Page 127 of For a Price

They’re going to regret what they’ve done to me. Even if my victories will be small ones. The fact that they’ll be mine and mine only is what matters.

The day arrives where we’ll be carrying out my plan to lure JC.

Roman refuses to let me go until the moment we’re pulling up outside Rosita’s apartment. He turns to me in the backseat of the Hummer and grips me by the shoulders.

“We can abort this,” he says. “You don’t have to go up there, Katerina. We will find him another way.”

I place my hand on top of one of his in reassurance. “It’ll be fine. Rosita says she’s already started dropping hints to mutual friends. JC must’ve heard by now. He’ll be coming by. He’s like a rat that’s gotten a whiff of cheese. I’ve known him for years. There’s no way he’ll stay away if he thinks he can get one over on us.”

Roman brings me in for a deep kiss and then reminds me to keep my mic and cam on at all times. He and his men will be across the street watching every moment.

“Oh hey! I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” Rosita says the moment I turn up on her doorstep. Moving aside with the door wide open, she makes room for me to walk into her apartment.

“We did go over this a million times, didn’t we?” I ask.

“True. Uh, today’s been busy.”

I enter the apartment with my hands deep in my jacket pockets.

The place conjures up feelings of nostalgia. Memories of what my life was like before I was foolish enough to think I could kidnap a bratva boss and make it out unscathed.

Life had been so different before I met Roman.

Back then I crashed on Rosita’s couch and came and went as I pleased.

I survey the familiar cramped living room with her pumpkin-colored sofa and mismatched table lamps and end tables, a bittersweet sensation waking inside me.

“Hasn’t changed much,” Rosita voices aloud as if reading my thoughts. She shuts the door and then crosses the room to the area that’s a kitchenette and dining room rolled into one. The counter space is limited, boxes of cereal and crackers cluttering the space. “But you’ve changed. Your hair!”

I run a hand over my flop attempt at a fade. “I thought it was time for a big chop.”

“You should’ve come to me. I would’ve hooked you up.”

“Would’ve but things have been a little crazy.”

“Oh, uh, right. Want something to drink?”

“I’m good. I’m more concerned with whether JC’s going to actually fall for this.”

“He should,” Rosita answers. She’s turned her back on me, fussing with different cabinets, drawing them open and shut. “I, uh, I let Eduardo know, and you know him and JC go way back.”

“But he’s got to know I wouldn’t be here alone.”

“You never know. You said it yourself. JC isn’t always that smart. He’s a petty person.”

“True.”

I sigh and plop down on her couch, my heartbeat out of sync. It feels like I’ve finished running laps on a track when all I’ve done is walk into Rosita’s apartment.

Ridiculous when I consider the situation.

I’m not alone even if it may seem like I am.

Roman and his men are listening and watching everything from across the street. If anything were to go wrong, they’d be here in sixty seconds flat.

The trap is low risk for me. High risk for JC.

He’s the stupid one that will be walking right into the situation we’ve set up for him. I’ll be able to say that I’ve taken back some semblance of control and played a hands-on role in getting revenge on someone who I thought I could trust.

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