“Special,” I muse. “As in the illegal criminal type?”
“Discretion,” James says with a waggle of his finger.
I give the girls a gentle push into the house. “Go and splash some water on your faces,” I murmur, catching a glimpse of my uncle stomping back up the front steps. His face is bright red, fists clenched tight as he swings them into the air.
They walk into the powder room when James points it out to them, closing the door behind them.
“It’s time for you to hear the truth.” James takes me by the arm, nodding in the direction of his office. “Frank, stay with the girls. This is for Kristina’s ears only.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m the executor—”
James shakes his head. “You were the executor. But Anton recently changed that and named me instead.”
I can practically smell the smoke billowing out of Uncle Frank’s ears as he gapes at us. “This is bullshit. He can’t just cut me out like that!”
James regards him with a cool stare. “Well, for whatever reasons, he did. And I’m not at liberty to share anything else. Kristina can fill you in if she so chooses.”
The girls come out of the bathroom and I flash a quivery smile at them. “Stay here, okay? I won’t be long.”
James leads me down a short hallway, and when we’re out of earshot, his ominous words assault my ears.
“Your father made a lot of enemies, Kristina. And you’ve just inherited all of them, so be prepared. This is only the beginning, and if you’re not careful, it will also be the end…of everything.”
Chapter Eleven
KRISTINA
“I don’t understand. He did what?” I croak out, clutching the sides of the leather chair.
James sighs and shuffles through some papers on his desk. “As you already know, your father was an active member of the Leota Commission, a crime syndicate made up of three families in the tri-state area. But he also operated an independent arms trafficking ring against the will of the commission and ended up in the crosshairs of a Chechen gang in Brooklyn under a man by the name of Aziz Shishani. And if you didn’t already know it, there’s no love lost between the Russians and Chechens to begin with.”
I shrug, a dry laugh slipping from my lips. “No, you know I must have missed that little pearl in the Intro to Russian Mob Life class.”
James nods. “I can only imagine how difficult this has been for you, being thrust into this life with no knowledge of how it works.”
“And here I was, thinking that my biochemistry course would be my biggest challenge for the year.”
“You’re going to need to keep that sense of humor,” James says with a hint of a smile.
“Humor.” I roll my eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, you must have missed the sarcasm drizzling from the sides of my mouth.”
“You’re tough, too. That’s good.”
“Great. I feel so much better about this whole thing now.” I wring my hands together. “Tell me more.”
“Are you sure?” He lifts an eyebrow.
“I need to hear it, don’t I? I need to know what I’m up against.”
James is quiet for a minute and then continues. “Shishani is dangerous and vengeful. Your father was afraid they might make a move against him, so he put every asset he had in your name. Investments, bank accounts, homes, cars. All of it. He wanted assurance that if anything happened to him and your mother, everything would go to you. He didn’t want to risk that anyone else would lay claim to what he’d built. That’s when he changed the terms of the will.”
“So he was working against the Leota Commission and Savio? Why?”
That doesn’t sound like my father but then again, I feel like I didn’t know him at all after what happened a few months ago.
Should I really be so shocked?
“Money, power, control.” James shrugs. “There were a number of reasons. I told him it was a dangerous move, that it could bring a lot of problems to your doorstep if the commission found out, but he didn’t listen. Reckless, if you ask me.”
“So does the commission know about this? Do they know he was working behind their backs?”
“Attorney-client privilege precluded me from speaking about it to anyone except you. As far as the commission knows, it could be any enemy lashing out, and they are treating it as an attack on their organization. But I believe Shishani found out it was your father stealing from him. And I think he is responsible for your parents’ murders.”
“Shit,” I whisper, leaning forward with my head in my hands. “How the hell am I supposed to battle the Chechen mafia, exactly? You do know I’m a med student, right? I’m all about math and science, not the inner workings of underworld crime.”
“The commission is going to protect you the best they can because of your affiliation with them. As the sole heir of your family’s estate, you will also take over your father’s share of the syndicate. I’m telling you right now, if you want to stay alive, you’ll accept their help. Don’t speak a word of this to anyone, including your sisters.”
“So I’m just supposed to sit on the fact that the Chechen mafia is after me?” I crack my knuckles one at a time. “You know, on the night of the murders, I was assaulted outside of the hospital,” I say in a hushed whisper. “Someone said one of the bullets was meant for me. Whoever killed my parents came back for me that night. I haven’t told anyone about that other than my uncle. It’s not like I can go and report it to the police.”
“You’re the oldest daughter. It makes sense that they would come for you since you’d be next in line and the one who could make them whole again.”
“But how would killing me get them their money?” I give my head a wild shake.
“What makes you think they wanted to kill you?” James leans forward, his forehead creasing.
“The guy had a knife to my throat!”
“That doesn’t make any sense. You’d be more useful to them alive.”
I throw my hands into the air. “I have no idea. I’m just telling you what he said. Sounded like a death threat to me, but then again, I’m a newbie at this crime-family stuff.” I let out a dry, incredulous laugh. “Good God, all I’ve wanted to do was steer clear of my father’s work, and I’ve just found out that I’m now his successor. What a fucking cruel twist of fate,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand down the front of my face. “What the hell am I supposed to do? How can I stay here, knowing that people want me dead? And I’m not naïve. It’s not just me at risk here. We’re all fucked, aren’t we? And Uncle Frank…” I roll my eyes. “He wouldn’t want me to accept Savio’s help at all.”
“I can guarantee that if you listen to him, if you reject their help,” he says, his tone grave. “Fucked is a gross understatement of what your reality will become.”
I cover my face with my hands. “I wake up sometimes thinking that I’ve gotten caught in some kind of alternate reality,” I mumble. “Like in some life, I’m still a med student with a highly coveted fellowship, the girl who had her whole life planned out, away from this one. And I can get it back if I can just figure out how to slip back into it.” I peer at James through my fingers.