Hotbox

by Delia Delaney

  “I don’t care what you ‘believe.’ I care about what you’ll do to make sure she’s safe.”

  He smiled as he nodded. “Wrong choice of words. She’s absolutely fine. She’s under 24-hour surveillance right now, provided by my team. She’s got the best eyes looking out for her, and the best protection there is. We realize that she’s had someone from, uh, the ‘organization’ that’s been keeping an eye on her, as well.”

  “Kenny Ross.”

  “Yeah. It’s been…a little difficult to keep our paths separate, but we’ve managed.” He took a long pause. “So? Ty, can you help us help you?”

  The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “When can I see her?”

  I fully expected him to tell me that I couldn’t, but instead he answered, “We can arrange a way for you to see her… Give me some time, first.”

  My heart was racing at the thought of holding her in my arms again, but a dark notion made me reply, “But only if I help you first, right?”

  He shook his head. “No, Ty. Whether you help us or not, I’d like for you to see her again. But you do know that it might be difficult for you. You’re already right in the middle of this, and seeing her just… Well, it might complicate things. We don’t want to involve her anymore than we need to. She knows you’re in trouble, but she also said she wasn’t going to ask any questions. She only wants you to be okay and…she wants to be a part of your life if you let her, no matter what it consists of.”

  Oh, Jayden. After everything I put her through, she still wanted to be with me. My chest felt tight, like it was going to explode from loving her so much. But at the same time, I was worried, scared, and uncertain.

  “What about her father? Doesn’t he know about this?”

  He shook his head. “Hell no. Our assignments don’t exist. We are strictly covert. This is a high priority case overseen by the federal government. I have any resource I want at my disposal. We will make this happen, but I want to do it in a way that keeps you safe and leaves your involvement completely unknown.”

  I sighed and nodded my head. “I’ll agree to think about it,” I told him.

  “You can’t talk to your father about this.”

  It was exactly what I wanted to do. “Why not? He knows as much as I do. More, even.”

  “That’s something I’ll have to look into, then. Would he be willing to help us out?”

  I shook my head. “No, I guess not. He’s a bit… Well, I don’t think he’d want to get involved.”

  “Most people don’t.”

  “Then why did you approach me? You’re risking a lot on the hope that I would agree to cooperate with you.”

  “Very true. But it was a call I had to make. I felt very confident that it was the right thing to do.”

  I gave him a smug smile. “You mean you haven’t learned anything by just observing me day in and day out.”

  He lightly laughed. “Well one thing’s for sure. You are one badass mechanic.”

  That made me chuckle.

  “But to be truthful,” he added more seriously, “I’ve collected enough. The conversations you’ve had with your father at home… I’ve been listening to them. I’m sorry, Ty, but it’s part of what we do. But I followed my gut and felt like now was the right time to fill you in. Besides, Jayden was getting a little impatient.”

  I smiled, just thinking about her beautiful face. “How do you know her?” I asked. “And if you’re a deep undercover…whatever…how does she know what you do?”

  “I’ve known her since we were kids. Didn’t live in the same city, but I had to compete against her in various motocross events. It really sucked to get beaten by a girl,” he chuckled. “I joined the Marines after high school and we kept in touch through letters or emails. I hadn’t seen her for about two years, so I looked her up when I came back from my last tour. I was pretty vague about my current profession,” he smiled, “but I think with my background she kind of figured it out. I could tell something was wrong, but it took another week before she eventually came to me and asked if I could look into something for her.” He nodded toward the diner. “Let’s go eat something. I’m starving.”

  After we were sitting in a very private corner booth eating our dinner, Cole began discussing exactly what it was that he wanted from me. He seemed to know what he was talking about, and he definitely knew Olevsky’s organization, but I was still very uneasy that the entire nightmare had completely shifted.

  There was one thing in particular that interested me. Cole’s team had acquired a list of names—names that were associated with Kristof Olevsky. He informed me that I was not on it, and neither was my father, but I didn’t recognize a single name on it. The names had been seen by one of his undercover agents within the past six months. That agent was still on the inside and would remain nameless to me.

  “You’re not exactly a known part of Olevsky’s operation,” Cole informed me. “Your name hasn’t been uttered a single time.”

  “Who composed the list?”

  “It came from a location in Russia where we believe Aleksey Meinikov lives. We intercepted a coded email that was sent to one of his associates that we’ve been monitoring here in the states.”

  “Was this recent?”

  “A few months ago. You weren’t on the list, so that’s why I never made any sort of move with you. But the thing is…we believe the list originated from someone in Olevsky’s organization.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “He planted a false list for them to get their hands on?”

  “Yep. And something huge has happened that has caused the Derevenkos to be ready to wage war.”

  “The Derevenkos?”

  “Another crime family. Meinikov actually works for them. But whatever is going on, Olevsky is putting out every defensive tactic he can think of—probably until he can eliminate Meinikov himself.”

  I considered that for a moment. “Hmm. So this big deal or whatever that he’s been talking about… Do you think it had to do with Meinikov?”

  “Yes. We’ll figure it out eventually, but until then, we’re going to keep pinpointing key players while our plan is getting ironed out.”

  “A plan you’re not going to inform me of,” I stated dryly.

  “Mmm, not entirely. I’ll tell you what I need to.”

  “You mean when it’s unavoidable while you get information from me.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, something like that. We’ll help each other, Ty. I promise.”

  We still continued to discuss the case as we left the diner, and then we headed back to the garage so I could get my truck. Before I got out Cole said, “Oh, and by the way… Jayden has a new boyfriend.”

  “What?” I exclaimed.

  “Whoa, easy,” he chuckled. “Not a real one. Someone that’s been keeping an eye on her a little closer.”

  “And this guy knows what he’s doing?”

  Cole smiled. “Absolutely.”

  “Jayden doesn’t know him too, does she?”

  “No. He’s another…new arrival in town. Now he works at Zero for Chuck McGhee as a lighting specialist. That’s how he ‘met’ Jayden. They also ‘live together.’ That’s why she moved. We just wanted to play it safe.”

  “And Jay knows he’s a cop, right?”

  “Yes, Ty,” he chuckled. “Like I said, it’s for the sake of appearance. You have nothing to worry about; I just wanted you to know in case you heard something.”

  He went over instructions one more time before I got in my truck and headed home.

  I barely got any sleep that night. I had so much to think about and it really bothered me that I couldn’t talk to my dad about it. I decided that God would be the recipient of all my questions that night. I must have talked His ear off for hours.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Olevsky called two days later, and at that time I was given the undeniable feeling that I should finally go to Russia. I had no idea what was over there for me, but the feelings I had wer
e so strong, I couldn’t ignore them. Maybe Cole’s disclosure had to happen first, I wasn’t sure, but I felt there really were answers for me over there.

  I discussed the possibility with Cole, and after he spoke to…whomever it was he spoke to…he gave me the go-ahead. It didn’t come without a lot of worry and planning from his end, though. There were so many stipulations and instructions given to me that I became even more anxious than I already was.

  It was the scariest thought in the world for me to be going to a foreign country. For one, I knew nothing about where I was going, or even the language, and I had no idea why the hell I was going there in the first place.

  Olevsky arranged for someone to be my escort for the entire trip, a bulk of a man named Boris. I was picked up from my house one morning, driven to a private airstrip, and loaded onto a private jet. Boris mostly spoke English to me—heavily accented—but he slipped in a lot of Russian as well. He wasn’t exactly friendly, and he usually only spoke when he was spoken to or when he needed to instruct me of something, but he treated me as if I were his superior. He even called me ‘sir’ on several occasions.

  I had never actually been in a plane before. Yes, I was a pretty deprived child growing up. Boris realized this right away when he watch my nerves act up as the jet took off.

  “You will be fine, sir. This is a very safe aircraft. Mr. Olevsky has only the best.”

  I nodded, but it still took me almost an hour to finally relax a little.

  Within the next few hours, Boris informed me of the travel plan, where “in general” we were heading, and what I could expect when we got there. At the mention of “helicopter,” I also admitted to Boris that I had never been in one of those, either. He actually smiled and nodded his head.

  I also learned Russian along the way. Boris tutored me on basics, conversational phrases, and customs. I already knew a little bit—stuff I’d learned over the past few years—but the added instruction was beneficial. By the next day, after we had slept for several hours, conversed some more, and finally made it to our destination, I could actually carry a basic conversation with him. He even made me speak to the four-person flight crew in Russian, but not without a lot of assistance from him.

  “You are a fast learner, sir,” Boris said after I’d had a short conversation with him about the food we were eating.

  The jet pulled into a hangar when we arrived at another private airstrip. It was the middle of the night when I was escorted to the top of a building and loaded into a helicopter. I nearly lost my lunch when the pilot took off right away, swooping sideways as he turned a hundred and eighty degrees within a second.

  Boris lightly laughed. “We will need to get you some, eh, medicine next time?”

  I puffed my cheeks for dramatic effect. “Yeah, maybe.”

  Although Boris had explained where we were going—one of Olevsky’s private estates—he didn’t inform me where exactly in the country we were. Apparently it was supposed to be top secret. So, needless to say, I was in a foreign country without a single familiar face, and I didn’t even know where I was precisely. It was a little nerve-racking.

  When we finally landed thirty minutes later, I couldn’t have been more relieved. But then that thought hit me—you know, the idea that you’re in Russia but you don’t exactly know where or why—and I became nervous again. Boris grabbed my bag and I followed him through a door from the roof. I tried to look around to see what surrounded us, but all I could see (besides a dim light on the building) were several lights in the far distance. Wherever we were, we weren’t near much.

  After turning down two cold, gray hallways, we reached an elevator. As we stepped onto it and Boris pressed a button, he turned to me and asked, “You are nervous?”

  I suppose it wasn’t hard to miss, so I just replied, “Uh, yeah, a little. I have no idea where I am or what I’m doing here.”

  He nodded. “You will soon find out. Mr. Olevsky is very excited to see you.” I guess I couldn’t hide my surprise and Boris smiled. “Mr. Olevsky is very fond of you.”

  The doors opened and it was as if we were transported into a different world. In front of me was the hallway of an exquisite hotel—or just Olevsky’s thirty million dollar mansion.

  I followed Boris down the hall of gold and burgundy tones, passing several pieces of art and paintings along the way. I had no idea what the values of such things were, but I could only imagine. Finally we stepped into a very large room, ornate with a crystal chandelier, high quality leather and upholstered furniture (I assumed it was high quality), and a grand window that was probably twenty feet high.

  “Tyler, you are here.”

  It was Kristof himself, and I was so distracted by all the ridiculous décor, I didn’t even see him sitting in one of the chairs. He quickly made his way across the room as Boris stepped aside and stood a distance away. Kristof came to me and paused, and I almost thought he was going to hug me—which would have been the oddest instance ever—but instead, he put his hands against my upper arms and squeezed.

  “It’s so good to see you. Welcome,” he motioned into the palace. “My home is your home. Please, make yourself comfortable. Thank you, Boris,” he called behind him as an afterthought.

  Boris tipped his head and left.

  “I hope your trip was well,” Kristof said, sitting and motioning me to sit as well.

  “Uh, it was long.”

  He smiled. “Yes, it is a long trip. But the accommodations were satisfactory?”

  “Uh, yeah, they were fine.”

  “Good, good. So? You look… Well, you look the same,” he smiled. “I suppose it hasn’t been that long, but it does feel like it.”

  “Actually it has been a while. A very long while.” I could tell he was processing my tone and he knew how unhappy I still was. “I want to know why I’m here. I want to know why I had to come halfway across the world to get some answers.”

  His slight frown was apparent, but he sighed and sat forward in his seat. “Shall I show you to your room? You can get some rest and then freshen up when you—”

  “I want to know why I’m here,” I said impatiently.

  The room was silent for several very long seconds, but what surprised me most was that he was softly wringing his hands together. I had never seen him do that before. Was he nervous? At that discovery, I became nervous again. What was going on?

  Finally he took a very deep breath. “Yes, Tyler. I want you to know why I brought you here.” He reached over and pressed what appeared to be a button on the gold and glass end table. Five seconds later Boris appeared.

  “Yes?”

  “I guess we are ready,” Kristof said.

  I didn’t miss the slight raise of an eyebrow from Boris, but he quickly replied, “Yes, sir. I will be right back.”

  After a period of silence, Kristof finally turned to me and said, “Tyler, what you are about to see will shock you and- and I’m not sure how you are going to react, but—” He cut himself off and took another breath. “I want you to know that there is an explanation for this if you will just give me a chance—”

  A movement at the hallway caught my attention and I laid my eyes upon the woman standing there. She was slim and very pretty, with long brown hair and dark eyes…

  A sound caught in my throat as she stepped into the room. She was looking me over like I was the most enthralling thing she had ever seen.

  “Tyler?” she finally whispered.

  I couldn’t even believe it. “Mom?”

  With that she burst into tears and threw her arms around me, sobbing and holding me tight. My chest felt constricted, like something was squeezing it, but from the inside out. I felt like my entire childhood was flashing before my eyes—how many times I had cried by myself, missing my mom or missing out because I didn’t have a mom. She pulled away from me and her hands reached up to my face. She felt it all over, like she had never seen it before. I suppose it was true; I looked much different than when I was four yea
rs old.

  “It’s really you,” she breathed as tears poured down her face. She ran her thumbs across my eyebrows. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to see you.” She ran her hands through my hair, but I just stood there, completely and utterly shocked.

  “You don’t know how long I wished you were alive,” I said carefully, taking a step back. I knew she detected the anger in my voice because her face fell noticeably. “How…how…”

  Kristof stepped toward me. “Tyler—”

  “No,” I told him, shaking my head and pointing a finger at him. “I know this is your fault. This is- this is just too much. You took my mother away from me? How- how sick is that? Do you know what kind of life I’ve lived? Do you have any idea what my life has been like?”

  I knew I was spouting off like an angry teenager, but I couldn’t help it. My mom was still silently crying, and although I was mad as hell, I felt my heart break. I thought this woman was dead, and now, almost nineteen years later, she was standing right in front of me.

  “It’s not what you think, Tyler,” Kristof said. He motioned for me to sit down again but I declined.

  “He saved my life,” she said. I looked at her, unsure of what I actually heard. “Kristof saved my life. I’ve been…I’ve been unable to leave Russia, Tyler. I’ve been…”

  She took a deep, shaky breath, but ultimately decided to sit, so I cautiously sat down a few feet from her on the same couch. I still couldn’t believe she was alive, sitting right there in front of me.

  Kristof sat across from us. “Tyler, your mother’s life was in danger when you were just a toddler. This is why… This is what I didn’t want to happen to Jayden.”

  Just the mention of her name made my heart bang in my chest.

  My mother took another deep breath. “I’m not excusing anything that happened, Tyler, but I do want to explain. If you’ll let me?”

  She waited expectantly until I slowly nodded my head.

  “When you were just barely four years old we were at home—watching Pinocchio, eating popcorn, drinking soda—and something very bad happened. Your father was out of town—we had separated for a while, so it was just the two of us.” She was watching me very carefully, almost expecting me to recall what she was talking about. After a moment she exhaled. “So you don’t remember,” she stated, sounding very relieved.