by Soraya Naomi
“Good. I want Medlov tried and sentenced for Santino so that my Italian friends in prison can make his life a living hell. And I don’t want anyone interfering with my plans.”
“We have to figure out what to do with Medlov now before someone comes here searching for him,” Luca tells me. “We need to know who wanted to smuggle him out of the Loop. This reeks of CIA.”
“Get a soldier to patch him up, and I’ll go into the office right now. They wanted to talk to me anyway,” Wade offers.
“Fine,” Luca says. “You can go. Adriano and I will discuss this with James and Carmine as well. Carmine can work his charms with the DA.”
“Okay,” I conclude. “I have to clean up. I can’t go back to Cam covered in blood.”
After a hurried shower in one of the private rooms, I head back upstairs and run into Lo in the hallway, which always leaves me bereft. I pass her, and when she smiles at me, it’s as if Cam is looking at me. I shake my head, getting rid of that thought. All I want is to be back with Cam because an unsettling sensation is crawling over my skin.
***
That disconcerting feeling was the result of my bond with Cam. I’m positive of it. I can’t explain it, but we’re still connected, because I haven’t even entered her room when a commotion at the entrance of the hall makes Luca and me swivel around.
A middle-aged gentleman – flanked by two men – in a tailored suit that smells of old family money tries to barge in, but my guard is ordering him to step back.
I tell the guard in front of Cam’s room, “Close the door,” since Fallon and Cam are in there.
Luca’s already advancing on the man, just as riled as I am that someone dares to bother us at the hospital.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Luca scowls at him. “This is a private room.”
“I’m Senator Bruce Wallace,” he announces as if his name and title should impress us. “I know you have Yakiv Medlov, and I want him back, so you leave me no choice but to track you down here.”
“What are you talking about?” Luca doesn’t waver under his harsh glare.
Wallace points his finger at us. “You’re messing with government affairs. Give me Yakiv Medlov or else I’ll be forced to let the DA’s office start an investigation into the Syndicate.”
What’s he talking about?
I leisurely angle my head to the side. “Elaborate.”
A malicious grin is aimed at me, and alarm crawls up my spine.
“There’s a tape, courtesy of Yakiv Medlov, of a certain Miss Camilla Guillermo, identifying herself and Adriano Montesi as the key figures in this mafia. Seems like your days of anonymity are over. However, I have that tape, and I want Yakiv Medlov because I need him for another case.”
That tape could lead to our possible demise. “Why do you have the tape?”
“That’s not important.” He plucks a piece of imaginary lint from his suit. “I assume I’ll have Medlov back within an hour.”
Luca and I glance at each other and then back at Wallace.
“Never assume anything, Senator,” Luca counters in an even tone.
“I come from a powerful family whom you do not want as your enemy. I want my second term in the Senate, and Medlov is mine, mafia Man,” Wallace spits at Luca.
“All those Ivy League schools didn’t warn you about threatening the mafia?” I joke.
His attention shifts to me. “I’ll send Chicago P.D. with a warrant and ensure you can’t see your lover anymore.”
Without any delay, I lose control of myself, hooking my arm around Wallace’s neck and spinning him so that I can drag him down the hallway, snarling irately while Luca and my guard direct their weapons at Wallace’s two guards.
“Don’t fucking move.” Luca’s body is coiled tightly.
I choke Wallace as he struggles against me. “Send in Chicago P.D. I own the police. You might get a warrant, but you’ll get her over my dead body.” My voice drops to a fuming whisper. “Do not think that you have any jurisdiction in my world, Wallace.” I throw him forward against his guard. “Now get out. And don’t dare ever come back.”
Luca signals with his gun for them to move out, and Wallace fitfully rights his suit jacket before he exits the hallway.
Luca and I hurry to Cam’s room where Fallon and the guard are standing in front of Cam’s bed, both armed.
A smile pulls at my lips at Fallon’s defensive stance. “Everything’s safe.”
Luca smirks and goes over to Fallon as I perch beside Cam’s hip and sweep my knuckles down the side of her face. Of course, she’s still in the exact same position, eyes closed and absent from the conscious world.
“Sweetheart, I think I know why you didn’t run to freedom. You found out about the tape, didn’t you? You knew about it.” Without taking my eyes off Cam, I instruct Luca, “Call James, Wade, and Carmine for an urgent meet here.”
***
Within thirty minutes, the highest ranking members of the Syndicate, plus Fallon, are assembled in Cam’s hospital room. I’m in my usual chair, clutching Cam’s hand while Luca’s seated opposite me with Fallon in his lap, his arm around her middle. James, Carmine, and Wade stand by the foot of the bed.
As Luca kisses Fallon’s cheek, he inspects our joined hands. “Hold on,” he mouths. “She’ll wake soon.”
I dip my chin, acknowledging his kind words of support.
“Did you get any information?” I ask Wade.
“I had only been at the office for five minutes when Luca called me. But I do have something. Those Russian girls that were on Medlov’s estate tried to contact the Russian embassy. I think this is beyond state level now. So what happened here that prompted you to call this meeting?”
“We had an unexpected visitor,” I reply. “Senator Bruce Wallace has been protecting Medlov and tried to get him out of the Loop. He came in here demanding Medlov back or else he’ll give a tape of Cam confessing to being in the Syndicate to the police.”
“How do we know there’s really a tape? From when? Who recorded Cam and how?” Luca inquires all at once.
“There’s a tape,” I say. “Maybe that’s why Cam didn’t escape that night. She knew Medlov had it and could turn it in as evidence. And Medlov could’ve given it to Wallace. Perhaps it isn’t the CIA, but only Wallace who protected Medlov? But why did Wallace seem unusually anxious about losing Medlov? It doesn’t make sense. Nevertheless, I need that tape because it can’t be circulating. Have Henry do a background check on Wallace, Wade.”
“I’ll get on it, but I also have to return to the office now. I still think this reeks of CIA as well.”
“I want Medlov sentenced, and I want that tape. What’s on it could be very damaging. This could be evidence against Cam.”
“Then we hand over Medlov to the FBI. That solves it easily,” Wade suggests. “They want to convict him for Santino’s murder. If Wallace wants Medlov, then he’ll have to go to the FBI. In the meantime, we have Wallace followed to find the tape.”
“Let Capo John deliver Medlov to the FBI without being seen. He’s the best at that,” I order, rubbing my temples to try to relieve the weariness that’s pulling at me.
Wade pauses and seems hesitant to voice his next question.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I think it’s time you all call me by my real name,” Wade says.
And Fallon blurts, “Richard Wade isn’t your name?”
“Your choice,” I answer him.
“Well, I’ve pledged omertà, and I’m an official member. Richard Wade is the CIA man I used to be, but my true name, which my family calls me, is Logan. Logan Wade.”
“Logan...” Fallon muses. “It fits you better. I like it. Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Luca smiles against her cheek as he leans her back against him, and I watch Cam to see if she’s reacting to any of this, but she’s unresponsive, as always. My thumb traces the pulse on her wrist, and I feel goosebumps forming on her skin.
> “Because almost no one knows,” Wade says to Fallon.
“Then from now on, we’ll call you Logan. Welcome to the family,” Luca states.
Logan takes a low bow. “Thank you. I’m off now. Will be back later,” he says as he leaves the room.
“This is not good, Adriano.” James rests his palms on the bed rail.
“I realize that. We wait for Wade—I mean Logan to return. I will get that tape. You know that. I’ll never let anything that could harm Cam stay in the wrong hands. But I can’t just kill a senator; we’re operating on a new level, and I need more intel first.”
James nods and gazes at Cam. I completely sympathize with his concern, but I’m holding it all together for Cam. The never-ending words that keep occupying my thoughts repeat themselves over and over.
Wake up, sweetheart.
CHAPTER 39
Logan
I walk through the taupe halls of the CIA office, which is located in a nondescript high-rise in the Loop, and inhale a deep breath before I knock once on the mahogany door and push down the lever.
Inside, my superior is awaiting my arrival with another man in an expensive suit. I recognize the politician immediately and was expecting him to be here.
“Wade,” my superior, Cooper Sanders, introduces us. “This is Bruce Wallace.”
Wallace’s composure is ruffled; he’s on edge as I join him, standing opposite Cooper’s desk.
“Wallace,” I greet him normally.
“I don’t have time for introductions, Cooper.” Then Wallace faces me and demands, “Where’s Yakiv Medlov?”
I calmly look at Cooper and raise my eyebrow in question.
“He knows you’re working undercover in the Syndicate.” Cooper leans forward with his elbows on his desk, his entire manner hostile. “Medlov needs to be delivered to Wallace.”
How come some random senator gets to know I’m the spy in this secret operation? I’m instantly on the defensive. “Well, the Syndicate will release him within forty-eight hours to Wallace.”
Wallace addresses me impatiently, “I need him now!”
“Why?”
“None of your concern. How do I even know to trust you?”
“You don’t, but I’m your only source inside that mafia, and I’m telling you, if you want to expedite business, you need to hand over that tape you told Adriano Montesi you have. These men don’t cave under pressure, so you’ll never get Medlov unless you compromise.”
“If I give up that tape, I lose my only leverage,” Wallace retorts.
“It’s a sacrifice for your greater goal. You want Medlov? Then give me the tape so that it also helps me get into the good graces of the highest ranking members. Don’t come in here making demands and expecting to give nothing in return.” I play my game flawlessly.
Cooper doesn’t interfere as Wallace’s lips thin into a hard line and he mulls over his options.
Fortunately, he’s too stressed to think clearly and agrees, “Fine.” And he reaches inside his jacket pocket and holds up a USB device. “Do you know where Medlov is being held? I want him now. Every minute he’s on the loose, he’s a liability.”
“Twenty-four hours is the best I can do,” I answer. “I can’t simply ask them to release Medlov. I’ve been building a carefully crafted façade for years.”
Wallace is apparently backed into a corner and doesn’t see any other way to get his hands on Medlov, so he relinquishes the USB device, which I take.
“And how many copies are there?” I ask.
“There aren’t any copies.”
The problem here lies in the fact that I also have to accept the risk and believe the word of a corrupted senator.
“You have twenty-four hours. If I don’t have Medlov back by then, I’ll make my next move,” Wallace warns me.
Without saying a word, I saunter out, but the second I close the door behind me, I break out into a stride toward the entrance and my car.
In my vehicle, I get my laptop from the glove compartment and power it on to listen to the device. After plugging it in, I hear Cam talking to Santino and indeed implicating herself and Adriano. This tape also proves that the Syndicate, not Medlov, held Santino captive. If it falls into the hands of the FBI, they’ll start an investigation into the Syndicate.
I close the laptop and connect my phone to the car charger while analyzing the bizarre meeting. Why is this senator so concerned with procuring Yakiv Medlov personally? For whom? To what end? A piece of the puzzle is still missing. It’s obvious he’s protecting him. But from the FBI alone? In a rush for answers, I contact Henry.
“Whiz Kid, what have you got for me?”
“Well, I’ve got something very interesting. Just like Adriano asked, I set it up so the FBI could easily hack into Medlov’s system when they started the investigation months ago. Because everything happened so fast, we never got to review Medlov’s documents. Medlov kept a list of all his clients and their bank account numbers. Guess who’s on there?”
“Wallace,” I predict.
“Yes. And your boss, Cooper.”
“Explains why Cooper was so on edge and told Wallace about my position.”
“There’s more. So there’s a classified document that has only been opened by one person: Wallace. It’s a letter from Congress asking questions about those girls that contacted the Russian embassy, wanting an explanation from the American government. It looks like Wallace and Cooper – and some other important men – want Medlov dead, I think. But the FBI is interfering and has already started an official investigation. So the FBI and the CIA are working against one another.”
“Well, the FBI wins and gets Medlov because we need him tried and sentenced. Henry, find out who the other senator representing Chicago is. I may need that person in the foreseeable future.”
“Will get right on it.”
“I’m going to Adriano and will inform him.”
“I’ll call you if I find anything else that might be deemed vital,” Henry comments.
“Thank you.”
I insert my key into the ignition and pull out onto the street to return to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. With my elbow leaning against my window, I maneuver the car through the decorated streets of the Loop as the first snowflakes fall from the sky, enforcing the holiday spirit on this Christmas Eve night. It might seem lonely to be working so much at Christmas, but for me, it’s not. After being Richard Wade for a long time and seeing how this world works, I’ve decided to join the winning team because in the end, we’re all ruthless men.
For so long, I’ve been searching for justice. Justice for my little sister who never reached the age of seventeen. Justice that doesn’t exist unless you take matters into your own hands. And along the way, I’ve gotten to know myself pretty well. So who am I? I’m Logan Wade, a former soldier turned spy for the CIA who has defected to the Syndicate. Richard Wade doesn’t exist anymore.
I’m a mafia man now. I’m a part of a new family now. A family that protects one another with their lives. There’s a bond of loyalty forged within the Syndicate that’s unequaled. You don’t find that kind of loyalty in the military, the CIA or the Chicago P.D.
I respect these men for protecting their family like I always tried to do as well. The similarities between my way of thinking and theirs persuaded me to defect, and I haven’t regretted my decision once.
But I do worry about what will happen to the Syndicate if Cam doesn’t wake up. What will happen to Adriano then? He’s keeping it together in public, being the tough and charming boss he always was. But he’s constantly off in another world nowadays, always with her mentally. And I saw him become emotional once in Cam’s room, which solidified my thought that he won’t be able to live without her. That worries me immensely. The Syndicate thrives under Adriano’s regime. Cam’s condition has fortified him in his role as Capo crimine: he’s making merciless, snap decisions now, because he doesn’t have time to mess around since she’s in a coma, but he
r absence from his life is weakening him.
If we lose Cam, we lose Adriano too.
CHAPTER 40
Adriano
Logan comes back within two hours with an update for me, Luca, and Carmine. Fallon’s also still with us since it’s Christmas Eve and Luca doesn’t want to leave her side, which I understand entirely.
“Talk to us, Logan.” I turn my chair sideways so that my elbow rests on Cam’s bed.
Logan halts at the foot of the bed, unbuttoning his suit jacket. “Wallace was there with my superior, Cooper, to demand Medlov back right away. I lied and told them that within forty-eight hours, you’d return Medlov unless he gave me the tape immediately.”
I play with Cam’s fingers absentmindedly and stop to grin when Logan holds up a black USB device between his thumb and forefinger.
“The recording of Cam?” I probe.
He nods proudly and smirks. “Yes, it’s her voice and Santino’s.”
“And are there copies?” Luca and Carmine inquire in unison.
“Not with Wallace. Either way, he’s being watched now.”
“Still,” I explain, “he’ll be a problem at some point, but for now, we can keep him busy by burying him in a scandal. I have a journalist at the Chicago Times that can get the ball rolling.”
“That’s good,” Logan says. “As extra insurance, it’s smart to be safe rather than sorry, so I asked Henry to get me more info on the Senate, mainly the other senator representing Chicago. I’m not completely up-to-date on what’s been going on, but I believe these two senators are rivals, each wanting to push different legislations through Congress. Anyway, it could be fruitful to contact the other senator, perhaps sponsor her and get her into our corner in case of any trouble.”
“How does this sponsoring work?” Carmine asks before I can.
“You donate money to their campaign, help them to get a second term, and buy their loyalty,” Logan replies in a conspiratorial tone.
