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“Do you remember when those phone calls happened?” Viktor asked.
“Not precisely, no,” Keith said. “Can I ask why this is important now? I mean, he’s not really an issue now, right?”
The guys looked to me before saying anything further. I said in Russian, “I don’t think he’s lying. I don’t think he knows anything. I think he likely stayed away from him as much as possible. If Mike had that much of an issue with me, I can only imagine how horrific he would’ve been toward Keith if he found out. He’s nervous because we’re all here grilling him, but I don’t feel like he’s hiding anything.”
While we were talking with Keith, I knew Adrik had been staring him down. It was a very effective strategy for him, as he could be extremely intimidating when he wanted to be. I saw Keith catch his gaze once or twice and immediately regret it. Once I told them that he was telling the truth, I felt Adrik relax slightly. His anger level lowering, but only slightly.
“We have reason to believe that Mike was working for Anthony,” Adrik said. “We needed to make sure he’s the only one.”
Keith looked stunned. He looked at the floor for a moment. “Now it makes sense.”
“What makes sense?” Ivan asked. Where he had started to calm down, he was now right back to the anger level he was at when Keith walked in.
“A couple of things, actually. I was with Mike when we went in to get Andy. There was clear recognition between those two when Andy first saw us. I admit I don’t have extensive experience with those types of situations, but I did enough work with informants that I recognize the look when you know someone but you’re trying to act like you don’t know someone. Andy had seen Mike before, but I’m sure Mike gave him a look when he said the code word you gave us,” he said.
Adrik, who had also started to relax, was no longer relaxed. I could feel his anger, which was feeding into my anger. I stood, knowing he would want to pace. “He’s a dead man,” Adrik said quietly, but dripping with anger, as he stood up.
Keith’s eyes went wide once again. “Tell us what else makes sense, Keith,” I said, giving him a tight smile. The scene in front of him did not help him to calm down. I’m sure my anger was written all over my face as Adrik paced behind me like a caged animal just waiting for his chance to escape.
He looked too stunned to speak for a moment. His mouth was open, but his brain had clicked off as he just stared at Adrik. “KEITH,” Stephen said, firmly enough that it snapped him back to reality.
“Right. Uh, when we went to get the documents from Armando’s house. When we got back and Mike said that no one was watching us or following us? Yeah, he was lying. I don’t think Armando caught it, but both Chris and I noticed we were being followed. Mike was basically in charge and I knew how he was about being questioned, so I didn’t say anything. I should’ve said something.” He looked up, his eyes even wider than before. “It was a mistake. It will never happen again,” he pleaded. He was in genuine fear for his life at this point.
“Anything else? Now would be the ideal time to come clean with everything, Keith,” I said.
He swallowed hard, but shook his head no. “That’s everything I can remember. Just those two instances. I didn’t notice anybody when we went to pick Andy up and bring him here and I haven’t noticed anything since. Why wouldn’t they be following us now that Mike is gone?” he asked.
It dawned on me the same time it dawned on Ivan. He caught my eye and we both said “Andy” at the same time. They didn’t need to follow anyone when they had someone on the inside. I felt my level of anger rise higher than I’d ever felt it. I vouched for that son of a bitch. I gave him the okay. I ran interference for him when the guys wanted to pummel him on multiple occasions. He tried to kill Ivan. That motherfucker.
I felt Adrik’s arm slide around my waist. He leaned down so his lips were next to my ear. “Take a breath, solnishko. We need to be smart about this. I want to talk to Chris first before we deal with Andy.” I looked up at him, somewhat surprised that he was the one calming me down. I immediately recognized the lust in his eyes when he looked down at me. I shut my eyes, trying to get control of myself and to keep him from thinking about ripping my clothes off. When I opened them, I looked at him again. I raised my eyebrow slightly, silently asking if my eyes were normal again. He just smirked at me and kissed my temple. “Normal again,” he said quietly.
Adrik looked to Viktor. “Call Chris. Put him in a room until we’re done with Chris.”
Viktor walked Keith out of the office. A few minutes later, he returned with Chris, who was already so nervous he could barely keep it together.
“Tell us what happened the night you guys went to get Andy,” Ivan said in his very authoritative tone.
“Keith probably knows more than I do. I wasn’t with him and Mike when they actually went in to get Andy. I stayed outside, in the hall, to make sure no one surprised us. I didn’t hear anything, other than Mike tell Andy the code word you guys gave us, then they came back out. You guys know what happened on the way out of the building, right?” he asked.
“What about what happened the night you went to Armando’s house to get the documents?” Viktor asked. Even he sounded angry.
“Oh shit. Well, Mike lied to you guys, for one. I don’t know why. I think he was trying to save face, but we were followed. He told you guys we weren’t,” he said.
“Did you notice anything weird with Mike other than that instance?” I asked. I was trying to keep my cool, but I was certain I was failing miserably at it as Adrik pulled me closer to him. I felt his hand slide under my shirt, his thumb on my skin.
“Honestly, I tried to stay away from him as much as possible. He was a dick.”
“And you didn’t feel it was important to tell us that he lied to us?” I asked, maybe a little louder than I meant to.
“Please don’t hurt me. He made it clear that he was in charge. He also made it clear that he could fire me and Keith at will. I need this job, even though it might cost me my life in like two minutes,” he said.
Adrik flexed his arm around my waist, causing me to look at him. He wanted to know my opinion of Chris before he said anything. “I don’t think he’s lying, but I also vouched for that piece of shit Andy too, so I don’t know how much you want to trust me right now,” I responded in Russian.
Adrik clicked his tongue at me, but said nothing. He turned to Chris, saying, “Mike was working for Anthony. If we find out you or Keith are also working for anyone else, you’ll meet the same fate as Mike. Only it won’t be so quick.” He looked at Chris with every ounce of hatred he could muster.
“I’m not working for anyone else, I swear. Look, I really need this job. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it. My mom, she’s sick. This job is paying her medical bills. She raised me and my sister on her own, working two to three jobs. She means the world to me. There’s no way I would put her or being able to take care of her in danger,” Chris said. His emotions were right on the surface when he talked about his mother, making me want to believe him, but I was so frustrated with myself for believing Andy that I wasn’t sure I should believe Chris.
I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. My head was starting to pound. I heard Adrik tell Viktor quietly to put Chris in a room as well. I opened my eyes and looked at Adrik, who was clearly concerned about me. When his eyes met mine, he looked surprised. “Blink, love,” he whispered, his sexy smirk on his face.
