“So, I guess congratulations are in order.” The dry sarcasm in her tone was hard to miss.
“Not if it’s not genuine,” I fought back.
“Why wouldn’t it be genuine? I just want to say there is a huge breach of conflict of interest if you’re involved with a client. But you know that, right? Since you’re going to be my boss and all.”
She sucked in a breath through her teeth, and an evil smile came out.
“I don’t know why on earth you would be telling me that. I know the rules.” I felt the sweat trickling down my leg and into my shoes.
She gave a half-baked laugh, sauntering back to her desk.
Fifteen
Colt
I kept the guns away from the house. I didn’t want Bella’s eyes to ever come in contact with that part of my life. Not even my mother knew where the guns were stored. I climbed up to the attic of the barn. Underneath a heavy stack of hay, a large artillery box was housed. Enough bullets were in it to take out a whole army. I had a solid selection of military hand grenades and two semi-automatic pistols. I also had a long-range sniper rifle and a taser for good measure. I zeroed in and checked their chambers. They were loaded with bullets and ready to go. My secret weapons.
Amber’s voice rang loudly in my head. “What if they come to your house? What will you do?”
Time to lock in. No part of me waned in confidence. When you have the Russian mafia backing you, much is possible. These motherfuckers would blow your head off and return to eating breakfast like nothing happened. I knew because I’d seen it already. I flashed back to the vivid memory of that morning.
“So you want to play, you piece of shit?” Mikakov delivered a bone-crunching body blow to the dealer who dared cross him by not paying him for a drug trade.
An unwise street dealer was tied up with blood oozing from his swollen left eye. As he talked, blood bubbled up to his lips and stained his teeth. He spat it out. Both of his hands were tied behind him with rope. “I told you, motherfucker, I don’t know who has your money. If I did, I wouldn’t tell you, either. Eat shit and die.”
Bad move. Mikakov didn’t take too kindly to him saying that. He clenched his fists in his black leather gloves and simply said, “Okay. I’m going to give you another shot because I’m a nice guy.”
A large, wrinkly, bald-headed guy aimed his pistol straight at the dealer’s temple and fired. The bullet went clean through the center, right between the eyes.
Mikakov moved closer to the limp body and said, “No, motherfucker, you eat shit and die.” He looked to his crew, summoning them. They laughed, leaving the abandoned warehouse. “C’mon, let’s go eat breakfast.”
The sound of the pigeons cooing in the barn loft brought me back to the moment. Timely, as that’s when my phone rang.
“Hello?” The call was coming from a private number.
“Hi, Colt. It’s Hector. Close call.”
“How so? You’re nearly here, right? Your sister is going to be here for dinner tonight.”
“I’m on my way. Ran into an issue. Las Balas somehow found me in San Fran. I had to move locations. I moved to the second location, and somebody tipped them off. I got a call that they came looking at the second spot an hour after I left.” Hector’s voice was shaky with fear.
“Stay calm. You’re on the road, right?”
“Yeah. I’m about an hour away.”
“How do you think they’re tracking you?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t running in the same circles since I got out. Maybe they followed me.” Hector’s shaky voice let me know that danger could present itself. I peered down at my artillery. I had enough if something popped off. Bella’s girly laughter rang in my ears. I closed my eyes.
“Are you strapped?” I asked.
“Yes. I got a Glock. I’m good. I don’t want to bring trouble to your family, man. Maybe I should just keep riding, you know?”
“No. You’re not. We are going to face what’s coming. All the players are in place. You can’t back down now. We are going in headfirst. The Russians are on our side, so there’s no reason to be fearful. You will be safe here. They ain’t coming here to the farm.”
“See you soon.”
“Peace, brother. Ride safe.”
