Between HeVan and Hell (20 page)

“There is one? They didn’t mention
that to me; you’ll have to share. When I’m as big as a house, I’ll
have to find new ways to take care of my guys,” she
said.

“What do you mean as big as a
house?”

“Didn’t Jalen tell you? I told him
specifically to give you the news in person. I found out a couple
of days ago. I’m pregnant. I’ve got a team of Nephilim doctors in
the house right now,” said Addie.

“Why do you have doctors? Are you
okay? Is the baby okay?”

“I’m fine, it’s just that since I’m
having three sets of twins and it’s a risky pregnancy…”

“WHAT! SIX BABIES!” Grace sat up
straight in the bed and shouted into the phone. Jalen, Justyn, and
Jett came rushing into the room. “Addie, I’m going to have to call
you back,” she said, as she glared at her men. “I have some people
to kill over here for not giving me vital information in a timely
manner.”

Addie laughed. “Okay, hon. Love you.
I’m fine, don’t worry about me. If I have a hiccup, they come
running. I’ve got ten nursemaids here making sure I barely pick up
a fork.”

Grace hung up the phone. She wasn’t
even aware she was sitting up in bed nude to the waist. Her hair
was a tangled mess. Her lips were puffy and she had love bites on
her neck, shoulders, breasts and legs. Completely oblivious to all
that, she pushed aside the covers and swung herself out of bed. She
found a few more aches and pains when she stood up. She stalked
over to her men, or rather—gingerly stalked over to them. Placing
her hands on her hips, she planted herself right in front of
them.

Justyn was holding a tray with a plate
of bacon, eggs, and toast. Jett was holding a pot of coffee and a
mug. Jalen was holding a glass and a carafe of orange
juice.

She reached for the glass and held it
out. As Jalen poured, she asked him in a sweet voice, “And why
didn’t you tell me my sister was pregnant with six
babies?”

“There wasn’t time, Grace. We picked
you up at the mall and went right into undercover mode,” answered
Jalen.

“Bull,” she handed back the empty
glass. She’d chugged down the juice while he was
talking.

“You can go and fill the bathtub for
me,” she said.

Dismissing him with a wave of her
hand, she turned to Jett, “You were right there with him. What’s
your excuse for not mentioning it?”

“I have no excuse. You are
right. We should have taken the time yesterday afternoon to talk to
you more instead of giving you the
Kuan
Haddis
,” said Jett. While speaking, he’d
poured her a mug of coffee and handed it to her. He already knew
she preferred to drink it black.

“Nice try, bucko, but nowhere near
good enough. This is my only sister we’re talking about,” she
said.

“I’m sorry,
Kasharra.
I’ll find some
soothing bath salts for your bath, shall I?” he asked and then left
when she nodded.

Then she turned to Justyn. She didn’t
say anything, just continued to stare at him and drink her coffee
while standing in front of him.

Justyn had been putting the finishing
touches on the breakfast they had prepared. They were planning on
surprising her with breakfast in bed when they heard her
shout.

When she’d gotten out of bed, heedless
of her nakedness, he’d about swallowed his tongue. She had the most
beautiful, well-loved look about her. It made him want to start all
over again.

Finally he found his voice. “When I
saw you for the first time, all thought fled my brain. I’m a
warrior and responsible for the safety of our people. And in that
moment, the only thought I had was how deep I could go into you and
how fast I could make that happen. Making love to you, touching
your beautiful skin, was of paramount importance to me at that
moment. Had you asked, I couldn’t have told you my own name,” said
Justyn.

“Good answer. You can feed me my
breakfast in the bathtub so I don’t have to use my wet hands. I
don’t like soggy toast or a cold meal.”

He happily followed her into the
bathroom; it afforded him another look at her perfect heart-shaped
rear end.

Anton Kadyrov strode into his dining
room and rang for his breakfast. After he’d sent his men after that
behemoth last night, he’d pulled his current lover off the casino
floor and upstairs for a little debauchery. She was somewhat
enjoyable, he mused. She certainly took his little punishments
well, but he was bored with her.

Maybe that was it. She
took her punishments too well. She didn’t even complain when I
called her by another name as I used her.

He preferred the act of breaking
women. After they were broken and willing to do anything that he
wanted, they didn’t thrill him in exactly the same way and he
usually sold them to others. This one had money and connections and
making her disappear would be a little more challenging. Still, he
was bored with her clinginess, so a way would have to be found. And
soon.

He ate his grapefruit and drank the
black coffee, considering which of his many overseas customers
would most appreciate a well-trained slave girl, when the doorbell
rang. He pushed aside his plate, wiped his mouth with his napkin
and poured himself a second cup of coffee as his maid went to
answer the door. He was not happy when a few minutes’ later two
detectives followed his maid into the dining room and informed him
he was under arrest for attempted murder.

“This is outrageous. Who is it exactly
I’m supposed to have killed? No, wait, you said ‘attempted.’ I
don’t remember trying to kill anyone last night.” He smirked while
thinking quickly.

What the hell went wrong?
Well, I’m covered at least. Even if the bastard isn’t dead yet, he
soon will be,
he thought.
Ron took more than enough guys with him for the
job so he must at least be hospitalized. Come on, cops, let it
slip. Tell me how the behemoth is fighting for his life,
he wished.

The detectives didn’t answer his
questions. They read him his Miranda Rights and cuffed him. He
shouted over his shoulder to his maid as they were leading him
out.

“Call my grandfather, immediately, and
my lawyer!”

His maid dutifully called and left a
message with his grandfather’s housekeeper. She left it up to that
person to decide if Mr. Kadyrov Senior should be disturbed or not.
She didn’t know who his lawyer was, so she wasn’t able to make that
call. Then she went back to the dining room, cleared the dishes and
returned to her work. Hopefully he would be sent to prison and
she’d take care of his empty house for him while he was gone, the
way she sometimes did when he was out of town for months at a
time.

Captain Udaka had made arrangements
for two Homicide detectives to arrest and interview Anton Kadyrov.
He emphasized to them that everything had to be done by the book.
He called the State’s Attorney and asked for someone to be assigned
the case, to observe all interviews and make sure all evidence met
judiciary requirements. He was determined that the Defense not have
a leg to stand on.

He was also pleased to see Assistant
State’s Attorney Carson striding through the bullpen towards his
office. Sheila Carson was quickly building a reputation as being
hard to beat in the courtroom. She could read people like a book,
which helped her when selecting jurors. She was often described as
a fast tracker in the State’s Attorney’s office. The Captain smiled
at her when she reached his doorway.

“Come in,” he said.

“Good morning, Captain. I was told
you’ve arrested Anton Kadyrov. Would you give me a summary of your
evidence and what’s happening now?” she asked.

“Right now, he’s in the holding tank.
He lawyered up immediately so we can’t interview him until the
lawyer shows up. He didn’t ask for a phone call. The detectives
that brought him in say he told his maid to call his grandfather
and his lawyer.

“I’m actually surprised you showed up
before them,” he added.

He proceeded to go over the case as it
stood. He went over all the evidence, including the statement given
by Jett Contadina and the recording from Jett’s phone. For good
measure, he added in the battery earlier in the day of Mrs. Levin,
producing the sketch, fingerprint report, and signed
statement.

“We may not get him for the conspiracy
to commit murder,” said Ms. Carson. “Without further evidence, he
can argue that this low-life Ron is lying. Information from the
other attackers would be considered hearsay. With his record, he
doesn’t make a credible witness. Any good defense attorney will rip
him apart on cross. And believe me, Kadyrov surely has the best
attorney money can buy on retainer. We have a better chance with
the battery. I’d suggest having the homicide guys question him
about his whereabouts for the entire day. Better yet, get him to
agree to a line up; can you bring in the victim?”

“Don’t bring up Mrs. Levin during the
initial interview,” she continued. “Let him assume it’s all about
the attempted murder. I’d also like to meet this Contadina guy.
Frankly, after what you’ve just told me, I’m amazed he’s not in the
hospital. What’s he like; does he have a record? Tell me a story,
Captain, draw me a picture,” she said, leaning back in her
chair.

Captain Udaka wanted his operation
kept in the dark for now. He was hesitant about revealing too much
information before the listening devices had a chance to get more
evidence. He didn’t want to mention right away that they had a tape
recording of Anton ordering the hit. If what she said was true,
though, he would eventually have to show her the tape to make the
charges stick. For now, he was keeping that information to himself.
He was actually relieved when he saw Vasily Kadyrov walking through
the bullpen.

“I’ll fill you in later. The
grandfather has arrived.” He gestured with his chin and she turned
in her chair.

“Let the games begin,” she said under
her breath as she stood up.

Vasily Kadyrov walked up to the door.
“Captain? I am Vasily Kadyrov; I had some disturbing news this
morning. I’m told my grandson has been arrested.” he
said.

“Your grandson is currently being
charged with ordering a murder. Additional charges may be filed,”
said Captain Udaka, hedging his bets.

“Outrageous! My grandson doesn’t
behave in this way. Who is telling these lies about him? I want to
speak to his attorney. Where is he?” asked Kadyrov.

“Mr. Kadyrov’s attorney has not yet
arrived,” said the Captain.

He could see the anger in the old
man’s eyes at that remark. Kadyrov immediately pulled out his cell
phone and pressed a number. He stepped back out of the office and
to the side of the door for a little privacy. Captain Udaka
exchanged a look with Ms. Carson.

“Has the guy on speed dial,” he said
softly, and she fought down a smile.

Mr. Kadyrov came back to the office.
“He will be here right away. Now, I want to see my grandson,” he
demanded.

Captain Udaka, who had stood when
Kadyrov Senior had first arrived, now stepped forward and motioned
to a detective.

“Show Mr. Kadyrov to Room B and bring
up the prisoner from holding,” he ordered. He waited until they had
moved off before turning back to Ms. Carson.