by Kenya Wright
“Okay.”
“Second, this is a standard contract. Make sure you have your lawyer look over everything.” Barbara took in all the scarred men in the restaurant. “I would not like any trouble. I want us to have a healthy business relationship.”
“We will. I remembered that you did your best to protect Olesya.” I took the contracts and placed them on my side. Misha remained quiet while we talked.
The waiter set our glasses of wine on the table.
“It is a shame that the theater is closed for now, but don’t worry. So many bookings for you are available.” Barbara’s face brightened. “In fact, top Russian designer Volodina is holding a fashion show in two weeks. One of the top models pulled out of the show due to illness. I think this is a great way to start your career outside of the theater. It shows your diversity and ability to take on any challenge.”
I swallowed. “A fashion show?”
“Volodina does awfully expensive and elaborate wedding gowns. You would be stunning in them.”
I picked up my wine and sipped.
Eagerness lay within her eyes. “If you say yes, you’ll meet with Volodina tomorrow for a fitting next week. Then I’ll have Irina work with you up until the show. She’s a famous catwalk coach.”
“Oh.” That relieved me. “I was going to say. I don’t have the faintest idea how to properly walk in a fashion show. I wear heels but not that much. If the fashion show were about twirling down the catwalk then I would be happy to do it.”
“Don’t worry. Irina is the best. I’ve already called her about this just in case you said yes.”
I sighed and glanced at Misha.
Happiness covered his face. “I think it’s an excellent idea.”
“Even with the present situation?”
A deadly promise lay on his tongue. “We’ll make this work. As I told you before, nothing will get in the way of your career.”
The waiter returned, filled our gold mugs with ice water, and placed small pink menus on the table.
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll try it.”
“This will be a great opportunity.” Barbara grabbed her menu and browsed it. “The media will eat this up and more bookings will come.”
My nerves flared. I pushed through it and picked my menu up. “I can’t wait.”
Misha didn’t touch his menu. Instead, his attention focused on a group of men entering the restaurant.
There were eight of them. They were all Asian and exquisitely dressed—blood-red pants, black mesh turtlenecks, white leather jackets, and boots. The most muscular of the group stood in front. He wore black and white paneled driving gloves on his hands and sucked on a red lollipop.
Hold up. Are these the Xecutioners?
Mrs. Hightower talked while she checked out the menu. I couldn’t comprehend any of her words. This group had captured all of my attention.
The biggest difference between the men was their hair. The man sucking on the lollipop had black hair with a red streak in the front.
The man next to him had a slim figure. Brilliant blond hair fell around his pretty face which revealed the eyes of a devil.
And the differences continued, blue hair or silver. Pink or short brown curls. One of them stood in the far back with a black hat.
This has to be them.
My body tensed.
“Ava?” Barbara smiled at me. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yes.”
“Oh, I see my friends. If you two don’t mind, I would love to say hi to them.” Misha rose without our response. “Ava, please order for me.”
“Okay.”
Barbara declared, “Everything looks so amazing. Remember this meal is on me.”
“No way, Barbara. Today we’re celebrating Ava’s new opportunities. This meal is on me.” Misha buttoned his jacket and gestured for Maxwell and Naveen to come with him. “I’ll be right back, Ava.”
Will you?
A cold shiver crept up my spine.
They walked off.
Our waiter appeared.
I gestured for Barbara to order first. My attention followed Misha, Naveen, and Maxwell, as they headed to the group I believed were the Xecutioners.
In one movement, the faces of the eight men snapped to Misha. It was if this group was one unified being. The Xecutioners eyed Misha in silence. When he arrived within a foot from them, there was no move to greet him and all the pairs of eyes held intrigue.
The waiter grabbed my attention.
“I’m still. . .deciding.” My heart boomed in my chest. “More wine please.”
The waiter nodded.
I took another sip of my wine.
Misha and the rest left the restaurant, taking the view of them away from me. Instantly, I spotted an X branded on the back of one of the Xecutioners’ neck.
Please be careful, Misha.
Chapter 20
Misha
When I walked up to the Xecutioners, I kept my back to Ava’s view and sneered. “We don’t talk in here. We do this outside.”
The Xecutioners gave me no response. The one with the black hat opened the door and held it for his brothers. When it came time for me to walk out, he let the door close.
I stopped at the closed door and glanced at Naveen. “That one is not much of a gentleman.”
“I told you this was risky.” Naveen frowned. “We should have stayed underground.”
“Ava needed to meet her new agent.”
“Fuck her new agent.”
Maxwell shrugged. “I would.”
Naveen and I turned to him.
“The agent.” Maxwell looked serious. “I would fuck her.”
Sighing, Naveen opened the door for us. I left. Maxwell and Naveen followed.
The Xecutioners stood outside of the restaurant in a half-circle. Hiro was positioned a few feet in the center as if they practiced this stance many times. They were definitely a well-knit team. While we considered the Bratva the true Brotherhood, the Xecutioners took it to a whole other level.
Naveen stood on my left. Maxwell was on my right, appearing ready to pull his gun out if necessary. There were no other men I would want with me and charging into war.
But will we win, with this creepy squad breathing up my neck?
The sound of the door came behind me.
I knew without checking that Dima, Anatoly, and my other men hurried out. Several of them swarmed around the Xecutioners. Dima reached for his gun.
I held up my hand. He put the gun back. We couldn’t have the violence around Ava.
Hiro gave his lollipop a long lick.
“We’re here.” I gestured around us. “What did you need to say that couldn’t be said in a phone call or email?”
“I don’t have your email address.” Hiro placed the lollipop to the side of his mouth and kept it there. “If I did, perhaps I would have used it.”
“What do you want to say?”
“You outbid one contract. The other’s deadline is here.”
“You’ve come to kill me?” I stepped to him.
Some of the Xecutioners shifted to a fighting stance—hands in the air. One pulled a katana out. Another whipped out a sword.
This triggered Maxwell to respond with two guns aimed their way—one at Hiro’s dome and the other at Mr. Katana. Naveen’s gun targeted the pretty blonde of the group.
The few pedestrians on the sidewalk hurried off. One woman screeched.
Unbothered, Hiro studied my face. “You think we would kill you outside of this fancy restaurant, so your lover can rush out and see your bloody body all over the sidewalk?”
“You think you could kill me out here.” I nodded at his group. “You have eight men. I have a good twenty.”
“And you have ten men across the street in black vans.” Hiro took the lollipop out and assessed the shiny red candy. “I bet there are snipers on the roof with a target on my back.”
“Smart, but you’re wrong. Close, but not good enough.” I p
ointed to the roof behind him. “I put eight snipers on the roof so that one red dot could be on each of your backs. Only seven of your men have the dots on their backs, but the eighth sniper has his target on the back of your head. Do you know why?”
“I have some theories, Mr. Stronz.”
“Good. Go with any of those.”
No one put their weapons down.
I moved in closer. Only two inches rested between Hiro and me.
He put the lollipop back in his mouth and gazed my way. Intrigue lay within his eyes. “Mosquito, I wouldn’t kill you today, even if there were no men on the roof or in vans across the street.”
Stunned, I eyed him. “Why not?”
“That’s a mesmerizing jacket.” He reached his hand out to touch it.
“Yo, keep your hands to yourself.” Maxwell shifted the point of his gun to Hiro’s eyes.
Hiro shrugged. “What is that color? Old rose?”
I glared at him.
“My favorite color.” Hiro lifted his face and kissed the tip of Maxwell’s gun.
Done with the games, Naveen spoke, “So when do you plan to kill Misha?”
“Tomorrow. We just wanted him to be warned. It is a thank you for his help in Japan. We hope he spends time with his ballerina this evening.”
I raised my hand. Everyone put their guns away but Maxwell. He kept his gun focused on Hiro. The Xecutioners lowered their weapons.
I glanced his way. “Maxwell, we’re good.”
“Fuck that.” He didn’t move his hands. “I don’t trust this cocky motherfucker.”
I went back to Hiro. “Thank you for your twenty-four-hour warning, but I would rather you not come for me at all.”
Hiro shrugged. “The owner of the contract is alive. He’s not happy that you outbid him with Ms. Jones. He raised the amount of your contract just in case you tried to outbid that one.”
“And what would the price be, if I could outbid his?”
“You can’t. Reputation is everything in this world. You know that better than me.”
I sneered. “Do you think I’m going to let you come and kill me?”
Hiro licked the lollipop. “I hoped your men and you would make it fun.”
“We’ll make sure none of you survive.”
“You should hope so. The problem is that we are not individuals. The Xecutioners are a large group. If we die and the contract remains, then others come.” He shrugged. “We’re actually the nice ones.”
“How is that?”
“Because we’re easier to see as a threat. Other Xecutioners are not this obvious. Some can be women or children. You would constantly be looking over your shoulder, never knowing who is a friend or enemy.”
Considering this visit, I shook my head. “No.”
Hiro leaned his head to the side. “No?”
“This visit isn’t that black and white. You came here for more than a warning. There’s something that could be negotiated.”
Hiro crunched the rest of the lollipop. Only the white paper stick was left. He raised it between us and twisted it around. “Do you know why lollipops are my favorite candy?”
“It boggles my mind and keeps me up at night.” I frowned. “I assumed you were sweet enough.”
“It is true. I am a sweetie.” Hiro smirked at me. “When I was a young boy, I saw so much death. Lots of blood and rotting bodies. My father would take me with him when he killed. Afterward, he would make me clean the dead bodies up. Once we were done, he would give me a lollipop.”
“Sad story.”
“Don’t cry for me, Mosquito. The dead bodies are now forgotten. Lollipops are what I remember the most. Lollipops helped me escape the horror of the world for ten minutes. And that was enough peace for my young mind to not crack. The candy was an escape.”
“Would you like a box of them?”
“If you survive, then that would be a nice gesture. But for now, you need to find your own escape. Unfortunately, your problem won’t be solved from a sweet candy on a stick.”
“Since you’re in such a wise mood, maybe you can give me a solution to my surviving and no more Xecutioners coming my way.”
“While the contract exists, there is nothing I can do.”
“And if the owner of the contract is dead?”
Hiro’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Then our contract would end and perhaps you’ll send me a nice box of lollipops.”
I studied him. “Why tell me this?”
“You’re like me. Do you know why you asked that?” Hiro didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s because you want to know the measure of my soul. Why give you a way out of the contract with my employer—a man who has done nothing to me? You’re intrigued.”
I waited for his response.
“It’s because I’ve had time to measure the soul of my employer,” Hiro said. “I won’t kill him myself. Business is never good when word gets out that we will kill our employers. However. . .”
“If the employer happens to die, then it has nothing to do with you.”
“Nice guns.” Hiro winked at Maxwell and turned around. In unison, the rest of the Xecutioners did the same. Soon, they walked off without a goodbye.
Maxwell put his two guns up and snarled. “I really hate getting punked by a bunch of dudes that look like they could be in a K-pop band.”
Naveen shook his head. “Hiro is Japanese.”
“Doesn’t matter. A lot of those K-pop bands have members from different countries. They’re not all Korean.”
Naveen quirked his brows. “Why do you know this?”
“Some of the female ones are hot. I had a Korean gun dealer in Long Island New York. He loves that shit.”
My phone rang.
I picked it up, knowing it was Circuit. “Are you tracking them?”
“I’ve got them. They’re on motorcycles heading out of the city.”
“Keep your eyes on the Xecutioners. I want to know where they eat, sleep, and shop.”
“Shop?”
“Trust me. These guys go shopping.” I hung up the phone. My head pounded from the craziness of it all. I walked off, leaving Maxwell and Naveen arguing about K-pop.
Dima opened the door.
Naveen called after me, “Hey, what’s the plan, Misha?”
“We grab Taya Turgenev.” I headed back into the restaurant and bumped into Ava.
She raised her eyebrows. “Are they gone?”
I spotted the empty table. “What happened to your meeting?”
“I told Barbara that I wasn’t hungry and would sign the contract soon. I had Yefim escort her out of the restaurant’s other exit.”
I gritted my teeth. “Yefim is supposed to stay next to you.”
“Unless I tell him to do something.”
“That’s not his job.”
“He’s not supposed to listen to me?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” I gave her a weak smile. “Either way, are you still hungry?”
“Where are they?”
“They’re gone.”
“Those were the Xecutioners?”
“Yes.”
Horror covered her face.
“No.” I gently grabbed her hands. “Relax. Everything is going to be okay.”
“How do you know that?” She shook her head. “I should have never met with Barbara. It put you out in the open—”
“I’m glad the Xecutioners and I talked.”
She stared at me in confusion. “Why?”
“They’ve given me some wiggle room for getting out of this.”
“How?”
“If I kill Leonid, then there’s no contract.”
“Kill Turgenev?”
I nodded.
“But you can’t find him.”
“I have a plan to lure him out.”
Sadness filled her eyes. “His sister.”
Stunned, I asked, “How do you know about her?”
“I overheard your conversation with
Naveen. You didn’t want to include her in your beef with Leonid.”
“She’s young and in college. I would have liked to keep her out of this.”
“But. . .you can’t.”
“Not if you want me to continue to be next to you.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m coming with you to do this. I’ve got your back—”
I laughed.
She leaned back and glared at me. “I can help.”
“You being there would only distract me. Not only would I be worried about you, my cock would probably be hard the whole time.”
“Figure out a way that I can be included. I can’t sit around, twiddling my thumbs as you rush to save your life.” She rolled her eyes and left my grip.
“Fine.” I grabbed her and pulled her to me. “You can stand next to Circuit. I’ll have him monitoring this one.”
“That’s not enough.”
“It’s my only compromise.”
“Then I guess we’re done talking.” Letting out a long breath, she stormed off.
“We’re not.”
She called back, “Figure out a better compromise where I can actually help you.”
“I won’t.” I followed her, not worried by her annoyance at all. There was no way she would get deeper involved in this situation. I just got the contract off her head. Soon my contract would be canceled too.
Yefim arrived from the back entrance.
I glared at him. “You don’t leave her side. I don’t care what she tells you to do.”
Like an idiot, he nodded.
Ava snorted. “Ignore him. We have our own arrangement.”
Yefim looked away.
I muttered, “You’re going to get him killed.”
She stopped walking and turned around. We glared at each other. Yefim remained near.
“I put him next to you to keep you safe, Ava.”
“Thank you for that.” Her voice softened. “However, if I need him to protect my agent or—”
“I don’t care if anything happens to your agent. Your grandmother and you are the only people that my guards make a priority. That’s it. He stays by your side or I replace him with someone that will.”
She widened her eyes. “And will you bend on this?”
“Not one fucking inch.”
“Okay.” She blinked. “But I still want to help with—”
“I’m not bending on that either.”
