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had survived to get out of the life. Despite Nikolai's attempts at shielding his friend and lessening the pain involved with clawing his way out of the family, Ivan had suffered terribly. The beating he'd taken at the hands of his own crew had been one that most men would not have survived. Shrugging off those terrible memories, Nikolai thought of Vivian. "They took her to show me and Romero that we're not in control. This is about fear and power." Santos laughed harshly and in disbelief. "Is there someone out there that scares you? That scares Romero?" "We all have our boogeymen." He glanced at the detective. "Even you." He considered where they were headed. "Do you understand what happens if you stay with us tonight?" Santos held his gaze for a long moment before turning back to his window. "Tonight, I'm not a cop. I'm just a man trying to save his family." Nikolai understood the detective's motivation but he wouldn't allow the man to cross that line. When they had Vivian safely home, she would never forgive him if she learned he'd allowed her cousin to compromise his career and his personal integrity. Sergei drove them to one of the repair garages the Albanians used as a front for their chop shop trade. They pulled into one of the bays. A couple of men in mechanic's overalls tugged on the overhead chains to lower the doors and give them privacy. Though his body throbbed mercilessly and his head pounded, Nikolai climbed out of the SUV without allowing a hint of his pained state to cross his face. He made his way to the center of the garage where Besian waited. Flanked by their men, they greeted one another with silent looks. "Shit." Besian winced at the sight of him. "They really did fuck you up." His gaze shifted to Santos. Eyes narrowed, he asked, "Why the hell is he here?" "I didn t realize I needed your permission to conduct my business as I see fit." Besian put up his hands. "No need to be so touchy." Not in the mood for chit-chat, Nikolai cut to the chase. "Do you have information on Vivian or not?" Before Besian could answer, a side door opened. Sergei and Kostya, both on edge, immediately pulled their weapons. The sight of guns drawn from jackets spurred Besian's crew to do the same. "Hey! Wait!" Besian stepped to the side, putting his body in the line of fire. "I promised Lorenzo Guzman this guy would have safe passage. If you want to kill him, do it on your own turf. For now, he's protected." Julio Jimenez, one of the Guzman Cartel reps, stepped out of the office with both hands held high. Nikolai had worked with Julio when trying to secure Joe Cruz's release from the cartel's clutches. If Lorenzo had given an order to take out Nikolai and kidnap Vivian, Julio would have been the man who carried it out. And Eric Santos knew that. The detective stepped forward but Nikolai managed to stop him with a stern look. Reminded of his place, Santos clenched his jaw and stepped back into line. To show that he was unarmed, Julio slowly spun around while lifting his shirt. "I'm only here to talk." Nikolai flicked his fingers. Sergei and Kostya lowered their weapons but didn't holster them. Besian's crew followed suit. Showing some reluctance, Julio joined them at the center of the garage. He swept both hands out in front of him before declaring, "We had nothing to do with this. We don't want trouble with you. Lorenzo wanted me to assure you that we're interested in protecting and continuing the business relationship we've enjoyed." "You can tell El Jefe that until my Vivian is safely delivered there will be no business. Me entiendes?" "Absolutely," Julio replied with a saccharine grin. "If I find out the Calaveras were behind this attack and kidnapping, I'm going to put an end to that club." "We understand that's the cost of doing business but I can assure you the club wasn't behind this." Nikolai studied Julio. The man was as slick as they came but he had a clear tell. Tonight, Nikolai didn t see it. Julio was telling the truth or, at least, what he knew to be the truth. "We'll see." A strange noise startled all of them. Their gazes snapped to the maroon sedan nearby. This time the noise that emanated from the trunk was louder and easily identified as a man shouting into a gag. He glanced at Besian. "What's in there?" "Your gift," the Albanian answered with a smile. "And my reward." He arched an eyebrow. "Reward?" Kostya cleared his throat. "Yuri offered a big reward for information on Vivian. It was triple for her safe return." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |