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It’s now Wednesday morning. Every day since Monday when I got drunk and almost got myself killed, I’ve wondered how I woke up alive. I hadn’t known where to go after leaving Ritchie’s office so in the end, I went home. It was clear my stuff had been gone through. I don’t doubt they put some tracking programs on my computer so now I’m building a new one.
Every night before I go to bed, I check every door and window twice. Once I turned off the lights, I sat waiting with a knife until I couldn’t stay awake anymore before putting it within easy reach under the bed.
I have two different tails, one from the Levins and one from Valdez. At first I thought it was a team until I caught them staring each other down.
Weird.
When I open my front door I find a black luxury SUV idling in front of my house. A guy without a neck gets out of the front seat then opens the back passenger door. “Mr. Levin would like a word.”
All the air leaves my lungs in a whoosh. Aleksander, here? Clenching my jaw tight, I get into the car. Milos Levin is inside. I sag… What is that? It isn’t disappointment that Milos is in front of me and not Aleksander. I refuse to let it be.
While Milos might be an appealing specimen to some women, to me Aleksander is by far more stunning. I’m not sure if it’s the scar or what, but he’s an altogether scarier person up close than Aleksander. Darkness radiates around him. He is a threat in and of himself. A shiver runs through me.
“Ms. Raymond.” He nods at me. “It would appear we are at an impasse. Why don’t I offer you twenty thousand dollars and you—”
Rage flares hot and bright. “You think you can buy me?” I have no idea where the hell it comes from, I spit in his face. “Fuck you and your money.”
He goes completely still, the back of the SUV explodes with tension so overwhelming I can’t fucking breathe. Slowly, he pulls his pocket square out and wipes his face. The pocket square is black like, everything he’s wearing. This man killed my uncle, I have no doubt—he is death more than any robed skeleton with a scythe. “One point five million dollars, we’ll call it five hundred thousand for me, Aleksander, and Nikita.”
I’m not sure how the words escape my throat. “Your money doesn’t mean shit to me. I will make you and your brothers wish you’d never been born by the time I’m done.”
His jaw tightens. “Fine, let’s cut to the chase, three million. We’ll show you how to hide it as well.”
The vehicle stops short. We’re in front of the FBI building without me ever being aware we were moving. “Go fuck yourself,” I mutter as I get out.
Upstairs Presley is waiting in my office. She offers me an iced caramel macchiato, an amazing treat I had no idea existed. No one I knew drank coffee until I moved in with Beth and I didn’t like the coffee she made at home. The coffee Presley introduced me to tastes nothing like the coffee Beth made. Ever since Presley gave me one to try, we’ve traded buying each other coffee.
“Thanks.” I accept the coffee and sip deep.
“So…” She sighs.
I keep my eyes on my keyboard. “So.”
“You really aren’t going to tell me what’s going on?” It’s petulant.
“What’s going on?” I’m wondering what she knows.
Rolling her eyes, she asks, “Why Don got a call from Valdez, the uber saint of all shit that goes bad and can be fixed with a few key strokes Valdez. Don has wanted to talk with Valdez ever since he got this job. And all Don got was to answer a bunch of questions. He’s pissed.”
Shrugging, I keep my eyes down. “I don’t know.”
Another sigh, “Getting better at lying. Your gun is missing. That is a HUGE no.”
I’m not sure if I trust that there aren’t more questions coming, especially when we go down to the gun range again. But instead we end up talking about the season of the show we are somehow watching together. Presley admits she’s rewatched it multiple times as a kind of comfort show.
The week ends without any other questions or another appearance from either Milos or Aleksander, which is good. What isn’t good is the tail the Levins have gifted me with is right on me. While the tail from Valdez is gone, which means somehow they managed to tag me another way. I don’t buy Valdez has gone anywhere. I’m not willing to show Richie is the one and only thing I have on the Levins, so I spend the weekend stressed, trying to figure out a way to get to Richie when he calls me on Tuesday.
Richie wants to meet. He’s willing to give up the Levins in exchange for being kept out of it all. He wants to wait for tomorrow night. Fine. I can wait one more night if it means I get the Levins. Whatever it takes.
* * *
Aleksander
I sip at my vodka, wishing it was another espresso. But if I’m going to get out of this office without breaking anyone’s bones, I need to keep drinking vodka.
“I’ll handle Nikita,” I promise Milos.
He sighs. “I love him, but he’s a fucking pain in the ass.”
