Page 12 of Drowning in the Deep
She had a wistful look in her eyes as she spoke, and I had to wonder if she wasn’t holding herself responsible, at least to a degree, for those girls who disappeared and were never seen again. Of course, she was only doing what she had to do to survive, but Tilda wasn’t a coldhearted killer like the rest of us. She was still a young woman who had other emotions. Given time, if she continued to work for the syndicate, there was a good chance that would change, but for now, she was clearly bothered by the memories of the time when she’d had to choose self-preservation over helping the other girls, something that probably wasn’t even an option anyway.
“Do you think you could find this place again?” I asked her, hopeful. I found myself holding my breath, awaiting her response. If she couldn’t find it, all of this would be for naught.
Tilda nodded quickly. “Oh, yes. I can definitely find it,” she assured me. “Every time I went out there, I memorized as much as I could about the route, the landscape, every nuance of the place. While I hated the bastards who interacted with us at the brothel on a daily basis, I knew that it was the big boss and all of his closest lackeys who were operating out of that fucking farmhouse, so that’s where I wanted to go as soon as I was able to find a way to escape. I swore every time I went there that I would return, and when I did, those assholes would pay for everything they had done to me and the others.”
Relief washed over me as I absorbed her response. So it would be possible for Tilda to take me to this farmhouse where the leaders of the Latvian syndicate were hiding out. Chances were, if they were there, so was whatever was most important to them. If they were in the heroin trade or manufacturing meth, there was a good chance I’d find that there, too. I could deal them a double blow, taking out their bosses and also destroying enough of their goods that they wouldn’t be able to meet their supply demands, which would not be good for business. Finally, I had an opportunity to end this turf war once and for all, and there was no question that it would end in my favor.
“They hide out there in the sticks away from prying eyes,” she explained. I nodded in understanding. No one that I knew ever went to the countryside surrounding Chicago. It was an easy place to hide. “I just have one request,” Tilda continued, scrunching her lips up to one side of her face as she looked at me thoughtfully.
“Sure, Tilda. Whatever you want,” I said with a shrug, expecting her to ask for money or a new car or something.
Tilda drew in a deep breath, her bottom lip trembling slightly, and leaned forward in her chair so that she was looking directly into my eyes. “When you go out there to rain hell on those bastards, take me with you.”
CHAPTER9
ELISA
I’d been warned a few times not to just show up at the Petrov mansion unannounced. But after work, I found myself headed in that direction anyway, throwing caution and logic to the wind as I drove. After all, the last time I’d gone there, I’d unceremoniously been handcuffed to a bed. Granted, I had gotten a really good fuck out of it, but still, I hadn’t forgotten the stench of the dog kennel or the feel of those handcuffs biting into my wrists as I awkwardly waited for Daemon to return from wherever the hell he’d gone. I never did find out.
Pulling into the driveway, I hurried out of the car before I lost my nerve. For this being the heart of a mafia syndicate, I sure as hell didn’t see a lot of armed men on the outside of the house. A few were gathered over by a side porch and turned their heads in my direction as I hustled up the steps, but no one said anything. I liked to think that perhaps Daemon had told them to let me come and go. I’d done it a few times now, after all. But I knew that couldn’t be the case. He would never want to imply to anyone that I meant anything to him. Maybe they all still thought of me as his property.
I headed down to the gym, thinking that was my best bet since that was where I’d found him the last couple of times I’d gone looking for him. When I stepped down off the last step, I saw him over by the punching bag, bare chest glistening in the dim light of the dark place, his hair slick with sweat.
He looked up at me, starting to smile at first before he slowly shook his head. Was that happiness? Had he actually let me see for a moment that he was happy to see me before he thought better of it?
“Did you not learn your lesson last time, La Rosa?” he asked me, taking his gloves off.
“I guess not,” I admitted. “I’m sorry. I should’ve called, but this is too big, and I didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing.”
He studied my face for a moment before nodding. “What is it?”
Clearing my throat, I closed the distance between us. “My father has tasked me with a new mission. This one involves helping transfer titles to some new properties here in Chicago the family is acquiring.” I stood there for a moment, grinning at him, expecting him to tell me what an amazing job I’d done bringing this information to him.
Instead, he just blinked. “Okay. And?”
“Well, it has to be important,” I continued. “He told me I couldn’t let anyone know, that it was a matter of life or death. So I immediately thought I needed to let you know what was happening. This could be big.”
With that information, his expression did shift, and a smile pulled up one corner of his mouth. “In that case, thank you for letting me know. We’ll look into it. When do you start?”
“Monday,” I told him. “I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on, what type of properties they are, who they’ve been acquired from, all of that.”
His smile grew, making a thrill shoot down my back. Getting that sort of reaction out of him was rare, and to think that I’d actually done something right for a change, that I was truly showing him that he meant more to me than anyone else, made me feel like a child earning a gold star from a favorite teacher.
“I appreciate you letting me know, Elisa.” He’d even called me by my first name instead of lumping me into the La Rosa boat along with my father and brothers. “What are you doing tonight? Wanna go grab a drink?”
I froze, not sure I’d understood him correctly. Had Daemon Petrov just asked me out for drinks? Tonight? “Yeah, of course,” I said, not even processing the question before the response shot out of me. “That sounds great.” I looked down at my casual Friday office attire. It wasn’t jeans and a T-shirt like some workplaces allowed one day a week, but I was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white button-down. Nothing fitting for a night on the town with Daemon. “Do I have time to go home and change?” After all, it wasn’t even six yet, and Daemon didn’t usually start partying until everyone else in the city was practically asleep.
“Sure thing. I’ll pick you up at nine,” he told me. “Thanks, Elisa.”
The only thing that might’ve made the exchange even better was if he’d bent down to kiss me, which he didn’t do. But I was beaming as I waved at him and headed up the stairs, glad I didn’t run into anyone else on my way out. While it would’ve been nice to say hello to Janis, I didn’t want to see any of Daemon’s brothers or his mother. Sometimes, she was so intrusive.
Back in my car, I made my way across town to my apartment and ran inside, still grinning. I had a couple of hours to get ready, so I decided I should eat something before taking a shower and getting dressed. I wished Sarah was there so that we could gossip a little. While she still wasn’t sure what to think about Daemon after the time she’d broken up that fight between us, she knew I really liked him, and she could support that as long as he wasn’t abusing me. He wasn’t—not really. Well, not like some women whose men were always punching them in the face. He was just a little rough around the edges still, that was all, but I couldn’t explain why to Sarah, so maybe it was best if she wasn’t here when he arrived.
Fortunately, I’d gotten a text from her on the drive home that said she was going out with friends, so I had the apartment to myself. I made sure the door was locked, still spooked from the times that my family members had just shown up unannounced and knocked me around. They were the ones Sarah should be concerned about.
I fixed myself a sandwich and ate it while watching a sappy romance reality show and then headed to the shower. Around 8:45, I was finishing up my makeup, still trying to decide between an icy blue short dress that would make my eyes pop and a red dress I knew Daemon would love. I had worn red for him so many times before, so I decided to go with the blue. I had just finished buckling my shoe when there was a knock at the door.
My breath caught in my throat as I considered if it could be my father or one of my brothers, but I could sense it was Daemon as I approached the door. The peephole confirmed it, so I pulled the door open, finding him standing there with a bouquet of blood-red poppies.
