Page 4 of Miki

The closer I got to the police station, the more agitated I grew. Images of my dad’s body, of his killer, then of my colleagues, flooded my mind, back and forth, until my breathing became shallow and my body trembled with a mix of anger, frustration, and hurt.

When I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror, I noted my pinched expression and narrowed angry eyes.

Not good.

If what I believed was true, my colleagues were not only corrupt, but they were also murderers, and I had to be very careful.

Pulling over, I parked, turned the radio off, and put the air con on full blast. Leaning back against the headrest, I shut my eyes and concentrated on steadying my breathing.

In, two, three.

Out, two, three.

I needed to be in control of myself if I was going to be successful in my task of uncovering the evidence of my colleagues’ corruption, their link to my dad’s murder, and bringing them to justice.

Eventually, I felt calm enough to continue my journey.

Revenge and avenging my father’s death became my sole focus, and by the time I entered the police station and walked into the office; I had my poker face in place.

“Eilidh, welcome to the team,” my new boss said, smiling brightly at me as I entered.

He walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. Forcing myself not to stiffen, I endured the overly familiar and very unprofessional greeting as he led me over to my new desk.

The rest of the team was there to greet me, grinning. Murmurs of ‘Welcome to the team’, ‘Glad to have you onboard’ and similar greetings were banded about, but I barely heard them as I stared at the faces of my fallen idols.

Smiling broadly back, I kept my emotions tightly under wraps. I could do this. I’d make my dad proud and investigate this case like I would any other and bring down anyone involved. Starting with dear old Uncle Roy.

CHAPTER 2

MIKI

LONDON – SAME DAY – THE DOUBLE WEDDING

Sighing heavily, I shook my head and rubbed at the back of my neck as I read through the file of information Marko had compiled for me on the lawyer, Nigel Simpson. My shoulders ached, and I was tired, bone weary.

My eyes narrowed as I stared at the picture of the fucker on my screen with the young man, the very young man. Oh yes, Marko had come up with the goods and now we had what we needed to confront the bastard. Ash had wanted me to do it sooner, but I had waited. I’d made too many rash decisions recently, resulting in mistakes that had almost cost me my sister and cousin. So, I was determined to ensure I never made such a mistake again.

It seemed like I’d been knocking my enemies down like tenpins at a bowling alley lately. The problem was for every strike I got; more enemies racked up to take their place. Hopefully, Nigel Simpson and whoever his unknown boss was would be the last of them. At least for a while.

Pouring myself a shot of vodka, I downed it quickly, closing my eyes and enjoying the burn at the back of my throat. It had been a tiring few months, and I was extremely relieved that things had worked out.

After placing the photographs back in their envelope, I slid it in the file and locked it away in my safe. I’d soon be paying Nigel Simpson a visit and when I did, he would provide me with the information I needed to root out the last of our enemies. He just didn’t know it yet. I’d tug the puppet’s strings until he revealed the puppet master, and then I would eliminate them both.

However, that was something to be dealt with another day. Today was a day for celebration, a double wedding, and I planned on forgetting my problems and enjoying this special time with my family and our friends.

As if conjured by my thoughts, my uncle Maxim, Ash, Marko, and Romi entered the office, all suited and booted, looking their best, with huge smiles on their faces. I poured them all a shot and then another for myself.

“Nostrovia!” we cheered, before downing our drinks and heading out to the waiting cars.

A short while later, I watched my uncle walk my aunt Marta down the aisle towards Glowacki. Sonia and I followed behind them and as I walked her towards a thrilled-looking Romi, I couldn’t help thinking about just how close I’d come to ruining everything.

Glowacki and my family had an alliance. Five years ago, we had united through grief and a common enemy during a war with the Albanians who had killed my parents and Glowacki’s eldest son, Tomas. The alliance had continued to grow in strength over the years as Glowacki’s family and mine came to know and respect each other. Even after the murder of my sister Krissa.

However, until now, we had kept the fact that we had a strong alliance quiet from our enemies, thinking that it gave us an edge. In hindsight, that had not been the best idea. Believing our association was on shaky ground had encouraged several enemies to unite against us, and we’d been forced to go to war with them.

When Glowacki initially proposed strengthening our alliance further with an arranged marriage between his son Dariusz and my sister Sonia, I had said no, not believing it was necessary. However, when the attacks had first begun, I thought perhaps the idea had merit after all, and agreed without considering the consequences.

Sonia was not happy about that at all. While Dariusz had not really wanted to get married either, he had agreed to it for his father’s sake. However, my sister hated the idea and had been against it from the start. Initially, I had hoped she would come around, because Dariusz was a great guy, but she didn’t.

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