My smile dropped. “What is it?”
Alessio sighed. “Just had two of your girls down here asking for work.”
I closed my eyes. “Let me guess: Sofia and Martina, right?”
“Yep.” He went on. “We told them we didn’t need them.”
My brow furrowed. “Why would you do that? You had people approaching the club to steal our workers away from us.”
He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Yeah, well, shit’s changed. We’re not doing that no more.” He stated, “Tell your girls they’re not welcome here, all right?”
A small smile graced my face. “Is this your way of telling me that you’re not going to fuck with my work?”
He stayed silent a moment before saying, “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“Thank you, Alessio,” I responded quietly.
His reply was just as quiet. “You’re welcome, Mina.”
I immediately made my way to the bar and approached Sasha. “So I just had an interesting phone call from my brother.”
Sasha’s brows rose. “Why the fuck you telling me?”
I bunched my nose at him, and raising my hand, I poked him in the chest. “You know, you could be nicer to me. I have important information to tell you.”
He sighed. “Whatever. Shoot.”
“Alessio told me that Sofia and Martina were at Aphrodite’s Kiss just now applying for work.”
Sasha’s jaw ticked, but as always, he spoke evenly, “Fucking bitches. They’re fired. Soon as they come in, tell ‘em to come see me in my office.”
I nodded, perfectly happy with both girls’ dismissal. “You know we can’t work with just nine girls. We’re going to need at least three more at a full-time level.”
He glowered at me. “How the fuck do you know that?”
I bit my tongue, but I really wanted to tell him to eat a thousand dicks. “I’ve done my research; that’s how.” I huffed out a breath. “Listen, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without Birdie. I think you should put her in charge of hiring the next few girls.”
For once, he didn’t disagree, looking over at the woman. “She surprised me with all this shit. I didn’t realize she was management material. I could’ve used her a few months back.” He nodded. “I’ll talk to her.”
Thank the Lord for small victories!
While I was on a roll, I decided to push my luck. “You wouldn’t happen to have a professional camera lying around, would you?”
His drab stare told me that no, he did not. His brows furrowed. “What do you need a camera for?”
“I always had a thing for photography and…” my face flushed… “and I was good at it. I thought if you had a camera, I could take photos of the girls for the flyers. I have something in mind, but I just need the tools to do it.” I waved my hands in dismissal of the idea. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll make do without it.” As I walked away, I turned and started to walk backwards while I told Sasha a genuine, “Hey, thanks.”
He frowned. “For what?”
My shrugged. “For giving my idea a chance. It means a lot. So thanks.”
I went back to the girls and listened as they projected their ideas for dance routines and solo performances. We worked out that each act would need to be between three and five minutes a piece, with two intervals during the night. I was impressed with these women. They were taking it all in stride and contributing. I was proud of them.
An hour later, a delivery came to the club and it was addressed to me. I signed for it with confusion written all over my face. When I opened the package, I gasped.
Inside was a brand new Pentax professional digital camera. My lips started to quiver. I knew who had done this.
From behind me came a stern, “You break it, you bought it.”
I gently put the box down on the bar before turning and asking, “Why? Why would you give this to me?”
Sasha looked down to the ground, clearly uncomfortable. His response was curt. “I didn’t buy it for you.” His voice softened. “I did it for the club. I bought it for the club.”
A small smile tugged at my lips, and soon I was beaming. “I’m going to take the best photos you’ve ever seen.”
His brows rose at the conviction in my tone. “The best photos I’ve ever seen?”
I grinned. “The best goddamn photos you’ve ever seen.”
He smiled then, but it was small. He sighed to himself. “For your sake, I hope you’re right.”
Sasha Leokov didn’t know who he was working with.
He didn’t know who Mina Harris really was. I needed to show him, and I fully intended to do just that.
I would win him over.
I would.
Lev called just before five to tell me that he wouldn’t be coming to the club as planned. He got caught up in those numbers of his and totally lost track of time. Luckily for him, I’d had a good day; otherwise, I might not have been so accepting.
After seeing some of the photos I intended to put on the flyers, Sasha was impressed. He didn’t show it, but I knew he was. Why else would he have offered to give me a ride back home?
Sasha and I were now your regular BFFs. Well, not really. But he would succumb to my charm. Eventually. I was sure of it.
Sasha drove up into Lev’s drive long enough to mutter, “Fuck me.”
I lifted my head to see what had brought out the curse to find my brother’s car already in the drive. And he was sitting inside.
“Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you later,” I muttered distractedly before stepping out, walking over to Alessio’s car and knocking lightly on the window.
He was scowling down at a piece of paper in his lap, but as soon as he lifted his head to look at me, his face gentled. I opened the passenger door and sat inside, smiling, leaning over the seat to give him a light squeeze. “Hey. I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here? And what are you doing outside?”
His arm came around me to hug me back, and he uttered, “I gotta talk to you. Alone.”
Crap.
I pulled back. “That sounds serious.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. It might be nothing, but,” he passed me the piece of paper, “here, look for yourself.”
My fingers worked quickly to unfold the paper. When I read what was on it, my chest squeezed. “You found them,” I whispered. “You found the Petersons. Already?” I smiled and chuckled. “You do work fast.”
“Mina, that’s the thing,” he started cautiously. “How long ago did you ask Lev to find them?”
How long? I thought back. “About six weeks ago. Why?”
He cursed, running a hand down his face. “I don’t want to cause no trouble, you hear, but I think you need to know that someone contacted the Petersons a few weeks back, asking all sorts of questions about you.” I frowned. That couldn’t be right. He added quietly, “And I think it was Lev.”
“What?” I laughed humorlessly. “No. That can’t right.”
Alessio lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “I don’t know for sure. I don’t know. Maybe you should talk to him about it. If it wasn’t him, I don’t know who could’ve been asking about you. It’s a creepy coincidence though.” He continued, “And I don’t believe in coincidences.”
My heart twisted.
Lev wouldn’t do that to me.
He wouldn’t.
I blinked out of my thoughts, moving on. “You spoke to them then? To the Petersons?” He nodded slowly. I was suddenly nervous. “What did they say?”
Alessio spoke calmly. “I spoke to Maggie. I told her I was your brother. That we didn’t know about each other until just recently and that you were looking for them.”
My throat tightened. I asked a hushed, “What did she say?”
His eyes widened comically. “Well, first she fucking cried like a baby.” My hand came up to cover my mouth as my face crumpled. Alessio laid a hand on my knee, patting it, and went on. “Then she wanted to
know how you were and where you were staying. She asked if she could see you. I didn’t tell her where you were, but I said I’d take her details and that if you wanted to meet, you’d call.”
My voice quivered. “How are they? How’s James?”
Alessio smiled. “They’re good. They live pretty close to where they used to. I don’t know about James. She didn’t mention him.”
“Wow,” I muttered, looking down at the paper in my lap. I swallowed hard then huffed out a long breath. “Thank you.” I turned to him. “Thank you so much.”
Then he said something wonderful.
He shrugged. “You’re my sister. I’ll help where I can.”
Before I burst into tears, I threw myself over the seat, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close. “Same goes for you…brother.” I released him, smiling. “I’d better go.”
He checked his wristwatch and nodded. “Yeah, me too. Gotta get ready for work.” His face changed then and he clicked his fingers. “Wait, before I forget.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old photograph then handed it to me. “Meet Enzo Scarfo.”
The face that looked back at me was handsome. Very handsome. With high cheekbones, a sharp nose, and low brows, he looked dangerous. He didn’t smile in the photo, his near-black eyes staring back at me. A shiver ran through me. “He was very handsome.”
Alessio sneered. “He was a cruel bastard.”
If the things Alessio had mentioned were anything to go off, I agreed wholeheartedly.
So when I took the photograph and gripped it tight between my fingers, tearing it down the middle, I muttered, “I’ve seen him now. My curiosity is sated. And I hope he’s burning in hell for what he did to you.” I tore the photo to pieces, holding them tight in my hand so I could throw it all in the trash.
Leaning over to kiss my brother’s cheek, I said my goodbyes. “Come by this week. We’ll have lunch.”
He didn’t hesitate in his quick response. “Yeah, okay. I’ll call.”
“Thanks again.” I smiled.
He winked. “Anytime.”
The moment I walked inside the house, I knew something was wrong. I found Lev sitting on the bottom stair, his head in his hands.
I dropped everything and rushed over to him, wrapping him up in my arms. “Lev? Sweetie, what happened?” I asked in panic.
He lifted his head to look into my eyes. “Irina’s dead.”
Out of all the things I expected to hear, that was not one of them.
My heart pounded. “Oh, my God.”
He ran his hand down his face and spoke in distress, “Why couldn’t she just give up? Why did she have to fucking push the way she did?” He looked up at me in anguish. “I just wanted my daughter.”
Confusion passed me. “What are you talking about, Lev?”
“It’s my fault she’s dead,” he spoke raggedly.
I sighed. Of course he felt it was his fault. He wanted his daughter so badly that he likely thought he was the cause. “No, sweetie.” I held his hands and spoke softly. “This was not your fault.”
He nodded firmly. “Yes, it was.”
I spoke sternly, “No it wasn’t.”
“It was.” His face turned pained. “I had Mirella plant cocaine in her house.” He closed his eyes, distressed. “She died of an overdose.”
Oh, shit.
We were in big trouble.
Chapter Forty
Mina
It was a sad day at the Leokov house. After Lev had confessed his part in Irina’s death, although my heart was aching, I calmly asked him to tell me the whole story.
Lev explained that he’d been planning something big for months. Mirella had been waiting for the right time to plant the drugs, preferably after Irina had been out on an all-night bender, which just happened to be the night before. Mirella had called the police to the house just after seven a.m., and when they arrived to the house, Mirella had escorted them through the house to the living room, where Irina slept on the sofa.
When Mirella tried to wake her, she knew something was wrong. Her body was stiff. Irina was already cold.
A confounded Lev told me he never intended on this happening. He hated Irina, but he didn’t want her dead. He just wanted child services to remove Lidiya from Irina’s care so she could come home.
Igor Alkaev called Lev soon after to tell him that Irina had passed away. Igor was devastated. Lev was genuinely shocked.
That wasn’t part of the plan.
The police contacted Lev, and he told them he would be there as soon as possible to collect Lidiya. He asked that Mirella stay with the child until he was able to fly down so Lidi would not be stressed by the situation.
When Lev asked to speak to Mirella, he was advised that she was being interviewed and that Lidiya was currently playing with a child services officer.
Lev panicked.
He was going to lose his daughter.
Lev asked me to go with him to get Lidiya, and I told him that even if he didn’t want me to go, I would have. Four hours later, we were flying out to bring Lidiya home. Either that, or for Lev to be arrested.
My chest squeezed the entire way over. I knew in my heart that if Lev was the cause of Irina’s death that it was accidental. You just couldn’t fake the shock Lev wore on his strained face. I planned to be there by his side the whole way. I chose to believe Lev didn’t have anything to do with Irina’s death. Thinking otherwise was too damn painful. And until such a time that the police had evidence to suggest that he did, I would be there, holding his hand.
He didn’t speak the entire way there, just held onto me like a lifeline. When we reached the police station, it was close to three a.m. Lev was asked for ID and, once his identity was confirmed, a kind policeman escorted us through. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Leokov.”
Lev replied quietly, “Miss Alkaev and I were not close. The only thing we had in common was our daughter, but thank you.”
The policeman nodded in understanding. “Still, it’s awfully distressing when someone takes their life.”
I squeezed Lev’s hand tight and asked, wide-eyed, “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
The policeman blinked, surprised. “I apologize. I thought you’d already been briefed on the situation.”
Lev shook his head. “I was told she died of an overdose.”
The man nodded. “Yes, we believe so. We found three empty pill containers close to the body, as well as a note. We believe this was a suicide caused by intentional overdose of prescription medication. But the family has requested an autopsy. Toxicology reports normally take four to six weeks, but the cause of death has been listed as suicide.”
I looked up at Lev. He looked down at me.
We had a silent conversation using just our eyes.
Oh Lord.
Oh, thank you, God.
He had nothing to do with this.
Lev was innocent.
We were led to a small room where we were told to wait. We waited in complete silence, and when the door opened, in came Mirella holding a sleeping Lidiya, followed by a woman in a suit. Mirella tried to smile, but she looked tired. She handed Lidiya over to Lev and he held his sleeping daughter tight.
The woman, who introduced herself as Detective Maria Palmer, asked Lev to tell her a little about his relationship with Irina. Lev told her that he didn’t have a relationship with Irina Alkaev.
She nodded in understanding. When she asked if he knew Irina had been undergoing counseling for depression, Lev replied he didn’t.
Detective Maria Palmer had told us Irina’s death would not be treated as suspicious, that they had reason to believe Irina had been planning this for a while. When the police had searched Irina’s computer, they found an open search engine titled ‘easiest ways to kill yourself’.
She looked down at Lidiya and shook her head sadly. “My deepest condolences to you all. You’re free to take your daughter home. We don’t want to cause any undue stress.
If we have any questions, we’ll call.”
Lev thought about catching the next flight home, but I advised against it. Instead, we got a hotel room at the airport, and once inside the suite, he laid Lidiya down on one of the double beds, covering her. Lev then turned to Mirella and asked quietly, “Did you do this?”
Mirella shook her head wearily. “No.”
“How did this happen?” he questioned.
“I don’t know,” she responded. “Irina must have been planning this for a while. She was clearly unwell.”
“Then what happened to the drugs you planted?”
“Confiscated, along with all the others.” Mirella looked up at him. “The bag was untouched, Mr. Lev. I swear.”
He sat on the bed with a sigh. “Shit. Then I didn’t kill her? She really offed herself?”
Mirella spoke softly, “Yes, I believe she did.”
I sat down on the bed next to him, resting my head on his arm before turning to kiss his shoulder. “What now?”
He looked from Mirella to Lidiya then back to me. “Now we take Lidiya home and give her the life she was meant to have.” He looked up at Mirella. “You coming?”
Mirella smiled weakly down at the little girl sleeping on the bed. “Where Lidiya goes, I follow.”
The next morning, we flew home. Lidiya held onto her daddy the entire way.
Chapter Forty-One
Mina
Nas and Sasha greeted us at the door, hoping to get some Lidiya love, but sadly, she’d fallen asleep in the car.
Mirella took her to her room to nap in peace, and Sasha hugged his brother, clapping him on the back tightly. “Everything okay?”
Lev sighed. “Yeah. I think so.”
Nas asked gently, “What happened?”
Lev looked down at me before turning to his brother and sister. “Irina swallowed a bunch of pills.” He huffed out a breath. “Left a note saying I’m sorry.”
Nas gasped softly and Sasha’s brow furrowed. “She killed herself?”
Lev nodded. “Yeah, the cops aren’t treating her death as suspicious, so I guess, yeah, she did.”