“Yeah. That’s why you shouldn’t do it in the first place.”
“I don’t like it, when we argue.”
“Then don’t put holes in cities.” Gazing up at him, I took in a deep breath. “Kaz. . .are you done?”
He scowled.
“End the war, please. Kaz. . .don’t do this because of me.”
“If I don’t act with force, then any idiot with a group of men and guns will come for you. And next time we may not be so lucky.”
“I won’t get kidnapped again.”
He tilted his head to the side. “You can guarantee that?”
“I can.”
“Then, you haven’t been paying attention to my world at all.”
“You want war with Jean-Pierre? Fine, but leave France alone.”
“Maybe, I’ll compromise. I won’t bomb most of France, but I will destroy Paris and Nice.”
“Excuse me? That’s crazy. Your beef is with Jean-Pierre and his cousins not the citizens there.”
Kaz walked over to the bedroom door and leaned against the wall. “I told you that I would destroy the world if it calmed you. Did you doubt me?”
“Well, clearly now I don’t doubt you. But, guess what? I’m calm. End this.”
“I’m sorry, but I won’t stop. Just give it time. You’ll understand eventually.”
“I’m not giving it time.” I placed the bag on the floor and was happy it had wheels. “I’ll send my men for the rest of my things.”
“Oh, will you?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm.”
“And you won’t touch them.”
He continued to lean near the door but wasn’t directly in the way of me leaving. “You’re simply exhausting yourself today.”
I opened the door.
He shut it.
I stepped back. “Don’t play with me.”
“Where are you going?”
“Probably home.”
He widened his eyes. “New York?”
I rested my hand on my hip. “Maybe, I’ll go to New York. Either way, I’m leaving Moscow.”
“Why?”
“It reminds me too much of you.”
Sighing, he rolled his shoulders “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t have time to help you.”
“This is what confuses me.” He stopped leaning on the wall and towered over me. “How are you leaving Moscow? On what plane? What airport would let that happen? What train would let you board? I’ll lock down this entire city. Block every exit. Every border. Don’t make me cage you here. I know you don’t like to be trapped.”
“You’re going to bomb airports and trains now?”
“No. It would just take a phone call.”
I met his glare. “If you want me by your side, then you better put your temper in check. Be normal like a regular person. Write your feelings in a journal. Hit a punching bag, but what you don’t do is bomb a city.”
He loomed closer. “If you think that I will lay in bed alone without you, then you haven’t been paying attention. If you believe that I will reach across the sheets for you and only touch empty space, then you’re not as smart as I thought.”
“I guess not.”
The door opened.
This time Max entered with a gun in his hand, but he kept it at his side.
Unperturbed, Kaz glanced at the gun and then back at me. “You really think you can leave me?”
“Yes.”
“How about this? I’ll let you leave the house.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s smart of you.”
“But leaving the city? No.” Kaz's brows furrowed and for the briefest of moments a mixture of anger and pain flickered in his eyes. “Find a nice place in Moscow that I approve of and you can blow off steam.”
“You cocky basterd. You don’t tell me how I’m going to calm down, when you’re the motherfucker that’s tripping.”
Maxwell cleared his throat. “Perhaps, we could get a nice relationship counselor in here—”
“Please take my bag, Max. We’re leaving.”
“Alright then.” Max grabbed the luggage handle and kept the door open. Meanwhile that gun remained in his hand.
Kaz wore a wicked smirk. “I like the Omni hotel. Just the right amount of luxury. Good security since the brotherhood owns it. Stay there for this evening. I’ll have Zahkar make the arrangements.”
“You don’t tell me where I’m going.”
“I do.”
“No you fucking don’t. Especially, when I can’t tell you what to do.”
“You can, just not when it comes to how I deal with Jean-Pierre.”
“Have a nice war, Kaz.” I headed out with a little limp. I had no idea why my leg decided to start acting up. Either way, my limping away in blue pajamas wasn’t the best impression of bad assedness, when I left him.
“I’ll see you later,” Kaz called back.
“You won’t. Not if you set off another bomb.” And then I headed down those stairs. I didn’t look back. To look behind me would be to hurt myself. It would be like Lot’s wife. I would turn into a statue and never leave.
We made it to the bottom level. Boris held that dumb ass glass jar of tea that Baba had been trying to give me. She must’ve gave it to him while I was upstairs arguing with Kaz.
Boris gripped the jar. “Our people are at the building. We’ve got some vans and cars. I don’t know if we can use them now.”
“Those are my vans. Load them up.”
“But you bought those with the lion’s money,” Maxwell added
“We’ll see, if he stops us from taking them. Now it’s just time to leave.”
Boris showed the jar to me. “Baba wanted you to have this for the baby.”
Jesus Christ. I can’t with this woman.
I limped away. “We’re going to New York.”
Max shook his head. “We can’t go to New York. The Tinder Killer stuff.”
“Then, maybe Saint Petersburg.” I shrugged, trying not to drown in sadness. “We have to go somewhere. If I don’t leave, then he may not stop this.”
We headed out of the house.
Cold air hit my face.
Am I really doing this?
Blue stood out by the building with sixty of my people.
How the hell was I going to take care of everybody? I had money but how long could I manage and take care of them? We would need to get some jobs and hustles going. I had no idea who had a passport and who didn’t. Many had gone to Paris, but did they do it the legal way. I wasn’t even sure, if I could leave Russia on my own. Wasn’t the FBI still suspicious of me for the murders back home?
I stopped in front of the building and turned to Maxwell. “What do you think?”
He studied me. “You should have changed out of those pajamas.”
I frowned. “What else?”
“You don’t really want to leave him.”
I looked away. “I don’t.”
“But this is an ultimatum. You’ve got to carry it out.”
“It’s not an ultimatum. If he sets off another bomb, I can’t be with him. You get that?”