Nikolai 2 (Her Russian Protector #6) (30 page)

When I unzipped the bag, I immediately noticed something wrong. There was an extra soft-sided toiletry case tucked under the stretchy straps that held my clothing in place. Confused, I picked it up and noticed how heavy it was. The hot pink and lime green polka dots reminded me of something Erin would buy. Had our luggage spilled open during the flight? Had an attendant jammed this one into my bag thinking it was mine?

I unzipped the toiletry case and found a folded note and six burner cell phones.
What in the hell?

Wrapped in my towel, with my wet hair dripping onto my shoulders and back, I sat down on the bench at the end of the bed and dumped the phones onto the duvet. I opened the note and tried to decipher the terrible handwriting. The Cyrillic letters ran into and over each other, making it difficult to read on the first pass. Whoever had written it was more comfortable writing in Russian than English and wasn't a very good speller.

My gaze drifted to the bottom. A grin tugged at my lips. The writer had signed his name in the most peculiar but fitting way.

V, I saved the numbers you'll need if shit goes bad. Memorize the address at the bottom of this note. If you can't get to one of these phones, take a cab to that address. Use my real name. You'll be safe there until someone we trust can get you. Just don't sit on the bed if they give you a room. ~ 10

Don’t sit on the bed?
I stared at the address and wondered where exactly he wanted me to hideout. Of course, if I was on the run, I couldn't exactly be picky about whatever spot would offer me sanctuary.

Did Ten think I was in that much danger here? After what had happened with Judge Walker, I suspected he was using an abundance of caution. Even so, I decided to keep two of the burner phones in my purse at all times. If I had to use one, I would still have the other as a backup.

I stowed two of the phones in my purse and hid the toiletry case in my suitcase. After I squeezed the excess water from my hair, I combed and braided it before finally collapsing on the bed. As I drifted off to sleep, I kept thinking about those phones and what they meant. This London getaway was supposed to be an easy, fun trip. Sure, there were mob problems in every city in the world, but the branch of Maksim Prokhorov's family that operated here had given Nikolai safe passage. We were under their protection while in the city.

But as I succumbed to my exhaustion, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would never again be truly safe.

Chapter Fifteen

Sitting next to Mr. Lu on the sky-high observation deck on the MD Anderson hospital campus, Nikolai fought the urge to glance at his watch. He could tell by the position of the sun that he was running out of time to meet Vivian at the airport. Even so, he refused to disrespect the old, grieving man who seemed even thinner and sicker since the last time he had seen him.

This was a meeting he had tried to have yesterday, right after his blowup with Vivian, but Lu had been admitted earlier that afternoon for a fainting spell. This was the first time they had been able to speak. Telling Lu that his nephew had been shot, probably by one of his own men during the melee that ensued, hadn't been easy. Now he waited for the old man's reaction.

With a sad sigh, he shook his head. "Bobby was a good boy, but he didn't have the patience or the discipline needed. He could have worked hard and climbed the ranks, but he wanted that easy money, that fast money."

Nikolai understood that type of man all too well. He had come up against them time and again—and beat them every single time.

"I'm glad his mother his gone. This would have broken her heart." Lowering his voice, Mr. Lu asked, "Where is his body?"

Nikolai glanced around the observation deck to make sure they were still alone. "He and his two friends are at a funeral home that we own. We staged an overdose in an abandoned house. A Justice of the Peace that Besian has in his pocket took care of the paperwork." He paused to let that information sink in. "Bobby's friends? Do they have family?"

"No. The other two boys—Jake Tran and Minh Jackson—don't have any family. No one will poke around for answers. If they do, we'll take care of it." Mr. Lu grimaced and rubbed at his throat.

"Are you all right? Should I get a doctor or a nurse?"

"I'm fine. It's this damn reflux." His shaky hand brought the bottle of water he was carrying to his mouth, and he took a long drink. While his trembling fingers fumbled with the lid, he asked, "What do I owe you?"

"Nothing." Nikolai couldn't stomach the thought of extracting money over this fiasco, not when Mr. Lu was in such bad shape. Whatever their disagreements, he wouldn't disrespect another boss like that. "It's been handled."

"And the repercussions?"

"Your family paid that debt with blood. We're good."

"What about the cartel?"

"I'll fucking bury Lorenzo Guzman myself if he even tries to come after you in retaliation. He's lost control of his own men. If he want to start making cuts, he should make them on his own arms first."

"Do you think he's going to fall?" Concern darkened the old man's face. "Because it feels the way it did before the coup that took out his father. Now that Romero is out of prison and hiding out in Mexico, he's a threat to Lorenzo. He has the loyalty and respect of the hard men in the cartel. He could break them away from Lorenzo and then what? Who fills that vacuum?"

"I don't know," Nikolai admitted. "That's what keeps me awake at night."

Mr. Lu nodded in agreement. "Things change, Russian. We have to change with them, or we get it in the neck." He inhaled noisily. "I'm not going to beat this. I can feel it in my bones. My change is coming soon." Lu turned to face him. "I need assurances from you that when I'm gone you'll support An. She's smart. She's strong. She has ideas and plans for my people."

Nikolai found the idea of a female boss in the city refreshing. "I'll work with her."

"She won't disappoint you." Mr. Lu grimaced again and coughed. "I should go back to my room now. I'm tired."

Nikolai reached out to help the older man to his feet and walked beside him back to the elevator and down to his room where his daughter waited for him. Thin with an angular face that was emphasized by her sharp short haircut, An sat in a chair by the window and read a magazine. She didn't smile at him when he entered the room at her father's side. She sized him up and didn't seem the least bit impressed.

He liked her instantly.

Leaving Mr. Lu in the care of his daughter, Nikolai headed out of the hospital and used the sky bridge to reach the garage where Kostya waited for him. He used the stairs rather than waiting for an elevator and checked his watch. He was cutting it close, but he still had time to make it.

He crossed the parking garage toward the black SUV Kostya had driven that morning and jerked open the front passenger door. "We need to hurry if we're going to make it."

"You're not going to make it, boss."

"What?" Nikolai spun toward his right-hand man and caught the flash of movement in the backseat. He started to reach for the sheathed knife he wore everyday but recognized the harsh face staring back at him at the last second.

Romero Valero laughed, the raspy, rattling sound filling the Escalade's interior. "You can let go of the knife. We're family, remember?"

"Don't remind me," Nikolai grumbled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hector Salas. Bobby Pham. My daughter and grandbaby nearly getting shot. Why the hell else would I be here?"

Nikolai glanced at Kostya who exited the SUV without having to be asked. When they were alone, he said, "Vivian is fine. She wasn't hurt."

"Why the fuck was she there in the first place? I thought you had guards on her? You're damned lucky it wasn't Julio who got his hands on her."

Not in the mood for a recounting of his failures, he snapped, "Julio wouldn't be gunning for my family if you had given him Mando."

"I've made mistakes, but you married my daughter. You swore to fucking keep her safe. Last night you failed."

"I was there, Romero. I don't need the play-by-play." Irritated, he growled, "I don’t have time for this. I've got to get to the airport. Vivian is waiting for me."

"Your rich friend's plane isn't the only one that goes to London, you know. There's a big, fucking airport that has planes that fly all night. Vivian will just have to wait." Romero leaned forward. "From what I've heard, a little distance between the two of you might be a good thing."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if you ever go to a hotel with that blonde whore or any other woman again, I'll cut your worthless dick off and let you bleed to death in a Mexican desert."

Nikolai twisted in his seat to tell Romero to go to hell, but Romero's ink black eyes stopped him. They were so dark and flashed with such violent anger that Nikolai briefly entertained the thought that Vivian's father might actually be a demon. "Are you having me followed?"

"You think you're the only one with eyes and ears all over this city?" Romero snorted. "Every housekeeper, busboy, dishwasher and janitor in this city knows they can come to me with information, and I'll pay good money for it."

"You should ask for a refund because you got bad information."

"Bullshit. You were at that hotel with that blonde tramp we all thought you had killed for stepping out on you."

"We had lunch. Yes, we spoke privately in her suite, but I didn't fuck Tatiana. I haven't been with another woman in nearly two years. Whatever my mistakes—and Christ knows I'm piling them up this week—I've never betrayed Vivian. I fucking love her. She's my wife. I made a vow to her and only her."

"Then start acting like it!" Romero punctuated every word with a stab of his finger. "That girl of mine has been hurt enough. Her mother hurt her. I hurt her. Now you're hurting her. If you don't stop, I'm going to hurt you."

Nikolai would have scoffed and laughed in any other man's face at that threat, but Romero meant it. Feeling uncomfortably exposed but knowing he deserved every bit of her father's anger, Nikolai looked his father-in-law in the eyes and promised, "I'm going to make it right."

"You fucking better. I've taken out a boss before, Nikolai. I have no problem doing it again."

"Understood."

"Good." He sat back and stretched out his legs. "Why is the judge still alive? Why didn't you slit that junkie's throat?"

"Leaving the daughter alive wasn't my first choice," Nikolai admitted. "She's a liability, but she can be managed. The judge is more valuable to me alive. He owes me a debt."

"A big fucking debt," Romero grumbled. "Get your spy back in here. We need to drive and talk."

"About?"

"Moving up my timetable," Romero said matter-of-factly.

"Your timetable for what?"

Romero betrayed his nervousness by glancing out the rear window. "We've been sitting here too long. Get on the road, and I'll tell you exactly why Hector Salas was working with Bobby Pham."

Hector had been so doped up after his surgery that Nikolai hadn't been able to interrogate him at all. If he wanted to know what was coming, and if he was going to have time to make plans to keep his family safe, he had to stay and hear what Romero had to say.

He gestured for Kostya to rejoin them and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Not wanting their first discussion since that terrible fight to be yet another disappointment, Nikolai chose not to call Vivian but settled on Yuri instead. As he waited for Yuri to pick up, Nikolai wiped a hand down his face. It was going to be another long night.

* * *

"You've got your passport? Your ID?" Kostya asked as they followed the winding route to the airport curbside drop-off spot for the airline he was flying.

"Yes." He still patted his pockets to double check. "My luggage is already on its way with Vee."

"It's late so the lines at the security checkpoints should be short. I got you a first class seat so you should fly right through them."

"I hate going through security," he admitted. "I swear to God I have flashbacks of Krasnoyarsk."

Kostya laughed darkly and merged into the far right lane where a line of cars queued up. He slowed to a stop, and Nikolai reached for the door handle. Kostya's hand settled on his arm. "Boss, wait."

"What is it?"

Kostya put the SUV in park and turned in his seat so they were looking eye-to-eye. "Ilya called to give me a report on the judge and the cocaine princess while you were talking with Romero and Hector at the safe house."

"And?"

"Ilya says that the judge told him that he lied to Vivian to get her to come with him. He told Ilya that he was coming over to the house to talk with Vivian, to see if he could get her to intervene, but then he heard the fighting between Ten and Eric. He saw her outside, and she looked upset so he decided it was the perfect opening. He told her about losing his dog and then asked her if she'd like to have dinner with him. He told her that he was taking her to a barbecue joint that all the cops around town like so she would feel safe."

Kostya paused, and Nikolai had a feeling he wasn't going to like whatever was said next. "He told her he wanted to pick his daughter up to join them. When they got to the door, he pulled his gun, and he forced Vivian in to the house. He made her frisk the guy who had answered and then basically held them both at gunpoint. He used her as a shield because he knew that Bobby Pham would never allow anything bad to happen with your wife there."