Page 45 of A Pawn in the Game
“Fine,” I say, begrudgingly. “I’ll send Ivan. But you owe me.”
That earns me a low chuckle. “Sure,brate.”
Ending the call, I glance back at the club, figuring I should tell Ivan about his new gig right away. Still, I shake my head and open the door to my car, opting to call him instead. Guilt eats at me every time I see Sophie struggling with nightmares. And now I’m going to leave her with guys I don’t fully trust. I brush a hand over my face. The Bluetooth connects as I start the car, and I use it to call Ivan.
“I need you to be on Russ’ detail team,” I say as soon as he picks up.
“What? Doesn’t he have enough men already?”
“Does everything have to be a discussion with you? Can you do this or not?”
“Of course I can do it. But will you survive without me,šefe?”
“Fuck off,” I respond, ending the call just in time to hear him chuckle again.
He’s not far off, though, but I won’t give him the satisfaction. I drive home, where I allow myself three full hours of sleep before I’m back on the job.
Three days later, I walk into Leon’s office. Ivan and Marko are already sitting there, and I take the last empty chair.
“Good day to you, too,” my brother taunts.
I level him with a glare, so he continues, “Please tell me you have good news.”
Ivan speaks first. “We do. We had three intercepted deliveries, but we showed them who’s boss.”
“I also found two new warehouses to store our product.” I drop the papers on Leon’s desk and his face visibly relaxes. “The paperwork still needs to be done, though.”
“Sure, I’ll handle it. But it’s good to know things are looking up.”
“How about you? Any success on your part?”
“I’ve mostly been babysitting our uncle, so he doesn’t burn the entire business to the ground.” I wince at his statement, more than aware of how demanding that is. “I’ve also been dealing with the law side of things. We’ve made quite a… mess.” He shoots us a disgruntled look.
While we do have the cops in our pockets, the more ruckus we cause, the more we need to pay to stay out of their sight. And with the violence between us and the Russians, I’m guessing keeping us under the radar isn’t the least bit easy.
“Our guest?” Leon asks, his eyebrows raising. “How is she?”
I clear my throat, glancing to the side. “She’s doing okay. Circumstances considered.”
“Good.” He nods. “That’s good. This has been going on for longer than we planned.”
That’s an understatement. We were planning to deal with it in a week, two weeks tops. And it’s been over a month since she’s been stuck in my dungeon. As usual, a knot forms in my stomach. Even though I’m avoiding the club like the plague, her screams as she sleeps follow me home.
I’m also dreading to ask how she’s doing. It’s why I never visitwhile she’s awake. I notice the chess pieces are arranged differently every night, meaning she’s still playing. Which is good, I guess. If anything, she’s stronger than she thinks.
“You good?” My brother’s voice drags me back to the present.
“Yeah. Just tired.”
“Things should settle down. Soon. Let’s just get there.”
I dip my head, but I don’t fully believe it. Even if we avenge our father, which currently doesn’t seem likely, he’ll still be gone.
Uncle Toma will still be here, aiming to destroy his legacy with his idiot ways. And Sophie will still be traumatized.
Raising from the chair, I get to his liquor cabinet, take out a bottle of rakia and down a sip straight out of the bottle. The burn in my throat is comforting and you don’t have to have a master’s in psychology to know that’s not a healthy way to cope.
I decide it’s time to leave before I’m tempted to finish the rest of the bottle. “Need anything else?” I ask Leon. “If not, I’d like to hit the hay.”
