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“Not one of the brothers. One of their—I don’t know what exactly he does for them.” I drop my hand from his shoulder. “He’s taking me to a halfway house this afternoon after work where Gunner was staying a while back. I doubt they’ll have information for me, but I’m going to try.”
He huffs a laugh. “Why the hell would he go to a halfway house, Mandy?”
“You go there after you leave rehab. They took him to a rehab facility, but he didn’t finish the program. He did go to the halfway house though, and they help sometimes.”
He shakes his head. “If you think your brother would go to one of those places, you’re really smoking some unicorn rainbows.”
I shake my head. “What does that mean?”
“It means you want to find him so badly you aren’t thinking right. You’re letting your hopes of finding him cloud your judgment. This guy isn’t going to help you find Gunner.” He runs his hand over his jaw. “He’s probably going to lead you one way then another, bring you to dead end after dead end until you give up.”
“What? Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know, maybe they didn’t take him to a rehab facility? Think about it, Mandy. Why would a Russian family take the kid selling their shit behind their backs to a fucking rehab place? Does that sound right to you?” He taps his temple. “Think about it.”
I blink, then take a step back.
“So, what? He’s lying to me?” Maxim wouldn’t do that. Would he? I mean he’s been extremely clear about how he feels about lying. My ass is still tender when I touch certain spots.
He laughs. “You can’t be this naive.”
“I’m not.” I clench my fists at my sides. “Look, if you don’t have anything useful to tell me, I have to get back to work.” I move back to my chair and plop into it.
“Sure.” He shakes his head. “You need to think about this, Mandy. Get away from the Romanov family. They took your brother and he’s missing. You don’t want that to be how you end up too.” He holds my stare for a solid moment. “I’ll check in with you in a few days. Answer when I call so I know you’re still alive.”
“You’re being dramatic.” I pick up my pen and double click it.
“Right.” He shakes his head again.
The door shuts softly behind him after he leaves, and I drop my pen. Sinking back in my chair, I recall my conversation with Maxim. He wouldn’t even tell me what halfway house we’re going to today. He’s insistent that I go with him. Jack had a good point. If Gunner had been making money off the Romanovs without them getting a cut, why would they send him to a rehab facility? Wouldn’t they want him to pay the money back? Or worse?
They make their money from drugs; why would they want anyone who uses to get clean?
I glance over at my phone. No messages from Maxim. Two from Natalie, which I quickly respond to so she doesn’t think I’m dead.
At least not yet.
And then I open a browser on my computer to a search engine and type.
Manhattan halfway houses
Maxim
All three Romanovbrothers are waiting for me when I get to the warehouse. The smoke from Nikolai’s cigarette floats in the air between them.
“What’s happened?” I’m immediately on guard.
Nikolai shakes his head, dropping his cigarette to the ground and killing it with the heel of his shoe. “Nothing yet.”
“You know what’s been happening with the De Lucas, yes?” Arman speaks up.
I nod. “Yeah. They’re crowding us.” They’ve been behind all the attempts to get the Romanov product and putting it on the street for themselves.
“They got the recipe, and it seems they’re making their own product now. A small tweak to ours to make it stronger. More potent.” Roman slips his hands into his pockets. His jaw is tense. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the darkness I’m looking at now in his expression. He hasn’t been around New York much over the past year. If he’s here now, things have taken a bad turn.
“The younger brother was behind it, but now that Nico’s involved, he’s decided to keep going with his brother’s plan.” Nikolai flicks his lighter. “The shit’s on the streets already.”
“You need me to track it down?” I fold my arms over my chest, waiting for my mission. An all-out war with the De Luca family would be costly. Too much blood and money would be spilled.
