Chapter Thirteen: Stephan
Icould feel the tension in the air when we left the motel, and we were both incredibly on edge, uneasy about what the night was going to bring.
We still had quite a bit of time, and I knew that Annika needed to take her mind off of things, but we were operating on low funds and in need of a little pick-me-up. I didn’t have time to go back to my house and get my finances sorted, and I wasn’t in the mood to run into either Eduard or Feliks until I made sure that Annika was safe.
That left only one other option, and that was to take on a small job before we ventured off to meet her parents tonight. I knew she was probably thinking something like that was going to happen, and it would be good training for her, especially because we weren’t sure how many people were after us at this point.
I just had to make sure that I was being careful because once we started taking things from other criminals in the game, it would only make it that much harder for us to go undetected. I couldn’t take Annika out to a bank or to bust in on a drug deal because I didn’t want to expose her to any more eyes. If we were going to run a job, we had to be quick about it, and make sure no one knew that she was there.
“Where are we going now?”
“We’re going to visit the friend of mine that saved your life, and I’m hoping he’s going to get us in touch with someone who can secure better weapons, because I want to make sure we’re ready if the time comes that we need to fight,” I explained.
“Why do I feel like there’s more to the story that you’re not telling me?” she asked.
“That’s because there is. I’ve been thinking about what we’re going to do to pass a bit of time before we have to see your parents, and collect a bit of cash to keep us going, especially if we’re caught out on the run again,” I said.
“We’re going to run a job today, aren’t we?”
“You guessed it,” I said, glancing over at her expecting an expression of fear, but all I saw in her eyes was determination.
“Where do we start?” she asked, and I clued her in on everything she needed to know about the relationship I had with Ivan, as well as the promises I made to him in order to save her life. She listened attentively, hanging onto every word while I drove us down to the little pharmacy where I had brought Annika the night her life was barely hanging on by a thread.
“So, stealing another car is out of the question, huh?”
“Unfortunately, anything like that is going to take us way too long to process. I was thinking of a much more direct approach and something that will give you a little more practice when it comes to dealing with enemies.”
“We’re going to steal cold hard cash, from where exactly?”
“From the lion’s den.”
My mind was flooded with memories of the times Eduard, Feliks, and I did a few small arms dealing jobs for a few high-profile crime bosses that quickly began to dictate every decision we made in our lives and with our money.
We knew we had to get out of there before someone got too mad and one of us ended up dead, but now was the time I could finally assert my dominance, all while giving Annika and me what we both needed, a reintroduction into the crime world that was all our own.
The only thing that made this fight so difficult was the fact that our enemies had the upper hand due to how much money they were rolling in.
We may have had money lying around elsewhere, but there was no way we’d be able to get to it without alerting any watchful eyes to our location. I wanted to keep Annika hidden, making sure that she had protection anywhere she went, and I wasn’t going to be able to do that until I had some cash at my disposal.
When we arrived at Ivan’s pharmacy, it was absolutely spotless. The floors were completely scrubbed of any traces of Annika’s blood when I took her into the back, but my mind couldn’t help but travel back to that night, reminding me how close Annika had been to losing her life. I didn’t know what I would’ve done in that position, because everything that has occurred between us happened so quickly, it was strange to even think that it all could’ve disappeared in an instant.
“You look a lot better now,” Ivan said to Annika the minute we came trailing in through the door.
“I didn’t get the chance to properly thank you for saving my life. Stephan and I are both eternally grateful,” she said, with a warm smile. I looked over at Ivan to see that he was smiling back at her, and I couldn’t remember the last time I saw such a genuine expression on his face.
“It’s my pleasure, dear. I see that you two have done quite a bit of bonding over the last few days, huh?”
“What gives you that impression?” I asked him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get this way about a girl, Stephan. She must’ve done a number on you just as the other girls in your brothers’ lives that had made them put everything on the line. I suppose it is a good thing because at least you understand now what the consequences of your actions are,” he said.
“I certainly do. I’m surprised you even took my call the second time,” I said.
“I felt sorry for you now that you don’t have those two fools running around behind you every moment of every day.”
“You didn’t like Eduard and Feliks much, did you?” Annika asked.
“They had no potential for making it big, dear. They were always so caught up living extravagant lifestyles, drinking themselves sick, and sleeping with any woman that would pay them the slightest bit of attention. It was hard to watch Stephan get wrapped up in all of that after having helped so many of his brothers,” explained Ivan, and it was the first time I was able to really see how much better off I was without the two of them by my side.
