Page 68 of Redemption

Chapter Thirty

Carys

Thedoorclicksclosed,and Semyon studies me for a beat. I’m surprised Finn folded to his request. Our backs must be pinned against the wall. Not that I doubted our weak position, but I hoped there might be another fraction of light somewhere else if this meeting didn’t work. Apparently not. Hail Mary, here we come.

“How is your arm healing?” Semyon indicates my cast.

“Well enough.” I hold up my broken wrist. “A few more weeks, and I can take it off.”

“An unfortunate set of circumstances,” he says. “A bomb and a gas leak coming together at exactly the wrong moment.”

Jay shifts closer to me, but Semyon’s words aren’t a threat. Not yet at least. “The police don’t think the two are related. Hard to believe.”

“Coincidences in this business are rare.” He rises and crosses to the minibar. “Would you like a drink?”

“Whiskey.” I recognize my role in this conversation.

We both know what I want. He’s trying to decide what he needs in return. Hope threatens to rise in me, but I tamp it down. Semyon could ask me for anything, maybe even something like Demid did, that I can’t give. The possibilities are endless when a man already has so much influence. What can we offer when we have so little right now?

He pours the whiskey and passes it to me, but he doesn’t give Jay something. A power play, but neither of us will complain. Jay is, after all, my employee, even if I treat him more like family.

“I’ll take your family under my wing while you sort out your issues with the PLA in exchange for your silence and your unwavering protection in return.” Semyon’s gaze is glued to me.

I frown and draw my glass to my lips, considering his words. Jay relaxes beside me. I’m not so sure we’re out of the woods with this request. Silence and unwavering protection can be big asks. “Who would I protect you from?”

“The one who is not in this room.” Semyon releases a dark chuckle. “The loose cannon you seem to enjoy watching go off.”

I eye him for a beat. “Do I get to understand why or how I’m meant to protect you?” I throw out my hand. “I’d be more effective if I understood what he could learn that would make him seek revenge.”

“In prison, Hagen was applying pressure on Finn to kill a guy who owed us money and tried to turn evidence against us. The snitch didn’t have shit on us, so too bad for him. But I needed a message sent—astrongreminder not to mess with me. The strongest man in the minimum-security prison delivering my justice, a man who never takes orders from anyone else? Having him would have given me unprecedented power inside.”

“You wanted Finn to do your dirty work.”

“Initially a death sentence for my former employee, and eventually much more. I could have made Finn a powerful player inside. But he didn’t want to learn my games.”

“As you said, he doesn’t take orders from anyone.”

“We tried to apply a little pressure—let him realize the risk in turning us down. Obviously, with so many life sentences, and Finn pleading guilty to them, I never expected him to get out.”

“You planted the bomb in the hotel?” Jay tenses beside me, putting the pieces together much faster than me.

“So, you aren’t just the muscle,” Semyon says. “You’ve got a brain. Since your family is also at risk here, I expect the same deal from you I am making with Carys. Unwavering protection and silence. If he ever learns the truth you talk him down or pin him, but he does not come at me or my sons. Ever.” He points his finger and his drink at the two of us. “My son was supposed to find the right person to do the job on Cape Verde. He failed, and you were injured more than we intended. A scare. A warning. A reminder to Finn he was on the inside, and we were on the outside.”

“Except,” I swirl the alcohol in my glass, “now he’s on the outside too.”

“While I have your family, it should be easy for you to keep him under control.”

A brief spike of anger surges through me, and I wish Finn could be allowed to make this right. Tear them apart. Semyon and Hagen shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of Finn’s weakened position in prison. They should never have positioned a bomb that might have made my son an orphan.

“The bomb you set.” I search his face for the truth. “The serial number on it was ours, from the warehouse theft in Russia.”

“Are you asking if I stole from you?” He lifts his eyebrows.

Since he went there instead of to the connection to the PLA, I should be comforted. I don’t want to rescue my family from the jaws of one shark only to thrust them into the mouth of another beast. “No, I’m asking if you’re working with the PLA.”

He chuckles. “I don’t work well with others.” He winks. “Hagen hired a local in Cape Verde who secured the bomb. My guess? The PLA sold off your items on the black market. Not a bad way to raise some capital.”

I clear my throat and force my frustration aside. “He won’t come after you.” Do I have that much control over Finn’s actions? If he was in this room, he might have put a bullet between Semyon’s eyes already. “But,” I say, “I need to tell him what happened. If I leave the culprit of the bomb a secret, he may discover the truth when I’m not around to stop him from doing something stupid.” Even if his wrath is justified.

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