Page 10 of Dangerous Refuge

The afternoon is warm, the sun beating down over my backyard. I sit near the pool in one of the deck chairs I had imported from Italy next to my brother Dominic. He is wearing a suit, like always, but I’m enjoying the weather in my shorts and t-shirt. This isn’t a friendly call. It usually isn’t when it comes to Dom. He’s got too many things weighing on his shoulders to make house calls for socialization. Everything serves its purpose in this family—one of the reasons I’d rather not be named the next Pakhan. Dominic can have that title for all I care.

“Cigar?” I ask, reaching into my humidor. The Cubans smell fantastic, and they smoke even better. Dominic waves me off, which sours the mood. I shut the humidor with the intention to smoke when he leaves, and I fold my arms over my chest, reclined in the deck chair. He sits straighter, leaning forward on his knees.

“The sting with this Albanian guy who’s got eyes on Red… how’s that going?” His questions are direct, always. He loosens his tie and uses his handkerchief to mop sweat off his forehead. There is very little breeze in the city anyway, but in my tiny backyard with a seven-foot-tall privacy fence, it’s reduced to nothing. That’s why I put the pool in.

“I’m on it, Dom. You can trust me to finish my job. Just worry about the mole we have snooping around. I sent Red after some snooper last week. Bastard was prowling around the bookstore.”

“Yeah, he told me.” Dominic puts his handkerchief back into the breast pocket of his suit coat and slides the coat off his shoulders. Sweat rings hug his sides as he drapes the jacket over his knee. “Jimmy is working for me, Sven. I told you I have some business with searching for this mole that you don’t know anything about. You keep your hands and Matty’s off of him. Anyone else who knows too. Got it?” Dominic eyes me sternly and I know he’s serious. The family business comes first, which means if I double cross him there will be hell to pay. Even my own father wouldn’t bat an eyelash at putting lead in my skull if I am found to be helping the enemy.

“Yeah, I got it. But why not just use Red?” I reach for my bottled water and hand it to him. He seems to need it more than I do, though my skin is getting kissed by the sun and his is covered.

“Because do you think Red wants to put a bullet in Leo’s skull if the mole turns out to be him?” Dom takes the water and unscrews the cap, gulping it down as if he is lost in a desert. He has a fair point. I wouldn’t want to be the one to put my own brother down, and I wouldn’t believe the evidence even if I see it with my own eyes. Which makes it a very clever plot indeed. I just pray that Leo isn’t really part of this plot against Dominic and the family business.

“Fair enough.” I cross my arms over my chest again and watch the water in the pool shake as the subway rumbles the ground below us.

Dominic concedes, pulling his tie off and unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt, then he rolls up his sleeves. Next he removes his shoes and socks and rests his bare toes on the pool deck. I knew the heat would get to him. I chuckle at his awkward appearance, but he doesn’t pay attention to me. He continues on with his “meeting” as if nothing had happened.

“So the gun shipment got messed up. Leo and Nick are really messing things up down at the shipping yard. I trust Leo with my life, but I’m not sure Nick is the man for the job after all. Those guns were headed for Mexican territory and now we have a bounty on the head of every one of our guys because we didn’t deliver. We need to smooth things out and get the shipment delivered now. This is up to you, Sven.”

I don’t have time to follow the Albanian around, track down a lost gun shipment that Leo dropped the ball on, and still track Allie. Hearing Dom add more to my plate than I’m desiring to do irritates me. I can’t help but scowl and shake my head.

“You have a problem?” he asks, and I’m reminded that he is my boss, like it or not. When we were kids I used to kick the shit out of him. I’m twice as strong and three times as fast, but he’s older and that’s why he’s in charge. I have always hated that. I don’t want the responsibility, but I do want the respect, and he throws me trash jobs all the time, babysitting for someone else who should know better.

“Yeah, I have a problem. I have other things to do with my life than to follow Leo and Nick around cleaning up their piles of shit. I’m not animal control, you know.” I stand, too frustrated to sit there next to him, and I pace the length of the pool. The deck is hot, threatening to burn my feet, but my anger drives me forward.

“Things like following that redhead around?” His question again is direct. He knows better than to play games with me anyway. I don’t do riddles and I don’t do manipulation.

“Yeah, just like that.” I feel my jaw clenching of its own accord. I hate how he has my guys reporting to him on everything I do, just because I capped some loser in Central Park last year for spilling his coffee on my phone. He called me “out of control” and “irresponsible.” What he didn’t know at the time was the man was a major loser, had multiple counts of rape and a warrant out for his arrest. I did the city a favor.

“Tuck told me that you were following someone. Looks like the man she’s with is dangerous too. He’s got a rap sheet.” Dominic walks over to the steps and dips his toes into the cool water. I can see how tempted he is to just climb in, but he probably has another meeting or two today. He’s lucky I don’t push him in just for being a twat to me.

“Yeah, I know what I’m doing. I’m forty-two, not twelve.” I jam my hands into my pockets and join him, standing on the top step with my feet submerged. “Feels nice, right?”

“It does. But I don’t have time for games, Sven. You take care of family first. That woman is not our concern.” I see the hem of his slacks dipping into the water slightly and I snicker and shake my head.

“You shoulda worn shorts like I said. I told you it was hot today. Ninety degrees forecast means it feels like over a hundred.” My comment draws a scowl and an eye roll from my older brother.

“Leave the woman alone. Focus on your priorities. You need to pay better attention to Leo and Nick. They need stronger supervision. Something is going down there and I want to know what it is.”

Dominic retreats from the pool and picks up his tie, coat, and shoes. He leaves without any more to say, and I feel like the mood for a cigar is now ruined. Rex only did what he was ordered to do, and how can I blame him for being loyal to my brother over me? Dom is the next leader. To cross him would be to hang yourself.

I pick up my humidor and make my way back into the house, placing it on my desk. The day is halfway over and I have a bit of free time, so after calling Rex to find out how things are going with Allie, I make my way to the barber. Rex is watching over her today as she takes Rico to the park to play for a while with a friend. I’m surprised she didn’t just try to jet after I saw all the boxes she has packed in her house. It looked to me like she was planning to leave the next morning, but it’s been a week and she’s still here. Rex would have followed her anyway, so I would know where she is at all times, but she hasn’t tried to leave yet.

Given how sex with her went, I’d say she is sticking around because of me. That’s a good thing. I don’t want to have to chase her across the city. Having her only a few blocks from where I am at all times makes me feel more in control. Dominic is right too; I do have impulse control issues. Most of them can be mitigated with a bit of whiskey or a cigar to calm me down, but Allie is like the finest aged Scotch a man can buy. The idea of having her has given me a new focus I can’t deny. Nothing has ever made me feel so alive or driven than the idea of claiming that beauty as my own.

The bell dings as I walk into the barber shop. My usual guy is deep into a cut with another person whom I don’t recognize, so he seats me at a chair in the back, around the corner. “I’ll be right with you, Sven. Just have to finish up here.”

I relax back into the seat and listen to the soft music playing. Some loud laughter around the corner in the main part of the shop catches my attention. I hear the door ring again, someone coming or going. It isn’t often I have to wait for my barber to get to me, but I did just walk in without an appointment. So I try to remain calm. I turn the chair slowly, taking in the sight of this side of the shop. I’m normally in the front.

The door to the office is open. I can see Lenny’s jacket hanging on the back of his chair. There are three other stations back here, all of them empty, and all of them perfectly cleaned and organized, ready for their next customer to receive a haircut or shave. They all have a reclining chair, sink, counter with all the necessary tools, and a mirror. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in one as my eyes sweep across them, then I see from my angle the rest of the shop.

My guy—Carry—is dusting hair off the shoulders of another gentleman. Lenny is working on someone whose face I cannot see, obstructed by his body. The man’s reflection in the mirror behind him only shows the back of his head, but I hear his voice. He’s loud and arrogant, talking about some mishap.

“Yeah, so he should have met his maker the other day but he gave us the slip. Somehow, he was tipped off.”

“That fucker is going down, you know?” A second man, whom I cannot see at all, speaks with just as much arrogance. I’m in the business of knowing who is doing what in this city, and these idiots are deep in Russian territory. They have to know we have eyes and ears everywhere.

“Well, when we nab the girl he’s going to come hunting, and when he does, we will get him.” The first man seems confident that whoever they’re hunting for is meeting their end, which makes me curious. I crane my neck but I still can’t manage to see either of their faces. And not wanting to draw attention to myself, I try to relax.

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