The Crescendo (The Musical Interlude) (15 page)

“Don’t you tell them a thing, Lola,” the boyfriend gasps out. Tanner sends a swift punch to his stomach, silencing him.

“Please stop. I’ll never forget that hideous creation. It was a demon’s mask. It was black and blue and divided down the middle by a gold stripe. And the female who was with him, hers was all black, dark as her heart. He and his crazy girlfriend will hurt us again if we talk to anyone else. They’ve already made us pay for what we did to your woman. They've already hurt Fred once before. We confessed! What more do you want us to do?” Her eyes widen and she grabs my jacket.

"Was wondering how you got those two big bruises under your eyes," Tanner says to Fred. "At least now I know you're not naturally ugly."

"Fuck you, man!" Fred hisses and spits in Tanner's face.

"Don't think so. You like hurting women," Tanner says, shoving him up against the wall, his body trembling from anger as he does so.

"It was a job. Man's gotta eat," Fed answers.

"Is that right?" Tanner sends three more swift, well-aimed jabs into the man's abdomen, his characteristic move and one that leaves his victim powerless as they struggle to regain their breath.

"Tanner! Stay focused," I order.

The colors she described and the way the mask is divided in half depicts the many sides of the personality belonging to the man behind it, my comrade and lost friend. When we ran with the Phoenix years ago,
it was as though he became a different person as he hid behind the mask--a lover of art and beauty during the day and a killer bred by circumstance at night. It’s just as I suspected. Nikolai’s the man in the mask she just described, and the woman, the mysterious new partner that has terrified this pair into a confession is the one Tanner told me Nikolai has been training for his new employer. At some point during his disturbing absence, he found time to hunt down the people who hurt Erin without making me any wiser of him doing so. Now I know he’s the one who sent us the anonymous tip last night. My comrade hasn’t abandoned his family. Instead, he chooses to assist me from the within the shadows just as a true phantom would do.

“I didn’t know what I had agreed to do. You have to forgive me,” she pleads, her hands clasped together.

“You would plot to destroy the thing I love more than life itself and then ask for my forgiveness?” I inquire while she continues mouthing the word please.

“You people think you own the world. You don’t! My boss does, though. And he’s gonna waste your ass, Dostovsky,” Fred hisses. “I’m not sorry for nothin’. This is our time to shine—folks like Lola and me. I’ll rig up a hundred more fancy theaters if it means bringing down bourgeoisie sons of bitches like you.”

“Be quiet, Fred!” Lola hisses, glancing at my clenched fists and curled lips.

Tanner takes one look at me and then passes another fist into Fred’s midsection, but I need to hear his confession before Tanner beats him
senseless.

“Hold on, Hawkeye,” I say, grabbing Lola’s wrist and pulling her over to where our respective partners stand. “I take it the fancy theater you’re referring to is the Roma? You two were responsible for that, too?”

“Damn right, we did it,” Fred spits, his eyes defiant. The man deserves some credit for having the balls to be rebellious in lieu of the beating he’s about to get.

“Do we use them to send a message to the widow, boss?” Tanner releases the man, pulls out his gun, and points it at his head.

Fred drops to his knees and starts pleading, a pool of piss forming around his knees. Even defiance crumbles when staring down the barrel of a gun. Lola rushes over to his side and embraces him while attempting to muffle her cries as we ordered her to do earlier.

“Put your fucking gun away!” I order.

Although hesitating at first, Tanner obeys. And here’s where loyalty becomes his weakness—it blinds him to thinking things through in a logical manner.

“We just let them go free, so she can do this shit to somebody else? She fucked with your fiancée, Alek.”

“Are you questioning me?” I ask in measured words. Tanner backs down and shakes his head. “There’s something else she’s not telling us. Were you working alone?” I know there’s more to this story. I’ve never allowed anyone outside of my circle of friends to get close enough to be able to steal the information off my phone, let alone tap into its line. Since I’ve never laid eyes on this woman before tonight, I know she must’ve had an accomplice.

“I swear she didn’t tell me that someone would die.”

“She?” I ask, narrowing my eyes as the light of realization suddenly starts seeping into my mind, brightening my thoughts and pissing me off at the same time.

“The lady with the rabbit tattoo on her neck. She’s responsible for all this.”

“Fuck. She’s talking about Gina.” The woman who’s responsible for the troubles between Erin and me. And the rabbit tattoo means she belongs in Vlad’s harem. I heard he makes all his girlfriends either get a white or black rabbit tattoo depending on their status in the group. Gina’s ink is white, which means she’s at the top of Vlad’s chain gang.

“Gina, the blow hard’s girl, is involved in this?” Tanner scoffs, his face all screwed up as though he finds this news hard to believe.

“She wasn’t blowing anything except smoke up our ass in order to keep her cover, and guess what? We opened up wide and let her right in,” I respond sarcastically.

At once, a black sedan comes barreling around the corner and speeding by the spot where we’re standing in the alley, the wheels screeching. Incidents that involve strange cars with tinted windows never turn out well for the poor schmucks standing on the sidelines. Dread slams through me, but before I get the chance to act on it, Tanner tackles me, slamming both our bodies to the ground. My head strikes the pavement as gunshots roar through the night. Pain slices through my skull.

People walking along the streets up ahead start screaming and scattering throughout the area. Tanner pulls me to my feet and barks out orders on his phone as we start running in the opposite direction. Our car screeches around the corner almost as soon as we round it.

I steal a glance behind me. A group of four men have hopped out of the car and are headed our way.

“Get in the fucking car, Alek!” Tanner yells and shoves me inside.

Alek

Relieved to be back at my house, I pour myself a shot of vodka and down it in a single gulp.

“I heard from our street team. They say Gina quit her job three days ago,” Tanner informs me.

“Of course,” I say, holding the ice bag he’s given me over the wound on my forehead. “Any news on our two informants?”

Tanner shakes his head. “Lola and Fred got caught up in the crossfire.”

I should feel remorse, instead I think of how Erin almost died because of Lola and that slippery Gina girl, and my heart hardens. I know it’s wrong, yet I can’t help myself. I am the son of Sergey Dostovsky, and when it comes to protecting the people I love, remorse becomes a weakness I can’t afford.

Tanner clears his throat. “The team also told me your father was recently seen in Venice. It seems his den of choice is inside one of the ghettos.” His spiky black hair and eagle eyes focus on me, always the attentive co-conspirator in our group. Nothing slips by him and nothing rattles that iron conscience of his, which is how he earned his nickname, the Hawk Eye, back in Moscow.

I scoff a laugh and take a large gulp of Vodka, trying to ignore the pain throbbing at my temples.
“Of course. No one would ever think of looking for him in such a place.”

I’ve been going out with the boys each night, looking for Sergey’s hideout, making Erin suspicious. Even though a large part of me wants to believe he’s completely innocent of what has happened to her, since he has offered to help make her attackers pay for what they did, I still can’t shake the image of my dog’s death. Most importantly, what that single act of savagery showed me about the man who fathered me.

“I’ve heard from the other brothers. I filled them in on what we learned tonight. They’re all on standby, ready to do whatever you need, boss. We all want to see Vlad taken down for good this time.”

“Even if that means following me into Hell’s fires, possibly even dancing with the devil himself?” I ask. Tanner nods, his sharp, gray eyes focused on my face. “No man deserves such loyalty.” I’m thinking of Erin when I say this.

“Maybe. But a man who’s already fought his way out of Hell once should wear the crown he’s earned.”

“I’m only twenty-four-years-old, but I feel like I’ve already lived the life of an eighty-year-old man.”

“It comes with the territory. You haven’t exactly lived a normal life.”

“You must be talking about my bat-shit insane
parents, yes?” I joke.

A slight smile crosses his hard mouth. He’s serious all the time, therefore the gesture seems foreign on him. I thought I was bad. Erin stays on me about taking life too seriously, which happens almost every day.

My thoughts keep drifting back to the woman I love. I need her here with me tonight more than any other.

“That’s a unique way to put it, but yeah, your parents are anything but normal.”

“Erin would describe them that way. That’s her favorite phrase.” Thinking of my fiancée and the helpless way she looked after that spider attack boils my blood and begins to put things back into perspective. Although she has only been gone for a little over a week, I already feel like our separation has lasted a lifetime.

“You’re thinking of her again,” Tanner says, pouring himself a drink and shaking his head.

I narrow my eyes because I don’t like the tone of his voice, and I especially don’t like the way he refers to the woman I love as “her.”

“What if I am? Want to explain that accusatory tone? I don’t think I like it.”

Setting his drink down, he props over on his knees and sighs deeply. “With all due respect, Alek, the girl weakens your... resolve. Your ability to make quick decisions. I just think you should—”

“Careful, Tanner, lest I should start thinking
you’re speaking out against Erin. And that, my brother, is a very. Bad. Thing,” I warn. He’s referring to the way I hesitated tonight instead of ordering a woman’s execution, someone who could very well have been as innocent as she claimed. From the sound of things, Fred was the guilty one in the group. If Nikolai let her go, then there must have been a reason.

I will not become a tyrant as Sergey has done.

“Sorry, boss. That’s not what I’m doing.” He clears his throat.

“Smart man.” He’s squirming under my gaze. He also has a good point, though. I tend to get unfocused around Erin, her safety being the only thing that concerns me.

“Allow me to help you understand my feelings for Erin. You see, Tanner, I’m a man who has walked the hellacious road that leads to the underworld. I have no qualms with doing so once again. In fact, I look forward to it since I intend to have company this time.”

“The brothers are here for you.”

“I’m not talking about the brothers, no. I’m going to drag the bastard that hurt my fiancée along with me,” I explain, visualizing my plan as I speak. “And when we get inside the gates of Hell, I intend to tell the devil to get the fuck out of the way. Why will I do this? So I can focus on making sure Vlad’s punishment goes down as legendary in the annals of Hell. So much so that even the devil loses face after I’m done.” I refocus on my friend and smile.

Tanner swallows hard. “Remind me to punch myself in another minute or so, that way I can remember why I’m lucky to be on your good side.”

“Certainly,” I answer, locking gazes with him. “No more talk of me being unfocused because of Erin. Understood?”

Tanner sighs deeply and massages the back of his neck. “I’m just wondering, how well do you know Erin Angelo?”

Kill me now and get this shit over with.

“What is this sudden fascination with my fiancée?” I ask, annoyed that he chooses to continue discrediting Erin.

“Alek, you’re my friend above all else. Jacob told me something the other night.”

I lean in and narrow my eyes. “And that would be what?” He continues hesitating. “If you don’t quit stalling and speak up—”

“He said Erin managed to ditch him so she could meet up with your tour manager. That Mitch Swansea guy after a showing at Black Butterfly.”

The world stops and darkens, and I swear I can feel the veins bulging through the left side of my neck.

“What did you say?” I ask in measured words, my eyes narrowing while Tanner’s eyes widen. “God help you if you’re making this shit up.”

“Come on, Alek. Do you think I’d do that?
Especially after hearing what you intend to do to Vlad. I value my life.” His gaze travels down to where my hands are gripping the arms of the couch.

I know Erin’s not cheating on me, but she and Swansea have done many things together since he stormed back into our lives, including the day he rescued her from the widows—a time when I should’ve been there for her instead of chasing a false lead conjured up by Gina to lead me away from Erin.

I shoot to my feet and so does Tanner.