approach the boat. Leonid had not been among the ship’s crew, and the entire group had been secured in the cargo hold, to be dealt with by the local authorities once Grigori had retrieved Desi from Ivan’s clutches.
Grigori and Stefan climbed aboard the ship, with Grigori growling and ready to kill the first person who crossed him wrongly. Stefan handed him a fully automatic rifle, courtesy of a weapons shipment that had gone missing several weeks back.
By six thirty, word came down from their lookout that two dark sedans had parked at dock eighteen, and four men were making their way on foot towards the ship. Fifteen minutes later, a dark SUV pulled into the parking area of dock nineteen, and Ivan emerged, followed closely by two men carrying a large parcel wrapped in a tarp.
Grigori watched their approach, his gaze fixed on the tarp and the men carrying it. When they casually dropped the tarp-covered parcel on the dock and returned to the SUV, Grigori was ready to kill them right then and there, but Stefan stayed his hand.
“Let everything play out, just like we planned it.”
Grigori nodded once, his eyes glued to the unmoving tarp on the dock. If Desi’s inside that, she’s either out cold or they drugged her. He refused to consider any other reason.
****
Ivan hollered up to the crew members visible on the deck, all of them having pledged their allegiance to Stefan. “Patrosky said he was sending someone to pick up a package.”
“He’s already here. I’ll get him for you,” came back the reply from one of the crew.
The radio at Stefan’s side let him know the four detectives were closing in on the ship, but everyone held fast. Their goal was to get them aboard the ship and then take them down. That would require some patience. Two men lowered the gangplank and proceeded to meet Ivan at the dock. Picking up the tarp-covered parcel, they gently carried their burden up the plank and laid it down on the dock of the ship.
Ivan followed them up, boasting about how easy capturing her had been and how he was expecting a nice reward in return. Grigori clenched his fists, but kept his cool. At least I know Desi’s inside the tarp.
Grigori walked down to where Ivan stood. Schooling his features into one that had sent fear through much stronger men, he greeted Ivan in Russian and invited him inside the pilot house for a celebratory drink.
“Sure, lead the way. I was kind of hoping Leonid would be here himself, you know. I mean, Karl and Misha speak highly of the man, and after our last meeting, I got the impression he kind of liked my style.”
Grigori nodded but said nothing. Stefan signaled to him that the detectives were moving towards the ship and that another vehicle had been seen entering the parking area for the dock.
Stefan’s men watched carefully from their hidden locations as the detectives reached the gangplank. They were allowed to board the ship, each one silently going below the deck to search for the elusive Leonid they had been told was currently aboard.
In the dock’s car park four men exited the last vehicle to arrive and immediately surrounded a fifth man wearing a long, black coat. After surveying the surrounding area, they quickly escorted aboard him aboard the ship.
The firefight that ensued was one for the record books.
The four bodyguards saw the tarp-covered parcel on the dock, but after uncovering an unconscious Desi and taking one look at her, Leonid made the mistake of putting his hands on her.
Grigori had been looking out the pilot house window, his image hidden by the darkened glass, but when Leonid had touched her, he had reached for the hidden rifle and shot through the glass, killing Leonid in a spray of bullets, as well as one of his bodyguards.
The remaining bodyguards had scattered. The gun shots brought the four detectives bounding up to the deck, pistols drawn and aimed at anything that moved. Leonid’s bodyguards were quick to fire on the detectives, taking them all down in a flurry of bullets.
When Stefan’s men emerged from their hiding spots, the bodyguards quickly realized how outnumbered and outgunned they were. All three of them immediately surrendered.
Ivan had watched in horror as things unfolded, and when he’d attempted to sneak out of the pilot house, Grigori had shot him in the head without a second’s thought.
When the bullets stopped, Grigori hurried back down to the deck, carefully lifting Desi in his arms and walking down the gangplank. Stefan would see that everything was wrapped up nice and tight before the authorities were contacted again. The evidence would show that the police detectives had arrived after an anonymous tip and the leader of the Ogalla Bratva had been killed during the firefight, after having taken the ship’s crew hostage h
ours before.
Stefan and his men would make sure that nothing could be tied back to his organization, and within twenty-four hours, both the Ogalla and Ryndin organizations would be answering to a new leader: Stefan.
Grigori had briefly discussed the possibility with Nikolai earlier that afternoon, and he had given his blessing whole-heartedly. He’d called to tell Katya that the men responsible for killing her parents had paid the ultimate penalty for that act. As he carried Desi to his vehicle, he couldn’t wait to tell her that the men responsible for her father and brother’s deaths had also met their just reward.
Stefan had sent a man running after him as he walked down the gangplank, and Grigori readily agreed to let him drive them back to the hotel. He had checked her pulse and breathing and both were strong, so it was only a matter of time before the drug they had given her wore off. He wasn’t worried about them having given her too much; they hadn’t intended to kill her, simply render her compliant for a short period of time.
He carried her up to the hotel room, grateful for the help of Stefan’s man, and laid her down on the bed where only the night before he had reached a pleasure in her arms like he’d known with no other.
She stirred briefly, but after opening her eyes and smiling at him, she fell right back to sleep. Grigori removed her clothes, placing her beneath the covers, then removed his own. He wasn’t sure how long she would be out, but he intended to be the first thing she saw when she finally awoke.
Chapter 22
Desi came awake with a sense of panic, the fogginess of her brain causing her to frown and fight the arms that were holding her so tightly. She struggled to come more fully awake, and then she heard the most beautiful sound in the world—her name spoken by none other than Grigori.
“Desi? Doll, wake up and open your eyes for me.”
She did as he requested, blinking several times to clear the dryness from them. She reached up a hand and let it run through his hair, letting her fingertips trace his eyes and then his lips before wandering to his shoulders. “You came for me.”