2. ANDREY

Chapter 2

ANDREY

“Tessa,” I look at her thoughtfully, “I wonder if you’d help me with Tilly because she is a bit stubborn, and I really want to help you both. Get you away from the bad man, and make sure your daddy doesn’t get you.”

“How?” Tessa wipes her cheeks and looks up at me with all the innocence and trust of youth.

“How about you come with me, and we go talk to her together?” I hold out my hand for her.

“I don’t know.” Tessa suddenly becomes reserved and starts to huddle into a corner of her hollowed-out mattress. “Tilly’s going to be mad that I spoke to a stranger.”

“That’s excellent advice that Tilly gave you.” I smile. “My name is Andrey, Andrey Belov, and I’m a Pakhan for the Belov Bratva. That’s like my family’s business.”

“Oh!” Tessa’s blue eyes light with interest. “What’s a Pak… Pakan.”

“Pakhan.” My smile grows. “It means I’m the head of the Belov Bratva. You know, the leader like Tilly’s the leader of the hackers.”

“Okay.” Tessa nods and holds out her little hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Belov.”

“You can call me Andrey.” I shake her little hand. “I’ll make you a deal. If you can get Tilly to help us, I’ll get you and Tilly out of here.”

“What about our friends?” Her eyes narrow.

“Who are your friends?”

“They’re kids Tilly and I know.” Tessa smiles. “Runaways Tilly has been hiding in our house for about a year. Their mother is a crack-war, and the state is now trying to suck out their souls. When Daddy made Tilly go work for the bad man, he promised Cane, Cody, and Tommy could live with us if they all helped Tilly.” Her little face fell. “But Tilly thinks he’s lying.” She looks up at me and whispers. “We’re running away to Folidra soon.”

“Oh!” I nod. “Now that we’re no longer strangers—“ A bit more guilt tugs at my conscience for tricking a kid, but in the few minutes I’ve spoken with the cherub, I already know I’m going to do what I can for her and her foul-mouthed sister and her tweeny crew of cybercriminals. I’m actually starting to have a grudging respect for Tilly, the teenage she-devil. “Why don’t we go speak to Tilly?”

“Okay.” Tessa takes my hand, and I see her struggling to get off the bed when I see the bandage around her ankle.

“Tessa, what happened to your ankle?”

“It got sore.” That’s all she says, and she points to a few springs that have coiled down. “I cut it on a spring.”

“Can you walk on it?”

Tessa nods. “I limp a little bit.”

“Permission to carry you?”

Tessa nods again and lifts her thin little arms to me, and now I feel a crack in my heart staring into her trusting little eyes. Fuck, I’m a monster! I just manipulated a six-year-old into helping me get her sister to talk.

Swallowing my guilt, I swoop her into my arms. She’s so light and thin. We walk down the hallway, and before we step into the warehouse, I remember there are dead bodies and the hackers on their knees. That’s not going to bode well with my cred with Tessa.

“What do you say we ask my friend Ren to bring Tilly into the living room so we can chat?”

“Okay!” Tessa agrees and smiles shyly at me. “But will you still carry me?”

“Your foot sore?”

She nods. “But I also feel safe with you,” Tessa tells me shyly.

Great! Now I do feel like a huge fucking monster! Pulling out my phone, I call Ren.

“Hey, boss,” Ren answers. “I was just about to come looking for you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. But I need you to bring your new friend in here, please.” Smiling at Tessa, I keep my voice light. “Tell her I’ve made a new friend, and the two of us would like to have a chat with her.”

“Will do, boss.” Ren hangs up.

A few minutes later, the door opens, and Ren walks in, pulling a spitting mad teenager whose name I now know is Tilly.

“You don’t have to drag me for big fucking brute!” Tilly seethes.

“Now, Tilly .“ I emphasize her name. Her head shoots up toward the use of it and her face pales when she sees Tessa in my arms. “That’s no way to speak around your younger sister.”

“You bastard!” Tilly hisses, trying to pull out of Ren’s iron grip on her arm. “Put her down. She’s just a kid.” Her eyes narrow angrily. “If you’ve hurt her, I swear to God I’ll gut you like a fucking fish.”

“Wow!” Ren rolls his eyes and sighs before turning his attention to the little angel in my arms. “And who is this?” His face softens as he pulls Tilly closer to me. Ren is a father of three girls.

“Tessa, this is my friend, Ren,” I introduce him to her. “Ren, this is Tilly’s younger sister, Tessa, and she’s a lot nicer than her grumpy, potty-mouthed older sister.”

“He’s very big!” Tessa whispers and inches closer to me.

“Yeah, he’s like a giant.” My eyes connect with Tilly, whose eyes are shooting daggers at me. “Tilly, Tessa and I have had quite the chat.” I purse my lips. “I must say, that hollowed-out mattress is an ingenious hiding place.”

“Hollowed out mattress?” Ren frowns, confused.

“That’s why Gunther didn’t find Tessa. She was hiding in it with a blanket over her.”

“Please, just let my sister go.” Tilly’s voice drops, and her anger dissolves with the guard she had up around her emotions. “She’s been through enough. I’ll cooperate. I’ll do whatever you want. Please, please, just don’t hurt Tessy.”

Jesus! What the hell have these kids been through? My grudging respect for Tilly grows. But I can’t overlook the fact that Tilly has hacked into Velvet Transport and has probably gotten her hands on documents that would get most people killed if they saw them.

“I tell you what…” My head tilts slightly. “Why don’t you and I have a little chat, Tilly? While Ren stays here with Tessa in case the bad men come back.” I look at Ren. “I’m sure Tessa would love some of Ren’s secret stash of chocolate he always has in his coat. And he can help her sort out what she wants to bring with her when we go.”

“What?” Tilly splutters. Anger sparks in her eyes once again. “I won’t let you take my sister.”

“Ren.” I nod toward him before turning to Tessa. “Don’t be scared of Ren. He’s a big softy and has three girls near your age. I promise you he won’t hurt you, and he will protect you with his life.”

“Really?” Tessa’s trusting eyes look into mine. “He’ll protect me.” She looks at her sister. “What about Tilly?”

“I promise you, I’ll look out for Tilly.”

“Pinky swear?” Tessa holds up her little pinky.

“Sure.” We join pinkies.

“Hey, Tessa,” Ren greets her, pulling out the chocolate bar he hides from his kids in his coat. “This is for you. Well, if your sister says it’s okay.” He looks at Tilly. “Is it okay with you if I give your sister some candy?”

“Is it poisoned?” Tilly answers rudely.

Ren sighs. He breaks a piece off and eats it. “Happy?” he asks, taking another block.

“Okay, fine.” Tilly gestures with her hand. “I guess it’s okay.” Her eyes drop longingly to the bar in Ren’s hand.

“Want a piece?” Ren asks her. He sees she’s struggling with wanting a piece but keeping up her adult act. “It will make you feel better knowing that I’m not poisoning your sister.”

“Sure.” Tilly nods, walking forward to take a few blocks. “I guess it is best I try it first so my sister doesn’t get sick.”

I purse my lips, trying not to smile. I forgot how good Ren is with kids. When you look at the six-foot-six solid wall of muscle with his buzz-cut and stern features, you’d never say he’s a father to three young girls who adored him. His wife is tiny compared to him, and he loves his family. Ren would do anything for the people he loves and is loyal to, and I can see he is softening toward Tilly now that he’s getting the bigger picture.

“Can I have some now, please, Tilly?” Tessa asks her sister.

“Of course, kiddo.” Tilly’s voice and features change when she talks to her sister. “Just don’t overdo it, okay. You don’t want to get a tummy ache.”

Tessa nods as Ren reaches out to take her from me. “Careful, her foot.” I point to the foot that was behind my back when she was on my hip.

“Ouch!” Ren says, handing Tessa the candy bar so he can look at her foot as she snuggles into his arms. “Want to tell me how you hurt this, and can I bandage it properly?”

“It’s fine,” Tilly says defensively. “I’ll fix it later.”

“I was pre-med,” Ren says. “I’ll just put it back on as it seems to be coming off a bit.”

“Yeah.” Tilly nods. “I guess you can do that just to keep it from getting infected.”

Ren looks at Tilly and nods before turning his attention to Tessa. “Come on, Angel, let’s go pack up so we can get you out of this dump.”

“Wait!” Tilly starts to run after Ren. “You can’t take my sister away from me.” I stop her, grabbing her arm.

“We’re not taking Tessa away from you,” I try to reassure her.

“Where are you taking her?” Tilly’s eyes are now reflecting fear.

“Relax.” She struggles, trying to pull out of my grip. “You and I are going to have a little chat out in the warehouse with the others.” I start pulling her toward the warehouse. “Don’t worry about Tessa. I promise you she is a lot safer than she was in her mattress hiding place. Ren really will protect her if anything happens.”

“Please, don’t hurt her,” Tilly pleads again. “She’s only six.”

“I know!” We step into the warehouse. “Your sister and I had quite the conversation, and when we’ve wrapped up here, you’re going to help us.“ My eyes meet hers once again and flash with defiance. “Then you and I are going to have a conversation about your father.”

“That’s none of your fucking business,” Tilly hisses once again on the defensive.

“I’ve just made it my business,” I tell her. “And be thankful that I have, or you and your little friends wouldn’t be seeing tomorrow.”

“You’d kill a bunch of kids?” Tilly looks at me in disgust.

“Not me.” I shake my head. “But whoever the bad men or man that Tessa was talking about would.”

“You grilled a little girl for information?” She looks at me with even more disgust than she did before. “That’s low even for the likes of you.”

“Keep going, kid.” I nod. “You’re endearing yourself to me more and more.”

“What are you going to do with us?” she asks as we walk to where my men are dismantling the computers under James’s command. “What are you doing?” Tilly’s voice is filled with panic. “If they come back, they will kill us.”

“Who is he?” I ask her.

“I can’t say,” Tilly says.

My eyes meet James’s. “Did you find anything?”

“I found that GhostBytes...” He points to Tilly. “That’s her hacker name. She and her friends have been communicating with someone through an encrypted chat. It looks like they were hired to disrupt our operations and they are looking for some code. It will take some time to get it figured out. But we can’t stay here.” He glances around. “I’ve also managed to shut down the hack and close the gap that gave them access.” He frowns.

“What?” I look at him.

“Nothing!” James shakes his head.

“Did you find any indication as to who hired them?”

“It doesn’t say. Whoever it is goes by the name Downfall1994,” James informs me. “They are gathering cargo for another shipment due to leave tomorrow.” He raises an eyebrow. “Apparently, they’ve organized for a Strategic Packing crew to do a pickup at an address that turns out to be one of Angus Cullen’s warehouses on the outskirts of Boston.”

“Figures.” My eyes narrow. “Angus is known for his trafficking.” I turn to Tilly. “Is that who you work for?”

It would make sense that Tilly’s father would owe someone like Angus, who runs a loan sharking and sportsbook operation through one of his warehouses. Possibly the same one James is referring to.

“No!” She shakes her head. “I don’t know any Angus Cullen.”

“Are you lying to me?” My eyes narrow warningly at her before I glance at Gunther. “Choose one of her hacker buddies, and let’s show Tilly what we do to people who steal or try to manipulate us.”

“Sure,” Gunther replies. “What were you thinking? Hand, neck, arm, leg, fingers…”

“Let’s go with one finger at a time,” I tell Gunther.

“W… what?” Tilly’s eyes widen, and her head swivels to where Gunther is playing: eenie, meenie, miny, mo, catch a rat by his tail with her hackers. “You can’t do that!”

“At least we’re not taking a life.” Shrugging, I grab Tilly by her shoulders and turn her to watch as Gunther chooses the tallest and oldest of the three.

The teenage boy stands up, and I can see he’s terrified. “How old are you?” I ask him.

“Fi… fi… fifteen,” he stutters.

“Fuck, man.” I spit. “How the hell did you kids end up here?”

“My… our…” the teenager stammers. “Mo… moth… mother… left us.” He looks at Tilly. “W..w..we used to l..li…live next d…door to Tilly.”

“What’s your name, kid?”

“T… T… Tommy, s… s… sir,” he answers.

“Are the other two your brothers?” I nod toward the other two boys, still kneeling on the floor.

“Yes.” Tommy nods. “Co… Co… Cody and Cane—twins.”

“You two, stand up.” My command booms through the warehouse, and I turn back to Tommy. “How old are they?”

“F… f… fou… fourteen,” Tommy stutters.

“Where is your father?” My eyes narrow at him.

“He left when Cane and I were little,” Cody sneers. “My mother’s a crack whore who chased him away.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Family Times,” James says sarcastically. “But we’d better move. All the equipment is packed.”

“What about us?” Tilly’s eyes narrow on me.

“I guess you’re coming with me,” I tell her and look at Gunther. “Take the kids and get them in the car.”

“Yes, boss,” Gunther nods.

“Go with Gunther, and don’t try anything, Tilly,” I warn her. “I’d hate to have to go against my policy of not hurting kids. And I’d hate Tessa hating me for hurting her sister.”

She nods and follows the boys and Gunther.

“What are you going to do with them?” James asks me. “Where are you going to put them all in your penthouse?”

“I’ll figure that out along the way.” My brow furrows, and I shake my head. “Who the fuck sells their kids to pay off their debts?”

“Those four aren’t just any kids,” James tells me. “They’re prodigies, each with a reputation in the hacking world.”

I look at him, intrigued. “Go on.”

“Tilly is GhostByte, already a renowned hacker at sixteen. She’s been hacking into high-profile systems since she was ten, including corporate servers, government databases, and even some high-security networks. She’s known for leaving a ghostly signature, hence the name.”

“What about the boys?”

“As far as I can tell, Tommy goes by PhantomSnare. He’s an expert in trapping and rerouting security protocols, making him invaluable for breaking into well-guarded systems. He’s been doing this since he was twelve.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And the twins?”

“Cody and Cane, they’re known as CrypticCode and ShadowShift. Cody specializes in cryptography and can crack any code thrown his way. Cane is a master at covering tracks and creating digital misdirection. They’ve been in the game since they were eleven.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “And what about the youngest? Are you going to tell me that cute little blond angel is some devilish genius waiting to take over the world, too?”

James laughs. “I don’t know. I only picked up these four signatures.” His brow furrows. “Seems they’re the ones that got into the Velvet Transport systems twelve weeks ago.”

“Shit, is that how long they’ve been holed up here?”

James shrugs. “That’s something you’re going to have to ask the little brainiacs you’ve just taken under your wing.”

“Great,” I mutter, rubbing my temples. “Now I’m responsible for a group of kid geniuses who’ve been on the run and hacking since they could type.”

“Yeah, don’t underestimate them, and don’t let them near any equipment unsupervised,“ James warns me before pointing out, “Look on the bright side. They could be useful.”

I sigh. “Yeah, if they don’t cause more trouble or aren’t some elaborate plant by whoever has them locked up here.”

We move out, herding the kids towards the waiting vehicles. Tilly glances back at me, a mixture of defiance and fear in her eyes.

“Don’t look so worried, kid,” Ren says reassuringly, carrying Tessa in his arms.”As long as you don’t do something idiotic, Andrey will keep you safe.”

She nods, but I can see the uncertainty and mistrust shining in her eyes. Tessa, on the other hand, has completely taken to Ren, much to Tilly’s irritation.

“Ren, can you call Doctor Kent along the way? I’d like him to give the kids a check-up,” I ask Ren, and he nods. “Especially Tessa’s foot.”

“We’re all clean. I promise you we aren’t diseased,” Tilly hisses. “And I’ve been taking care of Tessa’s foot.”

“We don’t have a car seat for you, Tessa, so I’m going to have to strap you in.” Ren gently puts the six-year-old in the car, ignoring Tilly’s sneer. These kids have been through hell, and it’s going to take more than just words to gain their trust.

As we drive away from the warehouse, I can’t help but wonder what the future holds for these young hackers and how they’ll fit into my world. But one thing is sure: they’re not just kids; they’re a new kind of asset, and I’ll make sure they’re protected.

My mind wanders to Isabella and the baby of mine she’s carrying. Anger mixes with worry as I check my phone, but there is still no news from Sasha, my best man for tracking people down.

Fuck! I just wish a lead as to where the dick Konstantin has taken Isabella would fall out of the sky and land in my lap. If only life were that fucking simple. I’m about to put my phone away when it rings. It’s Urie.

“Hello, Urie,” I bark into the receiver.

“Whoa, what crawled up your ass?” Urie answers.

“Just the usual shit!”

“What happened at the warehouse?” Urie asked.

“I’ll explain when we’re back,” I tell him. “Is that why you’re calling?”

“No.” Urie answers. “Are you nearly finished there?”

“We’re on our way back now, why?” My heartbeat escalates. “Is there news about my father?” That’s a stupid question, as my mother would’ve called me.

“As far as I’m aware, your father’s condition is still the same,” Urie tells me. “I’m calling to let you know you have a visitor, and I think you may want to get to your penthouse right away.”

“Who is it?”

“Konstantin Zhurkov.” Urie’s answer surprises me. “He says he needs your help.”