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I pull the cover over my head and hide like a child from a monster in the dark.
But I’m already in the monster’s bed.
And sooner or later, he will return.
Chapter 16
Andrei
Something is up, not only with the Bratvas but also with Paige.
I’ve never seen her look that terrified before. I don’t blame her for not trusting me, not after what I’ve done, but I’m running out of ideas on how to reassure her that she is safe. Paige doesn’t understand that if she and Emma try to leave, they won’t be coming back alive.
The Bratvas aren’t playing this time. It’s a war.
It occurs to me that maybe I don’t have to kill Sonya to retain my status. I send Natasha out on a hit with the intention of not succeeding. She fires two warning shots over Gleb Novikov’s head while he’s partying on his yacht in Long Island. One shot is embedded in the boat, and the other is in an unfortunate guest.
But the message is sent.
A few days later, Gleb strikes back. Instead of attacking me physically, he attacks my finances by stealing construction material and cash from one of my warehouses late one night. Dmitri and I leave to investigate the break-in about ten miles away in Brooklyn.
This could be a dangerous ambush, but I refuse to stay put and wait for the security company to check out the alarm.
As we drive, my heart pounds the further we go from home. Not because of the risk to me but because Paige is left alone.
Dmitri looks worse for the wear. He hasn’t gone to bed yet, and I can smell beer and whiskey on his breath. I do the driving as he downs a bottled water. He squirms in his seat with something on his mind.
“May I speak openly, Andrei Vasileyvich?” Dmitri feels secure speaking boldly while my eyes are on the road and not him.
“Until we get there,” I reply.
“You have been acting like an idiot,” he starts. “Thinking you can prioritize one thing over the other. Business always comes first. You’re eating your dessert before the main course is even served.”
“So once again, you’re telling me to abandon the business with Paige in favor of the Bratva?”
“Where is the money?” he asks sternly. “Her father had riches worth killing for, but we haven’t seen a cent. I am telling you that you’ve fucked up.”
“By falling in love?” I reply.
He sighs. “Treat her like a wife and move on. There is no money left worth fighting for.”
“The money exists, and I will find it,” I reply firmly. “Nothing is lost, and we will win at any cost.”
“But at what cost, Andrei Vasilyevich?” he asks. “We can save face and walk away before anyone suspects the depth of our fuck up. No, the depth ofyourfuck up.”
I don’t know, Dima.But I remain silent, and he doesn’t press any further.
The road leading to the warehouse is empty, and the surroundings appear quiet as we get out of the car. The door is hanging open by a hinge, a clear sign that someone has broken in. We step inside cautiously, not sure what awaits us in the dim and vast interior.
I shut off the alarm, and we take a look around. Piles of empty boxes are scattered across the open space, and meaningless graffiti is sprayed on the gray walls. As we walk further in, I can smell stale smoke. The charred remains of cardboard boxes are in the corner.
It’s an amateurish attempt to make it look like a break-in.
We make our way further into the warehouse to the office and find paperwork scattered across the floor and a computer monitor illuminated. On closer inspection, it appears that whoever broke in tried to access the files on the computer but couldn’t break the password.
I look at Dmitri. “It’s a mixed blessing that I don’t have the account numbers either.”
Dmitri puts away his gun, and we begin to search through the documents on the floor. It’s only shipping invoices for the legit business, nothing that would raise a red flag. I get the sense that whoever did this made a mess on purpose.
