Shock spread through me. I hadn’t just been kept in the dark; I’d been iced out completely. “Wait just one minute. What are you saying? In the news we heard that while the FBI sustained casualties that night, you not only found the drug shipment you also took out Senator Caynes who was the drug lord of the Ichor cartel. The government then cleaned out its houses, the FBI, CIA, Senate Committee, Justice Department, everything. Everyone was checked out,” I said obstinately.
“It was all a lie, Hendrik,” Deake tore out in disgust. The President refused to take the hit to his pride. You know he’s running for re-election this year. It was all a front.”
“So, you’re telling me that it was a coup, that someone took over the organization and stole it out from under Senator Caynes, effectively ensuring the survivability of the Ichor cartel and it’s now under the leadership of some unknown person?” I asked with disbelief. As far as I knew, the Ichor cartel was out of commission. It had been quiet on the streets; the Valentijin mob was still in action on the drug front but I’d heard nothing about the Ichor cartel making its move just yet. I knew it would eventually remobilize but I had no idea that it was pretending to be out of action, which meant something big was happening.
“Exactly. And we don’t have Senator Caynes in custody, we never did. Senator Caynes isn’t alive any longer. His body was sent to the FBI in pieces. Packages from the Ichor cartel taunting us, letting us know that they were a step ahead of us the entire time. Whoever took over used our moves against us to get control of the Ichor cartel. I want to find out who the hell that person is and take them out—and with that person take out the Ichor cartel for good.”
“How are you going to find out who the new drug lord is?” I asked with barely concealed skepticism. If the whole of the FBI hadn’t been able to dismantle the Ichor cartel, then how the hell were we supposed to?
“We follow his drug trail,” Deake said as if it was that easy.
“What drug trail?”
“We know there’s a new drug circulating on the drug lord’s orders but it’s only being exclusively distributed to the highest bidders—the elite and the wealthy. It hasn’t filtered down to the masses yet. That drug shipment wasn’t just an ordinary shipment of drugs. It was a new experimental drug. And not just any drug, it wipes a person’s memory clean. For how long the effects last, we don’t know. Also, we know that within minutes it incapacitates the victim. That’s not even the worst part, the victim remains conscious and can hear and see what’s happening but can’t move.”
“Helvete,” I swore beginning to connect the dots. “Are you telling me that the reason you want me working on the side with Emerson Monsoon is because you believe that drug is the reason why she doesn’t know what happened to her?”
“I don’t just believe it, I know it. When she was taken to the hospital her tests showed the drug was in her system. She doesn’t know about it because the government hushed it up, but I’ve been keeping an eye out for it. It flagged in my system. If she remembers, maybe she could be a link in a much bigger chain. And at the end of that chain could be the drug lord.”
This wasn’t right. I knew using Emerson for my own gain wasn’t right from the beginning but now that I knew the reason why I had been given orders to get to know her, it definitely wasn’t right. She deserved to know the truth. And all of it.
“We have to let her know,” I said fiercely. “She has to know that the reason why she might never get her memory back is because she was drugged!” I roared.
“No, I’m sorry, Hendrik, but we can’t,” Deake said tentatively. “I know you’ve gotten close to her but you need to be objective. If you tell her then she’ll start asking questions and those questions could get her killed. She’s safer being kept in the dark and you know it. Not to mention, knowing would make her put extra pressure on herself to remember and could cause her to relapse. She’s been put through enough. Let her know once it’s safe, once we’ve dismantled the whole Ichor cartel and she has nothing to worry about,” he begged.
“If not telling her is the right thing to do, then why does it feel so wrong?” I asked.
“Hendrik, you and I aren’t like other people. We do the right thing even when it’s hard to do. We sacrifice ourselves; no, we kill ourselves even at the risk of eradicating whatever little light is left within us so that others can sleep well at night. I get that you don’t want to lie to her anymore but that’s for your sake and not hers. If you need to destroy whatever you have with her if it means keeping her safe, then isn’t it worth it?”
“When you put it like that you don’t leave me with much of a choice,” I quipped, looking away as I gritted my teeth. I felt Emerson’s branding touch right above my heartburn. I rubbed at it but it refused to go away.
“If you need me to be the bad guy then I’ll be him,” Deake said trying to give me an out, giving his consent to be the person I could lay the blame on for when I told Emerson the truth. But I couldn’t let him be the fall guy.
“No,” I said shaking my head. “I’m not the kind of guy who lets others take the blame. I’ll do this, not for me or for you, but for her,” I emphasized looking him dead in the eye so he’d have no doubt that I meant what I was saying.
“Thank y—”
“No, save it,” I barked. “Especially when you don’t mean it, you just want me to do what you want. You don’t get to be sorry and contrite or thankful. As far as I’m concerned, after this we will be done, for good. And you will deliver on what you promised.”
“I will. I swear it. Before you go there’s something else I need you to do,” Deake said with a hint of nervousness, which meant I wasn’t going to like it.
“You’re on very thin fucking ice, Deake,” I warned.
“Then I won’t beat around the bush, I’ll just say it. I want you to talk with Nikolai Valentijin to find out what he knows. The way I see it, he has two moves. He either both declares war against the Ichor cartel and takes out his competition, or he forms an alliance with them. If he does the second, then the Ichor cartel will be unstoppable. And we’ll have no choice other than to take the Valentijin mob out.”
“I don’t have ties to the Valentijin mob,” I denied point blank.
“Oh, yes, you do, Mikhail is your tie. I know he’s one of your men. If you won’t help me I’ll ask him to on your behalf and I’m sure he’d do anything to help you, even have a little family reunion. But then you might want to prevent that because that would be putting his life in danger,” Deake said, playing hardball.
“Dra åt helvete! In my native tongue, that means screw you,” I translated.
Deake put both his hands out, trying to placate me, and then I realized he had reason to. I wasn’t just angry I was shaking so hard, I was about to go thermonuclear.
“I’m sorry, Hendrik, but my men were killed. What would you do if your men were shot in front of you on your watch? I watched them bleed to death while I bled myself, and all I could do was call dispatch and wait. And by then it was too late for most of them. So, I want every goddamn lead run into the ground until I know who was responsible for their deaths. This is so much bigger than you or me; this is about stopping this new drug from circulating, from stopping the harm that it could cause. Yes, this is about revenge and justice but it’s also for the greater good, too. Now, do I have your full and complete cooperation?”
I thought about what I would do if Sev, Jarek, or Mikhail were hurt and I knew that, without a doubt, I’d wage war from the shadows so that my enemies would never see me coming. I didn’t know Deake’s men, but he deserved to have the closure of finding his men’s killers, at the very least.
“Fine, I’ll do it, but I want my men shielded from this as much as possible. You don’t get to manipulate them to get them to help me. I won’t let them get hurt on my account.”
Deake smiled a wicked, devilish smile that got my back up. I was just thankful that it wasn’t for me because it was the look of a man who was imagining h
is enemies’ blood on his hands.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page and, yes, your message is crystal clear. I only communicate to your men through you.”
I exhaled, glad we’d gotten the heavy stuff out of the way. I turned and began to make my way back to the elevator when I felt Deake’s arm touch my shoulder.
“One more thing, Hendrik,” he said.
“You’re one of those guys, aren’t you?” I laughed bitterly.
“What guys?” Deake asked with genuine interest.
“Who tries to get as much use out of someone as possible. Opportunistic. And unbelievably single-minded,” I listed.
“Trust me when I say I feel like I’m trying to squeeze blood out of a stone when it comes to getting your help.”
“Well, you said you needed my help, not that I had to be spectacularly forthcoming with it,” I pointed out.
Deake chuckled. “All I wanted to say is that I’m running this sting operation on the sideline. It hasn’t been sanctioned by the President and only my inner circle know about it, and now you and once you fill in your men so will they.”
“If there are any leaks, it won’t be from my side,” I responded.
“Good. Then there’s nothing to stop this from working out. Let me know how your talk with Nikolai goes,” Deake said as he released me.
Yep, I was right, he wanted justice and he wasn’t going to stop till he got it. And I was going to help him get it, because although our goals were disparate, achieving his would help me achieve mine.
KATIA WAS ASLEEP in her bed, writhing from side to side, her body fighting some unknown predator. “Please . . . no . . . don’t . . . don’t . . . God, it hurts!” she cried, tears dropping down onto her cheeks.
I tried to console her but it was like I was a ghost. She couldn’t hear me and when I tried to wrap her in my arms my hand just went right through, unable to grasp hold of her solid form.
“Emerson,” I heard a male voice whisper in panic.
I ignored it. Katia needed me; I just had to figure out how to help her.
“Emerson!” the voice yelled louder. I felt myself being pulled away, closer toward it and farther away from Katia.
“Katia, I’m sorry I can’t stay for much longer, but you need to wake up,” I begged.
“Hey, Emerson, are you with me?” I heard Hendrik’s voice ask. My eyes opened and I saw that I was covered in sweat and I was in Hendrik’s arms.
“I couldn’t help her,” I whispered forlornly. No matter how hard I tried in my dreams, I always failed to help her. I thought when I said goodbye to her at her funeral that I’d found peace, but it seemed like her ghost was haunting me. Like she was trying to speak to me but we were always on two different frequencies.
“Emerson, can you focus, I need you to answer this question for me. It’s really important. Who is Katia?” Hendrik asked as he rubbed some warmth back into my body.
“Katia was my friend,” I replied through chattered teeth.
“Fuck,” I heard Hendrik swear in English for the first time.
“What is it?” I asked, searching his face to see what was wrong.
“Was her last name Smith?”
How did he know that?
I nodded my head.
“This is unbelievable,” Hendrik murmured, more to himself than me.
“How do you know about her?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.
“Did you know that I am a silent partner of Grigoriy Chambers, a criminal law firm?” Hendrik inquired.
“No. But what does that have to do with anything?” Hendrik closed his eyes and a small shiver wracked his frame.
“I operate as a silent business partner. I deal with the detective side of work, and the other business partner is my friend, Alexei, who is the acting criminal lawyer. The reason why I know who Katia Smith is is because he is currently representing her alleged assaulter,” Hendrik said.
He was looking at me like he was trying to gauge what I was thinking, but I didn’t know what to think. He couldn’t be serious, could he?
“Are you . . . Are you joking?” I asked, sitting up straighter, looking him right in the eyes.
He took a deep breath and let it out. I’d never seen him nervous, not until now. “I wish I was, Emerson.”
I got up off his lap and got my things, thankful he didn’t try to stop me. I couldn’t be here. I needed to leave.
“Where are you going, Emerson? We need to talk this out. I didn’t know she was your friend until just now.”
“I’m sorry but I can’t be around someone who’s representing the person who raped and assaulted my friend,” I yelled back.
“He didn’t do it,” Hendrik said, so confidently it had me pausing.
“Do you know that without a doubt?” I asked, praying he did.
“He has an alibi but he can’t step forward or he’ll be putting his family at risk,” Hendrik replied.
“That’s not good enough to convince me. I can’t be here, I have to go,” I said as I headed to his lift.
“It’s four in the morning, I know you don’t want to be near me but at least let Emelius take you to your dorm room. Be reasonable, it’s either that or I follow you back to Thorne University,” Hendrik said, unbendingly.
What was I doing? God, I needed to get a grip on myself. The idea of walking back to my dorm room was just stupid. So, I decided to give into his request.
“Thank you, please ask Emelius to take me home,” I replied stiffly, and got into the elevator.
“You’re running away, Emerson, I thought you said you were going to stop doing that,” Hendrik fired back but still kept his distance.
“You just dropped this on me out of nowhere, Hendrik! I’m not angry with you, I just need to go home. This place was meant to be safe, but I don’t feel safe anymore. I need to go home,” I repeated.
“To your dorm room?”
“No. I need quiet, I’m going to go back to my dad.” I needed his awkward solace, his reserved strength; I needed some semblance of normalcy to keep myself from losing the tight lid of my control.
“I’ll ask Emelius to take you there. He’s yours for however long you need him. And, Emerson, I’ll be here when you get back. I might be letting you go now, but I’m not releasing you from our agreement,” Hendrik said right before the doors closed.
I leaned back against the metal wall and tightly held the railing behind me for support. I was going to go home, and I didn’t know if I could keep the promise I’d made to Hendrik because right now I wasn’t sure that once I got home that I’d ever come back.
EMELIUS WAS WAITING for me outside. I just needed to grab a couple of things from my dorm room before I left. I stopped at my door and brought out my card key, but as I looked at Laurina’s door opposite mine, I paused.
I took in a deep, hitched breath, failing to keep my control, and out of nowhere, I broke down. I went to her door and banged on it like a crazy woman.
“You must have a death wish,” Laurina threatened as she opened the door and I all but fell inside.
“What . . . Emerson . . . What happened?” Laurina asked in panic, taking note of my tears. Her hand moved to go around me but I took a step back to stop it from happening.
“No, please don’t touch me right now,” I urged.
Laurina’s eyes grew wider and her mouth fell open, but her hand dropped down which I was grateful for.
“I’m . . . I’m leaving. I thought I s–should let you know,” I shared between sobs.
“I don’t understand, Emerson. Slow down. Take a deep breath for me,” she insisted and when I had, she asked, “Where are you going?”
“Home,” I answered in one word.
“Did someone hurt you? Was it your mystery guy?” Laurina interrogated. “Because if it was, I’ll kill him!” she swore with a cracked look in her eyes.
I shook my head so hard it made me dizzy.
“Baby, what’s going on?” I heard Luka
s ask, and then realized he was lying in Laurina’s bed.
“God, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to barge in here like this…you must think I’m crazy,” I said heading toward the door but Laurina blocked my exit.
“No, you aren’t going anywhere!” Laurina whispered fiercely then to Lukas she said, “I don’t know, she hasn’t told me yet!”
“Come here,” Lukas ordered her, “I wanna speak with you.”
Laurina threw him a glare, but when he wouldn’t stand down she gave in.
“Alright, fine, Emerson, give me one second. Don’t you dare move!” she commanded.
“I won’t,” I croaked out even though I really, really wanted to. I tried not to listen in on their whispered conversation but I couldn’t help but overhear Lukas whisper, “she’s acting like a loose cannon.”
And I definitely couldn’t ignore Laurina not whispering back, “She’s my friend!” Then the conversation grew more heated. And I didn’t say anything. I just stood there like I’d promised. Eventually Lukas backed down, but he didn’t look happy.
Laurina stomped back to me like a woman on a mission and I knew I was in trouble.
“Ignore him. Now please take a seat and let me know what’s wrong because you’re really scaring me!”
I took a seat, even though I wanted to run because of the heat of the shade that Lukas was throwing my way…but Laurina was much scarier than him.
Then, like the walls of a dam caving in, I broke. “I found something out about my friend. Remember how I said that I lost a friend who would have liked you very much?”
“Yeah, she must have been one special friend,” Laurina smiled sweetly.
“She committed suicide,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. “Someone hurt her . . . And when her memories came back she couldn’t take it anymore,” I said brokenly. “I should have known she would try and take her own life. I should have stopped her!” I sobbed, bringing my hands to my mouth not wanting Laurina to see me like this.
The Leverager Page 17
