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Damien and Nadia both.
“Did you check the accounts to make sure they’re at the number they should be?” I asked Andrei.
“We’re short a few hundred dollars, but that’s not uncommon. Sometimes people don’t pay every month,” Andrei remarked. “Until we threaten them, many of them will try to hold out on us.”
“Do they have the names of the people documented?”
Andrei nodded and passed a sheet to me. I reviewed it, and for the first time, he voiced his questions. “Did Damien’s distrust prompt this?” he asked.
“That, along with a few other factors,” I admitted. “I want to be wrong, but I have to be sure it’s safe having him around my wife and son.”
“Your fake wife, you mean,” Andrei added.
I didn’t reply. Maybe it was in name only, but I had every intention of ensuring she wasn’tonlya fake wife in the coming weeks. “We need to look into all the people who are defaulting on their debt to us,” I said. “But we should focus on the Irish and see if we can get any additional information on the hit on Ciara. We don’t have enough information.”
“Should we focus on Damien first?” Andrei asked. “If that’s something that’s concerning you, we shouldn’t wait.”
“We’re focusing on the Irish placed where he and Nadia were assigned, and we’re going to figure out why these people thought it wise not to pay,” I explained.
“Boss, it’s common for people to refuse payment.”
I nodded, glancing down at the list again. “I hope that’s all we find.”
The fact was that there were far more people on this list than usual, and there had to be a reason for it. I hoped it had nothing to do with Damien being negligent in his tasks, but we’d soon learn the truth.
***
The first six houses gave no information. Four of them came to the door, saw me, and reached straight for their checkbooks. The other two gave a bit of a verbal dispute before finally conceding and making their payment out to me personally. Andrei followed behind me to each house and apartment, acting as a guard.
Ciara and Sean were having a movie day at the house, and neither would be going anywhere. I also had a few guards stationed outside and on guard, though I made sure not to tell them who they were protecting. They didn’t need temptation.
“We have two more,” Andrei said, rattling off the next address that was within a few blocks of this one. “What do we do next.”
I didn’t admit that I had no idea where to go from here. Damien wasn’t stupid, and if he was planning something, he wouldn’t have done it in a way that could easily be traced back to him.
Why was I even questioning a friend who had been loyal for years?
The thought hit me in the chest, and a tinge of guilt sprouted from it. He would have never allowed something to happen to Ciara, even if he didn’t agree with her protection. Damien wasn’t dishonorable, even if he was pissed at a decision I’d made.
“We’ll finish up with these last two places and go home. I’ll keep my eye on him, but this was all a precaution, not an accusation,” I reminded him. Andrei nodded. “I don’t need to remind you that this should stay between us, right?”
“I assume all our dealings should stay between us unless told otherwise.”
We stopped at a shabby-looking house on a corner street and parked the car before getting out simultaneously and walking toward the door. I knocked and took a step back, shoving both hands in my pockets and inhaling a deep breath as I listened for any sign that these people were home.
It took only a moment before a tall man with a muscular frame opened the door and looked between us. “My debts are paid,” he said immediately, confrontation clear in his voice.
“Our records say otherwise,” I replied cooly.
“Man, I’m not doing a confrontation with you. You killed my buddy Tyson in cold blood, and I ain’t gonna be like him. I did what your people asked. I’ve been here for six years, and I never missed a payment once.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What did my people say?”
“I don’t snitch,” he said.
“If my men make offers out of line, I need to know about it.”
“I don’t get involved with you Russians,” he said. “I know how you work. You cut off fingers and take out eyes for stupid shit. I’ll just pay you, all right? I don’t want no trouble.”
