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They did it to let me know I could be hit.
“Let’s go,” I tell Dmitri. “We can discuss what to do on the ride home.”
He nods. “Andrei Vasilyevich, I only said what I said because we have bigger problems.”
“I know.” I nod. “She’s jealous of the time I spend on the Bratva, and the Bratva is jealous of the time I spend with her. I feel like a man with a wife and a mistress demanding both to be pleased at the same time.”
Dmitri laughs. “But who’s the wife and who’s the mistress?”
But before we can leave, the overhead lights suddenly flicker on. Dmitri grabs my arm and pulls me back into the office.
“Chyort!It is a trap!” Dmitri looks at me.
Red and blue flashing lights light up the interior. And we hear a voice over a loudspeaker. The words are unintelligible, but the meaning is clear. Dmitri and I toss our guns away, lift our hands, and step out of the office.
“Come out with your hands up.” The voice echoes through the concrete room.
Chapter 17
Andrei
I yell back that we’re coming out peacefully and step into a bright light with my hands raised. The police hold their guns aimed at us. We stand there for what seems like an eternity until one of them approaches us cautiously.
“Get on the ground,” the cop orders, and we have no choice but to do as he says.
Then Natasha walks in with her pretty face covered with tears. “Please don’t shoot. I work here.” Her thick Russian accent is hidden behind an even thicker one from Long Island. “I got a call that the alarm had been tripped, so I came back thinking I had forgotten to turn it off.”
The uniformed cop’s gaze flicks down her body in a tight pink dress and then up again. He lowers the gun and smiles. “It’s okay, miss. Do you know these men?”
“They’re my cousin and my boss.” She giggles convincingly. “I asked them to come here and meet me. They got here before I did.”
We wait on the floor while Natasha flirts with the cop. His partner approaches us and asks for ID. I hand him my other driver’s license plus my business card. He shakes his head and hands it back to me.
“Larry!” he shouts at the other man. “Checks out. This guy owns the place.” He turns back to me. “Sorry for the mix-up, sir.”
“Thank you, officer,” I reply, brushing off my pants.
He glares at his partner, who’s chatting up Natasha, before they head to their car. “Have a good night, sir. You stay safe, you hear?”
With big smiles, we wave and wait for the steel door to close.
“Nice work, Natasha,” Dmitri smirks. “Looks like I might have some competition.”
“I’d rather blow a pistol than hear that from you,” she replies coldly. “I pulled up at the same time they did,” she whispers. “They said they got a call.”
“They weren’t answering the alarm?” I ask.
Natasha shakes her head. “Someone called the security company and canceled the alarm. Someoneelsecalled the cops and reported a break-in. The security company called me.”
My body tenses when I hear this. “The house is safe? Is Paige safe?”
“Yes,” she replies. “Nothing else has been touched. Small skirmishes in the outer boroughs and small shit that won’t attract the attention of the cops. But what purpose do they serve?”
“A message,” I reply. “They’re trying to figure out our resources by testing us.” I look around the warehouse, quiet again. “Let’s not hang out here waiting to be shot.”
We walk out to our cars quickly, and I do something I’ve never done before.
I look over my shoulder.
