Page 72 of Reid's Fixation
Nikolai laughed, “Just acknowledging your beautiful, tough as nails woman. She wouldn’t back down for anything when we were looking for you.”
Mila laughed, “Damn right.”
Nikolai shook his head, his eyes shining. Dmitri snorted out a laugh and Reid chuckled.
“It’s what I love about her.”
Nikolai pulled up a chair, “We need to talk.”
Reid sat his bed up a little and Mila went to get up, and he held her down, “No, there aren’t secrets between us. You need to hear this too.”
She nodded and Reid gestured for Nikolai to continue.
“After I got out of prison, not only have my lawyers been looking into Mark, but apparently your friend Xavier and you. But what you didn’t find was all of his other sides to him. He owns the largest drug ring in Chicago and anytime anyone makes an arrest with drugs, the drugs never make it to the evidence room. They get put back on the street. He has covered up more than one sell and more than one murder from his dealers without batting an eyelash.”
Reid felt his eyebrows raise, “Okay. Wow. We just knew some of it. Not all.”
Nikolai shook his head, “I wouldn’t imagine any one truly knows all he has done. He has been extremely careful for years and years. But when you came to work at the precinct, you scared him. Because you see more than most do. And because of this, Mark was nervous. He set you up to fail at my side and hoped against hope that I would kill you to get rid of you. But as obvious that wasn’t the case. Even if you didn’t become my friend, I would have never punished you that way. I am not my father, nor my family that chooses that life.”
Reid waited and Nikolai went on, “You know this though. And you know that I don’t want drugs in my operations. That I want only legit businesses. And yet, Mark kept trying to pin those things on me. It didn’t work; but with him sending you, he wanted to see if I would slip up and that you would find any evidence that would prove I was as guilty as he wanted me to be. You didn’t. You always knew I wasn’t the bad guy. From the beginning you did. And I knew how hard it was on you to try to live the double life you did.”
Reid raised his eyebrow, knowing he wasn’t the only one to notice things, and Nikolai waved his hand, and then went on, “Anyway, since Mark couldn’t find any dirt on me, he planted some and that was how they got the warrant. He had a guy in place to shoot me and get rid of me. But, I was able to stop that too, and got sent to jail for shooting a man in self-defense. Mark made it seem as if I shot an unarmed man, but I didn’t. I know that you tried to come see me and looked into that night more, but Mark always shut it down. He had me where he wanted me and made you transfer so that you too would leave it all alone.”
Reid nodded, “I know. I didn’t understand why I was transferred but didn’t question it.”
Nikolai nodded, “I know. And Mark did more while you were gone. He had his prostitution ring, and he had more than one man being the pimp for these girls that were stolen from their homes, or from the streets or made to be a prostitute by their family. Dmitri tried his best to shut it down, but never had any luck. Not without me there. Your brother was lucky enough to kill one of the worst of Mark’s men. He had taken over the east end of Illinois and was building quite an empire himself.”
“When Kian and Gray shot him, it opened the case up again and Mark was once again in question.”
Reid nodded, his mind racing, “That was when Xavier started looking into him more for me. Something in my head finally clicked and I made Xavier dig deeper.”
Nikolai nodded, “Yes, that didn’t make Mark happy and the man I had on him, saw him take Xavier. But we lost him in Oklahoma, and I tried to find him, but didn’t know until it was too late that he was also coming after you.”
Reid shook his head, “It wasn’t your fault.”
Nikolai waved his hand again, “I thought we had lost him after he left you in the mountains, but your friend Trace caught up with him two towns over. He said that he had seen Mark driving through town and asking around where a good hiking trail was, and he put two and two together. Mark didn’t want to give up your location, but Dmitri is very, shall we say convincing? And Mark told us where he left you.”
“We went there and found the ropes, saw the blood and thought the worst, for a few days, but we found you. And that was all that mattered.”
Reid nodded, “And Mark?”
Nikolai looked at Dmitri, “He is on the first plane back to Chicago, where your friend Gray has already been informed of the situation. Gray has gotten a warrant and has already found more than enough evidence of just the drugs to put Mark away for a very, very long time.”
Reid sat back. He felt so relieved. He shut his eyes for a second, just breathing in that news.
When he opened them, Mila was looking up at him and Nikolai was as well.
“I just can’t believe he is gone. And that I lived through it. I am still in shock that he didn’t just shoot us.”
Nikolai snorted, “That would have been too easy. Mark wanted you to suffer first.”
Reid shuddered, “He is sadistic and evil. I will do everything in my power to keep him locked away.”
Nikolai nodded, “As will I.”
Reid looked down at Mila and over at his friend, “Thank you for what you did for me Nikolai. It means the world to me. To us.”
Mila nodded and she stood, walking to his friend where she kissed his cheek softly and then did the same to Dmitri.
