The Truant Officer (36 page)

“I will do anything to keep you safe,” she stated.

Nick first met Dava when he clerked at the Brooklyn DA’s Office between his first and second years of law school. He found her unremarkable and didn’t think twice about her once he returned to school in the fall. Little did he know that she would become his biggest ally following his mother’s death.

While at the DA’s Office, he assisted on the case of Rachel Grant, in which Dava was prosecuting. It took on a higher priority than the typical prostitution case when the investigation expanded to include the ringleader of the operation, and Rachel’s boyfriend, Alexei Sarvydas. At that point, Nick was removed from the case because of the Zellen family’s connection with the Sarvydases. That was the last Nick thought he would see and hear of Dava Lazinski and Rachel Grant.

What neither he or Rachel knew was that Viktor Sarvydas had set up a meeting with Dava concerning his son’s case. But he didn’t make the predictable power play to drop the investigation. Instead, he made a surprising offer for a “side job.” He would assist Dava in her case by having Rachel Grant’s apartment set up with hidden cameras.

That way, Viktor could gain valuable information about a son he didn’t trust, but protect him from jail. And Rachel Grant would cleanse her soul, by cooperating with the DA’s Office in the taking down of her boyfriend’s ugly business. Rachel didn’t know that she was really working for Viktor.

And when Dava formed this unholy alliance with Viktor, a man she had admired while growing up in Brighton Beach, Nick’s life changed forever.

Nick skimmed through the journal entries. Rachel detailed her incriminating conversations with Alexei. She also mentioned the young law student with a disarming smile who had implored her to go “straight” after her arrest. And even though he was taken off her case, his words lingered, and helped her make the decision to cooperate.

Her tone turned upbeat when she had a chance meeting with that same law student, almost a year later. Or at least she believed it to be random. Nick’s mother had recently been murdered, and she was able to become a sounding board for him, providing comfort in his loss.

Her words became even more optimistic when their relationship turned physical. But she also wrote of her reservations that things might be moving too fast, and her trepidation about Nick’s current girlfriend, especially since they would rendezvous at her Brooklyn apartment while Audrey was away. He even provided her a key.

She knew that their “love” was likely a one-way street, the result of Nick being at his most vulnerable, yet his girlfriend was preoccupied with her career, spending her nights singing at clubs. Rachel moved ahead anyway, even describing in one entry how she got Nick’s initials tattooed on her hand at his request.

Not only was Rachel the ideal inside source who would unknowingly assist his quest for justice, but also a means to keep Audrey safe—the last piece of the puzzle.

After Alexei’s arrest, Rachel’s writing indicated she had grown fearful. The one person she trusted was Nick, and for the first time let him in on the fact that she had been helping the DA’s Office gather information against Alexei, still unaware of the true role she played. Rachel informed Nick of her plans to hightail it out of New York and return to Wyoming until things cooled down.

He convinced her that this wasn’t safe, explaining that the Sarvydases would go to any length to keep either of them from testifying.

Nick’s words were chronicled verbatim in the journal:
It won’t take them long to figure out my relationship to you, and then they will come after you, whether that’s in Brooklyn or Wyoming. We have to lie low for a few days. Meet me at Audrey’s apartment tonight. You will be safe there.

Dava took note of the passage he was reading—the last one in the journal. “That could have been very damaging if Eicher got his hands on those words.”

Nick wondered about the expression on Rachel’s face when she found Dava waiting for her at the apartment that night.

Upon first meeting her, Nick would have found it impossible to comprehend that the demure, workaholic prosecutor could also be a cold, efficient killer. But he had learned all too well how the events of life could change one’s belief system. Dava was born in Brighton Beach, but when she was a small girl, her father returned to their native Lithuania to help the fight for independence against the Soviet occupation, losing his life in the process. When she returned to the United States, she knew that unlike her father, she would worry first for her own life. That was the only way to survive. The Russian way.

There was a time when Nick would find this type of thinking to be incomprehensible, but as he shut the journal, he knew his earlier words were never truer—he wouldn’t have made it this far without her.

“It had to be done,” she said, emotionless, as if reading his mind. “It was the only way to save Audrey.”

Nick nodded, knowing that now was the time to once again do what must be done.

Chapter 87

Lilly watched Zubov limp into the cockpit. He looked at her and commanded, “You’re coming with me.”

Before she could protest, he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the back of the plane. He cursed with each step, and informed her that he couldn’t wait to chop her legs off at the knees to even the score.

Zubov forced her into a conference room situated in the back of the plane. Nick stood facing her, with Dava clinging to his arm. Zubov forced Lilly into a chair beside Natalie Gold. He then joined Nick and Dava behind the table.

Lilly was disorientated. What was Nick doing standing arm-in-arm with their captors?

Nick spoke, “Now that we’re all here, I have an announcement to make. This is a very special day for me and my family, a day we’ve waited over a year for, and at times thought might never come.”

Dava moved even closer to him.
What was going on?

Nick continued, “We are headed to Israel to pay a visit to Viktor Sarvydas. I’m sure you have many questions, but I guarantee that you will get all your answers when we arrive. So as your captain, I urge you to sit back and enjoy the trip.”

He stared at Lilly as he said it. She could taste the lies and betrayal in her mouth, and it went down her throat like a shot of her own medicine. This was a worse fate than Zubov capping her knees and then firing a bullet into her skull. And she got the feeling that it was just the beginning.

Nick’s charming smile faded, exposing a dark look that Lilly had never seen before. Or had she seen it, but attached her own spin to it? Was it the look he had at Dantelli’s, but she misinterpreted it as him being hurt? Deep down, she knew it was what had so attracted her to him.

Dava added, “Because if you don’t, then I’m going to have to put Zubov to work and nobody wants that.” She was the muscle.

Lilly was an expert face-reader, whether at the casino or with her students, but Nick gave nothing away. Was he taking them to Israel to avenge his mother’s death, or was he working with Sarvydas? Either scenario was too surreal to grasp.

Nick embraced Zubov. He had said he worked for Sarvydas’ son, but now that Alexei was dead, it appeared that he had aligned himself with Nick—for someone who’s persona was centered around death, Zubov sure seemed to have a good handle on the concept of survival.

While it wasn’t clear what was happening, Lilly knew it was derived from a cold and calculated strategy. She had told Nick that they didn’t have to be like their fathers, but she realized that he was a carbon copy of Karl Zellen. She thought of what Dantelli had told him about killing being his destiny. It seemed that Nick was a chip off the old block.

“You don’t have to do this, Nick,” Lilly pleaded.

But this time he looked at her differently—that first look in her classroom was a distant memory. Back then he looked almost apologetic when he delivered his pet line, “It wasn’t your fault that you fell in love with me, Lilly.”

He would always use the line as a way to ease her guilt about Darren, but now she saw a different interpretation. What he really meant was that she had been chosen to take the fall.

It also made sense why Nick never showed fear—because he was never in danger. Zubov could have killed them at any time along the way if he wanted to. The Russian mob wasn’t after him—Nick
was
the Russian mob. And like Sarvydas, he’d hidden behind the veil of legitimacy, having others do his dirty work for him—Zubov killed Dantelli, Darren was sent after Alexei, Dava took out Parmalov, and he even conned Lilly into shooting Bachynsky.

Natalie Gold rose to her feet with an accusatory point of her finger. “So we were nothing but lies, Nick?”

“What did I say about trusting me, Audrey?”

Lilly felt staggered. Saint Audrey? Dava also seemed bowled over by the revelation.

“You had that girl in my apartment killed, didn’t you?”

“All I ever cared about was keeping you safe, Audrey.”

“I never asked you to protect me. Now you better protect yourself.”

She took off her gold pumps and fired the first one at Nick’s head. He coolly ducked, and it landed in the wall behind him. The next one didn’t miss, striking off his chin. Natalie stormed off in the direction of the cockpit.

“Get back here, Audrey,” Nick demanded.

She didn’t respond.

“I said get back here,” his voice was a mix of anger and desperation.

Dava displayed her gun, looking like she wanted to fire a couple of shots into Audrey’s back as she walked up the aisle. Nick knocked the gun out of her hand and kicked it away.

“If you ever raise a weapon to her again, I will kill you, do you understand?”

Dava brooded, causing Zubov to break into laughter. “Looks like Nicky’s got women problems. If I were you I’d find a parachute and get out of here before they eat you alive!”

Nick wasn’t listening. He couldn’t take his eyes off Audrey as she disappeared into the cockpit, slamming the door.

Chapter 88

Lilly watched as Nick took a seat at the conference table. He flipped on a television and a newscast appeared. It featured Jessi Stafford, and she was re-playing a phone interview she’d just done...with Nick!

Dava looked bewildered as she watched Nick throw her under the proverbial bus, exposing her as the double-agent that she was. She appeared scared and hurt. In the report, Lilly was portrayed as her partner in crime.

He noticed Dava’s confused look, and explained, “If you remember, before I entered the program you bought me a phone in your name so we’d be able to communicate in case of an emergency.”

He handed her the phone and then turned to Lilly. “Just like you bought a phone for me in your name, for similar purposes. You never know when one of those urgent tutoring sessions will come up. While I never used the phones to call either of you, I did create some interesting text conversations between Dava and Lilly’s phones in your names, and upload that photo Kelli sent me. I think you’ll be impressed in how my creative writing has improved since taking your class, Mrs. McLaughlin.

“I gave the phone you bought me to the reporter, Lilly, but just so you don’t feel left out, here’s the one I took from you when you were introducing me the Mile High Club.”

He took another phone from his pocket and tossed it in Lilly’s direction. She made no attempt to catch it, letting it fall to the floor.

He flipped off the television and looked at the two women. “This changes things. You both have become a liability to me,” he announced, as if he wasn’t the one responsible for the interview.

Dava trembled as she spoke, “You know I have always been loyal to you. I will spend life in prison to protect you if I have to.”

He looked to Lilly, but she wasn’t going to beg for her life. She had learned enough about the Russian mob to know their distaste for living witnesses, and knew any plea would be in vain.

Nick turned to Zubov. “What do you think?”

“I say they play a game. Winner gets Nick—the loser gets tossed overboard.”

Nick seemed to like the idea. “Gambling—it’s the American way.” He turned to Lilly. “You like games, Mrs. McLaughlin, what do you want to play?”

She said nothing.

Nick looked disappointed. “Then I say we play your game—blackjack. If you win, Lilly, then what do you say we get married?”

Zubov took out two decks of cards and began to deal. Dava looked eager to destroy her competition, but Lilly refused to participate.

He sneered at her. “If you don’t play, I will carve you up in front of your husband.”

She knew it wasn’t just a threat. So she grudgingly agreed—best two out of three. She lost the first game on purpose, trying to speed up the inevitable. But then her competitive juices kicked in.

Lilly won the second hand. And as the game went on, she felt her dark side take over her being. This was the ultimate thrill—the highest form of risk—playing for her life. Although, deep down, she knew that it really wasn’t her life that she was fighting for—she wanted to win so that she could have a life with Nick.

Her concentration turned pinpoint and she seamlessly counted the cards. She blocked out all the chaos surrounding her.

Chapter 89

It had been over five hours since Darren had heard the gunshot, followed by Lilly’s scream. There had been nothing but silence since, not even the typical radio static he’d become used to over the years of flying.

He filled with worry and despair, as he flew the plane toward the horizon. The sun was reflecting off the water, thirty-five-thousand feet beneath them, blinding him. It was already afternoon in this part of the world.

Darren kept expecting the plane to be swarmed by fighter jets in a daring rescue attempt, but none came. Just more silence.

The lone bright spot of the journey was when Natalie Gold joined him in the cockpit. It was like a scene out of an old movie—the heroic pilot dressed in his tux and the beautiful damsel in distress, decked out in her golden gown.