Page 71 of The Brigadier
The expression on his face turned from all business to one of lust. “Do not leave the premises.”
I winked and grabbed the ice cream bowls. “Better wipe your face. You smell like strawberries.”
“Why bother? Just another layer of perfume.”
“Have it your way.”
“Bad girl. Bad.”
I’d also never heard him talk this way. There was something different about the way he said it, as if for the first time in his illustrious career, he was worried about loss of life.
Maybe because he wasn’t just looking out for him.
The thought was daunting.
Nikolay
“Sir,” Maxim said, greeting me as he remained on duty guarding the house. “Is everything alright?”
I almost felt like laughing. “It’s fine. Just keep close watch on the house.”
“Of course. Everything has been quiet, except for a loud party about a mile away.” He smiled, the limited light on the breezeway highlighting his grin.
“It’s a beautiful evening for one.” Not that I would know. Parties were my brother’s things to do, not mine. “There’s a meeting I’m headed to tomorrow I’ll need you to attend in the city. We’ll leave around ten tomorrow morning. Is Danny on duty?”
“No, sir. He’s upstairs. He relieves me in about two hours.”
“Okay. Good to know.”
“I’m not meaning any disrespect, but you have a twinkle in your eyes lately, even with the level of danger.”
It was almost easy to laugh in the face of danger. “No disrespect at all. It’s good to be back here.”
“The men love it too.”
I was certain they did, given the accommodations.
“Something else that’s good to know.” I’d prided myself in taking good care of my people. It was important to me. But being here this time reminded me that Chantel was right. There could possibly be targets on both our backs at any point. Shit. I couldn’t allow that to matter.
Not now.
The evening had been enjoyable. In my mind, too much so. Spending time with… family had reminded me of all I had to lose. As I was headed toward the stairs leading to the separate apartment, I thought once again about what my brother had told me. I had a feeling someone had threatened him or pushed him to a point he wasn’t making good decisions.
That wasn’t like the powerful man, but with his business being down, I had a feeling he’d been caught off guard. He’s always been larger than life.
I knocked on the door, not even bothering to call my guys first. As soon as I walked in, the group stood and at full attention.
As if I was a drill sergeant.
“I assume everything is quiet on your end?”
“Danny is checking the satellite and the Coast Guard feed. It’s been quiet but you know how he is.” Joseph was another soldier I could count on, although he wasn’t high in the ranks. Loyalty wasn’t predicated on ranking but how you treated a man. That had been easy to learn in the early days.
“I’ll check with him. I’m going to be gone a significant portion of tomorrow. Danny will figure out who is staying and who is going. However, those remaining and guarding, have your guard up. My family must be protected and at this point, I can’t deny the possibility of our enemies using creative methods to discover our location.”
“Don’t worry, boss,” Mike stated. He was another ex-Marine, an expert in guns and surveillance. “We take this job seriously. No one will get to your family. Period.”
“Thanks, guys.” In my world, thank yous were often provided by means of the men staying alive and out of my crosshairs. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic for a change. I walked toward the massive communications room, still impressed with what technology could provide. There were so many decent, truthful stories about various mafia organizations from the past that highlighted how dangerous the lifestyle was. Typically, the only way to know if your enemy was about to attack was if decent informants provided information.