by A. Zavarelli
I release a breath and stare out the window, attempting to harness what little patience I have left. Being locked in a room with Andrei for twelve hours a day isn’t my idea of a good time either, but this is what Vasily wants. And being that Vasily is delusional enough to believe Andrei will someday take over the business for him, it wouldn’t do much good for me to shove my fist through his skull. For now, I am doomed to spend my days keeping this fuckwit in line. Vasily knows what a fuckup his son is, but he doesn’t want to accept it. It’s much easier for him to put me in charge of babysitting and allow Andrei to feel like he’s actually doing something meaningful.
“I say we just go blow all of their fucking heads off and be done with it,” he grunts, staring at the von Brandt house with a sickening smile on his face.
“That wouldn’t be obvious at all.” I roll my eyes. “What a genius idea, Andrei. The feds won’t have any idea what happened.”
“Fuck the feds,” he snorts. “I have better shit to do than worry about this asshole and his family. Besides, how long are the neighbors going to be on vacation anyway?”
On that, I’m not entirely certain. The neighbor’s house we’re currently camped out in won’t stay vacant forever, but according to the family’s social media posts, it looks like they are still enjoying their time in Hawaii. It’s a temporary solution to a potentially long-running problem.
“Here.” I shove the binoculars in his direction. “Your turn. I need a break.”
He takes the binoculars and whistles when he sees that Nina is outside in her bikini again, making the best of her parents’ hot tub. “Someday, I’m going to tap that ass,” he says. “Preferably before she’s dead.”
“You’re a sick fuck, you know that?” I crack my neck and remove the phone from my pocket, opting to resume my research from earlier. Work has been getting in the way of what I really want to do, which I don’t want to analyze too closely.
“What else am I supposed to do?” Andrei asks. “You sit there on your fucking phone all day looking up shit you won’t even tell me about.”
“That’s because it’s none of your concern.”
He removes a small plastic canister from his shirt pocket and dumps some of the white powder onto the window ledge, snorting a line. It irritates the fuck out of me, and I’m half tempted to shove his face right through the glass, but such an act would swiftly mark my own death.
“You better go make a sandwich or find something else to do for a few minutes.” Andrei unzips his pants as he resumes his visual feast of Nina von Brandt. “Shit’s about to get wild in here.”
Fucking disgusting. I gladly take my leave of the room and make a mental note to bring back some bleach when I return. Downstairs, I find a comfortable spot on the sofa and enjoy the rare silence while I unlock my phone.
I have another text from Alexei, but it isn’t what I want to hear. Alexei is a second cousin who lives in Massachusetts, but he’s become a reliable source of information when I need it. The man the Vory often refer to as the Ghost can typically find anything on anyone, given enough time. But it appears that the mystery surrounding Katerina eludes even him.
Even though he’s sent me everything he has already, I opt to video call him while I have a few moments alone, hoping perhaps there is something else he can try. Alexei is mostly deaf, but he can read lips, and this is the only way to communicate with him besides text.
He answers on the third ring, and it appears I’ve caught him on his way out. He’s just sliding into the driver’s seat of his car, and his wife Talia is beside him, poking her head into the view of the screen and waving.
“Hello, Lev.” She greets me with a smile.
“Talia.” I give her a respectful nod. “How are you?”
“We are well,” she says. “I hope you are too?”
“Always,” I lie.
She seems to recognize the undercurrent of tension in my voice. “I don’t want to monopolize your phone call, but you should come for a visit sometime. You’ve been promising you would for over a year, you know. You’re welcome in our home anytime.”
“Thank you,” I tell her. “I appreciate that.”
“Lev.” Alexei angles the phone back toward himself.
“I received the files you sent me,” I tell him.
“Yes, I am sorry.” He shrugs. “I have not found a way to get around the three missing years of information on her record.”
“Why would those records be sealed?” I ask.
“It is difficult to say.” He frowns. “Typically, it’s done to protect the information of a minor. But something would have had to occur. Something that the court felt it best to hide. I also suspect that since Kat changed her last name from March to Blake, she has something to hide.”
His words don’t put me at ease. For days, I’ve been trying to put Kat out of my mind, but she continues to haunt me. “What else can we do? Surely, someone can access them.”
“If I knew where to look, I would have better luck,” Alexei notes. “Perhaps the name of a foster parent, an institution, things of that nature. Right now, I’m just shooting blindly with the little information you were able to provide. If you get me more, I might be able to dig up something else.”
Easier said than done, considering I told Katerina she would never see me again. It’s not likely she will answer any questions openly now. The only alternative is Nina, and I foresee that being a problem, given the current circumstances. Nina might be a spoiled princess, but even she seems to have some morals. I don’t see her ratting out her friend so easily.
“Thank you, Lyoshenka. I will see what else I can find.”
“Who is this girl to you?” he asks with an arched brow. “Is she in danger?”
I know he means to ask if she is in danger from me. The question wouldn’t be so offensive if it were anyone else, but I can’t divulge my warring feelings for Katerina. Alexei has always been a protector of women, and for that, I can only respect him.
“She is in no danger from me,” I reply. “I simply found myself curious. Her past is a mystery, and it seems like perhaps she was in danger from someone else. I only wanted to make sure she was safe.”
Alexei seems to buy my half-truth for now.
“Get me more information on her, and I’ll see what I can do,” he says.
“Thank you.” I nod. “I will let you get back to your wife and son.”
“Bye, Lev!” Talia shouts from the passenger seat. “Take care.”
I bid them both goodbye and disconnect the call without any sense of relief. This is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated, but as I glance at the few bits of information Alexei was able to source, I find that I can’t let it go.
From what I’ve gathered so far, I’ve learned that Katerina’s mother was killed when she was three. There is some mystery regarding her death, but foul play was never confirmed. From that point on, she was placed into the foster care system, jumping around from house to house. There were only brief notes in her files up until the age of fifteen, when abruptly, everything else was wiped clean.
I can’t shake the feeling that something horrible happened to her. Whatever those scars are, they were no accident. I can’t rewrite her history, but I tell myself that I need to ensure she’s safe before I truly let her go. It’s the only way I can move forward and leave her behind.
Andrei slams the door upstairs, interrupting my thoughts and reminding me there is still work to be done. He seems to have difficulty with the concept of staying quiet, and I’m tempted to slip enough Valium into his drink to knock out a horse. At least it would make my night easier.
I return upstairs with some sanitizing wipes from the kitchen and wipe down every surface near the window he may have touched before I retrieve the binoculars. Nina von Brandt has returned to the sanctuary of her home, and there is nothing of importance happening at the residence when Andrei finally exits the bathroom.
The next five hours pass with much of th
e same. Andrei continues to grumble about every minor inconvenience, and I focus on the von Brandt home while considering my options. A small part of me had hoped I might see Kat come to visit her friend while I was here. But a part of me is also relieved she hasn’t. I don’t need her getting caught up in this scandal, and I definitely don’t need Andrei seeing her again.
By the time night falls, Andrei is wound tighter than a jack-in-the-box, and I’m ready to get the fuck out of here. But first, there is something else I need to do.
“Looks like they’ve all turned in,” I tell him. “You can head back to the club.”
“What about you?” he asks.
“I’ll catch up with you later. I have a phone call to make.”
Andrei arches his brow in question, as if I have to explain what I do on my own time to him. “You still hooking up with that drunk chick from the club?”
“No,” I bite out, and his smile only grows.
“No shame in that game. She was a hot piece of ass.”
Before I can grasp onto logical thought, I’m at his throat, squeezing my fingers around his thick neck.
“What the fuck, man?” he sputters and shoves me off him. “What’s your fucking problem?”
“You are my goddamn problem,” I snarl. “Why don’t you try using your fucking brain for once before you spew every thought that comes to your mind?”
“I think you forget who you’re talking to.” He brushes out the wrinkles in his shirt and snarls in my direction.
“How could I forget?” I narrow my eyes at him. “You never let anyone forget that you are Vasily’s fuckup of a son who can’t keep his dick in his pants or the snow out of his nose.”
“Fuck you,” he spits, practically foaming at the mouth. “Maybe next time I see that pretty little piece at the club, I will take her for a ride myself.”
“You even try it, and you won’t live to see the next day,” I tell him. “Vasily’s son or not.”
He considers my words and then laughs like it’s all a joke. I think he’s fried every fucking brain cell he had left.
“Fuck this place. It’s making us both crazy,” he says. “I’m going to go get my dick sucked.”
I glare at his retreating form and wait until the GPS tracker I have attached to his car actually disappears down the street. It will be a miracle if I survive the week without murdering him, but for now, I have other things to worry about.
When the coast is clear, I head downstairs and bail over the back fence into the von Brandt’s yard. The lights in the house are off, and I know from watching them that William and his wife tend to go to sleep at the same time every night. Nina is a different matter. She could still be up, which might be a problem if she sees me before I can get to her. But either way, I’m about to find out.
It takes me all of five minutes to pick the lock on the patio door. William von Brandt is too cheap to install a security system, another sign that the guy is not as intelligent as I’d hoped. The layout of the house is almost identical to the house next door, so it isn’t difficult to navigate in the dark. I take my time on the stairs, trying to remain noiseless as I traverse my way to the upper bedrooms.
The master bed is at the end of the hall, which is where William sleeps peacefully, blissfully unaware that I could smother him with a pillow right now if I really felt like it. That’s just how easy it would be, yet he thinks he’s untouchable, ratting us out to the feds.
Nina’s door is on the opposite side of the house, and when I stand outside of it, I can’t hear anything to indicate she might be awake. Vasily will want a report from me within the hour, so I don’t have time to fuck around. It’s now or never.
I wrap my fingers around the doorknob and turn, relieved to find that she’s in her bed. But she isn’t asleep. She has her back turned to the door and her headphones in as she bobs her head and taps out messages on her phone. Briefly, I consider that she might be texting Kat, and I wonder what else she had to say about me.
I tug the pistol from the back of my jeans and creep around her bed, waiting for the moment to strike. Before I can get as close as I wanted, she notices my shadow, and she peers up at me in horror. She opens her mouth to scream, and I lunge at her, slapping my palm over her lips and locking her into my grasp.
“Don’t make a fucking noise,” I warn her.
Her chest heaves as she tries to drag in a breath, and she nods in understanding. Nina knows what sort of business ventures her father’s involved in. I doubt this is even the first time someone has threatened her this way.
“I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth,” I tell her. “But understand this. If you even attempt to scream, I will put a fucking bullet in your head so fast you won’t have time to think twice about it. And then I will walk down the hall and do the same to your parents. Got it?”
“Mm-hmm.” She nods against my palm.
I release her and allow her a second to catch her breath before I dive into my reason for being here.
“I need some information, Nina. And you happen to be in the unfortunate position of being the only person who can help me with this task right now.”
“Information about what?” Her brows pinch together in concern.
“Your friend Kat.”
Her eyes narrow, and she shakes her head. “I’m not telling you anything about Kat—”
“Let’s dispose of the precious sentimentalities.” I tap my pistol against her cheek. “This isn’t optional, in case I didn’t make that clear. So, you either give me the information, or I walk down the hall and finish what I started with your father.”
Her eyes widen in understanding as she begins to piece it together. “You were the one who beat him up?”
“That was merely a warning,” I answer. “There won’t be another one.”
“You’re a fucking asshole!” she snaps. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“A lot.” I shrug. “Now tell me about Kat.”
She chews on her lip as she seems to consider her options, but it doesn’t take her long to realize she has none. Nina knows me to be a man of my word. She doesn’t doubt that I will murder her family without a second thought if she doesn’t give me what I want. Her loyalties might be torn, but at the end of the day, blood always wins.
“Why don’t you just ask her yourself?” she demands.
“Because I don’t want to. Now what did you tell her about me?”
“I told her you were dangerous,” she admits. “I warned her to stay away from you.”
“Cute,” I murmur. “And what else?”
“That’s it,” she swears.
“What were the names of her last foster parents?” I ask.
She frowns. “I don’t know.”
I consider her for a moment and then stand. “You can thank yourself for this.”
“Wait!” She reaches out in a frantic plea. “Okay, please don’t hurt my parents. I’ll tell you what you want to know. At least, what I know. But just promise me you won’t hurt her?”
“I’m not going to hurt her,” I reply.
Nina doesn’t look so sure, but she knows she’s out of options. “Her last foster parents were the George family. Marie and Robert. She lived with them until she was fifteen.”
“And then what?”
Nina swallows and hesitates, but one look at my face motivates her to continue. “Then she went to juvie. There was an incident with her foster dad, Robert. He was an abusive asshole, and some shit went down. She never told me exactly what.”
A low simmering rage stirs in my gut as I digest her words. Katerina was locked up? When I remember the fear in her eyes the last time I saw her, it makes sense. She was afraid, ready to strike out at any moment to protect herself. This isn’t something that happens overnight. Kat has been afraid her whole life, and I’m only beginning to understand why.
“The scars are from him?” My voice is rough, and Nina doesn’t miss it. Her eyes soften just a fraction before she nod
s.
“I don’t know what he did to her. I just know it was bad.”
“What detention center did they send her to?”
“I have no idea.” She shrugs.
“Who else was involved in the case?” I demand. “I need names. A lawyer, a judge, anything she may have mentioned.”
“I don’t know!” she snaps. “I swear. She doesn’t like to talk about it. It’s taken me years to get that much out of her.”
On that, I can believe her. Katerina is not an open book. She is a locked vault with more secrets than I ever could have anticipated. But inside, I can only imagine her as a young girl with no hope and no options. Nobody to save her. She was forced to save herself, and then she was punished for it.
I close my eyes, and it physically hurts to breathe as I contemplate the things that have happened to her. If I was a decent man, I would try to help her. Fix things for her. But I know that in all likelihood, I could only ever make them worse. I failed to protect someone else once, and I vowed I would never allow that to happen again. The only way to ensure Kat’s safety is to stay far away from her. But it still doesn’t feel right.
“Is she safe?” I ask Nina. “There’s nobody else from her past who might harm her?”
She shakes her head. “No. They are all gone now. Mrs. George moved, last I heard, and Joshua is dead.”
“Joshua?” I repeat, recalling the name from Kat’s dream. “Who was he?”
“Another foster kid. I don’t really know the whole story with that either. Kat started to tell me once, and then she just shut down. But whatever happened, she blames herself for his death.”
A door creaks open down the hall, startling both of us before there’s a soft knock on Nina’s door.
“You okay, honey?” her mother asks from outside. “Are you still on the phone at this hour?”
I dig the gun into her ribs and gesture for her to answer.
“I’m okay, Mom,” she chokes out. “Just getting ready for bed.”
“Okay,” her mother replies. “Get some sleep.”
The footsteps retreat, and I glance at the bedside clock. Christ, I have to get back to the club. Vasily will be expecting a report.