He nodded enthusiastically.“Right before I came here. It’s something about that dewberry cobbler that won’t let me stay away.”
I laughed again and squeezed his hand. He turned to look at Mikhail.
“You ain’t gon’ speak? Acting like you ain’t been watching yo’ bosses put me through all this training!”
Mikhail inclined his head. “It is... interesting to see you again, Julien Reed.”
Juvie sucked his teeth. “Man, if you gon’ be my ride along, you gotta loosen up. Stop calling my whole name. Call me Juvie. That bad-ass Russian shit ain’t gon’ work, either. I’m an excellent conversationalist, so you need to be ready to converse. Now, what we waiting on? We got places to be. Get y’all asses in this car!” he ordered before jogging back around the truck and sliding his lanky ass in.
“I’ma kill him,” Targen muttered.
Smiling, I shook my head. “You definitely are not.”
Juvie could be a clown,no doubt. He smiled and teased and joked and quipped all day long. But he had an amazing ability to turn it all off. He could go from warm and friendly to ice cold and ruthless in a matter of seconds. So, when he and Mikhail preceded Theory and me into her house, and he turned around, unsmiling, I knew shit wasn’t right.
“Get her back to the car, Targen,” he said, voice tight as he tossed me the key fob.
He slipped back into the house before I could object. Theory grabbed my arm.
“Targen, what?—”
I scooped her up, walking us to the car and setting her in the driver’s seat. I put my personal phone in her hands. Shecould get some shit started, but making sure she had a line of communication was more important to me.
“Keep the doors locked. Keep your head on swivel. Anything looks strange, you pull off, and you call Maxim. Password is 120796.”
Her eyes widened and her breathing stuttered as she recognized her birthday.
“You want me to leave you?” she asked, sounding confused.
“Absolutely. I told you before, you too precious to lose,” I told her, tucking a loose sandy brown spiral behind her ear.
And then I closed her up in the truck, waited for her to lock it, and strode back to her house. I stepped inside, and my hands immediately balled into fists. I felt a twisted smile curl my lips. I was about to have the distinct pleasure of killing someone. The furniture in her once pretty living room was overturned. All the shit women cared about—pictures, curtains, the little stuff they sit on tables and stands—was on the floor. This would break her heart. I already had to make up for doing that; no one else would get away with it.
I pulled a second phone from one of my pockets. One ring later, Maxim answered.
“Good afternoon, Targen,” he said, formal as ever.
The English greeting and use of my real name surprised me. He made a point of greeting me in Russian and always called me “brat,” the Russian word for“brother.” He sounded distracted; if I could care right now, I’d ask what was wrong. But more important shit was on my mind.
“You promised me she was safe. That’s the only reason I put up with that bullshit in— for the last year. You promised me you could keep her–”
“Podozhdi, brat!” The Russian returned as he snapped at me to hold on. “I did not lie. Two men outside the house, and a detection and alarm system worthy of a military installation. Themen did not leave until you extracted her. The system should still be working. I would never break my word to you. Especially not about your woman. That is too… important.”
His tone changed on that last sentence, sounded a little quieter. Yeah, my brother was definitely off. That whole episode this morning including the mention of a chick named Seraph must have knocked him off his square.
“Yeah, well, someone got past that system and the one her cousins got running behind it. Those niggas small town, but they ain’t small time. So, two supposedly unbeatable systems, and my girl’s house is still trashed?” I asked, the disbelief in my voice heavy.
“Upstairs ain’t no better,” Juvie said as they descended the stairs.
“You know somebody capable of that?” I continued, running a hand over my hair.
He was silent for a moment, then he sighed.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know someone. I’m sending people to… catalogue the damages. I’ll see you soon.”
He disconnected in his usual unannounced way; another reason I was going to lay his ass out. I pocketed the phone, my eyes meeting Juvie’s. He shook his head.
“He should definitely send people. Any other time, I would say they ain't gon’ find shit, but this a mismatch. You got someone bad enough to bypass Russian security systems, but they get in and mess up like this? Don't make sense, T,” Juvie opined.
