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“What connection?”
“Isn’t it obvious!?” I yell, more at myself than at Finn.
“Obviously not.”
I take a deep breath and take a hard, right turn back onto Main street. The wheels of my range rover squeal and I just want to scream. It was all happening right under my nose the whole time.
“Santino was being protected by the Russians... or, rather, he was being protected by Semyon and his goons. That’s why they recognized Alonzo’s silver bracelet. Either Santino or Semyon must have given Alonzo the jewelry to pawn off, so that he’d have enough cash flow to hideout until this all blew over. But they underestimated Alonzo’s stupidity; he stuck around long enough for me to get to him first. But the Russians also knew that I’d killed Alonzo and taken the bracelet. So, they knew that finding the bracelet could lead them to me. That’s how they got to Nia. She brought the evidence of our connection right to their doorstep.”
Fuck me.
Finn pauses at that information. “... Why was Semyon protecting Santino, though?” he finally asks.
I can understand the confusion. The Volkov Bratva had made it a condition of the peace agreement with the Barone family that Santino be brought to justice. Why would one of them then choose to hide and protect the rat from justice?
“... Because Semyon wanted war,” I growl. “He wanted chaos. He wanted a chance to rise up the ladder and become king of the Volkov Bratva.”
“So, he hid Santino and tried to sabotage the merger?” Finn’s finally starting to get it.
I pick the baton back up. “And then, when he saw me at the meeting, he knew that he had been gifted a second chance. God damn. He had been so in his own head after he’d failed to protect Santino that he hadn’t even been paying attention when Gianni pointed me out as the killer. It was by pure chance that our eyes met later. I could shoot myself for being so ignorant. It was almost like he could feel my eyes on him, and that’s the only thing that got him to look up. If he hadn’t seen me, none of this would have ever happened. If I’d been smarter, I could have protected everything.”
I hit my steering wheel with an open palm and slow down as I turn onto a side street. “I don’t know if Semyon was celebrating prematurely, or just being extra careful around his precious cargo that night when he ran into me and Nia, but it was just bad luck that we so happened to stumble into the exact area where he was hiding Santino, just outside of Chinatown. Thank god I was walking Nia home, though—who knows what Semyon might have done if she was alone.”
“He might have just left her alone,” Finn says.
He’s trying to reassure me, but I shudder at the thought of how wrong things could have gone. Still, if I can just get through tonight, then this whole mess might have been a blessing in disguise.
“Wait,” Finn remarks, “Why the hell was Santino getting his own food then? The witnesses I interviewed were the only reason we ended up finding him at all.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Semyon seems like enough of a stupid asshole to make the person he’s supposed to be protecting get his own food. We should just be glad.”
“Semyon can’t be completely stupid, though,” Finn reminds me. “Santino was hiding out with the Triad first. If we’d gotten him coming out of Chinatown right away, he’d never have had the opportunity—b
ut Semyon did think quickly when we missed him. The conniving son-of-a-bitch. Let’s give him some credit.”
“Semyon didn’t bother protecting Alonzo, though” I add. “Seems like Semyon’s just smart enough to cause a big mess, but also just stupid enough to be killed because of it,” I can only hope.
“Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch,” Finn chuckles. “The bastard’s still alive.”
“You’re quickly becoming a wise old cop, huh?” I chuckle back. As much as I hate myself for not connecting the dots earlier, it still feels good to have the why figured out. Now, it’s just up to me to write the ending.
I plan on writing it in Volkov and Barone blood.
“Is Biff ready?” I ask Finn, as I slow to an idle just around the corner of the street my loft is on. I already know it’s going to be surrounded—but that’s what Biff’s for.
“He’s been cooked just perfectly, if I do say so myself,” Finn remarks.
Good. I can only hope our little ruse works. “Let’s do it, then.”
Finn hangs up and I get out of my car. There’s a fire escape to my right, and I climb up it until I have a good view of the street in front of my loft.
Sure enough, I can spot a bevy of stakeout cars lining the sidewalk. I can’t tell whether they’re Russians or Italians, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m sure my building’s completely surrounded on all sides, with the different families taking up either side of the building. It almost warms my heart to know that, even in all this chaos, two enemies can come together to try and kill me.
Try to kill me, I think, smiling at the excitement in the air. The thrill of it all doesn’t last long, though. I feel a stone forming in my gut as I think of Nia... and what’s in her belly.
A family. I could actually have my own family. My own blood. My excitement quickly bubbles over into anxiousness. I’ve never shied away from a fight before, but now there’s so much more on the line than I ever thought possible.
Still, I know what needs to be done. I need to wipe out those who threaten my happy future, and I only know one way.
