Kiril:No pans were harmed tonight. The rolling pin, however, will need to be replaced.
Georgi:Good girl, Kat!
Kiril:Watch it!
Boris:I’m buying another rolling pin! Plot twist, version 2.0 will be metal.
On my side of the Skokie Highway was a motel. We conducted business from one of the end rooms, but only local shit like information or contact with prominent community families. My boys wanted to run drugs out of it, but the traffic was too high these days. It was too easy to be noticed.
But lucky for me, the pretty boy was staying here.
Knocking on the door, I stepped back into the pool of light. I heard the cop on the other side.
“Come on, cop, you’re not as quiet as you think you are,” I rumbled.
The door cracked, pulling the chain taut. “What do you want, gangster?”
I lifted my hands. “Gangster? No, not that.”
“I’ve heard all about you, Mladenov.” The deputy sounded…drunk?
I kicked in the door.
With a yelp, the clean-cut boy jumped back. He scrambled for his gun, which wasn’t already in his hand.
“There’s no need for that.” I kept my arms up. “I just want to talk.”
“Then why the fuck you kick my door down?” he slurred. That fine blond hair was askew. His tank top showed a stark farmer’s tan on his arms and neck. While there were muscles, he was slimmer than he’d looked the other night on my porch.
And a half-empty bottle of marshmallow vodka sat on the TV stand.
Fuck me.We were off to a great start.
“You’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Yeah, first thing.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t a question. You’re leaving tomorrow and you’re taking Poppy and Brady with you.”
The gun fell from the cop’s fingers.
“You are a stellar example of civic protection,” I growled. “Pick that up and hold it like a damn man, or holster it.”
Those Midwest blue eyes blinked at me.
“Now, boy!” I barked. “I shouldn’t be the one to teach you how to act like a grown ass man.”
Shaking his head in frustration, the cop put the gun back in the holster and tossed the belt on the bed. “Happy?”
No.
I was the furthest thing from happy.
“You’ll continue to watch over my son and his mother—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” The kid held up his hands. “Brady isyourson?”
This guy was unbelievable.
