Page 35 of Where the Wind Whispers

More snippets of video followed that confirmed not only what Denis had said, but questions as to others he had been working with.

By the time he was arriving at the downtown location, Kaz had seen more than enough.

Shutting it down, he let himself out the back of the car instead of waiting for the driver, following one of Vadim’s men into the building when he saw him approach. On the surface, it looked like any other office building, complete with building security, a front desk, and even a sign that told visitors where offices were located, but despite its appearance, the building, aside from the three uppermost floors, was empty.

With a quick call upstairs, the guard pressed his key against the sensor inside the elevator then stepped back out, leaving Kaz to journey up alone. A blinking red light caught his attention in the upper corner of the lift. Vadim was not a man who hid his distrust of others, and one could never be too careful.

Once he finally stopped, and the doors slid open with a ding, Kaz stepped off, and Konstantin Boykov, the heir apparent to the Boykov family, immediately greeted him. Unlike his brother, who seemed to be absent, Konstantin could usually be found with their father—whether that was accompanying Vadim to a meeting or simply because his father had requested he stay longer on a particular matter.

A lot was expected of Konstantin, though he never let that burden show.

“Bullshit,” Konstantin said the minute Kaz was within earshot.

He didn’t have to ask what the other man referred to. Giving the camera in his hand a little shake, Kaz shrugged. “Alfie is good at what he does. Besides, politicians are good at hiding things—it’s what they do.”

“Politician or not,” Konstantin said as he nodded his head toward Vadim’s office, leading the way. “We would have heard something. Nothing happens in this city that we don’t know about.”

Kaz didn’t disagree. He had found this development rather odd as well. They both had enough reach in their respective homes to have gotten word of anything Vasily did, yet he had managed to stay under the radar until he had been ready to make an appearance.

“We’ll have answers soon enough,” Kaz said beneath his breath as they entered the office.

And even if they didn’t get answers, he was just ready to put Vasily in the ground—it was long overdue.

“Kazimir,” Vadim greeted with his trademark smile, rising from the chair behind his desk to come around and pull him into a hug, clapping him on the back. “It’s been a while, no?”

While it wasn’t easy to get in the good graces of Vadim Boykov, once you were, he treated you like family. But the second that trust was broken, there was no getting back in. That was why he still welcomed Kaz with open arms but vowed to kill Vasily on sight.

“How’s your wife?” Vadim went on as he reclaimed his seat, gesturing for Kaz to take the one opposite him.

“She’s fine.”

Vadim’s smile grew just a bit, though there was a coolness to his voice as he said, “I’m glad to hear. I’ve been trying to convince Konstantin here that it’s time for him to settle down, find a nice girl to make a home with.”

Something akin to horror crossed Konstantin’s face, but he tempered his reaction when his father looked at him. “Yes, find is the operative word. Perhaps, if you stop interfering, I may be able to work on that.”

Vadim tsked but didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he focused on Kaz. “What do you have for me? When your brother called, the last thing I expected him to say was that your father was here, considering our last meeting didn’t go over so well.”

Right … when threats of death were issued, and Vadim had gone as far as to pull a gun on Vasily, intending to shoot him at that moment before Kaz and Konstantin got between the men.

Sometimes, when he thought about that night, Kaz wondered why he hadn’t just let Vasily die that day.

“He’s desperate,” Kaz supplied, setting the camera on the desk between them and pushing it across. “I originally suspected he might have gone home to Russia—he still has contacts there—but one of the few still loyal to him told me he was here in Chicago, and this footage confirms it.”

He didn’t explain any further, letting the Chicago boss see the evidence for himself without any input, but almost to the second that he pressed play, Vadim was shaking his head as he pointed at the man Vasily was having a meeting with in the restaurant.

“That’s Collins’ political advisor,” he explained.

If there had been any lingering doubt as to the validity of what Kaz thought, it was gone now. “Collins may have a lot of reach,” Kaz said after a moment, “but there’s only so much he’ll do to protect Vasily.”

“Especially if we’re taking care of a problem for him,” Konstantin added. “He’ll be glad to hand him over should we pay him a visit.”

Only once the tape stopped playing did Vadim give Kaz back his attention. “Should you find your father—if this was not merely a stop before he leaves again—what do you intend to do with him?” Before Kaz could respond, Vadim held a hand up. “I know your intentions, but we often think we can betray blood, but that proves harder when you’re staring down the barrel of the gun at them.”

Without a word, Kaz drew the edge of his collar down, unveiling the scar he was careful to keep hidden. Though it had healed with time, it was still prominent. “Trust me, there’s nothing left.”

Sitting back, Vadim steepled his fingers. “Konstantin, call your brother. I’m sure he would like to be a part of this. Kazimir, I’ll make a couple of calls. We’ll have the location within the next two hours.”

And within the next three, Vasily was a dead man.