I nodded. “That’s cool.”
“Don’t bring this here.”
“I won’t.”
“We’re not in it.”
“Trust me. You’ll be protected. I owe you.”
Natalie left.
I waited a few seconds, hurried behind the door, and dialed Maxwell.
His dark voice came on. “Hello?”
Excitement filled me as I whispered. “I don’t know where I am. It’s the hood. Can you track me?”
“Jesus Christ.” Maxwell wasted no time. “Yeah. We can. How long do you think you can stay on the phone?”
“Doesn’t matter.” My body trembled. “I’m going to set the phone somewhere and keep it on. Put your side on mute and no one should be alarmed.
“Got you.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Em?”
My body trembled. “Yes.”
“I love you.”
I froze for a second. My heart boomed in my ears. “I love you too, Max.”
“Be safe.”
“Take care of my lion.”
“Take care of yourself. . .I’ve got him.”
“Okay. I will.” I pulled out a drawer, set my phone inside, and closed it.
Okay. Okay.
Tears fell from my eyes. It wasn’t like me to be crying all the time. A lot had happened. Maybe, that was a good excuse, but I wouldn’t take it.
I wiped my face and focused on the next task.
Everything is going to work out.
I pulled out the next drawer, grabbed the first thing I could find, and put it on—a rainbow shirt and regular denim jeans. Natalie had more ass than me, so there was a little sag in the back of the jeans. My hips took up some of the slack. None of it mattered. I was just happy to get out of Jean-Pierre’s toilet-stained dress shirt.
Like Kazimir had joked about, Jean-Pierre definitely wore perfume. However, the toilet water had given the sweet scent a sour odor. It had been hard not to gag from smelling myself.
Thankful for the washcloth, I used it, washing my face and body where I could.
The guards still hadn’t come inside.
Should I check? I’ll check. Real quick. Maxwell should be tracking the area now.
I pulled the drawer open and all hope crashed.
The phone was off.
Why? Lost connection? Low battery? What the fuck? Or maybe it’s on lock screen or. . .
The door opened.
A guard peeked in. “Let’s go. You’re dressed.”
Goddamn it! Did they get the address?
I closed the drawer and headed back to the kitchen.
What happened? Did they track the call? Was it enough time?
Jean-Pierre studied me as I sat next to him.
I hated being under his gaze. Somewhere in my dressing, he’d changed too.
I didn’t have a watch, but I swore at least ten minutes passed.
Maxwell didn’t get the track. Something happened. Fuck.
A baby cried somewhere in the apartment.
I paused from my worries.
Natalie giggled. “That’s my son, Benji. I’ll be right back.”
The whole time Natalie never glanced my way. She rushed off like we’d never shared words.
What’s up with these women? Are they on the French’s side or not?
Jean-Pierre shook his head and leaned Louis’s way. “Two women and a baby in this tiny place? I’ll give Rafael a week and if this isn’t fixed, then let me know.”
“I’ll keep my eye on it,” Louis said.
They care about these women? Why?
Louis gestured to me as I watched them. “She’s creepy as fuck. I can’t wait to give her back.”
You stole me from my bedroom. And I was butt-naked. But I’m the creepy one? I see how you did that.
Jean-Pierre muttered, “It’ll be soon.”
Will it?
“You saw how fast she killed those men.” Louis whistled and glared at me. “Why would the Lion want a woman like that in his bed.”
Fuck you.
I turned away from them, pissed and aggravated.
“We love, who we love,” Jean-Pierre said. “No matter if they’re a monster, or an angel.”
Maxwell? Kazimir? Did you track me? Are you coming?
Chapter 7
Kazimir
Like failures, we returned to David’s grandmother’s house. Close to arriving back, my clever mouse called Maxwell’s phone.
How did she do it? Who’s phone did she grab?
Somehow the connection had been cut. At least we had a phone number. We could look up the cell owner’s situation. Maybe that would point us in the right direction.
We entered the house.
Eden remained inside, but now she sat at the table, eating. Apparently, David’s grandmother had cooked her some food.
David walked up to me. “Eden’s still high as hell but coming down.”
“I don’t care what she is, as long as she can get my mouse back.”
David signaled for us to go down the hall. “We’ve been working on some ideas.”
Maxwell stepped into the living room and followed us. “Where’s the flute player?”
“In the kitchen eating.”
“Good.” Maxwell sighed. “We’ve got to keep her safe.”
“She’s safe enough,” I growled. “Has Misha called back on the phone tracking?”
“Not yet.”
David brought us into a blue and white room. A small bed sat in the center. He’d covered it with several maps. “This place is Forum des Halles. Over a 150, 000 shoppers go there every day. If you want thousands of innocents, this is the place.”
“Jean-Pierre wouldn’t go bomb-heavy here.” I walked closer to the map. “The only way he would, is if he thought I was putting Eden in danger.”
“And there’s no need for that.” David stepped over to the side of the map. “You’ve both proved that you have each other’s women. The only logical thing to do would be to exchange them with no problems.”
“Is he logical?” Maxwell asked.
David frowned. “Not at all.”
I frowned. “And nether am I.”
On the map, he pointed to a purple line sliding through a box. “The shopping mall is mainly underground, and it’s connected to the metro transit system.”
“The mall works, but where do we exchange?” I scanned the area. “What’s this? It has several fire exits, good space, many exits and entrances.”
David checked. “That’s the movie theater.”
“It could work, if we empty the theater out.”
“Are you sure a movie theater will be a good exchange?” Maxwell asked.
“It’s the best place to do it in the mall.” David pointed to the map. “It’s the only one that has several fire exits and front entrances.”
I nodded. “I like the theater for this. Can we get tanks in the mall?”
David eyed me. “Kazimir, this is Paris, not Moscow. Driving a tank to the mall will be suspicious. We’ll get stopped, before we can get her.”
“Tanks.” Maxwell shook his head. “We’re bringing the big guns out.”
“As big as we can get them.” I tapped the map. “If we can’t get tanks, then how about a huge gun on wheels. At least two of them. I want to drive after Jean-Pierre, as I shoot him.”
“A big gun on wheels?” Maxwell asked. “We have to make sure we get Em back, before we shoot the place up.”
“We will. I’ll have my mouse, and Jean-Pierre and his lover, will die tonight.”
“I’m sure that’s what Jean-Pierre is thinking.” David shook his head. “We have to get everyone in on this, even the Ukraines.”
“Call them.”
David sighed. “Already did. They were just waiting for the location.”
“Give it to them.” I checked my watch.
Pavel walked up to me. “The lions are still in his warehouses. No one’s spotted them
yet. When they do, it’ll make it difficult for his men to get more guns.”
“Good. I hope the lions are hungry.” I walked over to Blue. “Did we get the tracking back? Has Misha said anything?”
Blue frantically typed into her laptop before she looked at me with fear. “Cellphone towers went down. I think the French detected a phone call coming from the apartment and just cut it off. Like people can’t call out from that area. They can only receive phone calls.”
So, Jean-Pierre wanted to make sure she couldn’t call out, but he had to guarantee he got my calls for the exchange place. Smart, but we should be able to break through this.
But Maxwell wasn’t having it. “What do you mean the towers went down? We don’t have time for that shit.”
Blue continued to type into her computer. “I don’t know how it happened, but I don’t think anyone can use their phones right now.”
“Then Misha, or you need to get it back up.” I left the room.
Adrenaline and rage pumped through my blood. With all the power and money I had, Jean-Pierre and his cousins should not have had her for this long. We had a location for the exchange, but Jean-Pierre had been kicking my ass all day. Even as I destroyed Paris, he prevailed.
Maxwell cursed. “We’ve got to get Misha in on this.”
“He should have been here.” I stormed into the kitchen.
Eden paused from eating and stared.
I wanted to fling the dining table over and slam it into the wall. Let David’s grandmother’s, teacups crash to the floor.
Instead, I ran my fingers through my hair.
David stepped into the space. “The Ukraines are on the way. They’re putting together a vehicle with a big gun on the top.”
“Good.”
One of David’s men came in and whispered in his ear. He sighed and looked at me. “Kazimir, please don’t shoot me for suggesting this, but. . .”
“What?”
“We did come here for my grandmother. She’s ready to talk to you. Apparently, she had a dream about all of this. She said if she doesn’t talk to you, all of Paris will be drowning in blood.”
“Paris drowning in blood.” I smiled. “She definitely can see into the future. Bring her in.”
David raised his eyebrows. “She doesn’t like to read in the front. Something about the energy and the placement of the sun, or is it the moon. Either way, she’s in the back.”
Nodding, I turned back to Blue. “Get in contact with Misha. I don’t care about the towers. If my mouse was clever enough to get a phone, then we can help her.”
Blue’s bottom lip quivered. “How—?”
“Earn your weight. Figure it out. Do smoke signals if you have to.” I walked off with David to the back. If his grandmother had some connection to the spirit world, or universe I didn’t care. I just hoped whatever it was would work. I would try anything right now. I would employ anyone’s help, if they could just get my mouse back to me. Hopefully, she had a direct line to God.
At this moment, I had a lot of shit to say to him.
As we walked down a bright hall, I assessed the place some more.
David’s grandmother had a simple house, close to the size that I grew up in years ago. Today, David had been the smartest of my men throughout the world. Although a millionaire, he didn’t flash it. Apparently, no one in Little Russia ever fucked with him. And besides Jean-Pierre attacking him, the rest of the French gave him respect.
I’ll have to reward David and his grandmother later. They helped out a lot.
The hall opened to massive paintings of the baby Jesus. The next one displayed an older Jesus among his disciples. Finally at the end of the hall, Jesus at the table in the famous last supper.
“I hope she can help.” David opened a door and led us down another hallway.
“I’ll try anything.”
“She’s religious, but you’d never notice.”
Oh, I noticed.
But then, as we moved deeper into the hallway, paintings of Jesus shifted to mystical gods. She had different ones on display. Various cultures—African to East Indian. The last painting showed Odin in disguise as an old man. A black hood hid his face in shadows. He held a long staff in his right hand.
“I take her to church every Sunday.” He stepped in front of the last door but didn’t open it. “But I think she only goes to get clients. When their prayers aren’t heard, they come to her.”
“She’s a healer.”
“She says she’s God’s helper.”
“I’ll need that.”
He opened the door. Disappointed, I realized it led us into a tiny hallway with steps going down to the basement.
This house is bigger than I thought.
We walked down the small, dark path and then the steps. At the end, it opened out into a kitchen.
No. This is some sort of lab.
Herbs filled bottles sat on several wooden shelves. Many of them had been labeled by tape and scribbling in black ink. Wet animal skulls rested on the counter next to a sink. They appeared to be freshly cleaned.
David guided me past them to another set of steps. This stairway wall held little mirrors with runes carved into them. The same ones David had on his steps. One small fossil rested on each step.
“What does she do?” I asked.
“She comes up with concoctions for small pain. But her real strength, is reading tarot cards. She’s always on point. I trust her with everything.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Trust me. I would never waste your time.”
I believed him.
Besides, I used tarot card readers before. My mother, and Uncle Igor had always believed in them. The practice stuck with me. Granted, it had been years since I’d sought out a good fortune teller. At least a decade before I’d gone into power.
And in my world, where most religions shunned our way of life, my men and I had a thirst for the more mystical and spiritual practices. A good tarot reader was believed to have a straight connection to the divine—a higher self. A person always needed some sort of anchor to give them balance.
I pulled out my phone to make sure it was on . Misha could call, or even Jean-Pierre.
Even better, my mouse could get another phone. Damn it. Be careful.
“I’m glad you’re open to the cards.” David wiped his forehead. “I thought, that when I told you that. . .you might shoot me.”
“Not yet, David.” It was my attempt at a joke, but he clearly didn’t get it.
He wiped his face again.
I shook my head. “My favorite psychologist Carl Jung found a certain synchronicity when it came to tarot cards.”
“Oh. You have a favorite psychologist.”
“Jung believed the tarot cards that showed up for each person were messages that their higher selves already knew. Therefore to him, tarot cards were not magic tricks, they were sacred mirrors of the soul.”
And the soul knew everything—beginning and ending.
David took his time and opened what I hoped to be the last door.
“What’s your grandmother’s name?” I asked.
“All my life, she’ll only answer to baba.”
I smiled. “That was what I called mine.”
“She’ll be happy if the lion calls her that. It would make her day.”
David pointed forward. “Baba likes the parlor.”
He stood before the doorway and gestured.
I stepped inside.
This space was nothing like the rest of the house. I could tell his grandmother had refused to renovate this part.
A chandelier of emerald glass dangled from the ceiling. Tiny birdcages hung from the corner. No bird sat inside. Fairy women decorated the fading blue walls. Books piled onto a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.
The emerald chandelier glowed, bathing the space in light. An old woman sat at a small table in the center of the room. I hadn’t even realized she was in there.
A large gold statue of Mary, holding the bab
y Jesus, stood behind her. The statue looked bigger than the woman. Even if she was standing, Mary would have towered over the woman
Baba smiled, pushing some of the wrinkles up on her cheeks. A stack of worn cards rested on the table in front of her. She spoke in Russian, “Moments like this is why I thank God that he hasn’t taken me.”
I switched to Russian too. “I’m happy to meet you, baba.”
“Aww. The stars said you would be rude, but you’re not.”
“I’m too exhausted and desperate to be rude with you today.”
She gestured to the small chair in front of her. “Let’s talk about your mouse.”
Anxiety hit me. “Do you think you can find her?”
“You’ll have your mouse by this evening. Safe, although a little bruised . She’s a tough one.” She shuffled the worn cards. “That’s not why we’re here today.”
I raised my eyebrows. “How do you know I’ll have her by this evening?”
“Your mouse is smart. She’ll escape them, but it won’t be enough. You’ll still have to fight.”
“How do you know?”
“I dreamed this all. Everything.”
“She escapes?”
“In one way, but not the other.”
A cold shiver ran through me. “What does that mean?”
“She’ll escape them, but always be trapped by them too.”
“No.”
“I’ve dreamed it all.” Her forehead wrinkled. “Even the gray smoke in the sky.”
“The gray smoke from today.”
“No. It’s from another day.” She pulled several cards from the bottom, put them at the top, and then shuffled again.
I leaned back in my chair. “What else did you dream?”
“You were not you, but a lion. And your mouse was a mouse. She was small and she rode your back at the end, just like you were a horse.” Baba set the cards in front of me. “And there was so much destruction behind you two. Everything burned in flames.”
I swallowed in fear. “After what the Corsican did, that sounds right.”
David stepped to my side. “I’m sorry, Baba, but we need you to find her—”
“Go. She’ll be with him soon.” Baba waved him away.
David looked at me.
“This is fine.” I cleared my throat and willed every part of me to believe. “My mouse will be back to me?”
Dirty Minds: The Lion and The Mouse (Book 4) Page 10
