Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4) (11 page)

Alek had to laugh as he poured a decanter of water into the belly of the coffee maker and turned it on. “My question referred to your hacking abilities. Are we going to have to go elsewhere when we need info? Or just wait days for you to get your decrepit ass in gear.”

Maks shook his head and shrugged out of his three-quarter-length wool coat to reveal black slacks and a wine-colored button-down. “Oh, Alek, Alek. Now I get to gloat, and you get to feel stupid as you thank me.”

As long as an address came with that stupid, he was fine with it. “Thank you for what?”

“Having Lucian treat Vex like a puppet by getting him to send his little stepbro to
my
party with a present for
you
.”

Alek’s brows came together. He shook his head and made a carry-on motion as he opened a drawer to take out some spoons.

Vex was the president of the Manhattan chapter of the Obsidian Devils MC. Both the Tarasov organization and the Moretti family had a good relationship with the motorcycle club, since the VP, Caleb Paynne, was a part of Vincente’s family. Nika’s brother was handy to have in their back pocket.

“I found her five days ago.”

He did a cartoon double-take and winced when he slammed the drawer on his thumb. “You what?”

“Syd gave me a few clues as to what Sacha might have done after you two broke apart. One idea was that she returned to school to finish that degree she used to get so excited talking about. I hacked a shit ton of colleges in the New York area, and ran her name through enrollment and financial aid but came up with nothing. Apparently, country-wide online colleges are a different animal, and when I searched those archives, I hit. Yale offers open courses, and your little princessa is taking advantage. I snagged the IP address associated with her account, traced it to her addy, and found out the computer she uses belongs to the landlord, but Sacha’s the one feeding her brain.”

Maks crossed his arms and got into his groove as Alek listened so intently he must have looked like a goddamn slow loris.

“Micha and I hung around her building and learned the hottie who pushes the big stroller and lives in unit 1A is the local ‘babysitter’; Sarah Brighton. Still don’t understand the alias yet but I will,” he said as an aside. “She doesn’t advertise as a daycare because, from what I can only assume, she’d have to jump through some hoops to get certified by the state. She’s either too smart to bother or uninformed. You can ask her about that when we head over in a few.”

He put up a hand and winked when Alek tried to jump on that.

“Saw Sheppard pull up outside her place at one point and bee-line it to her apartment. Checked him out and got the info I gave you last night—I wasn’t searching for it while you were trying not to strangle him outside of Yin’s; it was already saved in here.” He waved his phone. “When I was researching the family, I learned Sheppard has a couple of siblings; one of each. The half-brother lives in New York, and the half-sister lives abroad. Her name is Kristen. She’s a couple of years younger than Sacha and interns at a fashion house in Paris. Single, but will make someone some sweet arm-candy one day. The brother, on the other hand, is a meathead biker named Vex fucking Mason—
Mason
?” He wasted time sneering at the name. “What the fuck, right? No wonder he dropped it. Anyway, Vex being Sheppard’s stepbrother might account for a portion of his attitude. When I learned that, I paid Lucian a visit and begged a favor. Told him I’d owe him if he could
quietly
get the grease monkey to
quietly
steer little bro in our direction last night. Didn’t say why, but did have to promise we weren’t going to hit the attorney with a spray of bullets—main reason Vasily called us off the guy.”

Maks paused, and where, typically, after doing a play-by-play he’d have a been wearing a smug grin, currently he looked wary. As if he thought Alek might react badly to all of this. He just might.

“Syd thought it would go down a little easier for both you and your woman—your ‘cheated-on’ woman—if you ran into each other organically rather than you showing at her door demanding she come to heel. Her words, not mine. I tried to tell her you weren’t me, but she wasn’t listening. Oh, and making you take some time to get your head on straight was Vasily’s idea. I felt for you having to wonder about her all night.” He looked at Anton. “Did Vasily make you zip it?”

Anton got up and came over. “You will be reassured to know she arrived home safe, and her friend left within the hour.”

Alek finally blinked. He wasn’t sure if he should be furious at being left out of the loop or grateful that they’d all had his back. He took some cups down and poured the coffee. He was silent as he handed them off.

Okay. He couldn’t address the coddling. If he did, it would make him appear ungrateful and petty. But that didn’t mean anger wasn’t forming over it. It was. And it wasn’t a new thing.

He’d be the first to admit he was slightly spoiled. Because of how he was raised, and who’d raised him, he’d never struggled or been through the type of life-altering trials his friends had. After his mom had passed away when he was eleven, Vasily had banded with his brother. The two had taken over and continued to provide Alek with a home made up of security, love, and strong leading hands. When Alek’s dad followed his wife seven years later, twenty-eight-year-old Vasily had barely blinked at being left with another dependant—he’d already had Maksim under his wing by then. The three of them had gotten through the loss of Evgeny Tarasov together.

Strange how Alek’s family ties did the opposite of what one would think. Rather than bring him instant respect, it brought the lack of it from some. Alek had been told outright by an associate that the coddling he’d received had prevented him from gaining the skills necessary to thrive in their world. To them, Alek hadn’t earned the right to call himself a Tarasov; he’d simply been born with the name. It had taken him a long time before he was able to ignore the question he’d sometimes see in an associate’s eyes;
What’s the little prince doing here?

It wasn’t until he was in his mid-twenties that he’d gotten a handle on the insecurity. And that was only after he’d brought the subject up with his uncle.
Let them underestimate you, Alek. It is a good thing they do not yet know what you’re capable of.
You
probably don’t even know yet. So you travel through our world in silence. Do what you must, but remember, never make a move you are not willing to best. An enemy kicks the tire of your car? You put him in his place by taking a sledgehammer to his foot. Another hears of this and repeats the insult to see how far you can be pushed. What do you do then? You bring in a small tractor with a front end loader, and you drop the bucket on his legs. Another tries his luck with you? You find yourself a wood chipper, you secure him to a plank, and you send him in up to his thighs.
The trick when you’re making an example out of someone; never let them die, because with them will go your message.

Something those patronizing few weren’t aware of was that Alek’s lack of a reputation was a direct testament to the way Vasily had taught him to conducted business. One did things quietly. One didn’t boast or share, because most times if individuals weren’t directly involved in a situation, there was no need for them to learn about it after the fact.

Alek had taken that to heart, which was why he was able to keep his legitimate life separate from this one.

True threats move in silence, son. Do you know of any predators that announce their presence before they attack? Do they drag their kill around to prove to everyone how strong they are? No. You shouldn’t either.

He sipped his scalding coffee and finally asked, “Where is she?”

Maks put his cup down. “Sunnyside.”

“Queens?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what she was thinking, but she’s in a ground floor apartment, wide open to any molester-slash-murderer who’d want to target a smokin’ babe.”

Alek’s skin tightened as he posed his next question to Anton since he’d been there last night. “She’s alone? No roommate?” It didn’t sit right that he had to ask. That he didn’t know every fucking detail of her life.

“No roommate. At your uncle’s suggestion, I had a quick look inside before she arrived. There was no evidence to suggest more than one occupant. The baby supplies were a surprise. Until now.”

Maks nodded as he put his coffee down. “Her caring for children all day—I thought that suited her. Imagine the fathers of those kids when they get a load of the hot babysitter.” He raised his voice a few octaves. “‘
Honey, can you pick junior up from daycare on your way home? I won’t have time.
” He lowered his voice again, pretending to be the husband. “‘
Uh, fuck yeah. Try and stop me, wife
.’ Twenty bucks says dad leaves work early on those days so he can linger.” He nodded knowingly, proving once more what a large dick he was. “You’re imagining that now, aren’t you?”

“Did Sydney really say yes when you asked her to marry you?” Alek muttered because he
was
imagining some horny husband eye-fucking the smokin’ babysitter.

“No. She said ‘yes, please’.”

Daycare. Why would Sacha have gone that route? Yes, she’d been mushy around babies just like every woman, but she’d never mentioned an interest in making a career out of it. Why hadn’t she returned to school to finish her degree? She’d wanted that so badly.

Yeah, and he’d been the asshole who’d held her back. Why? Because he hadn’t wanted his much younger, spectacularly beautiful girlfriend associating with frat boys and football players out to fuck as much pussy as they could. Alek had been gearing up to discuss her returning to classes after Christmas, but only if she would agree to have a Tarasov man on her. They never got there.

“Who else knows you found her?”

He motioned to Micha, who waved but didn’t look up from his paper. “Didn’t want anyone’s bad acting skills to kill my prep so I kept the circle small. Now that you’re up-to-date, you wanna go for a drive?”

“Who’s there now?”

“Grigori and Lucas,” Anton supplied.

“If you want to take the day,” Maks said. “I know where she’s going to be tonight. That Women in Power conference Eva’s been all over this weekend is having their black-tie dinner. Seems Sheppard’s firm has a table booked and Justin has confirmed attendance with a date. A few other notable names on the guest list would be Fane, Moretti, Tarasov, and now Kirov, but the last was a late addition.”

Alek cleaned up some spilled sugar granules and emptied the used grounds into the garbage. Did Maks seriously think he’d take the day? Was he fucked? And it was a damn relief to hear if he struck out this morning, he’d have another opportunity tonight.

He took his phone out and called home to ask Samnang, their housekeeper, to make sure Alek’s tux was ready for him to swing by and pick up later.

“I take it we’re going to show in full force tonight?” Maks said as he reached over the counter to rinse out his mug.

Anticipation came knocking, overriding Alek’s irritation at being left in the dark. Now he just had to clear his head. He needed to approach Sacha with a gentle, apologetic, please-have-mercy-on-me hand, not the what-the-fuck-do-you-think-you’re-doing-with-him? one begging to be used right now.

A spoon hit him in the chest before clattering to the counter.

“Are you ignoring me, asshole?” Maks demanded with a trace of humor in his voice.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because every time you talk I want to stab something. Let’s go.” What he wouldn’t give for a pair of earbuds. “Now I know why Vincente kept telling us to keep you away from him when he was going through that shit with Nika. Not because you’d purposely send him over the edge, but because you just can’t help yourself.”

Micha and Anton were sniggering as they headed for the exit. Alek came around the island and got socked in the shoulder by a monster fist.

“What if I promise to make only necessary comments and offer sage advice? If my warped opinion sneaks in, I give you permission to tell me to fuck off.”

“That’s the problem. I can’t.” He met a pair of unusual silver eyes and found comfort in the deep bond he shared with his brother. “As fucked up as it is, I value that warped opinion and will seek it out when I can’t keep my own shit straight.”

With an affectionate hair ruffle that annoyed the hell out of Alek, as it would any man, Maks jerked him in with an arm around his neck and kissed the side of his head. Idiot handled everything and everyone as if they were toys. And he wasn’t the sentimental type so he must have been touched by Alek’s claim. Or Sydney and the kids were rubbing off on him.

He ruined the moment by talking as he donned his coat. “You’ll be tight once you see her. And if the attorney is there, I’ll make sure you don’t hurt him. Even I get that he’s an innocent in this sitch. Of course, you want to beat him down for what he’s doing and who he’s doing it with, especially with that fucking attitude of his. But he doesn’t deserve it. Much. Ah, hell. I’d want him dead, too. Shit.” He gave his head a shake. “Okay. Seriously. I’ll make sure you’re civil. Honestly, I will. Do my best, I mean.”

Alek headed for the foyer, and for some strange reason, didn’t feel all that reassured by the half-assed guarantee.