“Lawson Raines.” The man stood. He walked around the table, wearing a smile on his narrow and wrinkled face, his hand stretched out in from of him.
Lawson did not expect this sort of greeting.
Lawson shook his hand and nodded. “Sokolov.”
“Please, sit. Would you like some brunch?”
“Is that an invitation for a last meal?”
Lawson sat with his back to the windows, and Sokolov sat in the adjacent section of the sofa.
“My men told me that you announced that I wanted you dead. And I must admit, after hearing what you did to a couple of my best men yesterday in the desert, I was a little put off, but they weren’t coming to hurt you. They were there to request that you meet with me.”
Lawson sat back. “They ran me off the road, flipped the car I was riding in on its head. There are better ways to make such a request.”
“Yes, I should have informed them that one of De Luca’s men might be escorting you. When they saw that, they took unfortunate measures. An automatic reflex, if you will. Seems as though you made it out all right.”
Lawson shrugged. “So why would you want to meet with me, Sokolov? After I didn’t help you out at all on the inside.”
“That was unfortunate, Mr. Raines. I tried many times to get to you the information I had in my possession, but they never hit their mark, I take it.”
“A lot of people say a lot of things when every day is spent behind bars. What information are you talking about?”
“We will get to that in a moment.”
Sokolov’s English was exceptional. Only the slightest Russian accent could be detected. If Lawson didn’t know better, Sokolov’s cordial demeanor might suggest he wasn’t a bad man at all. But he did know better. And on a longer look into his beady little eyes, a darkness could be found there.
“First, I would like to propose a partnership of sorts.”
Lawson leaned forward. “You already know I have a partnership with De Luca.”
“Yes, well . . . we also both know why you have that partnership. You are a smart man, Mr. Raines. I knew why you refused to help me while you were in prison. If De Luca found out you were doing favors for me, you could never get in his good graces. Which you thought was where you needed to be in order to get your revenge. Correct me if I’m wrong.”
Lawson played dumb. “Revenge?”
“For your wife.”
Hearing Sokolov talk about Lauren cut to the quick.
“Why else would you be here now?” Sokolov continued. “You came to me because we both will benefit from Nero De Luca falling from grace. You certainly can’t go to the police. You have seen yourself on the news today?”
He had Lawson pegged, no sense prolonging the inevitable. “How can you help me with De Luca? If you could take him down, you would have already,” Lawson said.
Sokolov stood and walked past two of his men over to a laptop computer that sat on the dining room table.
“That is why we will make such great partners.”
Sokolov motioned for Lawson to join him at the table. When Lawson walked over, Sokolov turned the laptop’s screen in his direction. On the screen a video was cued up. It looked like some sort of service hallway. Concrete block walls, nothing else. The video was in black and white. Sokolov hit play. Nothing appeared on the screen.
“It’s a gorgeous hallway, Sokolov. But what the hell am I looking at?”
“Be patient.”
Another couple of seconds went by, and finally a figure appeared at the far end of the hall.
“Johnny De Luca,” Sokolov offered before Lawson could ask.
Where the hell was this video going?
Then at the opposite end of the hallway, another figure appeared. This one was clearly a woman. Her long hair showed up white on the screen. Lawson assumed she was a blonde. The two of them hurried toward each other and locked in a sensual embrace. They continued kissing while Lawson tried to figure out just what in the hell Sokolov was trying to show him.
Lawson didn’t get it. “So, Johnny De Luca has a girlfriend. Is this big news in the Mafia Herald Leader? How does this help us?”
“That, Mr. Raines,” Sokolov explained, pointing at the woman in the video, “is my granddaughter.”
22
As Lawson walked out of the D Casino, he ended his call with Cassie explaining how the meeting went. He could feel the slime lingering from his time with Sokolov. But it was a small price to pay. That meeting went as well as it could go. Better than he imagined actually. Sokolov’s plan was good, but Lawson’s contribution had made it genius. The Russians might not be good at a lot of things, but espionage was apparently built into their DNA. Sokolov had been training his twenty-one-year-old granddaughter all her life for this. And Lawson was going to jump on the train with him to help bring De Luca down.
It was a perfect plan for Lawson as well. If he could maintain his relationship with Johnny De Luca, and Johnny was as in love with Kiara Sokolov as she had told her grandfather he was, Lawson had a chance. The key factor was that Johnny needed to hate his father, Nero, as much as Lawson suspected he might. If not, all of this would be for naught. And that aside, Lawson felt safe about Sokolov for now, because his plan couldn’t work without Lawson setting it all up. So at least out of all the people gunning for him, Lawson had been able—at least for the moment— to take Sokolov off that list.
Time to set things in motion.
Lawson dialed Johnny’s number as he got into Cassie’s Honda. He was finally starting to figure out this iPhone thing.
“Lawson! I’ve been calling and texting for hours! Where the hell have you been?”
Lawson could hear the stress in Johnny’s voice. He imagined that over the last several hours Johnny had really been getting it from his father––since watching Lawson was his only responsibility. This couldn’t hurt in helping to persuade Johnny to see how awful his father was.
“Calm down, Johnny. Everything is fine.”
“Fine? You promised me you would check in. Dad is furious!”
Perfect.
“You have to come in right now. My father wants to speak to you immediately.”
“I can’t meet with your father.”
Lawson kept it vague to further stretch Johnny’s frayed nerves.
“Lawson, don’t do this to me. He will literally kill me if I don’t get you here.”
“I don’t doubt that, considering he just tried to kill me.”
The setup begins.
“What? Why would—this is exactly what he was worried about. He knew you would think it was him that tried to kill you.”
“It was him. I don’t care what he told you, Johnny. You are apparently not in his inner circle.”
“Well, no shit on that one. He thinks I’m nothing. But you have to come and talk with him. Otherwise it will blow back on me.”
Lawson stayed quiet for a moment.
“Lawson?”
“Why should I care if it blows back on you?”
Now it was Johnny who was quiet.
Lawson continued. “I like you, Johnny. I see a lot of potential in you, you have a lot of charisma. It’s a shame your father doesn’t see it. But if you think I am going to walk into a meeting with a man who just tried to kill me, just so he doesn’t take it out on you, you are out of your mind.”
Lawson knew that there was a lot going on in Johnny’s head at the moment, so he let him think. He knew Johnny was trying to find a way to get Lawson to trust him.
Johnny broke his silence. “Look . . . I give you my word that he doesn’t want you dead.”
Lawson turned off the Strip, onto a side road, and put the car in park.
“I’m sorry, Johnny, but why should I trust you? I barely know you.”
“Lawson, PLEASE!”
Johnny was panicking.
Now was the time to go for broke.
“Maybe you are no different than your father,” said Lawson.
“Wha-what?”
That caught Johnny off guard.
“You and him both seem to like to keep secrets.”
“What are you talking about, Lawson? If I knew why he wanted to see you, believe me, I would tell you.”
“So it’s just your father you keep secrets from?”
A pause.
“I would never keep anything from him. Is that what he told you? Have you been watching me?”
Enough beating around the bush.
“I know about Kiara Sokolov, Johnny.”
“What? Who?”
“See, I knew I couldn’t trust you. Good luck, Johnny.”
Lawson ended the call. This would send Johnny over the edge. Thoughts of Lawson telling Nero about Johnny’s secret rendezvous with a Sokolov would drive him crazy. Maybe, just maybe it would drive him crazy enough to do what Lawson needed. His phone began to ring immediately. Johnny. He called several more times as Lawson took the time to grab a couple of protein bars at a gas station. Then Johnny sent the text that Lawson had been waiting for.
Johnny: Please, Lawson. Don’t tell my father. I’ll do anything.
Bingo.
Lawson called him back.
“Lawson, thank God.”
“Okay, Johnny. Looks like we’re going to have to trust each other.”
“What do you want?”
This was it. This would tell Lawson exactly how far Johnny was willing to go. It was a huge ask, but Lawson learned a long time ago that if you never ask, you’ll never know. And sometimes, it’s all how you word the question.
“I already know that your father has District Attorney Evelyn Delaney and Police Chief Phillip Walters on his payroll. What I need from you is proof.”
Silence from Johnny’s end.
Lawson stepped into his car and blasted the air conditioning.
“So you’re asking me to rat on my father? For what? So you can have him arrested?”
Time for some finesse.
“Johnny, I told you, we are going to have to trust each other.”
“I can’t put my father in prison. Are you out of your mind? Even if I wanted him gone, he would have me killed before they ever even read him his rights.”
“Who said anything about putting him in prison?”
“Why else would you want proof of something so incriminating?”
“Look at it from my perspective. Come on, you’re a smart guy.”
Lawson wanted Johnny to get there on his own. Almost making it seem like his idea. Empowering him to take control of this situation.
“You want it in case my father really does want you dead. You need it as leverage.”
Lawson couldn’t help but smile. Johnny had taken the bait.
“Leverage that I have no desire to use.” Lie. “If what you’re saying is true, and Nero really doesn’t want me dead, why would I use it?” Because your father murdered my wife and pinned it on me. “Your father is paying me very well to help him. Whether I am actually guilty or not, where else would a convicted murderer like me be able to make that kind of money?”
Come on, Johnny. Reel yourself in.
After a moment, Johnny agreed. “You couldn’t.”
“Right, I couldn’t. And I need money to find out what happened to my wife. And I shouldn’t have to tell you what that means to me.”
Johnny took another long pause. Lawson could hear him let out a long, resigned exhale.
“So how did you know? About me and Kiara?”
Lawson knew this question was coming. And after his speech to Johnny about trust, he had to make it good.
“I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but since you are showing trust in me, I’ll do the same. But you aren’t going to like it.”
“I don’t like any of this, so how much worse can it be than sharing incriminating evidence on my father with you?”
“Much worse.”
Lawson let that sink in. He obviously couldn’t see Johnny’s face, but he didn’t need to. He knew it was filled with fear.
“Good God, what is it?”
“Serge Sokolov is how I know about you and his granddaughter.”
“What?” Johnny said without hesitation. “He knows?” Terror filled his voice.
“And he’s hired me to kill you.”
Silence.
This was going to jumble young Johnny’s mind.
“That can’t be true,” Johnny finally said, his voice choked by emotion. “Why would he hire you to do it?”
“He’s blackmailing me too. He’s hiring me to be a double agent of sorts.”
Johnny was pretty quick to the punch. “Because he knows you work for my dad now, and he wants inside information on him from you.”
“That’s right. I obviously have no intention of giving him anything on your father, but when he told me he needed me to kill you, I had to take the job.”
Johnny was buying what Lawson was selling. “Because if you didn’t, Sokolov would just have someone else kill me. You knew at least if it was you, you could buy Kiara and me some time.”
“I knew you were smart.”
“Well then, that’s not as bad as it could be.”
Lawson let out an overly dramatic, audible sigh. “It gets worse.”
Johnny cleared his throat. “Worse than wanting me dead?”
“I’m sure you know from listening to your father how terrible a man Serge Sokolov is.”
“Y-yeah?”
“After I kill you, I’m supposed to kill Kiara next.”
“What?” Johnny shouted. “His own granddaughter? Lawson, you have to help me—no, I have to tell my father.”
Lawson was prepared for this reaction.
“And let him find out that you have been running around with the granddaughter of his mortal enemy? You sure that’s the direction you want to take?”
Silence again.
“You have to help me, Lawson. You wouldn’t kill me and Kiara, would you? I love her. I know it was stupid to get involved with her, but she is the one. The way we met, it was just so perfect—”
Poor Johnny didn’t have a clue. Lawson had been right about him all along. He was lonely. He was never allowed to make his own friends. And just as Lawson was trying to take advantage of that fact, Sokolov had seen the opportunity as well. He knew Kiara could bring Johnny in without much effort at all. All the kid wanted was someone to care about. Someone to make him feel like he belonged.
“Johnny, relax. We’re friends, right?” Lawson almost felt bad . . . almost.
“R-right. Yes!”
“Friends don’t kill each other. They help each other. Remember, Sokolov hired me to kill you. So you are good. Kiara is good. For now. But I can’t stall Sokolov forever. He wants this done today. Today, Johnny. So I need you to get the information I asked for. And it has to be hard evidence.”
“I’m not saying I know that my father was working with those people, but if he was, I’ll find proof.”
“Johnny, now is not the time for games. I need it before I can meet with your father.”
Johnny wasn’t stupid. “Okay, so that protects you. Then what about me? After I give you the proof you need, what happens to me? And Kiara? Sokolov will still want us dead. How does me giving you leverage keep me and her safe?”
“Johnny, I know this has all been a lot to take in, but what was the reason your dad hired me in the first place?”
“To help him take down Sokolov.”
Time for Lawson to put the finishing touches on Johnny. “That’s right. When I know that I can trust your father, which is why you are getting this proof for me in the first place, then I can resume my responsibilities.”
Johnny couldn’t wait for Lawson to say it. “And kill Sokolov.”
Lawson repeated for effect, “And kill Sokolov. He can’t still want you dead, Johnny, when he is dead. You see how this all works out for me and you, my friend?”
“Thanks, Lawson. You’re saving my life.”
/> “Johnny, I need that proof, sooner than later.”
The pep in Johnny’s voice returned. “I’m on it.”
23
After ending the call with Johnny, Lawson drove past Cassie’s street. With a glance down the road toward her house, he could see several police cars and a couple of ambulances. Cassie was in full cleanup mode. That would keep her occupied for at least a couple more hours. He hoped she would have time to get away for a few minutes later if he needed her. He felt bad for having questioned her loyalty. But he had just been through so much. He had just lost so much.
It felt good to be doing something normal like driving around in the car. Even though he had nowhere to go. There was nothing for him to do until Johnny got back to him with some sort of proof that everyone was colluding with Nero. Johnny’s failure to protest made Lawson think Johnny already had an idea of where to go to get that proof. If he came through, it would change everything. Lawson just might have a chance to have his cake and eat it too. Revenge could be his redemption.
And then maybe he could finally see his daughter.
Lawson drove aimlessly through the suburbs of Las Vegas. The farther he got from the Strip, the more it felt like Lexington to him. Though the foliage, the lawns, and the style of houses still couldn’t be more different, it began to feel more like a place to live. Home. Home, which he desperately missed.
His mind, as it had a million times over the years, floated back to that day on the boat. The worst day of his life. He thought about the way Lauren smelled, the way she felt. He savored Lexi’s laugh, he could still hear it echoing in his mind as he saw himself tossing her in the air. How soft her two-year-old cheeks were. How curious and inquisitive she had become. Mocking everything her mommy and daddy did.
Before he knew it, he had driven back to his old neighborhood. He and Lauren had only lived in one home while they were in Las Vegas, and now there it was, right across the street from him. He pulled off the road, parking next to the curb. He squinted through the sunshine at where his family made so many memories. The only home that Lexi had ever known until that tragic day. So many feelings and emotions were running through Lawson in that moment. So much of the last ten years had been spent numbing himself to emotion. To pain. It was a matter of survival. But now it felt good to let nostalgia for his lost family wash over him. He had never loved anything more than his girls. And he knew he never would again. The thought of Lexi living the rest of her life without him being able to share in it was the most terrifying thought imaginable. It wasn’t lost on him just how much weight that fear carried. Because as far as terrifying goes, for anyone else the next twenty-four hours would be far more frightening. But not for Lawson. What lay ahead, all the terrible things he was about to do, that didn’t scare him at all. He was numb to violence. That part of his humanity was dead. For him, it was just something that had to be done.
When the Man Comes Around: A Gripping Crime Thriller (Lawson Raines, Book 1) Page 10
