“What is it? What did he say?” She leans over to get a better look at my screen.
I shake my head. “It’s not from him. Remember how I told you my father wouldn’t let me purchase security cameras for the back of the store, even though we have ones at the front?”
She nods. “Which is dumb because you have that alley back there where anyone could lurk or try to break into the place. I still don’t get why he gets to control that when you do everything for that place. He’s such an asshole.”
I don’t comment, even if it’s true. He and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot, but I know he loves me and I would never fight him for ownership of the shop. I don’t want him to hate me. “Well, I’ve noticed some weird stuff in the back storeroom that leads out to the alley. Like things move around and stuff and I know it’s not any of my employees because the back storeroom doesn’t hold anything they would need during the day while they’re doing their jobs. So I went to the superstore and got some of those cheap wifi cameras that connect to your phone. I put one out in the alley and the other facing the storeroom door. Right now, both are going off.”
Going into the app, I switch between the cameras, looking through the feed and frown. Sacha is in the back alley trying to bust open the back door. My heart hammers, I’ve suspected he was doing bad things for a while. I’ve never trusted him.
“What do you think he’s doing there?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.” I get up from the couch, I may be in my sweats, but I’m still going to go. I have my mo-ped scooter to get me there. The bakery isn’t that far away. I should be able to get there in five minutes with how late it is. That part of the city shuts down around this time, the streets will be clear.
She stands, too. “I’ll go with you.”
I shake my head. “I’ll be fine. He’s terrified of my father. He won’t do anything to me, and if he does, well, you know who did it.”
“Jo, don’t say shit like that. At least call the cops to have them go check it out.”
I shake my head. “You know how my father feels about the cops, if he heard they were there, he would be pissed at me for weeks that I didn’t call him and his fleet of security guards. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself. Don’t worry. Besides, it’s been forever since I got to take my scooter out for a ride. I’ll be back soon. Finish this episode without me. We both know what’ll happen. Love you!”
I slip on my shoes and hurry out the door before she can try to talk me out of it.
Chapter Five
Cason
I check the time,10:30 at night. Perfect, he should be here soon. Once he’s in the back alley of the bakery I’ll get the job done and it will be like it never even happened. It’s perfect because I already know that the alley is a blind spot. There’s no camera footage to erase so Josie doesn’t see it later. Michail doesn’t keep cameras back there for all theshipmentshe has come in on Sunday evening when the place is closed. And since tomorrow is Sunday I don’t have to worry about Josie showing up until after ten when she does her test baking.
The back storeroom has a secret passage that goes underground and then they’re able to move things better without ever being on the streets where they can possibly get caught. Michail makes sure that they only use roads and tunnels that he owns so that it all runs smoothly, but it’s faster if he can use the tunnels for parts of the city where he doesn’t have as much control on the surface.
There are several ways I can do this. One, snipe him; it’s quick and he won’t see it coming. Two, I surprise him and choke him with wire until he’s dead; less messy, but if he’s a cop he probably has some fighting training and it could get out of hand. Or three, use my M9 and make sure he knows I’m the one that put the bullet between his eyes. Also messy and we might have to play a bit of chase around the alley if he happens to be quick on his feet.
All of them are good, but for hits like Sacha, number three is my personal favorite. I want him to know I’m killing him, and I want him to know he should’ve never fucked with the Kotov’s. More specifically, Josie. If something he’s done as a double agent hurts her in some way I will bring him back from the dead and kill him again.
With my plan set, I sit and wait for him in the back alley where they normally take shipments. He’ll come back here first. I wait in the shadows where he won’t see me until it’s too late for him. This is the hardest part of a job, waiting for the right time to strike. With adrenaline pumping through my veins it makes it all that much harder to stay still.
He comes around the corner, lumbering like a giant idiot. The man is huge, but nothing I can’t take on. I’ve taken on bigger and badder than him with no issues at all. I watch, from my hiding spot. I want him to get comfortable. He’s still on alert and he could dart faster if I make my presence known too soon. He tries the back door that’s normally left unlocked by one of the employees that work for Michail. They have a key so that they can come back in after Josie locks up for the night on Saturdays. They had to come in after Josie took over, she always makes sure everything remains locked, and that’s a problem.
He tries the door handle and the pounds on it. “What the hell, open up, fuckers!”
Such a pleasant man.
I train my M9 with the silencer on him. “Sacha Jenkins, it seems you’ve gotten in line with one too many people that Mr. Kotov doesn’t like.”
He jumps and whirls around. “What the fuck? What are you doing here?” His eyes cross as he stares at the gun pointed at him.
“Undercover cop with a taste for crime. Did you do it so you could get away with doing drugs and other things? If you’re undercover it’s okay, right? Or did you start out wanting to do some good in the world and then you joined Vice?”
He holds up his hands halfway, he could still reach for a gun, but I’m faster than him. He’s let himself go over the years. He’s gotten lazy. “If you know I’m a cop, you know you can’t kill me, there will be a whole force looking for you. My death won’t go unnoticed. Kotov needs to be taken down. He has too much power.”
My lip curls at him. “So you got a position guarding his daughter who knows nothing of what her father really does? You sick fuck!”
He laughs. “Like you’re any better, if he saw the way you look at his daughter, you would be dead, too.”
“No one is going to know you’re dead. I’m that good.” I take the shot and the bullet flies from the gun and between his eyes. He falls back against the brick wall. His eyes widen as he slides down it, leaving a smear that glints off the moonlight.
A light gasp sounds from the end of the alley and my gaze shoots to none other than Josie. She stares at me with wide, terror-filled eyes and her hand over her mouth. Shit!
