Luka
Everything is happening so quickly. Too quickly, actually. Had I known that Alexei’s brother would hunt down Anna as an act of revenge, I would have just fired Alexei and been done with it. Now, I’ve created a huge headache for myself by killing a man and putting two innocent women in danger.
Of course, that’s assuming this has anything to do with Alexei’s bother at all, but I don’t see how it couldn’t. As far as I know, Anna and Rachel are about as pure and sweet as fresh cream. Anna also happens to be just as delicious.
I dial up Pavel when I leave the bedroom. He’s so predictably easy to get ahold of that he picks up within two rings every time.
This time is no different. “Luka, you had me worried. You left in such a rush earlier,” he says.
“Yeah, there’s a bit of a situation. I’ll go over the main details with you later, but I need you to pick up some stuff for a young woman. You have a teenager at home, right? I figured you’d know what to get for one.”
A moment of silence punctuates the conversation as he takes in my request. “Uh, just a little bit of context would be helpful,” he says slowly. “Did you find out that you have a secret child? Is it that one girl from Vladivostok?”
I sigh. “No, it’s not that, but I’ve come into possession of the two sisters that Alexei threatened. It’s a long story. Just consult your daughter about the kinds of shit that a disenfranchised eighteen-year-old might like and meet me at my place when you’re done,” I reply.
“Yeah, I can do that. You want, like clothes, or makeup, or what?” “Everything.”
“Okay, so electronics too? My daughter is literally addicted to her phone.” “Everything,” I repeat.
“Okay, I understand. See you in a bit,” he says, hanging up the phone.
I pocket my phone and walk down to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee while I try to figure out how to proceed with Anna. I can’t say that what happened in my bedroom was unplanned, necessarily. I’ve definitely wanted to fuck her senseless since the moment I saw her, but I never thought I’d be handed the opportunity like that.
I lost control.
We didn’t use a condom, but I’m going to claim blissful ignorance on that front. If a woman is that enthusiastic to fuck without one, that must mean she’s on some pretty heavy birth control. She seems like she’s got her shit together, at least to the best of her ability as she cares for her sister by herself. There’s no way she would be that reckless.
Even if she was, I doubt that she would get pregnant from just one time. It’s possible but unlikely, and I’ve taken much bigger risks in my life.
I sip on my coffee until Pavel arrives.
When I finally hear the hum of Pavel’s jet-black sedan on the driveway, I jump up from the kitchen table, leaving my coffee as I welcome him at the front door.
I laugh when I see how many bags he’s carrying. “You really took it seriously when I said everything.”
Pavel waddles toward me, weighed down by his purchases and sweating like a pig. “I had my daughter pick this stuff out. I didn’t realize how much shit teenagers needed, but Mandy talked my ear off about how I couldn’t just get one color of everything.”
I’d offer to help him carry some of it, but I kind of want to see how he gets through the doorway with that wide of a load.
Pavel looks up at me, stopping just a foot away from the two stairs leading up to the doorway. “A little help would be nice.”
“Oh, you had to go and ruin the show,” I tease, leaning in and grabbing the bags from his left arm. They’re not light, but I’m more capable of physical labor than just about anyone else on my team.
“So, where are these women you kidnapped? Oh, I’m sorry. The ones that Alexei kidnapped,” he says with a grin as we head toward the back of the house.
“It isn’t funny, Pavel. I’m trying to take responsibility for Alexei and his bullshit moral compass. It’s the least I can do… at least to start out,” I reply sharply.
He shrugs. “Okay, whatever. Where are we putting all this?” he asks.
I motion toward the guest house, watching Pavel’s expression grow more amused.
“You’re really going balls out for these girls, wow. You wouldn’t even let Ariana stay in the guest house,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “Don’t talk about that girl. She’s trouble.”
Ariana the fucking twig of a woman who discovered that I was a mafia boss and couldn’t keep her hands off me. I let her come over one time to check her out, but she went nuts when I told her I wasn’t going to let her stay in the guest house. I suppose she felt entitled to it, but I hate women like that. Anna is more humble.
Pavel and I drop the stuff off in front of the guest house, allowing Rachel to preen herself inside without being bothered. I’m sure she’ll come out and get it when she realizes it’s for her.
When we make our way back to the house, I have a distinct feeling that Pavel has something important to tell me. I can tell by the crease between his eyebrows that he’s looking for the right opportunity to bring it up, but I believe I already know what he wants to say.
“Were you able to locate Leo?” I ask with some hesitation. “I know he can be a little slippery.”
“Sure, it wasn’t that hard. He should be on a jet to the states in a few hours. I mean, it’ll still be like fourteen hours until he gets here, but he didn’t take much convincing.”
I pause for a minute. The idea of seeing my brother again after he practically sold both our souls casts a shadow over whatever glimmer of optimism I had managed to create within myself over the arrival of Anna and Rachel.
I can’t necessarily blame Leo for considering the offer he was given at the time. We were poor and desolate even with the money we made hustling. He wanted a better life for himself, and he had started to view himself as his own entity instead of an extension of me. That isn’t his fault. But he was young and impressionable, and he still made mistakes that could have gotten us both killed.
“What did you guys end up discussing during the rest of the meeting?” I ask as we reach the main house again. “Does anyone have an issue with Leo coming in?”
“Nah, they were fine with it. Most of those guys haven’t been with us long enough to know who he is. They reckon he’s some kind of an expert.”
“The problem is, he is an expert,” I grumble. “That’s the only reason I could justify flying him down. He knows drugs and guns better than the people using them.”
Pavel follows me back into the kitchen “Well, nobody was upset about it. We moved on pretty quickly to discuss what to do with the stock sitting around in the east warehouse. We settled on breaking it up into smaller shipments since we don’t have Alexei’s anymore.”
“You mean because we don’t have Alexei to keep track of it all? Doesn’t that seem a bit counter-productive?” I reply, rerunning the coffee maker for a fresh brew.
“I know, but we need to keep it all spread out since he isn’t around to keep it under wraps. If one of us gets caught with anything, it won’t be nearly as big of a loss as if we get busted with a warehouse full of china,” he replies, sitting down at the table and crossing his legs.
“I can trust your judgment on that one. Good call. Again, I’m sorry I had to leave so early and miss the rest of the meeting. The whole situation is weird as hell. I think Alexei’s brother found out where Anna lives and threw a brick through her window,” I reply, grabbing two ceramic cups from their wall hooks.
“Jesus, that was fast. You popped him off just the other day,” he replies in disbelief.
“Yeah, he must have been talking a lot about his little side dealings with his brother if he knew exactly where to find Anna’s house.” I pour coffee into both cups, forgoing cream and sugar. “That concerns me. She and Rachel don’t deserve this.”
“I mean, I get where you’re coming from, but they’re really not your responsibility. You could just cut them loose and give them a couple thousand for their trouble,” he responds, accepting his cup.
I feel oddly defensive at his statement. While he isn’t wrong, I don’t like that he’s equating them to just being common street girls like the ones he’s used to seeing around. As someone with a daughter himself, he should know better.
“Well, I have more than enough space for them both, and I’m pretty sure it’s my decision, so don’t worry about it,” I deflect, sitting down across from him. “You know, I -”
My phone starts buzzing before I can finish my thought. Concerned that it might be Anna again, I answer it, only to find that the number on my screen isn’t one I recognize.
“Hello?” I ask cautiously.
“Hello, Luka,” replies a slimy, unfamiliar voice on the other line.
“Who the fuck is this?” I ask, irritated that I’ve been interrupted. I can hear in this person’s tone that they want a power trip.
“You don’t recognize my voice? I’m hurt,” the voice replies.
I rack my brain trying to place who it could belong to. It’s not Leo. I would recognize him instantly. He sounds familiar, but then again, I hear Russian accents all day long.
“Your fallen comrade’s brother Dmitri seems to have quite the vendetta against you, Luka. I felt it necessary to warn you,” the voice continues, and suddenly, something clicks.
“Damien,” I say, more to myself than to him.
The man who was formerly the most notorious mafia boss in Seattle has finally decided to speak to me again. I wonder if this is his attempt to return and try to take back what I stole from him.
“What the fuck do you want?” I bark, nearly knocking over my coffee cup.
“There’s no need to get so hostile, at least not with me. I just thought you’d want to know that the person who hates you more than anything is currently working on my side to bring your organization down. Thought you should hear it from me,” he replies. “You really shouldn’t be turning your own men against you.”
I can feel my blood beginning to boil, but I try to remain calm in front of Pavel. “Alright, you’ve said your piece, now tell Dmitri to fuck off, and you can go back to tucking your tail between your legs and embezzling from the police department,” I reply, and I hang up the phone.
“What the hell was that about?” Pavel asks, his expression dripping with concern.
I smooth my hair back, laughing bitterly before taking a sip of my coffee. “Alexei’s brother Dmitri has decided to join Damien’s organization. What a clown. And Damien calls me to tell me like it’s some kind of big deal. Dmitri ain’t a bigshot or anything.”
Pavel hesitates. “Yeah, but if he’s close to Alexei, then he probably knows an awful lot about our operations,” he replies, looking me straight in the eyes with a sense of unknowing and trepidation.
I scoff. “Then we fucking change them. I’m not going to let a couple of miserable losers take away our main source of income. Clear out that eastern warehouse and find somewhere new.”
“Sure thing,” Pavel replies, hiding his face with a large gulp of his coffee.
I jump up from my seat, trying and probably failing to hide my frustration. I already have enough to think about with these two women living with me. Dmitri and Damien teaming up isn’t what I need right now. “I’m going for a drive,” I grumble. “Lock the door when you leave.”
Rachel and Anna walk into the hallway together as I charge out of the kitchen, and I nearly knock them both over as I head for the front door.
“Not even an excuse me?” Anna calls to me as I leave. I don’t reply.