Avenge :Romanian Mob Chronicles(20)

“So,” he said, cutting to the chase as he always did.

“The Peruvians are working with the cops,” I said.

He didn’t bat an eyelash, didn’t respond at all, which, even for Priest, was out of the ordinary. The attention of law enforcement was something we all wanted to avoid, even him, so his lack of reaction was noteworthy, and I was very happy I had come here.

“What makes you think that?” he finally said.

“You’re taking this news well, Priest. Too well,” I replied, my suspicion again roused. He knew something about this, and he would tell me what. “What have you heard?”

“I heard that Christoph Junior was expanding Constantin business,” he said, ignoring my statement.

I stayed silent, unwilling to discuss our business with an outsider, including one as familiar as Priest. Perhaps he would be more forthcoming if I was, but then again perhaps he wouldn’t be. It wasn’t in my nature to take the risk.

“You saw him, eh?” Priest finally said.

“Saw who?” I replied, not intending to be coy but unwilling to reveal anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary.

“A man who looks like a cop. But he isn’t a cop,” Priest said.

“So if I saw that man, and I’m not confirming that I did or didn’t, who is he?”

“A threat to us all,” Priest said, being as direct as I’d ever heard. A fact that shifted my suspicion to concern that edged to worry. An open Priest was rare, a worried one unprecedented.

“Care to be more specific?” I said.

“No, but I can give you a friendly word of advice.”

I nodded.

“I’d keep your clan far away from the Peruvians right now, and away from anyone who’s looking to get involved in the drug trade. Something’s coming, and you don’t want to be anywhere near it.”

“That’s very cryptic,” I said, “but I appreciate the warning.”

“You’ll convey it to Christoph?” he asked.

“I appreciate the warning,” I repeated. Then I stood and left.

So Christoph had almost rushed us headlong into something worse than the cops, something bad enough to have Priest giving helpful hints, which meant it was worse than I’d thought.

I’d talk to him again, though I didn’t expect to get anywhere with the conversation. But more importantly, I’d talk to the men. I was undermining him, and by extension his father, but there was no alternative, not if Christoph Junior was intent on following this path.

Which left me in a position I’d never wanted to be in. I’d given Christoph Senior my word, sworn that I would aid his son and kill anyone who tried to undermine him. Now it was I who would be doing the undermining.

For all the right reasons. I had no doubt about that. But my intentions were unimportant. How many times had I heard that very thing? How many men had tried to explain away their offenses with the purity of their intentions?

More than I could remember.

And how often had those explanations fallen on deaf ears, Christoph Senior’s and then mine?

Every time.

Now I would be one of them, one of those men I held in contempt, a traitor to my word and to my leader, a circumstance that wasn’t softened by the fact that I was doing so for my clan.

As I drove home, I watched the sun break the horizon, the night fading into day. It had been a long night, would probably be a longer one tomorrow, but for now, as amped, agitated as I was, I would go home and rest.

I looked around quickly, checking out my house, a habit I had picked up, though no one had yet invaded my personal space.

As I undressed and showered, my thoughts were filled with Lily. Not Christoph, Senior or Junior, not the mystery man who’d shown up at the aborted meet, not how I would protect Clan Constantin from Christoph Junior while still respecting his leadership.

All I could think of was her.

How angry I’d been when I had caught her in the hall. How hard it had been to resist pulling her into my arms when I’d stood in front of her, her eyes never wavering from mine. How her simple statement, the way she’d called Christoph my father, had set off an explosion inside me.

I lay in bed, searching for sleep, but instead of rest, all that was there was her.

One hour passed, two, but I was no closer to rest.

I stood and was dressed and headed to Lily’s before I could stop myself.





Ten





Lily





It had been midmorning before I’d made it back to my apartment, and I was grateful to be away from the Constantins. This apartment wasn’t my home, nowhere was, but I was as relaxed here as I had ever been.

I hadn’t realized how tense and draining being in that house was, how much worse it was when Christoph Junior was there. But I did realize and acknowledge that I’d come to find some comfort with Christoph Senior and his wife, not friendliness, but we’d fallen into a pattern, had developed some of the familiarity that was a byproduct of spending so much time together. I didn’t like it, had found myself having to repeat the reminder of why I was there, what my goal was, more than I ever had before.