CHAPTER 16
Phoenix
I knew Mrs. Donakov was going to lose it eventually, but I had no idea she could go to this kind of extreme. I was a simple man with simple needs. She opened my eyes to a different world of indulgence in many forms.
Flying was my passion. The open sky and the freedom to see the world from a different perspective had always been something of a fascination for me during childhood.
“Phoenix, I don’t know how you do the things you do and I would rather stay in the dark. I’ve contacted Stefan and left him a coded voicemail. I know what he does and I have never been interested in seeing it up close and personal.” Zane was always a straight shooter, but I had learned the hard way never to trust anyone.
“I think it’s safe to say she doesn’t want him to leave the party. Detaining him is necessary and then we can wash our hands.” Stefan wasn’t known to be sloppy. I had never met the man, but his reputation was legendary.
“We’re going to have to split up. I’m sure you know what to do when you find him. He won’t go easily. We’re going to have to wait for the right opportunity. Don’t do anything in front of anyone else. The last thing we need is complications.” Zane was a professional and I knew he was a calculating individual with his own motivations.
“Zane, I don’t want a repeat performance of what happened with Megan. She acted impulsively and depended on the wrong person. Timothy told Mrs. Donakov he could handle it, but the dosage he gave her wasn’t enough.” I had seen with my own eyes how Timothy had botched the job. I had to watch her suffer pleading with me with her eyes to make it stop.
“I had my suspicions that Marsha resorted to different measures with her. I heard Stefan was in Nicaragua at the time of Megan’s disappearance.” I often wondered how many hitmen working for Mrs. Donakov at any given time. It wasn’t a good idea to have too many people in the inner circle of trust.
“With you being third in command, it doesn’t surprise me she has asked you to show some initiative. Give me a shout if you find him before I do.” I scanned the crowd of smiling people who had no idea what was going on underneath their nose.
It was somewhat similar to how I felt when I was flying and the authorities were blind to my flight plan. I had dangerously skimmed the trees staying off the radar. I did the same thing over the water when I was dropping my cargo. It didn’t matter if it was drugs or something that used to be breathing. I was smart enough to not ask questions and I merely pressed a button to open up the hatch underneath the plane.
The first floor was a bust. There was no sign of Lewis Wilde. He was in the estate somewhere. I was like a bloodthirsty animal on the scent of my prey. I avoided any unnecessary eye contact with the matriarch of the Donakov family. Failure wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t follow orders to the letter.
I saw somebody familiar walking out of the bathroom looking guilty as sin. She was my sex partner in the club with that stuffy intellectual as the third party. She was stunning and she looked nervous. She didn’t see me. She moved down the hall and around the corner.
I went into the bathroom and found the shower running. Her earring was lying on the floor and I picked it up to the horror of voices coming through the vent.
“I know exactly what I’m doing and I don’t need you second guessing me. I want you back here as soon as possible to conduct an in-depth interrogation of the prosecutor. I want to know everything he knows.” It appeared Mrs. Donakov had another problem.
There was no telling how much Snow knew about what was said in the office not more than a few minutes ago. She did look like she had seen a ghost and catching up to her was paramount. I was going to handle this bit of business myself. I wanted to show my boss I was ready to step up on the next branch in the criminal empire.
“I suggest you don’t turn around.” I felt something poking me in the back and it was sharp enough to render me into nothing more than a gasping corpse on the floor.
“I don’t think you have thought this through. This place is crawling with her personal security squad. You’re going to need my help to get away safely without being noticed.” I knew how to tap into my survivor instinct.
“If you… you are fucking with me then you’re going to regret it. Just because we had sex doesn’t mean I won’t leave you bleeding here to death.” I wasn’t sure I felt the conviction behind her words, but I wasn’t about to take a chance with my life.
“Snow, this is going to end badly and we both know it. I will help you get out of the estate, but then you’re going to have to run with your eyes in the back of your head for the rest of your life.” I felt a certain something for her preventing me from alerting the others to her knowledge on what was going to happen to Lewis.
“Lead the way and let’s hope this isn’t going to become a Mexican standoff. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if it is between you and me. It’s called self-preservation.” She was letting it all hang out.
“There’s a set of stairs off the kitchen. There’s an exit out back and I have the code to help you navigate the electrified fence. I’m not going to give you that code until the last second.” I instinctively had my hands up with my elbows bent in a sign of universal surrender.
“I know you’re only doing this under pressure, but I do appreciate how you are inadvertently putting somebody else before yourself.”
I started to feel stuffy like I did in the club and there was next to nothing I could do about it.
“I don’t want to do anything to startle the new guard on duty by the fence. The element of surprise is our friend.” Whatever perfume Snow was wearing was affecting my allergies. It wasn’t as strong, I had a feeling the shower washed some of it away. I was going to play along for as long as it took to put her in the same position she had me in.
“I think it’s safe to say any wrong moves will be your last. I have this knife and there’s not even an inch between it and your spine.” I was humbled and surprised by her strong words. I never thought I would see Snow again after our encounter at the club.
“Easy… there’s no reason to make threats. I know when to change sides. There’s no reason for you to believe this, but I don’t intend to tell them how you got away. I have a vested interest in that information never falling into the wrong hands.” I saw Lewis at the top of the stairs leading into the kitchen.
The hustle and bustle would make it virtually impossible for anybody to make a clear account of what happened. I was banking on the staff haggard and stressed from a long day to notice I was with them.
“I appreciate the heads up and it looks like I was wrong about you. It only goes to show how good you are at your job.” Lewis was talking to somebody in the shadows, but I couldn’t make out the facial features of the person.
“It looks like I’m not the only one you have convinced to help you. It makes me wonder what you have over this certain individual in her employ. Don’t insult my intelligence. I’ve already surmised it’s somebody close to her. I’ve narrowed it down to five.” I was a little chatty, but my nerves had this tendency to make my mouth run amok.
Lewis turned his attention in my direction.
“I was hoping we weren’t going to run into each other. I’ve heard the rumors of the reason why they call you Phoenix. You literally changed your name to suit your ego.” I had some close calls with the police, but I managed to rise from the ashes unscathed. Lewis didn’t give me the satisfaction of showing any emotional outburst when I called him on the carpet.
I heard the sound of footsteps and I tried to move forward to get a glimpse of the person playing double agent. Lewis had his hand outstretched pressed into my chest to make it virtually impossible to get close enough to make an identification.
“I’m guessing there’s no point in telling you about the target on your back. There’s no reason for you to be up here trying to hide from security unless you had forewarned knowledge. It’s too bad
you had to drag her into this. I’ve grown quite fond of her.” I was hinting at the possibility that Snow was going to become an unsuspecting victim of Mrs. Donakov.
“I’m not going to allow her to terrorize me and make me fear for my life. It would be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut unless you want to lose your tongue. The Donakov bitch won’t take kindly to hearing how you helped us even if you were attempting to save your own skin.” This was one thing we could agree on. I had no interest in seeing Mrs. Donakov getting up on the wrong side of the bed.
The spiral staircase with a metal railing brought us right into the heart of catering. Voices were raised and people were running on fumes to get things done on time.
We were practically invisible like they didn’t even know we were there. The smell from the pots made me hungry. I hadn’t had a bite to eat. I had low blood sugar and was going to faint if I didn’t get a candy bar.
“You have no reason to worry about me saying anything. I’ve grown quite attached to my body parts. Losing one is something I am trying to avoid. In hindsight, I believe getting into bed with the Donakovs was the wrong decision.” I used my personal code to open the door and I was shielding her with my body on the way over to speak to the man smoking like a chimney.
“Wave politely and motion for him to come forward. I will give you my word nothing bad is going to happen to you. Tonight is not a good day to die. I do believe it’s necessary to hurt you enough to make it less likely she will turn her wrath in your direction.” I grinned and held out my hand with the motion of something to drink with my thumb up to my mouth.
The guard was understandably suspicious of my motives, but his need to get that chill out of his body was too hard to ignore. He put his hand on the holster securely strapped over his shoulders with his fingers touching the handle of the gun.
He took a few steps and then a dark figure emerged long enough to subdue him into an unconscious state. I had to adjust to the pitch black night. I felt this clubbing blow to the back of my neck hard enough to drop me to my knees.
My vision was blurred and the cord of my consciousness was cut short. I dropped with mumbled voices in the distance. There were receding hurried footsteps and I thought I recognized the pair of shoes on the mystery man’s feet. I heard the gate swinging open.
I scrambled to find my card key with no success. They were mitigating the damage to my reputation by leaving me with a distinctive lump on the back of my neck.
I couldn’t move, but I could hear someone by my side. They were telling me everything was going to be OK, but I wasn’t going to believe that until I heard it from the horse’s mouth herself.
CHAPTER 17
Snow
I was shaking like a leaf in the car next to Lewis. Zane was in the front seat watching the rearview mirror with rapt attention. There didn’t seem to be any sign of pursuit, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down.
I was holding onto the fork I had pressed up against Phoenix’s back. I had found it discarded by someone who was enjoying the catered affair. It was fortuitous to have it in my hand when I saw Phoenix coming out of the bathroom. It was by sheer luck he didn’t see our benefactor.
Zane had come to us and we had to take it on face value he was working on our side.
“I can’t believe that worked. You made him believe you were going to kill him if he didn’t help us. The distraction of him motioning to the guard allowed me to sneak up from behind. He was a little green and was given the assignment by the fence in the back to keep him out of trouble. It did the exact opposite.” Zane seemed like he knew where he was going, but was taking many different routes to determine if he had a tail.
“I can tell you’re not very happy with how you had to come to our rescue. You’ve been undercover for the DEA for longer than most. I know this won’t make you feel better, but your work won’t be in vain.” Lewis was trying to make it seem like a good thing his cover was blown.
“As far as I can tell, nobody saw me with the two of you. I have to take the risk of going back to the Donakovs. I’m going to take you both to the safe house. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to have to find some kind of incriminating evidence against her. She’s been very careful not to say anything outright criminal.” Zane was angry and he probably thought he was better off leaving us to the wolves.
“I have something that might help. You will have to have somebody crack the code. I saw something sticking out of Phoenix’s pocket.”
I retrieved the phone from my pocket.
I continued, “he will most likely notice it’s missing. It’s not going to leave you much time to find out what he’s hiding. From my experience, he’s the type of character to always have an exit strategy.”
“I didn’t take you for being sneaky, thank you Snow.” Zane gave me a reassuring smile. In fact, it was my first time seeing him smile.
“Anytime,” I winked back at him.
“What we did in the helicopter is something I can cross off my bucket list. You would be surprised at how long the list was and how short it has become after being undercover.” Zane had fallen victim to the temptations all around him. I wondered if he could truly say he recognized the person looking back at him in the mirror in the morning. Lewis had a curious look on his face, probably wondering what we did on the helicopter. But there was no need to kiss and tell.
“I was acting in the moment and I doubt I would be able to do it again in a million years.” I redirected the conversation back to our current situation. I found my courage through the influence of Megan holding me to a higher standard.
“We all have instincts, but none of us really know how to use them. This might not be worth much, but I won’t know until I get it back to the boys. I don’t know if they will be able to find the code in time before it’s changed.” We rolled into a residential area in a black town car sticking out like a sore thumb.
The place needed some upkeep with white paint peeling off the siding and one window was broken in the basement with a board covering it. The driveway was gravel and the wheels slowly crunched over them on the way to the derelict garage.
“Stay here and I’ll open the door.” He looked like a mobster in his knee-length leather coat and slicked back dark hair.
The common thread linking all of them was Megan. It was like a light bulb had gone off over my head with a moment of vivid clarity. I felt I was destined to give Megan the closure she was looking for. I heard she had a stepbrother and he had taken her death pretty hard. This was as much for him as it was for her.
“I would love to tell you he can be trusted, but he has been under a long time. There’s no telling where his loyalties lie. A life of privilege and power does something to you.” Lewis was holding my hands and I was battling constantly with the need to run into the street screaming at the top of my lungs.
“I want everything to go back to the way it was before the accident. I might’ve been a little boring, but at least I wasn’t running for my life. The Donakov family isn’t going to rest until both of us are wearing cement shoes.” I knew how foolish I sounded and I began to laugh because if I didn’t I was going to cry uncontrollably.
“They have far better ways to get rid of a body these days.” I’m sure he thought he was helping, but he was getting on my last nerve.
Zane got back in the car and drove into the garage with the doors barely hanging onto the hinges. It was a barn and when I got out there was the overwhelming stench of manure. I put my hand over my nose. I was plugging it to hinder the possibility of being sick.
“I haven’t lived here for a few months and the maid has been given that time off. Forgive the mess and it had to look like I was living in the gutter. They had to believe they were building me up from the ground up. I was taking on the guise of someone who was desperate to get ahead by any means necessary.” We followed him to the back door and the red paint had strips of it missing. There seemed to be a bull
et hole center mass in the door.
“It looks like you really threw yourself into the part. Has it ever been hard to make the distinction between who you’re pretending to be and who you really are?” I was trying to make small talk and to fill the void of nervous energy in the air.
The door swung open to pockets of dust flying in the air. The kitchen was a throwback to a different era. The sink had rust stains and the water ran brown through the old pipes when I turned the faucet. The table had bullets standing on end shining brightly from the moonlight hitting them in just the right way through the window.
“Snow, I would love to answer your question, but then I would have to kill you. I’ve always wanted to say that and never had the chance. Seriously, it’s sometimes more difficult than you can know. I’m in too deep. I’ve done things I’m not proud of to gain their trust.” I could see the guilt, but also a flickering of elation from the persona he was living.
“It’s not a good idea to mention what those things were in front of me. I am duty bound by the law to report you no matter how good your intentions were. They say confession is good for the soul, but not in this instant.” Somehow Lewis was able to remain professional in the face of adversaries willing to do whatever it took to stay out of the courtroom.
“Don’t worry, my life has never been an open book and I would rather keep it that way. I have to get back to do damage control, but first I need to drop this off at headquarters. Do not open this door for anyone except me. This is only temporary and we’re going to have to find a more permanent solution.” He put his hands on both of our shoulders in a gesture of good faith.
I wanted to tell him not to leave, but staying here any length of time was slowly putting his head below the blade of the guillotine.
Snow and Her Seven Hunks Page 10
