Kingmakers, Graduation

30. Adrik

30

ADRIK

T he phone call I’ve been expecting comes two days after Jasper shot Zigor.

I pick up, trying to keep my tone casual.

“ Privet ,” I say.

“Adrik Petrov.” Lev’s voice is low and rasping. Every time he takes a breath on the other end of the line, I hear a rattle deep in his chest. It should give the impression of age and sickness, but instead, the sound is menacing, like a diamondback slowly shaking its tail in warning.

Preempting him, I say, “I’m glad you called. I haven’t been able to get hold of Zigor. We missed a shipment.”

There’s a long silence on the other end of the line.

Then, low and furious, Lev hisses, “ Don’t fucking lie to me.”

I wait to hear what he knows .

His anger is palpable. It seethes through the line, a heat I can feel against the side of my face.

“I’m going to give you one chance,” Lev says. “And one chance only. Give me the man who shot my son. Turn him over to me, and he will receive his punishment by my hand. That will be the end of it, I’ll seek no other revenge. I know it was one of your Wolfpack.”

I pause for what I hope is the appropriate amount of time to indicate shock and confusion.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Zigor is dead?”

I hear a creaking sound—perhaps the phone shaking with rage in his hand.

“I thought better of you, Adrik. I thought you had honor.”

Now my temper rises.

“What kind of honor is that? Handing over one of my men to your pliers and blowtorches? Never. I’m sorry for what happened to your son, I truly am. But these are my brothers. Even if one was responsible, I wouldn’t sacrifice him to you.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“All my answers are final.”

“Then I hold YOU responsible, Adrik. It will be YOUR head.”

“Come and get it.”

I hang up the call.

Sabrina is sitting cross-legged on the bed. The book she was reading lays flat on her lap. She’s pinching the skin between her thumb and forefinger, hard enough that her nails dig in .

She certainly heard my side of the call, and possibly Lev’s as well.

“How does he know?” she asks.

“He doesn’t know for certain, but he’s sure enough.”

“What’s he going to do?”

“I don’t know. Put a hit on me, maybe.”

“We should go to Rostov-on-Don right now, today,” Sabrina says at once. “Kill him before he can kill you.”

“I can’t. I’ve got way too much shit to do here. We’re going to need a new source—we owe orders to Franko and the Markovs, not to mention our own dealers.”

“You won’t need a new source if you’re dead.”

“Sabrina, please,” I cup her chin, tilting up her face to look at me. “Give me some credit—I’m not that easy to kill.”

She’s unsmiling, her eyes huge in her strained face.

“You’re not invincible, either.”

I kiss her softly on the mouth. “Yes I am. As long as I have you.”

She doesn’t look convinced, so I continue: “Look, I’ll keep an ear out. Threats aren’t action. Lev is pissed right now, but that doesn’t mean he actually believes that Zigor is worth starting a war over. We’ll wait and see what he does.”

Sabrina chews on the edge of her lip, too hard.

“Don’t,” I say, touching her lip with my thumb. “You’ll hurt yourself. ”

“Why are you taking the heat for Jasper?” she says. “He fucked up bad.”

“That’s what it means to be the boss—I’m responsible for what Jasper does. Besides, there’s power in the pack. I’d rather fight Zakharov with seven of us than give up a brother.”

She’s frowning, her dark eyebrows giving poignant expression to her face. I want to smooth out the little lines of worry. I want to take all her fears away.

“You wouldn’t turn Jasper over to be tortured and killed. No matter how much you hate him.”

“I don’t hate him,” Sabrina sighs. “And no, I guess I wouldn’t give him to Lev. Not really.”

“Good.” I smile. “Then for once, we agree.”

For a week, nothing happens. I think maybe Zakharov will let it go. Zigor was his only son, but I’m sure he was a hinderance to Lev’s business as much as a help. Zakharov spent a lifetime building his small horde of money and influence. He’s still only a bit player. Revenge could cost him everything.

Then Mykah calls me. Though Apothecary is neutral ground, Mykah and I have been friends a long time. We were at school together—not only at Kingmakers, but also in St. Petersburg, in our middle and senior classes. He often passes me information, and I do the same for him.

“Bad news, my friend,” he says without preamble.

“Oh? ”

“Lev Zakharov is in town. And he’s hired Cujo.”

“What for?”

“No one’s saying it openly. But I think you can guess.”

I certainly can. Cujo has been breaking knees and slitting throats a long time. He’s one of the best, and he doesn’t come cheap. I wish Zakharov had picked a different time to be extravagant.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“Watch your back, my friend.”

I hang up the call, wondering if I should say anything to Sabrina. This isn’t going to help her stress levels. On the other hand, it’s dangerous for her not to know that Lev is here in Moscow, hunting me down with the help of the city’s premium enforcer.

In the end, I gather all the Wolfpack together and tell them to be on their guard.

“No one goes anywhere alone. Keep your mouths shut and watch your back. Especially you, Andrei.”

“I haven’t told anybody what Jasper did!” Andrei cries, offended.

“ Nobody?” Vlad says, suspicious. “Not in some comment on Reddit? Not a whisper to your favorite stripper?”

“No fucking way! I’m offended you would even ask.”

“You did spoil Vlad’s birthday surprise,” Sabrina remarks.

“And you told Adrik who dented his bike,” Hakim says.

“And you called Eban Franko’s wife by his mistress’ name,” Vlad adds .

“Those were different!” Andrei protests. “This is way more serious.”

“Franko’s wife tried to cut his balls off. That was pretty serious to him,” Chief says.

Jasper has been sitting quietly this whole time, his skin green-tinged and sickly-looking. He’s got a bandage along his jaw from the most recent addition to his tattoos.

“Never mind,” I say, to make them stop. “Just remember what I said. Stay together. Don’t go near the kachki .”

“You got it, boss,” Andrei says virtuously.

I glance over at Sabrina. She looks about as cheerful as Jasper.

“You too,” I say to her gently. “Don’t go anywhere alone.”

“I never do anyway.” She shrugs. “Hakim and I are headed to the lab right now.”

“Why don’t you take Jasper with you? Just in case.”

“Sure,” Sabrina says, without even a grimace or a word of argument. “He can keep an eye out while we’re working.”