Page 116 of The Pakhan

I could tell he’d captured their attention. He was damn good at drama.

“I’ve worked with Vadim Chernoff for years. I’ve been his friend for longer. He has worked hard to achieve all that he has, but he never forgot to take time out for his daughters.”

On cue, they walked in, both with boyfriends attached at the hip. I had to admit I wasn’t pleased just because I hadn’t been told who they were so I could check them out.

I could hear Caroline’s voice in my head telling me to stop being so overprotective.

“However,” Aleksander continued. “He never took time for himself. Not personally at least. Which is why I’m so pleased that he’s found the right woman. Please welcome the lovely Miss Caroline Randall, Vadim’s fiancée.”

Everything about this night was a show but as she walked in front of the tent, searching for me immediately, I’d never felt such a sense of pride or desire in my life. I’d never allowed myself to believe either in second chances or in fresh starts. I didn’t deserve either.

But by God, I was going to take this one and run with it.

The gasps were exactly what I’d been hoping for. I took a split second to notice both her father’s and mother’s faces. They were more than just stunned. They were angry.

Aww… I felt so bad for them.

Not a chance in hell.

As she advanced, finally reaching me, guests began to clap. I was happier than I’d been in a long time, more so than I believed possible.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close. “My beautiful, cherished one.”

“My big, bad wolf.” As we kissed, the gasps turned into oohs and ahhs.

We pulled away from each other and she winked. Several people came up to congratulate us and lo and behold as expected, the Randalls attempted to make a dash for the exit.

Nikolay and his men stood in front of them, refusing to allow that to happen.

“Thank you all very much. Caroline and I are so happy to share our first of many special days.” Champagne was being delivered all around. I handed her a glass and it was a pleasure seeing the adorable but smug look on her face.

She was thoroughly enjoying herself. How could I blame her?

“Yes, thank you all for being here. I finally found a man of honor and integrity among a sea of snakes and losers,” my beautiful fiancée said as she lifted her flute in her father’s direction. Her gesture was noticed, including by the two reporters, who’d already taken special interest. Perhaps everyone could smell blood in the air. “Vadim is everything a girl could want and more. Kind. Compassionate. Giving. Loving. Everything I wasn’t used to. We are very happy.”

I leaned over, kissing the side of her face. “Well done, bad girl.”

She snuggled up to me, cooing as only she could do. “I do try.”

“While this is a celebration,” I told the crowd, “it’s also a cleansing of sorts.”

Another cued moment, all three of the other mafia leaders heading into the tents with their wives. To say it caused a unique wave of panic was an understatement.

I waited until they were in position to continue. “In our special VIP tent are some truly special people who help rule our government as well as various corporations. You are truly remarkable men. And you might be wondering why Dons Marino, Barsamian, and O’Rourke have joined us. Well, I am happy to say the four of us have entered an alliance to stop city-wide corruption.”

“What?” the governor barked, obviously distraught.

“Yes. Now I am curious, gentlemen. Do you know the name Joshua Smith? Or perhaps you would prefer Blackbird.” I allowed the name drop to help them realize what they were about to face. “You should since you hired him to hack into all four of our systems to try and convict us of bogus crimes. Well, you see, the mistakes you made were underestimating us and the fact we might decide to work together.”

Caroline couldn’t help herself, laughing softly as she enjoyed her champagne.

“To that end, we have evidence of that wrongdoing as well as several other atrocities that your little gang have entered into in an effort to deceive the city, your constituents, and the good people of the Big Apple. I’m afraid we can’t allow that to continue any longer.”

With that, members of the FBI entered the picture and the tent. I’d sent them the evidence days before, allowing them to collect their own data. I was pleased they’d allowed me to take the lead, something I would remember in the future.

“Gentlemen, you are finished. Now, it’s time to party.”

It was said that powerful, corrupt men became nothing more than little boys begging for their freedom and promising to be good in the future, when they were caught. That’s what we all witnessed in the next several minutes as the members of the odd group were read their rights and carted away, her father included.

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