The lightly coded message is a bucket of ice water over the lust Petal causes simply by existing near me. Sergei has been one of myboeviksfor many years. Was one for theavtoritetwho heldmy role before me, in fact. And therein lies the problem. He forgets who he serves.
His failure in allowing Gleb to betray us has unveiled many shortcomings and problems I’d been unaware of. Problems Anatoly had to deal with because rather than notify me of the issue as he should have, Sergei sought to undermine my leadership by reporting directly to thePakhan. His effort to curry favor turned foolish when Anatoly tasked me with resolving the issue rather than entrusting Sergei to handle it.
Now, not only is thePakhanaware of Sergei’s failings, but we both are. And the increased scrutiny calls his every decision into question. If the men under him are making poor choices, there is a strong chance he is, as well. Of course, because accountability flows up the chain, he casts a shadow on my felty to thePakhan. I have asked Rurik to make inquiries into Sergei’s activities, but tonight, Sergei has made an error I don’t need the hacker to uncover.
Me to Sergei: This is unacceptable. The costs are the costs. Either the investment satisfies its debts or you do. 3 hours. You know where to meet.
Greed is a terrible idol for a man to serve. Particularly, when he lacks the intelligence to do so wisely. At least, Gleb’s stupidity led me to my Petal. Which bought him leniency in the end. What has Sergei done besides undercut me and steal from my employer?
Me to Feliks: Eyes on Sergie’s footprints tonight. Alert me to changes.
Feliks: Glad to see you do more than stalk the girl.
Me to Feliks: Hafuckingha. Just wait. Your turn will come.
Feliks: Nope. I fuck them. I don’t let them fuck me.
I stifle the snort his message causes. He has no idea the bed he’s laying for himself. It’s amusing to think of him as a fuck boi, though, with his glasses and suspenders and obsession with avoiding messes. Watching him learn how easily he succumbs when the perfect woman shows up will be a joy.
But before joy comes pain, and tonight will bring a lot of it. Not for me, of course, although any time away from Petal’s unknowing presence is its own sort of agony. No, tonight is for Sergei’s pain. The pain of disloyalty. Of lies and greed come home to roost.
At the corner, I turn left while Petal continues forward on her path to the hovel where she currently lives not far from here. I listen through her phone to ensure her safety, but I take comfort in the certainty whenever I can’t have my eyes on her,men who are actually loyal to me have her under their protection. Work must be done, debts must be paid, and though my soul longs to remain in Petal’s shadow, my allegiance belongs to Anatoly Balakin. Without him, I cannot be the protector my Petal deserves.
My footsteps echo loudly in the empty streets now that I no longer tread silently to stalk Petal. By the time I reach my truck, I hear the sounds of her rattling the chain link fence surrounding the storage lot as she wheels the gate wide enough to slip through. Her soft gasp of delight when she spots the freshly stocked basket of snacks I instructed Alevtina to make available brings a smile to my face while I drive to the meeting spot.
The warehouse is disturbingly close to where my little bird hides out, its proximity to the storage lot enough to cause problems at any other time. But tonight, it will suit my purposes perfectly. Technically, it’s owned by the Italians, but their presence in Lexen has been minimized since the old Don passed and left his much younger nephew running things. The kid prefers drug trafficking to gambling and has a better market for it in the bigger cities of Seattle and Spokane.
These days his facilities in Lexen are virtually ghost towns, not that the mayor and his lapdog police believe it. If Sergei’s body is found in a warehouse known to belong to the Italians, the cops will assume it’s the mob sorting shit out, and they’ll likelyignore it. I stash the truck a short ways from the warehouse and make my way to it on foot, resisting the temptation to change directions and check on Petal instead. There will be plenty of time for that when the work is done.
Chapter
Thirteen
CHAPTER 13
Petal
“Hot choc, please!” Dru, Hollis’ adorable little girl, trills from the booster seat next to Hollis in their booth. I couldn’t spare the afternoon to hang out the way Hollis invited me to, so they brought the fun to me. She also brought one of the prepaid cards she told me about, in case I hadn’t gotten to the store to get one for myself.
“If that’s okay with your mama, I’ll bring one right out for you.” I don’t want to cross any boundaries if Hollis is one of those ‘sugar is toxic’ kinds of parents, but saying no to Dru’s adorable pleading would be impossible for me if I were her mom.
“Yeah, hot chocolate is fine. Do you have lids for the cup?” Hollis smiles at her daughter in the way mothers do when their kid is being precious. A lot of the time the level of preciousness I see strikes me as the kind only a parent could love, but Dru actually is adorable.
“When’s your break? Can you sit for a while and hang out?” Her hopeful expression has me agreeing without hesitation. It’s after three, so the lunch crowd is gone and the dinner guests haven’t arrived yet. It’s perfect timing for me to take a break and eat before my second shift of the day.
“I can sit for a bit. It’s my break before the dinner shift. Let me put your order in and grab whatever George made me to eat today. I’ll be right back?” I probably sound like an overly eager dork, but Hollis is the first friend I’ve made since high school finished over a half decade ago.
Making friends as an adult is outrageously hard to do and better systems need to be created. Launching kids into adulthood without the soft skills to land grown-up friends is a massive failing of the educational process. Maybe, if I’d been better at making friends, I wouldn’t have fallen for Jordan’s bullshit. I imagine my life would be much better now if I’d been able to see through the veneer he wore to fool the world.
Still, Jordan is in my rearview, and it’s finally looking as if I have a future shaping up. Hollis with her adorable daughter, Dru, and her determination to help me are a part of that future, and finally having a friend makes me feel giddy with hope. If I’m a little overly eager about it, sue me.
Once their food is ready and I have the burger George made for me, I go back to the table intending to sit across from where Hollis has Dru boxed in. The little girl is bouncing in the plastic booster seat and scribbling with the crayons Pete hands out with children’s menus. Hollis told me the day we met that she’s a single mom and doesn’t have any other family to speak of. She’s such a natural at it I have a hard time imagining how hard things must have been for her.
“Grilled cheese and applesauce for Miss Dru, your cobb salad with extra avocado and a side of fries for sharing, and for me, a burger loaded with every extra calorie George thinks I need.” I set their plates in front of them and mine where I’ll sit.
“I dunno who George is, but girlie he’s not wrong. You look like a strong wind would carry you away.” Hollis’ assessing look is a reminder I haven’t had the budget to indulge in the skin care and makeup rituals I used to delight in.
True, part of those routines were to keep Jordan happy. Early in our relationship, I learned at the bruising end of his fists what looking unkempt and embarrassing him when he brought people over meant. And maybe, a small part of me enjoys the freedom to exist without any requirement to please anyone but myself. Not going to lie though, I really do miss pampering myself and copying social media tutorials to achieve fancy looks.
