21. Alexei

21

ALEXEI

Bianca is still in bed by the time I get back to Forest Hills later that evening.

It’s almost 10pm, and I’ve spent the day in back-to-back meetings at one of the clubs my family owns in the city.

My head is pounding, and my temper is on a short fuse.

It seems if you want something done, you’re better off doing it yourself.

I lost count of the amount of times I reached inside my jacket for my gun, tempted to pull the trigger on the assholes who like to waste my time just to get them to shut the fuck up.

I know even just a glimpse of Bianca will clear my head and bring me back down to earth. I have a tendency to get caught up in business, letting the darker side of my life cloud over the good.

Bianca reminds me that there’s good out there, and perhaps I’ll show her just how grateful I am…

Dimitri strolls out of the lounge, carrying a glass of scotch as I’m halfway up the stairs.

I frown .

He chuckles. “What have you done to Bianca? I overheard her puking her guts up.”

“Food poisoning. ” I turn to walk back down the stairs. “Is she still sick?”

My chest tightens. I should have stayed with her today.

“Is that what they’re calling it now?”

“Calling what?”

“Never mind.” Dimitri’s smirk tugs at his lips.

I’m growing more frustrated by the second. I wanted to go and check on Bianca as I’ve hardly seen her the past few days, but it seems business has to come first, again .

“Why are you here?” I stalk over to my brother and steal the glass of scotch out of his hand.

“To see my favorite brother, of course.”

I down the amber liquid in one long gulp, wincing as the alcohol burns my throat.

“I also thought you’d want to know that there’s been a sighting on Ricci.”

“Yeah?”

“Anton called as I was on the way here. He’s following the SUV as we speak.”

“Where?”

“Chinatown.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger as I take a steadying breath.

“How do you want to handle this, Alexei?”

I hand Dimitri the empty glass and check my weapons.

“I need you to stay here with Bianca.”

Dimitri opens his mouth, but I shoot him a glare that has him staying silent.

“I need to handle this myself. We might only get one shot with this fucker, and I need to be the one to finish this.”

Dimitri runs his free hand through his dark hair. “At least take some backup with you. You don’t know what you’re about to walk into.”

I nod as I re-button my jacket.

My brother reaches into his pocket, pulling out the keys. “Take the hummer. It’s freshly stocked.”

“Don’t let Bianca out of your sight, you hear me?” I pocket the keys.

“I’ll watch her like a hawk.” For once my brother doesn’t fight my instructions which I appreciate. “Give this fucker hell.”

I leave Dimitri to head down into the underground garage beneath the house. The door is hidden behind one of the bookshelves in the lounge, and only those with fingerprint access can get in.

Bianca is not one of those people.

As much as I trust her to do as I ask, I have to also be realistic. If I give her access to a garage full of cars, there’s no way in hell she wouldn’t at least push her luck.

The blacked-out hummer is parked in the far corner next to Mikhail’s ridiculous G Wagon that he insisted on buying for his twenty-first birthday.

After unlocking the car, I slide into the driver's seat and power up the engine.

My phone automatically connects to the center screen, and I quickly dial my youngest brother.

He picks up when I’m driving out of the garage and around the side of the house. Club music blasts through my speakers, and I wince at how loud it is.

“Fucking hell, Danil.”

“Alexei?” Danil yells through the speakers .

“Where the fuck are you?”

“ Neon .”

I curse under my breath. Of course, Danil is out clubbing in the city.

“I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.”

“Why?”

“We have a fucking job to do, that’s why. And bring Mikhail as well. I’m assuming he’s with you?”

Danil chuckles. “Yeah, he’s here.”

“Try to sober up.”

I hang up the phone.

Perhaps it would’ve been better to bring Dimitri along for this job, but I feel guilty for not spending more time with Danil. The most we’ve hung out was on the anniversary of our parents death, which wasn’t exactly a happy occasion.

After they died, I took on the role of the father figure for my brothers, but particularly for Danil. He was barely sixteen when they died, and I needed to make sure he didn’t go off the rails.

Which is hard to do when you’ve been up around drugs and alcohol.

Danil and Mikhail are waiting for me outside Neon , both wearing black shirts and pants. Perfect.

The place is rammed, with a queue around the corner and music blasting so loudly I swear the building shakes from the bass.

I roll down my window as I pull up to the curb. “Get in the car.”

Danil rolls his eyes at me as he throws open the car door and climbs into the front seat.

“Is there really a job?”

“Yes. You’re not a kid anymore, Danil, you need to step up and start taking more responsibility when it comes to this family.”

“You’re finally becoming a man, Danil.” Mikhail chuckles from the back seat. “Man, you were so close to getting laid tonight. If only Alexei hadn’t cockblocked you.”

“Shut up, Mikhail.” Danil twists in his seat to glare at our brother in the back seat. “I’m not a fucking virgin.”

“The way you were staring at that chick's breasts made it seem like you’d never seen any before.”

“I’ve had plenty of women?—”

“Both of you, shut the fuck up. We have more important things to worry about.”

I load up my messages on the screen and find Anton’s name.

He shared his location, so I import it into my maps before pulling away from the curb. For once, my brothers are quiet as I speed across the city, following the red pin that is telling me Ricci is heading to an old warehouse complex in Chinatown. It’s a shady as fuck area, so it tells me everything I need to know about the sort of business Ricci involves himself in.

Because I happen to own one of those nearby warehouses, and I certainly don’t use it for storing fucking furniture.

I make sure to switch off the headlights as we approach, the only light guiding us coming from a few rickety old street lights.

I spot Anton’s black BMW around the side of one of the warehouses and pull up behind him.

We sit in silence as we watch Anton slip out of his car and come up to my window.

“He’s been in there for the past hour.” He leans on the window frame. “I slipped a tracker into his car just to be on the safe side.”

I nod. “Is he alone?”

Anton nods.

I nod back. “Good, I’ve got it from here.”

Anton hesitates for a moment but then decides to leave it. He understands that me and my brothers need to be the ones to deal with Ricci.

“Keep me updated.” He stalks back to his car.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I watch Anton slowly drive away, giving me the perfect view of the warehouse that Ricci is hiding in.

His car is parked out the front, so the moment he appears, I’ll be ready.

Twenty minutes later, a figure dressed in all black with a hood pulled low over his head appears, carrying an overstuffed backpack.

Danil leans forward. “He looks shady as fuck.”

Ricci opens up the trunk of his car and dumps the backpack inside.

I turn in my seat to face both of my brothers, their faces cast in shadow as they wait for their instructions.

“We need to make this quick, boys.” I reach over Danil to open up the glove compartment and hand each of them a loaded handgun. “Try not to kill him before we have the chance to get some answers.”

Mikhail chuckles.

“But we can wound him, right?”

It turns out one swift blow to the head with the base of my handgun is enough to send Ricci to his knees. Serves the fucker right for having his hood up and his blind spots open.

Mikhail makes quick work of tying up his hands and feet as Danil secures a bag over his head.

It takes all three of us to carry him to the hummer where I toss him into the trunk.

We don’t have far to drive, but perhaps he’ll use that time to think about the benefits of cooperating with us.

I have no conscience when it comes to protecting my family. If I have to take another life in order to protect those I love, then so be it.

My hands are already stained with blood, a little more won’t matter.

Mikhail and Danil stay quiet as I maneuver the hummer through the warehouse complex. They’re well aware that those who are brought here never see the light of day again.

I pull the car up to the set of steel rolling shutters.

Many of the windows have been boarded up, and I’ve had bars placed on all of them for an extra level of protection.

Danil climbs out of the car and jogs over to the shutters, punching in the security code and scanning his fingerprints to unlock them.

Mikhail leans forward in his seat as we wait for the shutters to rise. “Do you think he’ll talk?”

“We’re about to find out.”

I drive the hummer into the center of the warehouse, wanting to keep it out of sight from anyone who might happen to pass by, and put it in park.

Danil’s already working on closing the shutters, and Mikhail climbs out of the backseat and hurries around to the trunk .

I climb out of the hummer, slamming the door behind me. “Tie him to the chair.”

The warehouse is damp and cold, with only a few flickering lights overhead to illuminate the space. But that’s how I like it.

It might look abandoned from the outside, but the place is stocked with weapons and underground cells that have proven very useful over the years.

I’d much rather keep my conscience clear and my hands clean, but these fuckers never want to cooperate. So, I have to get creative .

Danil drags two rusted folding chairs across the concrete floor, and Mikhail forces Ricci down into one of them.

I roll my shoulders and crack my knuckles as my brothers secure him to the chair, the bag still tied firmly over his head.

Once they’re done, Danil looks at me, and I nod once.

Danil smirks as he unties the strings and lifts the bag off Ricci’s head.

He squints as his eyes adjust to the low light, his head smeared with blood. He looks to be about Emilio’s age, with graying hair and heavy wrinkles around his eyes. But from the breadth of his shoulders, he’s packing some muscle.

This should be fun .

“You have some information for me.” I pull up the other fold out chair to sit in front of Ricci, knee to knee.

His eyes are furiously searching around the space, which only makes me grin.

“There’s no way out. I made sure of it.”

I lean forward and grip the edge of the duct tape covering his mouth, ripping the tape off, taking a bunch of his graying facial hair with it.

Ricci cries out in pain.

“Trust me, that’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do if you don’t cooperate. Now, start talking.”

I reach into my ankle holster and pull out a six-inch blade.

His eyes widen as he fights against the restraints.

Mikhail and Danil stand on either side of him, their guns loaded and ready as they watch us silently.

“Do you where you are, Ricci?” I lean back in my chair, resting my blade on my thigh.

His eyes stay on the blade, but he remains silent.

“I asked you a question.”

“N-no.” Beads of sweat are starting to drip down his forehead.

“I purchased this warehouse nine years ago. I thought it would be the perfect place to torture the fucker who killed my parents.”

Ricci’s face pales, and he lowers his eyes—giving me all the confirmation I need.

I remain still. I need answers before I rid the world of this scum. “Would you agree?”

“Y-yes.”

I narrow my eyes as I lean forward, resting my forearms on my thighs.

“Good, because according to you, their killer is still running free.”

“W-what? I… I don’t?—”

I glance at Danil who slams the barrel of his gun into the other side of Ricci’s head.

The sound of metal crashing against bone echoes around us followed by a deep groan.

Ricci hangs his head, his breath coming in heavy pants.

“The spluttering is starting to piss me off.”

I sigh, glancing at Mikhail and nodding. He clicks the safety off his gun.

My eyes set on Ricci again. “You use your right arm to shoot, right?”

Mikhail presses his gun against Ricci’s right shoulder.

“No, no. I-I swear.” He lifts his head enough to glance at Mikhail.

I hold my hand up, and Mikhail lowers his gun a fraction, his eyes never leaving Ricci’s face.

“You swear what, exactly?” I run my forefinger down the face of my blade. The edge is extra sharp, and I will not bleed for this bastard.

“T-that I know n-nothing.”

“Wrong answer.”

I flick my wrist and catch the edge of the blade along his cheek.

Ricci hisses with pain, but the blood running down his face does little to ease the rage starting to simmer beneath the surface.

“Please. I have no…i-information.”

I glance to my brothers who shrug.

We know he’s lying, but I have to play this carefully. I need to keep him alive long enough to talk, but it seems he’s got his tongue a bit tied.

I’m not about to waste my time waiting for his lips to loose, I have a wife to get home to.

“You know what? Maybe that bump on your head is making you forget things.”

I look at my brothers. “I think a couple nights of solitary confinement will change his answer.”