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“You know how I feel about my father.” He nodded, so I continued. “He’s lied to me, manipulated me, ignored me my entire life. He did some shit a while back that is unforgivable. What he did to Sasha was the final straw. I was going to have Sasha take care of it, eventually, when I figured out the right time. But it’s gone beyond that now. I want him to fucking suffer like never before.”
Bennett’s hazel eyes widened in barely-contained delight, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. “How are you going to do that?”
“I’m going to destroy every single thing in his life. Absolutely everything. Everything he loves, everything he cares about, everything that holds meaning to him. Fucking gone.”
Bennett was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What do you need from me?”
“You know the Russians and every other major player in the city — criminal and straight. Can you put the word out there that NIB&T is under federal investigation?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Are they?”
“No. Not yet. But the criminals aren’t going to know that. They’re going to yank their money from the bank so fast, it’ll make his head spin. Or they’ll start sending severed horse heads to the house and shit, telling him to fix it. Either way, it’ll get his attention and put him on edge because he won’t be in control for once.”
“And then what?”
I fished a jump drive out of my pocket and handed it over. “I read this probably a dozen times, but I want to make sure I understand everything. More importantly, I want to make sure that I get what’s mine when the time comes and that asshole can’t find a loophole or something. Can you make sure it’s airtight?”
He took the drive and pocketed it. “When does the little canary need to start singing?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Word will be on the streets by lunch.”
“Thank you, Bennett.”
He patted my cheek gently and stepped out, whistling an upbeat song — one I immediately recognized. It was one I composed, but the only way he could have heard it was at Feodor’s show.
Smiling to myself, I thanked my lucky stars for having someone like Bennett around. He was like a fairy godmother, but better dressed and unscrupulous AF.
As soon as the coast was clear, I slipped out of the bathroom and rejoined Ilya where he was waiting on our coffees.
“Thanks,” I murmured, hooking my thumbs in my pockets and glancing around like I didn’t just have a clandestine meeting in the bathroom.
“What are we doing today?” Ilya asked. If he was suspicious, it didn’t show on his face or in his easygoing tone.
“Um, actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
“Of course.”
“Will you teach me how to shoot?”
Ilya turned toward me and blinked. “A gun?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure.” He shrugged, a small smile on his face. “I don’t think that’s enough to convince Sasha to fire me, though.”
I chuckled, relaxing a bit now that Ilya was on board. I mean, it beat his usual day of hanging around the theater or whatever it was he did when I holed up in the apartment. “I’m not trying to get you fired. It’s just that Sasha’s into them and given his line of... work... it probably wouldn’t hurt to know what the hell I’m doing.”
“Good point.” He snagged our coffees off the countertop, handing mine over with a brighter smile. “This is going to be so much fun.”
I gave him a side-eye. “Why do I have a feeling all of a sudden that this was a bad idea?”
He grinned, elbowing me on our way to the door. “Oh, come on. I’ll be a nicer teacher than Sasha would.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.”
* * *
