Fortunately for me, I was hiding in the room next door. Freddy had given me enough money to rent another room. I hadn’t trusted Kasey and figured if she were playing us, she might send someone to kill me. So, I rented a second room to keep watch. Kasey had to have set this up. No one else knew about my second room.
Well, Freddy knew but I trusted him absolutely. Kasey had given me plenty of reason to doubt her. I wouldn’t even consider the possibility that Freddy had betrayed me.
The pillows under my blankets, made to look like I was sleeping in the bed, must have holes in them. The police would show up soon enough and I didn't want to be here when they arrived. I grabbed my bag, left the room, and started walking down the street, headed toward Route 60.
As I walked, I called Freddy, wanting to warn him. At least Kasey didn’t know where he was staying.
"Yeah?"
“Freddy, it's me. A biker just tried to kill me. Kasey must have sent him after me. Be careful!”
“Fuck. Hold on a sec.”
“Okay.”
Maybe a minute later, Freddy said, “I can talk now. I’m actually with Kasey.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
Why was he with Kasey? It didn't make sense and I felt a chill run up my spine. I couldn’t accept that Freddy would betray me but chills were shooting through my limbs.
“Don’t worry. When I left your motel room, she was waiting for me. She wanted to talk, to apologize for the past. We went back to my hotel room and been talking ever since.”
“Just talking?” I snapped, anger rising within me.
Freddy chuckled. “Chill. Yeah, I ain’t fucking her. I know you’re with her. We’re just talking.”
“Kasey set me up. She's dangerous and she might have you killed too.”
“Well she’s been with me since I left you. She hadn't made any calls.”
“Did she text anyone or use her phone at all?”
“No.”
"Maybe she called the biker while she waited for you to come out of my hotel room."
"I don't know. I guess it’s possible but it seems unlikely. I think Kasey is telling the truth. She seems honest to me."
There was silence for a short time. I didn’t know what to say. I was starting to worry about Freddy betraying me, when I had thought that wasn’t even a remote possibility.
I finally said, “Something’s not right. I have to find another motel.”
“Yeah, you should,” he replied. “Have you considered that you could be bugged?”
“I hadn’t considered that. Ilya could’ve put something in my clothes when they grabbed me. I'll have to check everything before I go to another motel."
I should have thought of that earlier. Was Ilya, or someone else, tracking me all this time? Was I blaming Kasey when she was actually innocent?
"Okay, call me later," said Freddy.
"Be wary of her. I still don't trust her."
"I will. Don’t worry."
I ended the call, worried about my friend. I know how lonely he’d been since getting out of prison. Being in a wheelchair made it tougher to find women. I wasn’t even sure if his dick worked or not, though I knew he’d hired a hooker from time to time. A woman like Kasey could probably wrap someone like Freddy around her finger.
Not that I should talk. I knew the power of her pussy and its hold on me.
I had to believe that Freddy wasn’t actively trying to betray me. If anything, he was merely Kasey’s pawn.
I stopped at a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts and went to the bathroom. I then searched my clothes very carefully, from my belt to my shoes. I was surprised that I actually found a small tracking device beneath the back of the collar of my jacket.
Fuck. Who put it there? When? Had Ilya did it? Father Chamberlain? Kasey? Someone else?
I took the tracking device off my jacket, and searched the rest of my clothes once again but didn’t find any other bugs. I then left the bathroom and once outside, I attached the tracking device to the bumper of a beat-up pickup truck. Let them track that.
I walked down the road to a nearby gas station where I called for a cab. When it showed up, I took the taxi to the Malden Station T stop where I got on the Orange Line, headed into the city. I wanted to lose myself in the crowds.
As the subway headed into Boston, I decided to change over to the Red Line and head into Cambridge instead. I ended up in Harvard Square and chose the Charles Hotel. It was pricier than the other places I’d been staying in, but I only planned on staying there for a single night.
Freddy had given me a credit card to use, a stolen card that might get me by for a couple days so I could afford to splurge on the hotel for the night. In the morning, I was going to get the hell out of Massachusetts.
I didn't think I could find those fucking diamonds before someone killed me. And I didn't have it in me to truly threaten Kasey. If she had played me, she’d done it well.
I wasn't the type to abuse a woman. I could easily kill a man who deserved it but a woman was something different. If I was more like my old man, then I would’ve found it easy to brutalize a woman. My mother could have attested to that if she were still alive.
Before I’d gone to prison, I’d never run from a fight. I would gleefully jump in, fists swinging, reveling in the brutality. When you go to prison though, you find plenty of hard men, guys who could easily kick the shit out of you. And if they couldn’t do it on their own, then they gang up on you.
I realized then that sometimes it was better not to fight, especially if you wanted to stay alive. You fought if you had too, but you tried to avoid it if at all possible. Eventually, if you kept fighting all the time, you’d come up against someone you couldn’t beat. And then you’d die.
In my current situation, there were too many unknowns. I didn’t know who to trust and Ilya had too many killers on his payroll. I wasn’t a PI or cop, and solving crimes wasn’t my thing. I couldn’t find the diamonds.
Sitting in my luxurious room, eating an over-priced burger from room service, I watched the news on the television. The shooting at the Revere hotel was mentioned, with a rough description of the biker as the shooter. The description was so generic as to be largely worthless.
Most of the news though still revolved around Krov. They had dug up some of his past, his time in the gulag, his crimes in Russia. Murder, torture, arson, rape. There were also discussions of the Russian Mafia in Massachusetts, noting how much of it was concentrated in Worcester. I didn’t learn anything new, except that I didn’t want to end up in Krov’s clutches.
My cell phone finally rang and when I checked the number, it was Ilya. I let it ring seven times before I decided to answer it.
"Hello, Ilya."
"Do you have my fucking diamonds? Do you?"
"Not yet," I replied. "Did your girlfriend have any more photos?"
"No, and where the fuck are you? I'm worried you're trying to run and that pisses me off."
"Have you seen the news? The biker who shot up a hotel room in Revere? He tried to kill me and I’m nearly positive he was working with Chamberlain and now has the diamonds."
"Where’s this biker right now?"
"I don't know."
"What gang does he belong to?"
"I don't know that either."
"Where are you? I think it's time you came in. We’ll work together now."
"I'll come in tomorrow morning. Where do you want me to go?"
"Where are you right now?" Ilya's voice was getting more tense.
"Talk you tomorrow," I said as I ended the call.
Ilya called back but I let it go to voicemail. Let him be pissed as I would be gone in the morning. He’d never find me here before tomorrow.
During the next couple hours, I spent the time making plans, deciding where to go. I was leaning toward Seattle. The credit card wouldn’t last me much longer. I'd need to earn some money quickly, wherever I went.
I called Freddy as I wanted to say goodb
ye. If I wasn't around, he should be safe. As long as I didn't tell him where I went. Let him enjoy his time with Kasey. And if I were gone, maybe she wouldn’t have a reason to kill him.
"Leo!"
"Freddy, is she there?"
"No, she went to see Ilya. Are you safe?"
"Yeah, I'm at a different hotel but I have to leave. It ain't safe here so I'm going to run. Too many people want me dead and I’m not sure I can avoid them all. I'll be in touch later when I get to my destination."
"What about Ilya?"
"I’ll never find the diamonds so he'll kill me."
"Do you need some more money?"
"Well, I have enough to get away and I’m sure I can find something to steal on the way."
"Stop by my hotel and I'll give you some extra cash. I’ve got some savings. Consider it a loan."
I thought about his offer. It would be helpful and it should be low risk. Plus, it gave me the chance to say a proper farewell to my friend.
"Thanks, I'll come by in a few hours. When’s Kasey returning to see you?"
"Not till the morning."
"Good, I hopefully see you around ten. Don’t tell anyone, including Kasey, that I’m coming to see you."
“I won’t. Be safe and see you later.”
I ended the call, took a long shower and then packed my bag. Once I met with Freddy, I’d leave. I'd go to South Station and grab a train to New York City. From there, I could find transport to Seattle. Or wherever else I decided to go. There were plenty of options and I still wasn’t positive where I wanted to go, except somewhere on the West Coast.
I left the hotel without checking out and stopped at a package store to get some bourbon, for a final drink with Freddy. I then caught the commuter rail to Woburn where I got a taxi to the Burlington Marriott.
Though I wanted to see Kasey one last time, I knew that if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d survive. I still desired her, even if it might be my doom. Which is why I had to leave without seeing her.
Krov was probably hunting for me and if I stayed around too long, he might stumble onto me. The killer biker was out there too and I didn’t know his part in all of this, though he could be working for Kasey.
Safety was only a few hours away.
Chapter Ten
Thursday
After entering the spacious lobby of the Burlington Marriott, I headed directly to the elevators and took one to the seventh floor. I walked down the carpeted hallway, a bit sad that I’d be saying farewell to my best friend, and finally knocked at the door of Room 735. It didn't take long for the door to open.
Fuck! Double fuck! And triple fuck!
Standing in the doorway was the burly biker, the one who had tried to kill me at the dive motel, yet all I could see was the long, silver barrel of his revolver pointed at my head.
I quickly considered trying to flee but I knew I couldn’t out run a bullet and the hallway leading to the elevators was too long. There also wasn’t anyone else in the hallway. For now, it was better to obey the man with the big gun.
"Get the fuck inside you stupid prick," said the biker, a nasty scowl on his face. As I slowly walked inside, I looked closer at the biker, noting the patch on his vest, The Crimson Spartans. They were a small, relatively new motorcycle gang based in Saugus, known for meth and bar brawls. It was said they had killed at least four men, and maybe as many as twelve.
I also noted that he wore a President patch. Were more of his gang nearby?
It was humorous to me that Leonidas was being threatened by a Spartan. I doubted the biker would appreciate that fact and I didn’t mention it to him.
Inside the room, once I passed the biker, he closed and locked the door behind me and I then saw Freddy and Kasey.
Freddy, in his wheelchair, didn’t look as concerned as he should be and he wasn't bound in any way. Did the biker figure he was a harmless cripple? I doubted he knew that Freddy usually concealed a pistol or two in his chair.
Was that why he didn’t seem worried about the biker? Freddy never wanted to be helpless so he made sure to have protection on himself at all times. And people in wheelchairs were usually underestimated.
As I looked over at Kasey, who was standing by the window, my lust for her surged. Her luscious curves were outlined in a tight, green dress which barely reached below the bottom curve of her ass. The deep vee of the front showed ample cleavage and it was obvious she wasn't wearing a bra.
She wasn’t restrained either. Though I wanted to believe the biker hadn’t tied her up because she seemed harmless, I was almost positive that they were working together.
Like Helen of Troy, men would fight wars to possess her. And men would kill at her command as well. She probably first honed her expert manipulation on her father, and then her male teachers and classmates. At this point, she was a world champion.
When she pulled the biker’s strings, would he kill me? Hell, yeah. If I wanted to survive, I needed to convince Kasey and not the armed biker.
Pointing to a wooden chair with a padded seat, the biker said, "Sit there.”
Once I sat down, he grabbed my hands and cuffed my wrists behind me, ensuring they were tight. As I looked over again to Kasey, she mouthed the word "Sorry."
Was it possible she’d lost control over the biker?
The bald-headed biker then stood nearby, watching me but also keeping an eye toward the door. Fortunately, the barrel of the revolver was pointed toward the floor. He was expecting someone else. More of his gang? Doubtful as he was too tense.
Looking at him, I said, “I don’t have the diamonds and I don’t know where they are.”
He grinned, a joyous malice in his eyes. “No shit, asshole.”
If he knew I didn’t have the diamonds then why had I been lured to the hotel?
Pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. There were still missing parts but my mind filled in what might have happened. I bet that Kasey was fucking the biker and convinced him to kill the priest and steal the diamonds. I was a pawn in her game, a way to distract Ilya from the truth. Which meant to me that the biker was probably awaiting Ilya.
And when Ilya arrived, the biker would kill him.
Why hadn’t the biker killed me? Was Kasey going to let me live? Or would they frame me for Ilya’s murder? I also wondered what would happen to Freddy. Could Freddy kill the biker before he shot us?
It wasn’t a matter of recovering the diamonds. It was only about survival, about finding a way to leave this room alive. Fortunately, I still had an ace up my sleeve.
Behind my back, I used my right hand to probe at the back of my leather belt. The stitching was missing from a small section, creating a tiny pocket in the belt, in which I hid a handcuff key. The keys were fairly universal, opening any of the usual police handcuffs. Most people didn’t realize how easy it was to get a handcuff key. As the police usually handcuffed your hands behind you, it paid to hide a key in your belt.
I had to move slowly, so as to not make the biker suspicious. I had to free my hands if I wished to be able to react when the opportunity arose.
I decided to see how correct my theory might me. “When’ll Ilya show up?”
The biker scowled, his face evidencing every emotion he felt. “How do ya know Ilya’s coming? Are ya working with him?”
“Nope, but it’s easy to see you’re waiting for someone and I figured it had to be Ilya, so you can shoot him.”
“Shut the fuck up!” he spat at me.
Yeah, I touched a nerve. And if he was emotional, he was more likely to make a mistake.
I turned to look over at Kasey and she was smiling. It melted my heart. Fuck, I hadn’t fallen this hard in a very long time, despite knowing she’d probably been playing me and had likely set me up to be killed.
I wanted to talk to her, to ask her what was going on but I didn’t want the biker to hear her answers. I’d have to wait.
Freddy said to me, “Chill. Everything should work out if you just let it hap
pen.”
The biker scowled at Freddy but didn’t say anything to him. I wanted to believe Freddy and the fact I hadn’t been killed outright lent some credence to his words. Once the biker killed Ilya, was Freddy going to kill the biker?
Scanning the rest of the room, I sought out anything I might be able to use as a weapon. In addition, I looked for any clues as to what might be planned. I didn’t see any travel brochures or tickets, no maps, no computer.
There was a six-pack of Budweiser on a nearby table, with three of the cans missing. The biker didn’t have a beer near him so he must have drunk them sometime before I got there. Freddy wasn’t much of a beer drinker and I doubted Kasey would have had them before putting her plan into action.
About fifteen minutes later, someone rapped on the door and the biker hid out of sight as Kasey went to open it. I would be visible though once the door was opened. I needed to remain still, not to seem a threat, so that Ilya didn’t shoot me as soon as he saw me.
Kasey opened the door all the way and both Krov and Ilya were standing there, Krov in the front. They each held pistols, bearing silencers, which were pointed into the room. And because of my unfortunate location, both pistols were aimed in my direction.
I hoped neither decided to shoot first.
Kasey wasn’t surprised to see them, so my prior guess that the biker was waiting for Ilya to show up was correct. I doubted the biker expected Krov to show up too because if he had, the biker would have brought some of his gang for back-up. Krov was a savage Russian bear and would tear the biker a new asshole.
With a sultry swish of her hips, Kasey stepped aside, pointing into the room to where the biker was hiding out of sight. Krov, in a slight crouch, rushed into the room while Ilya slowly entered the room, his pistol remaining at the ready.
As Krov passed by the corner, it took him only a second to aim while the biker took a bit longer to direct his weapon at Krov. It was also clear from the shock on the biker’s face that I was right, that he hasn’t expected Krov. Krov fired twice, both bullets hitting the biker’s chest within an inch of each other. Muted pops that the adjoining rooms would never identify as gun shots.
The Lion's Diamonds Page 7
