Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

N ikolay

I knew a hell of a lot about New York. Streets, venues. Where the police stations were located, but this area of Hell's Kitchen surprised me. I guessed that meant Sonya had been chased to somewhere close. Still, I didn't like the area and had no intention of staying here long.

"This is a dump," Maxim said.

"Yeah, well. There are several areas in this great city people would think that about," I told him.

"Did you see the rats back there in the alley?" The powerful Russian seemed so shocked.

Danny grinned as he drummed his fingers on the door. "He's delicate."

"I'm going to punch you. Then I'm going to introduce you to some rats," Maxim snarled. He was damn good at making the noise too.

"Just remember, we won't be here for long." As the driver slowed, I noticed the buildings. They were quaint enough, not broken down as one might expect.

"What do you want to do with the girl when you're done?"

I threw Danny a look as my driver parked on the curb. "Remind her to keep her mouth shut and take her where she wants to go. I'm not into taking a hostage at this point."

Hell, I was truly more of a traditional businessman, not a ruthless killer.

There was no need to wait until Danny climbed out, opening the door. I was tired of protocols at this point. Besides, I wasn't king of anything. Just an ordinary man.

Yeah, right.

"You sure about that? She might be working for someone," Danny reminded me.

I resisted rolling my eyes. The man had always been the voice of reason and there were times he'd been the only one to keep me grounded. Hell, he'd reminded me more than once that my position as Brigadier wasn't like the old days with the main responsibility of such a prestigious position.

Brutal.

Unforgiving.

Bloody.

He'd also saved my life more than once when life had reverted back to the old days.

"Keep something in mind," I told him. "If she does lead us to someone who's pressuring her, that could be beneficial. Never look a gift horse in the mouth." I could tell my men were staring at each other or me in the rearview mirror. I was more philosophical than normal. Maybe I had changed under Chantel's influence.

The drive continued, my driver finally slowing down near a section of old businesses that had likely been around for a couple hundred years.

"Which building?" Maxim asked when he flanked my side.

I glanced at the text and sighed. "That one. The little china shop."

"Why a china shop?"

That was likely a private joke, or something Tanner knew would keep the girl from throwing a tantrum. "To be cute perhaps." I had a bad feeling, which usually meant something was wrong. It was possible the girl had foiled him. As we stepped out, my men checking the area briefly, I scanned the streets. To me, the area seemed way too quiet for the time of day, traffic light. That was far too troubling. I wasn't the kind of man to enjoy walking into uncertain circumstances.

"I don't like this," Danny said. "I don't think we should go in. Maybe you should call Tanner."

"Why bother? However, keep your ear to the ground and as soon as we walk in, pay close attention to everyone inside and anyone scrambling to get the hell out."

Maxim sighed. "You sure this isn't a setup?"

Chuckling, I headed for the quaintly decorated front door, taking a second to peer inside. "I'm not certain of anything at this point."

That didn't bode well for my life or my business.

Or the regime.

When I walked inside, I realized it was actually a coffee shop, but within seconds, my hackles were raised.

I knew instantly something was completely wrong as my instinct had screamed.

I pulled out my weapon as I scanned the area.

I'd noticed their business hours on the door and while they were open, there was no one standing behind the counter.

The electricity in the room was high.

As was my blood pressure.

"You were right. Back away. It's a setup," I said as quietly as possible to my men.

"Shit!" Danny exclaimed.

It was too late. As various unknown men appeared out of every corner, the back room and from behind the counter, all with weapons in their hands, I had to wonder if Tanner was dead.

A single shot was fired. A warning shot.

We scattered in opposite directions, trying to find cover.

Before any of the three of us could get out, the barrel of a gun was pointed at the back of my head.

"Not so fast. I'll take your weapons." The voice was deep, angry.

And recognizable.

I was instantly enraged, seeing blood in my eyes.

"Tanner," I hissed. "A fucking traitor. What the fuck are you doing?"

"Goddamn it," Maxim snarled. I could tell he was moving closer, trying to have my back. Almost instantly, three enemy soldiers advanced, two pointing weapons at his head, the third at mine.

Tanner laughed at first, as if this was a Halloween prank. He swaggered closer, eyeing me up and down.

With disdain.

"You traitor," Maxim hissed, taking a step closer.

I was certain Tanner was going to shoot the man and took a step forward myself. "Enough. Answer the fucking question. You owe me that."

"Fuck. I owe you nothing but I'm in a very good mood today since my life is about to change for the better. I'm the catalyst for the beginning of the end. It will be so good to have you locked away, your body used as my boss sees fit."

The word ‘apocalypse' had been used. Now catalyst to the end. It was like a script had been written.

"Your boss? Or are you just a fucking asshole like I thought you were?" Maxim snarled and tried to keep his weapon from being taken. My soldier was clocked in the head, the gun ripped away anyway.

Tanner was all gleeful, laughing maniacally. "Someone who cares about me."

Something was off in his eyes, a look that suggested he was under duress. I wasn't certain I cared.

There was no use in arguing who cared about whom. Honestly, I was at a point I was furious with myself. With at least twelve weapons pointed in our direction, the odds were entirely against us.

My ex-employee reached around me, grabbing the weapon in my hand. "I'll take that. You won't be needing it any longer."

I was no fool. I had two more safely secured.

"Tell me, Tanner. How much to sell your soul?" I asked without any emotion in my voice.

"Enough, with more coming."

Sighing, I noticed odd movement coming from the back corridor, which likely led to the emergency exit.

I gave up my weapon without fighting him but would be quickly prepared to take it back. If nothing else, I liked the gun, an old favorite of mine and I didn't plan on leaving without it.

And you bet I was returning home.

To my woman.

Now I liked the possessive nature in my attitude. Chantel was mine.

"You do realize what I'm capable of. Yes? Even if you get away with this today, Vadim, Aleksander, and about two hundred others will send out word to hunt you down at all costs. No matter where you go. No matter what rock you crawl under. So, plan a long-term trip to the moon."

Maxim snickered and Tanner had the barrel of his weapon pointed at the man's head in a split second.

"I'd shut up if I were you," Tanner hissed. "I hold all the cards."

"Where is the girl?" I asked, trying to keep my tone as calm as possible.

When I turned around, I smiled. For some reason, Tanner was gritting his teeth. I truly wondered how long this had been going on. Not that it mattered at this point.

Yet a nagging remained. What was really going on here? I did my best to remain observant, not allowing my anger to get in the way.

"It doesn't matter. Does it?" he asked, half laughing.

Being angry wasn't going to solve anything. "I suppose not. So what's the plan, Tanner? You kill my men and take me to whoever this great boss is?"

"Pretty much," he said. He was sweating like a pig, another indication he wasn't entirely comfortable with what he was doing.

The other soldiers were waiting like statues, but I sensed at least three of them had itchy fingers. There was no way of telling who they were working for, including by complexions or hair color. Granted, obtaining decent soldiers in any syndicate wasn't like the old days either, which meant you only hired within your nationality. If that was the case, there wouldn't be enough men to serve as hired guns.

Or in my case, qualified employees.

A slight creak drew Maxim's attention. I could tell by the flash in his eyes, but no one else had witnessed it.

A strange sense of vibrations crawled up my back. My instincts weren't just spot on. They were never wrong. Within the regime of three basic leaders, we'd developed a perception that some might call supernatural. Whatever the case, in working together, sharing our private lives including drinking over football games and basketball, and even commiserating over our hungers for women, we'd learned to sense each other's presences.

It was time to turn the tables.

"You know," I said, noticing he still had my weapon in his hand, the other two placed on a sales counter. "A wise man once told me that when a snake rears its ugly head to strike, they are no longer useful."

Tanner laughed, as I knew he would. "I am a snake but I assure you, I'm still very useful. And poisonous."

There was an electric vibe in the air and I took that to mean my good buddy had been concerned enough, he'd followed me. Needless to say, Vadim followed no one's orders or even requests. Especially when he believed treachery was involved. However, I had the distinct feeling we were still outnumbered. One could only hope for a miracle and that wasn't like me in the least.

But then Vadim appeared out of the shadows, locking eyes with mine briefly and I grinned.

The cracking noise brought a strange look to Tanner's face and he paled significantly.

That's the moment I noticed the quick look of fear on the man.

Vadim wasn't into wasting time, especially since this wasn't within our territories. He gave me a nod that I knew far too well, one the three of us hadn't cared to share with anyone. Now I fully understood why.

What was the old expression? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Or maybe I should say, never assume anyone is who they tell you they are. As I'd learned a long time ago, anyone could be bought. Did that mean this one wasn't painful, very personal?

Time to get this moving.

"Drop and roll," I told my other two men as gunshots starting flying. They did as I asked while I crawled toward the counter, easily reaching for and grabbing my favorite weapon.

Meanwhile, given Maxim hadn't liked being smashed in the head, he immediately tackled Tanner, but not before a bullet tore through Tanner's shoulder.

I tossed the weapons to my men, taking aim at several soldiers. With every brutal pop of my gun, and those from Vadim and his soldiers, another two or three of the bastards went down.

The noise was horrific, grunts and animalistic sounds filling the dense space. I couldn't help it but the owners of this place were going to have to do a full renovation afterward.

"On your right!" Vadim yelled.

I had a split second to react, lunging to the right before a string of bullets hit. As soon as I dropped, skidding across the floor, I twisted my body and with both hands on my weapon, fired directly at the soldier still determined to end my life.

Between the force and from just how close the man had managed to get, his body was pitched backward, slammed against the lovely, smashed counter. The entire moment was as if slow motion had usurped natural time, the echoes of gunfire not nearly as powerful as the shock in his eyes when he realized his world was fading into black.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Maxim dropped near me, firing off a heavy round before finding a moment to glance in my direction. His grin meant he was having way too much fun as usual.

God love the man and his enthusiasm.

More gunfire filled the air, the stench of gunpowder and blood permeating my nostrils. One of the assholes appeared out of nowhere, taking aim at my head. It was close range. Too close. I managed to grab the man mid action, first breaking his arm before tossing him against the wall.

With a single shot between his eyes and a bloodstain on the wall as his body started to slide, I was completely certain the fucker was dead.

I noticed Vadim was standing over another asshole, his normally impeccable suit covered in blood and gore. He wiped his face, shooting me a grin before ending the life of what could be the last enemy soldier.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, checking to ensure my men were safe and unharmed. Danny half laughed.

"You know how to have fun, boss." He kept his voice low, just in case other assholes were waiting in the wings.

Everyone in our crew was doing the same thing, two of Vadim's soldiers racing to the back door to ensure there weren't more of them outside, waiting like vultures.

Within seconds, the quiet became eerie, so much so I continued scanning the area, certain more of the sons of bitches would appear from the shadows.

"Check the front," I said to Danny, who immediately headed to the door. I could only imagine the fear resonating in the area. All I needed to do was to glance out the busted front window, noticing it wasn't just quiet on the two-lane street.

There was literally no movement, not a single customer hanging out on the sidewalks or foot traffic of any sort.

This attack had been a lure.

And well planned.

Vadim rose to his feet, shaking his head as he walked closer. "I can't let you go off on your own at all. Can I?"

"How did you know?"

He glanced around the room, settling his heated gaze on Tanner. Now both my men were roughing him up, tenderizing the man as Maxim would say.

I let them go. I was angry enough to break every bone in the man's body, but what good would it actually do? None.

I paced the floor, cursing under my breath. When I looked again, Tanner was being dragged closer.

"Something Luciano said. We both knew there was someone in your midst who had an ear to the ground at minimum. I'm certain I need to clean house as well."

"Yeah, but I wonder if the person in your world hits so close to home."

"You never know with these things. What you should realize is that whoever is behind this thing carries a lot of weight. If he could turn Tanner, then you bet he has enough money and clout to do that to a dozen other of our people."

"Then we need to weed them out." My words were laced with absolute venom. I couldn't believe this kind of thing had happened. Not only in this period of existence but guided by someone I'd believed to be a friend.

Danny returned, nodding. "All clear." He noticed Tanner and his eyes turned to black. "Fucking asshole." He took long strides, immediately issuing a brutal punch to Tanner's gut.

Vadim sighed and we both walked toward Tanner, the Pakhan muttering something in Russian that was too muffled for me to hear, but it wasn't nice. When the Pakhan spit on the man, Tanner just snarled.

I studied his shoulder wound before looking him in the eyes. There was only one thing to say to the man that mattered at this point, although that would change as I attempted to extract information. " Predatel ."

Traitor .

" Odin mudryy chelovek odnazhdy posovetoval mne nikogda ne klast' yaytsa v odnu korzinu ," he hissed in return.

A wise man once told me never to put my eggs in one basket.

I had to admit I was momentarily shocked. The guy was American through and through. Apple pie and hot dogs, protecting his country. Where in the fuck had he learned Russian?

Vadim and I glanced at one another, locking eyes. We were both thinking the same thing.

Maxim couldn't resist, shoving two fingers into the fresh wound. Instantly, Tanner threw his head back, grunting like a wild animal.

Tanner understanding Russian meant both that anything he'd overheard in my native language he'd understood and that it was possible his background hadn't been adequately searched. I shook my head, waving my hand at Maxim while Tanner did his best not to scream. "Enough." I walked closer, studying Tanner. "One question. How do you know Russian?"

All the man did was grin like some idiot. Like at some point, I wasn't going to wipe it and just about everything else off his face. Sighing, I rubbed my eyes.

"I had Aleksander track down Sonya's address. I have a feeling we know what happened to her," Vadim said quietly.

All I did was nod at this point. Yes, locating her whereabouts was necessary but I had a feeling she wasn't a player in this shit but a pawn.

Which would mean she'd been killed.

So much had possibly been compromised of our organization, our business dealings. And where we were keeping those people we cared about. The possible ramifications were huge in my mind. I was certain Vadim had already thought of it too. What the fuck had been wrong with me?

"What do you want done with him?" Danny asked before punching the guy in the ribs, doubling the man over. I heard a crack, likely a rib snapping in two, which I didn't necessarily mind.

"I want him locked down for a few days. Water only. Tend to the wound. Make certain the bullet is out. We can't have him developing sepsis before I've had a chance to talk with him."

"You got it, boss," Danny said more out of respect, but it was easy to see he didn't like my determination of what to do. Other things were more important than spending quality time with the traitor, including moving Chantel to a safer location. Goddamn this shit.

I walked away before I did something really violent to the asshole.

The pain didn't stop Tanner. He was still out for blood. "You won't win."

Yep. The man could get under my skin. Which prompted me to take several long strides forward, snapping my hand around the jerk's throat. "You will pay for this."

Tanner had the nerve and the ability to laugh given the thick cords in his neck. "So be it. I did what I needed to do."

"Yeah? And I'm going to do what I need to do. You will not enjoy being on the other side of my personality."

"I assure you I'll enjoy seeing what you're made of. In my mind, you're a fucking weak link."

Maybe I should be grateful he'd spoken in English so as to keep the sickening feeling from pooling in my stomach.

"Maybe I'm not anyone's superhero, but I'll have some fun taking you apart bit by bit if I need to," I told him.

It took a few seconds before I felt like releasing my savage hold. By then, he was coughing, his face blood red. Blood. The freak better get used to it.

I needed to get the hell out of here.

I headed for the main door, given the clear by the driver, who currently held a shotgun in his hand. To each their own.

Once outside, I raked one hand through my hair as I took a deep breath. From somewhere, I could still gather a whiff of Italian food, honestly one of my favorites. Even murder didn't cease all aspects of keeping a business afloat. Vadim flanked my side, both of us staring at the various buildings. Sure, we were out in the open but by now, any assassins would have struck.

Vadim shook his head. "You're a hard man."

"Not necessarily. I just don't like being fucked with. You should know that by now."

"Yes, I do. Did you have any idea about Tanner?"

"He never gave me a reason to take a deeper dive into his life. Who the hell is the man?"

"We need to have him thoroughly checked. He could have a Russian family member or friend, but it could be worse too. We never considered the New Jersey Bratva could be mixed up in this."

I laughed bitterly. "The Italians. The Armenians. The Russians. The Irish. We can't keep guessing. We need answers."

"Yeah, I know that. Look, you need to run the men at the house through our private system. I'll call Aleks and tell him to do the same. By now, too much information could have been provided to this person behind the scenes. Whoever he is."

"At least Tanner was kept mostly on the outside with purpose. He doesn't know where the house is at the beach. I honestly didn't have time to tell him."

"And business mentioned in Russian?"

I thought about the question, which was necessary. "I don't know for certain but our discussions in our native language were always behind closed doors. Every room is swept for bugs on a regular basis, various military tactics used to eliminate the possibility of anyone attempting to get information from a long distance."

Vadim was now laughing. "Any of this security suggested by Tanner?"

I opened my mouth to retort but couldn't with any honesty. "I don't know. I'll figure it out."

"You better be glad you didn't offer him the keys to your beach house kingdom," Vadim said as he patted my arm. "Keep Chantel safe and be prepared to move at a moment's notice."

"I plan on keeping here safe. She's special."

"Through the midst of violence, love can rise from the ashes like a phoenix."

"More romantic than I remembered, Vadim."

"Chalk it up to Caroline opening my eyes. It's good to see you care about someone other than just Damien. Even if you didn't follow my recommendation."

"You know when I want something, I get it."

He snorted. "All three of us are that way."

I don't know why I took comfort in staring from one side of the street to the other. Traffic was slowly moving again but the pedestrian traffic was still nil. As it might have been hundreds of years ago. Great. Now I was lamenting about a past I could never know. "You should see her with Damien. That kid is entirely different than three days ago. I had no idea I'd been paying too close attention to experts who didn't know shit about my boy."

"Just don't take that extreme rage out on them. Not sure I can protect you." His laugh was full of amusement, but he understood how much my little boy coming into my life had changed me. As the wind whistled, we both stood silently, maybe reverently, for a few seconds. Today had been more violent than we were used to. Yep. Maybe we were going soft.

His phone rang and he yanked it from his jacket pocket. As soon as he answered, he turned to face me. "The girl? You found her?" His jaw immediately tightened. "Yeah, as we suspected. Any idea who?" When he laughed again, I glanced away.

We'd been played from every freaking angle.

"Yeah, have your men search the place. Often in eliminating collateral damage, mistakes are made."

I waited about three seconds after he ended the call. "She's dead."

"Yeah, along with her roommate. Wrong place, wrong time. And it was a bloodbath."

"This must be Rossi's doing."

"I'm going to check but going under any assumptions isn't the best thing to do."

Vadim, as always, was wise.

"Yeah, I know," I said with a certain amount of ire in my tone. The truth was that I was exhausted from fighting this unforeseen war, although my thoughts were running wild.

Vadim patted me on the back and within seconds, I noticed two vans arriving. They were our cleanup crew, many of the folks experts in forensic science.

"What about the store owners. Worth chatting with?"

Vadim scanned the street again. "I doubt they'll talk. They are loyalists and smart. They know better than to assist one not their own. If they dared issue a word, they could be killed. Including their families."

"I suspected as much. We're back to square one."

"Not necessarily," he said, chuckling. "We have a traitor. He'll break one way or the other. Even if he doesn't, we'll know more of what to look for. Aleksander will be placed in charge of that information, including the possibility of the man working with anyone on either of our employee rosters."

"I'll have Danny do the same. A hunt. If only we could do that in real life."

"Not a bad idea. You need to make certain you aren't followed on the way back. Make sure you have enough trusted men with you as well."

"Don't worry. Not being followed is easy enough to do. There's several routes my driver can take. The first thing I'll do is have my guys check the security equipment, not only sweeping it but determining if Tanner used his contacts to provide us with merchandise." Damn it. I was so angry I couldn't see straight.

"Good. All three of us need to sweep, check the dark web, and lock completely down."

He was the most cunning man I knew. That was one thing I admired so much about him. "In going dark, you're trying to lure the arrogant bastard out in the open."

"You know how greedy men are. They aren't patient."

"You should know that." I finally slipped my sunglasses on even though it was clouding over.

"You, my friend, are such a shithead. But I'm glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor. I'll make certain the buzzard is locked down tight," Vadim stated. "I know of a perfect location where we can make the traitor nice and comfortable."

I squeezed my own wrist, wanting nothing more than to use my technique to snap every bone in his neck, but I'd have my fun with Tanner later. On my time.

"Excellent."

"The cleanup crew will have everything back to normal in a few hours. I'll place guards including Dobermans on the place as well."

"Since when do you have dogs?"

"I don't. One of my men does. Three of them. They act like they're going to rip off your face, but they are utter pussycats."

It was so funny how life went on after tragedies or wars, earth-shattering illnesses or whatever other malady was forced on mankind. While the evil men and women of the world fed off another human's ill fortune, good people simply needed to return to some sense of normalcy, finding peace.

And hope.

I wished I believed some could be found.

Just like salvation.

As Tanner was brought out to be locked down in the back of one of Vadim's SUVs, I did my best to keep from killing him in broad daylight.

"Why kill Sonya?" I asked, although I wasn't entirely certain why I bothered. The odds of getting a straight answer were slim and nil.

"Just a bitch standing in the way," Tanner said through his swollen lips. Somehow, he still managed to grin like he had the upper hand.

That was it. I couldn't help myself, backhanding him with enough force he was pitched to the wall then the floor. "Didn't I teach you that you don't talk about women that way?"

"Let him go," Vadim pushed. "He's not worth it. Yet."

I released him again, trying not to stumble backward. Finally, I shoved my weapon into the interior pocket of my ruined jacket, ensuring Tanner knew by the look in my eyes he'd fucked up.

And there would be hell to pay.

He was dumped along with another man in the back of an SUV. "Make sure your guys sweep his body for any sign of an injected bug."

Vadim seemed confused at first. "Fuck. I didn't even think of that. We'll get to a remote location and find out. Good idea."

"At least I've had a couple today. I can't promise anything else."

"Stop being hard on yourself. All three of us allowed our worlds and our practices to become soft. For a period of time, we resort to the old ways."

"Agreed."