Page 93 of The Pakhan

He wiped his knife on his pants, his eyes still unfocused from bloodlust. “Will do, boss. I’ll report back later.”

“Do that.”

I carried Caroline from the apartment, my anger still high, every alarm going off in my head. Hopefully the jump drive was the key, or the situation would continue.

And I was bone weary of rolling the dice.

“I can walk. I can drive,” Caroline insisted.

“Neither is going to happen. Not right now.” After settling her into the passenger seat and closing the door, I scanned the shitty neighborhood. I couldn’t help but wonder if the scene had been set up entirely.

The questions were starting to pile up and, in my mind, I knew the bodies soon would as well.

Patience.

It wasn’t just shot. It was nonexistent within me. I was angry, frustrated as fuck, and determined to get to the bottom of this.

As I tossed a glass across the room, smashing it into the wall, Aleksander sighed from the twenty feet away where he remained. I threw him a look and grabbed another crystal tumbler. I was drinking tonight. Period. “What? Just say it, Counselor. I’m not in any mood to play games and you should know that.”

Hours had gone by, enough time I was antsy as fuck, ready to break some heads. Nikolay was on his way back, the drive safely in the hands of the only men who might have a chance to save it. And it had also been confirmed the computers at Joshua’s place were toast.

I was in a bad place. Horrible.

Hell, four syndicates likely were at this point. I would need to make a round of contacts in the morning letting them know and asking if they’d had any additional issues. But not right now. I was still concerned about Caroline. She was weak, still refusing to talk to me, and had ignored food. At least I’d had her checked out by my family’s doctor.

She’d been lucky.

Again.

How many lives did she have left at this point?

“Breaking everything in your house isn’t going to obtain you answers,” he said.

“Yeah, well, it makes me feel better. Okay?”

Aleksander chuckled and finally walked closer. “You’ve said almost nothing about the meeting.”

I sighed and walked toward the window, doing my best to avoid the glass. My temper was getting out of control, but I’d been shoved into a corner by Joshua’s death and that was a very bad place for a man like me to be in.

“The meeting went better than can be expected. At least we can rule all of the leaders out as current enemies. The future is something else. I do appreciate you putting that together.”

“It helps I went to law school with all three of their personal attorneys. However, I called in what I will guess is my one favor. I still don’t trust any of them.”

After turning to face him, I laughed. “I don’t either but unless my computer guys can work miracles, I doubt I have any choice but to allow them to take the lead on this. However, the fucker will rear his or her ugly head again. I just need to keep watch on my regime closely.”

He exhaled, the sound exaggerated. “How did Caroline find your special room?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say when I was a fool and left it open, she paid close attention to its location and appearance. Finding the button was extraordinary but the fact she managed to override the system was amazing.”

“Keep her as an employee. Of course, unless you want her for something else.” He lifted his eyebrows.

I wasn’t interested in anyone being funny around me. My pissed-off mood would remain for some time to come.

“Right now, I’m taking it day by day.”

“Good advice,” he said. “As long as you can do that. Do you have any idea on what we’re dealing with?”

I took a deep breath, rubbing my temple. The headache remained, which I suspected would last for some time to come. “I honestly have a feeling whoever it is not only wants to tear down all four of our reputations but is also determined to use that success as a steppingstone to gaining more power.”

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