Her Hero: Next Door

by George H. McVey

  “You don’t have that kind of money. Most of this belongs to the Syndicate. Your brother is using the diner to clean their money for them.”

  “What??”

  Kris turned to look at her and pointed to the other rolling chair in the space. She sat down and looked at him. “Raisa, how much was the loan that Stephan said he took?”

  “Ten thousand dollars; why?”

  “I can’t find a ten-thousand-dollar deposit six months ago. I see where the new grill and vent hood were bought but they cost more than ten thousand. I don’t think there is a loan.”

  “Then what is going on?”

  “I think your brother works for the Syndicate and the boss told him he wants his sister.”

  Just then there was a knock at the door. “Friday, identify who is at the door.”

  “Mac is at the door, Thorn.”

  “Thank you.” He turned to Raisa, “Come on, time to meet my friend and boss at Blackguard.”

  They left the safe room and Kris closed it up before heading to the entrance of his apartment.

  Raisa followed Kris to the front and was shocked at the man standing on the other side of the door when Kris opened it. She had thought that Kris was a big man but next to the bald giant in the doorway he was tiny. The man Kris had called his friend literally filled the doorway. He had to duck and turn sideways to step inside. “Mac, good to see you.”

  “Kris, this is a mess.”

  “Let’s not get into that right yet. Let me introduce you to my girl.”

  Her heart picked up and heat pooled in her body at his simple declaration. “Raisa, this ugly giant is my friend and boss, Mac McMillian. We worked together in the Navy and when he opened Blackguard Securities he asked me to help out. Mac, this is Raisa Felfan, she lives next door and works at the diner beside my shop.”

  The big man looked at Kris. “You would fall for the girl next door.”

  “Come on in and have a seat. I’ll order us some pizza and we can talk about what you found.”

  “I think we should get to it before we worry about food, Kris.”

  “This isn’t an interrogation Mac and Raisa isn’t a tango. Are we clear on that?”

  Raisa looked at the two men who were poised like they were about to start beating on each other. “I’m sorry, is there something you’re not telling me?”

  Kris shook his head. “No sweetheart. Remember what you saw in the bank statement? My team thinks you work for the Syndicate and this is some kind of con being played on me. But they don’t know you like I do.”

  “I know as much as I can, Kris. You know that.”

  He shook his head at the other man. “No you don’t. You don’t know what I know Mac, and I’m telling you Raisa is the victim here and she is mine. Mine to protect, mine to stand behind. If that’s a problem then I’ll resign right now and deal with this on my own with other resources.”

  Raisa watched as Mac’s eyes widened. “You’re saying she’s the one?”

  “Ooh-Rah!”

  The big man blew out a breath and settled into the chair. “That changes things, doesn’t it?” He smiled at Raisa and it was different than the one he’d given her when they were introduced. “Welcome to the Blackguard family, Miss Felfan.”

  “Thank you, can you please tell me what is going on?”

  Kris sat beside her. “I’ll tell you everything but for now let’s focus on getting Volkov and the Syndicate to leave you alone.”

  She nodded. Mac pulled a tablet out of his messenger bag and sat it so that she and Kris could see it. “I had Spidey keep digging. The diner is definitely a front and as far as we can tell the loan is a complete lie. I have some texts from your brother to a number that we believe belongs to Mr. Volkov. They paint a picture you aren’t going to like, Raisa.”

  Kris picked up the tablet and read them and then cursed. “Is this real?”

  “Ask Raisa. Is this your brother’s cell phone number?” His finger pointed to the top of the text and it was the number for Stephan’s phone. “Yes.”

  Kris’s eyes went cold. “Mac, are you telling me that her brother suggested the missed loan payment to get his sister to agree to become Volkov’s plaything?”

  “I’m not telling you anything; you see the texts, read them.”

  Raisa looked at the text messages that were displayed.

  V: You told me she’d agree to save you. Why isn’t she agreeing?

  S: She would have but she’s hooked up with the florist next door.

  V: You promised me she’d be mine. Do we need to cut down some flowers? You know the price if I don’t get what I want.

  S: They can’t be too serious this is the first I’ve seen them together. But he has offered to pay off the loan. We may need to find another way to convince her.

  V: Get the money I’ll take it as payment for your failure. I’ll deal with getting what I want my way.

  S: Don’t hurt her.

  “So there was no loan. It was all a trick. Why would my brother do this?”

  Kris reached out and pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t know sweetheart, but I promise you I’ll fix this. I’ll talk to your brother and then I’ll keep you safe.”

  She shook her head, “But Gregori talked about hurting you. I keep telling you and you don’t listen. Gregori gets what he wants and if he wants me it’s just a matter of time until he’ll get me. I won’t have a choice.”

  Mac leaned forward. “Thorn, not to be a naysayer here but she’s right; from what we can tell Volkov always wins and there are never any consequences to his actions. The police and district attorney are either bought off or don’t want the retribution that comes from taking him on.”

  Raisa felt Kris’s muscles harden around her. “Won’t be the first time I’ve had to deal with someone like that Mac, and you know it. I don’t lose either, so I guess we’ll just have to see who is better at getting what they want.”

  “Tell me what you need from Blackguard.”

  “Intel, I have clean gear if needed but I need as much intel on Volkov and his associates as I can get.”

  Raisa looked back and forth between the two of them. “I don’t understand. What do you think you can do to stop Gregori? I mean, I know you run a security firm and both work as bodyguards but how will that help in the long run? You can’t watch me all the time.”

  Mac stood and headed to the door. “I’ll leave this to you, Thorn. You explain it but don’t break your security clearance.”

  “I got it, Mac. I’ll contact you later for intel?”

  “I’ll have it sent to Friday for you.”

  “Appreciate that.”

  Then the giant left and Raisa turned to look at the man who was becoming so important to her. “Well?”

  Kris sighed. “Raisa, I’m not a bodyguard. Yes I work for Blackguard and yes the company does do some bodyguard work. I, however, work for a part of the company that does jobs for the government.”

  “I don’t understand; what kind of jobs?”

  “I can’t say more than this. You know what the Navy SEALs do in the military?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “When I was in the Navy I worked with a group that helped the SEAL teams. It was called a Special Boat Unit. We got the SEAL teams in and out of the places they had to go. In doing that I learned how to fight just like them, only with more planning. We planned for every eventuality and never lost a team. When I left the military, the government needed people to do what I did for the military when they couldn’t officially go after the bad guys. That’s what I do. I hunt the bad guys the government can’t officially hunt down.”

  “How will this help you with Gregori?”

  Kris sighed and rubbed his face. “Let’s just say that I’ve dealt with lots of men just like Gregori and in the end I keep them from getting what they want.”

  “But how?”

  “I can’t say, sweetheart. It’s classified. You know that old jo
ke, if I told you I’d have to kill you? Well, I wouldn’t have to kill you but you and me both would be locked up in a deep dark hole until someone else did kill us. So just trust that there’s nothing Gregori can try I can’t handle.”

  Then he kissed her. “Now I need to go talk to your brother and I need to do it alone. Please stay right here in my apartment until I get back. If you hear anyone trying to get into your place or mine, get into the safe room and stay there. Push the button and Mac and I will both be notified. One of us will come get you out safely.”

  “What are you going to do to Stephan?” Her face showed her worry for her brother. He may have been the one who was giving her to Gregori but he was her only family left.

  “I’m just going to talk to him. Let him know what I know and see if he can’t get me a sit down with Volkov so we can fix this without escalation.”

  “Don’t hurt him please.”

  Kris took her in his arms and kissed her. “Honey, I promise I won’t lay a hand on him.”

  She kissed him back and watched as he left the apartment.

  Chapter Five

  K ris climbed on his bike, his body fueled by the rage he was feeling. How could Raisa’s own brother sell her out to a sleazy gangster like Volkov? She was his little sister. Weren’t big brothers supposed to protect their little sisters? It was time to have a heart to heart with Stephan Felfan and he better have the right answers or Kris couldn’t promise he wouldn’t hurt him bad.

  Oh he’d keep his word to Raisa and not lay a hand on him but he had all kinds of neat gadgets he could use to ensure the slime ball felt Kris’ displeasure. He pressed the start button and roared out of the garage, headed for some lunch and conversation with Stephan.

  When he walked through the door the little punk actually had the gall to come up to him like he was a threat. “Where’s my sister, you pervert?”

  Kris let his disgust and anger shine in his grey eyes. “I promised your sister I wouldn’t lay a hand on you but if you persist in acting like you care about her, I’ll break every bone in your body.”

  The quick flash of fear was exactly what Kris wanted to see. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am worried about my sister, she left with you and yet here you are and she isn’t. How do I know you haven’t done something to her?”

  “Let’s cut the bullshit, Stephan. I know you don’t owe Volkov money, I know you work for him and so does your sister. We also know that you promised her to that maniac.”

  “Tha… tha… that’s not true.”

  Kris reached into his jacket’s inner pocket and pulled out the tablet and then turned it so that Stephan could see the screen. “I have copies of your and Volkov’s text messages, your sister has seen them too.” He swiped and the screen changed to the bank statements. “I’ve also seen what you do for the Syndicate. Laundering money is illegal Stephan, and while I don’t care if you destroy your own life, running that money through the diner’s accounts makes your sister an accessory and that I do care about. Very much.”

  The little Russian piss-ant swallowed and looked around to see who was listening. “What do you want from me?”

  Kris shrugged. “From you? Nothing much, I want you to call your boss right now and hand me the phone.”

  “What?? No way man, he’ll kill me.”

  Kris smiled the smile that several cartel bosses had seen right before they died. “What do you think is worse? Death or what I’ll do to you and leave you alive to suffer it?”

  The nervous cook pulled his cell out and hit a button and then handed the phone to Kris.

  After a few seconds a voice came on, “Why are you calling me, Stephan?”

  “Not Stephan. Sorry.”

  The voice got angry. “Who is this?”

  “It’s the flower you think you can cut.”

  “The florist, well don’t you have some big ones?”

  “Nah they’re regular sized.”

  “What do you want, florist?”

  “I want a face to face to discuss how I’m not going to destroy your business and you’re going to leave my girl alone.”

  The laughter on the other end was forced. “You think you can dictate terms to me? Do you know who I am, boy?”

  “I know who you are, Gregori Volkov, reject from the Brava and self-appointed head of the Syndicate and smelly little vyperdysch.”

  “I will kill you for that!”

  Now it was Kris who laughed. “Better men than you have tried. Let’s meet and you can listen, or I can just keep the fifty thousand dollars you put in the diner’s accounts this week and take it and the paper trail to the IRS and FBI organized crime task force. Your choice. Or maybe I’ll just tell my friend Igor Vasiliev how badly you are handling business here.”

  The indrawn breath told Kris he’d hit on a sore point. “How do you know Vasiliev?”

  “I saved his daughter’s life once.”

  “You? Ha, you’re nothing but a florist.”

  “What did the Brava teach you, vypersdysch; know your enemy. You know nothing about me. Maybe you should call Igor yourself and ask him who Kris Lawson is. Maybe you’ll realize you are in over your head. I will meet you tonight at nine at your penthouse to discuss your funds.”

  Then not waiting for an answer he hung up on the man. Stephan had gone pale listening to the conversation. “What have you done?”

  “I did what I must to save your sister. What do you care?”

  “You can’t insult Gregori like that. He will take your calling him a baby born of a fart as a personal insult. You have just killed yourself and my sister.”

  Kris laughed. “You don’t know me anymore than Gregori does. Let me make it plain: I’ve dealt with men far more dangerous than him and I’m still here. If you were smart you’d remember that because if one hair on your sister’s body is hurt, I will make you pay for your betrayal.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m the florist, you said it yourself.”

  Kris turned and left the diner, smiling as he heard Stephen mutter, “You aren’t no ordinary florist.”

  Raisa walked around Kris’s apartment cleaning up from the lunch they’d had with his friend and coworker Mac, from Blackguard Securities. She was still trying to process that her family business was actually a front for laundering money by the Syndicate. Even more disturbing than that was the fact that the loan she had been told her brother owed Gregori Volkov was nothing more than a trick. One her brother had suggested to the slimy mobster to get her to give herself to him as payment to save Stephan’s life. Tears trickled down her face as she thought about the fact that everything she thought she knew had been a lie.

  While waiting for Kris to get home from seeing her brother she had to do something, and after exploring his apartment she began to clean. It wasn’t that it needed cleaning but that was one way she had to deal with the overwhelming emotions running through her. She started in the great room and then moved on to the kitchen. When that was spotless she headed into his bedroom and began there. Raisa stripped the sheets and was startled when she bumped the headboard and a panel opened, showing her a pump action riot shotgun and two huge pistols. She was curious why he had hidden weapons in his bedroom. She knew he had been in the Navy and worked in Special Forces, but did all ex-Special Forces guys keep a panic room with an arsenal and hidden weapons in the bedroom? If he had weapons hidden in his bed where else was there hidden weapons? Was she really safe with him?

  She’d just figured out how to close the hidden panel when she heard the rattle of his keys in the front door. She couldn’t leave, she hadn’t finished remaking his bed and she didn’t want to leave the job unfinished even if she had been doing it to settle her nerves. When he walked into the room she was tucking the comforter over the pillows. “Have you been cleaning my apartment, Raisa? Sweetheart, you didn’t have to do that. I have a service that comes in on Mondays to clean up.”

  She smiled nervously, “I needed to keep busy. I clean
when I’m upset or nervous. What you and Mac showed me today has me very upset and this situation makes me nervous.”

  Kris walked over to her and pulled her into his arms but instead of melting into his embrace like earlier she stayed stiff. He pulled back and looked at her. “Apparently I make you nervous too? Why?”

  She looked at him and she could tell he saw her fear in her eyes. “Who are you really? You have guns hidden in your bed.”

  He nodded. “Yes, and in the coffee table in the living room and in two cabinets in the kitchen, and the island on all four sides. I told you, Raisa, what I do for Blackguard is dangerous. It also has left me with some very dangerous enemies. I’m prepared for any eventuality. I won’t die in my bed or because I’m fixing food or watching a movie or game.”

  “You have these weapons hidden to keep you safe?”

  “Yes Raisa, to keep me not just safe but alive. These people will not try to capture me or hurt me, if they find me here they will mean to kill me. I refuse to lay down and allow that. Even more now that I have you in my life.”

  He kissed her on top of her head then looked in her eyes again. “I tried so hard to stay away from you, Raisa. To keep from bringing darkness into the light that is your life. We both know I’ve been attracted to you since the first day in the diner when you waited on me. But I refused to do anything about that attraction.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t want to dim your light with my darkness, I couldn’t bring the possibility of my danger attaching itself to you. Then your brother had to go and put you in a much worse situation than I would have. I won’t allow Gregori or your brother or anyone else to steal your light from you. I’d rather chance my darkness dimming your light than see them steal and kill it completely.”

  She reached up and wrapped her arm around his head and pulled him down so she could kiss him. When their lips finally released each other she looked at him. “These people you have hunted, they are as bad as Gregori?”