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I settle into the couch before turning the TV on, bracing myself for whatever horrors I’ll see when I finally do. Right now is one of the few times I’d ever actually want to see Grisha’s face, especially with the caption WANTED MAFIA RINGLEADER FOUND DEAD IN LAS VEGAS HOTEL. I’ve never been so lucky, but it’s a new day.
As soon as I turn on the TV, I see that the situation is much worse than I thought it was.
“A double-homicide is being investigated at the Red Millennium hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Witnesses say they saw a large tattooed man fleeing the eleventh floor after two bodies had been located in a suite reserved by a woman named Faye Varone.”
Fuck.
At least now I know she wasn’t lying about her name.
The broadcast has just started and I’m already thinking about shutting off the TV and just going to sleep. This is starting to look like it’s much worse than I expected it to be.
Then, a photo of the briefcase is shown, open and displayed on a particleboard table in what looks like a police station. Something in the center of the case is blurred out, but it’s obviously flesh colored. This situation just keeps getting weirder.
“A severed human hand was found inside of this briefcase that had been turned in by Ms. Varone, and she’s currently wanted for questioning. If you have any information about these two individuals, please dial the number at the bottom of the screen.”
I’m enraged that there was no mention of Grisha or his men at all. They’re the ones who initially followed Faye to her room to kill her. Before I knew she was in danger, my only intention with her was to follow her upstairs and fuck her. This is the most expensive impulse I’ve ever had in my entire life, and I’m certain this is only the beginning.
So, somehow Grisha got lucky enough to avoid being caught, even though he caused ninety percent of the damage here. I suppose that by now, I should really expect my enemies to have the upper hand. It would at lease help me anticipate interferences like this and I would be ahead of them in the event that they fucked up. But right now, I’m sitting here like a fucking idiot with no direction and no plan.
At the very least, I know that my brother is either dead or missing a hand. For now, I need to believe he’s still alive. If Grisha had killed him, he wouldn’t have the balls to send Adam’s head as a warning, but I’m sure he would have found a creative way to show me that he’s in control.
Fuck this. I need more information. It’s not like the news is going to give me absolutely every detail.
I call my closest associate, Anthony, knowing fully that he’s always awake at odd hours. Because of his unusual sleep schedule, he’s been the most reliable man for me to call in an emergency.
It takes a few rings, but he picks up eventually.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asks, a little groggier than I’m used to hearing him, but still functional.
“Are you watching the news? Or are you anywhere near the Red Millennium?” I ask, trying to keep myself from sounding panicked or agitated. I need to know what he knows first.
“Yeah, I stayed through the night. The place is fucking packed, like there are cops everywhere. Those guys you killed were apparently really well-connected. People are freaking the fuck out,” he replies, suddenly more alert and engaged with the topic. He must have been paying attention.
“Okay, has anyone asked you anything? Are you being questioned about me? They think I kidnapped a key witness,” I reply, trying even harder to suppress the growing pit in my stomach.
“Not so far, but they’ve been pretty busy talking to the people who actually saw you. Fortunately for you, you’re a tall, handsome man with tattoos and no facial scars. It’ll be hard for them to pin you down in a place like Vegas,” he jokes.
I’m annoyed at his attempts at levity, but humor is a standard expectation with Anthony, so at least I know he’s not concerned about anything. At least not yet.
“What else are they saying? I mean, I heard what they said on the news, but I know there’s more going on,” I ask, turning the captions on so I can try to focus on his words as well as that of the newscaster’s. They’re interviewing a cop now, and he’s so smug and self-righteous in the way he carries himself that I’d punch the fucker just for existing if I were there.
“They’re really worked up over the hand in the case, which is…. understandable. Shit, do you think it’s Adam’s?” he asks, his own anxiety punctuating my brother’s name.
My stomach turns as the mental image of my brother’s bleeding stump flashes through my mind. I had been able to push it out before, but hearing Anthony acknowledge it makes itreal.He knows just as well as I do, and I almost resent him for forcing me to face it again.
I brace myself for the words to leave me, knocking any illusion of Adam’s safety on its ass. “Yeah, I know. I think it might be. I don’t know who else it would belong to, at least not from Grisha’s perspective. He’s trying to send a message to me, and the message wouldn’t land without some personal investment. God, he’s a fucking monster.”
There’s a silence between us that could be cut with razor wire. Anthony knows I don’t want to talk about this, but we’re going to lose everything if we let Grisha continue working while we cower. That’s his strategy – to be as ruthless and brutal as possible so that nobody else challenges him. He’s evil incarnate, and unfortunately for me, I was born with a conscience.
“Okay, uh, I’ll keep my eyes open, but I don’t want to linger too long around here. Once they start making connections, they might notice you and I together on the security cameras. They probably won’t catch you by yourself, but they will if they can connect us,” he replies awkwardly.
I sigh, realizing that I’ll have to run full-force into a bloodbath with this psycho if I want any chance of retaining my business. He wants a fight, so I’ll make sure to give him one, but I’m not sure if I have the means to take him down yet.
“If you’re going to pull out of the casino, I need you guys to start looking for Grisha directly. He’s the source of all this chaos, so if we can subdue him or slow him down, we might be able to save our asses. Maybe we’ll even find Adam,” I say with hesitation.
I’m sure that Anthony and the rest of my men will resent me a little for getting them into this without being there in person. I’m being hunted, so there’s no way they can actuallyblameme, but I’ll have to make this right in the future. God, this whole situation is such a clusterfuck.
“I’ll pull everyone, and we’ll comb the city for him. Can’t make any promises, though. Everyone’s kind of freaked about the hand. This guy isn’t like the others, Aleksander. He has no soul. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an underground cave lair.”
