Maxim shot me a perplexed look, but he wasn’t the type to question orders, so he took off after her through the crowd while I headed in the other direction with Lev at my side. I was parked in a garage halfway down the block, and it wouldn’t take us long to get there.
The moment we were free of the people outside of the courthouse and alone on the sidewalk together, Lev started in with the questions. Unlike my brother, my cousinwasthe type to question me. He was also one of the few people who could get away with it.
“So, what the hell is with you and the witness? You looked at her like you wanted to devour her.”
I grunted but didn’t say anything. Of course, the nosey asshole didn’t take my lack of response as an indicator to let the subject drop. That would be too easy.
“She’s pretty. If you’re into that sort of thing.”
I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “What that supposed to mean?”
“I prefer to screw women whocan’tsend me to prison for the rest of my life.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to prison.”
I sounded a lot more confident about that than I felt. My lawyer was right about the DA not having any evidence to directly connect me to the killing, but I was no fool. I understood that people got antsy when it came to organized crime. If the DA kept pushing the narrative that I was the head of the Bratva—which happened to be true—I knew there were probably going tobe some members of the jury who were swayed by that, evidence or not.
“I sure as hell hope not. You sure you don’t want to get the hell out of the country? You know Russia won’t extradite.”
I shook my head. I’d already had this conversation many times over the past three months. Most of my high-ranking members of the Bratva andallof my family wanted me to consider going to Moscow, where I had family. I’d never lived in Russia, but I had connections there due to my status as Pakhan. Being head of the Bratva in a big city like New York earned a man automatic respect, and the money I had ensured I could live a good life if I went to Russia.
Yet, I’d never truly considered it. I didn’t run away from my problems, especially not when they were caused by my enemies. I was sure this trouble was somehow caused by the Italians, even though I didn’t have proof.Yet.
“I’m not giving Baldoni the satisfaction of running me out of the city,” I said as we walked into the parking garage. I’d parked on the second level, so we headed up a set of stairs.
“Okay. Fair enough,” Lev said in his easy-going way. “There’s just one thing I don’t understand. Why do you want Maxim to make sure the witness is safe? What are you worried about happening to her?”
“We both know I didn’t kill Moss or order anyone else to do it. Sure I sent my guys to talk to him about the money he owed me, but that’s all they did. I had other plans for him.” Henry Moss didn’t know it, but he was supposed to be a part of my plans to start dealing arms in New York. Once he understood he couldn’t pay me back, I intended to make him cooperate—use his shipping company to move my product instead. His death was actually incredibly inconvenient for me, even beforethe charges. But I’m sure the Italians are ones who did it. I’m not sure how they knew I was planning to use his shipping company or that I would be the obvious fall guy for his murder, but theymustbe the ones responsible.”
“And?”
I thought about Sarah’s nervous face as she was about to take the witness stand. And the pain I saw when she talked about finding her boss’s body. That couldn’t be faked.
Not only was I sure she had nothing to do with the murder, I waspositiveshe wasn’t in cahoots with my enemies. She just had the bad luck of getting swept up in all of this.
“And she could be in danger,” I said.
“Or she’s part of the conspiracy.”
“No. My gut tells me she’s not.”
Lev smirked. “Something tells me you’re not thinking with your gut.”
I shot him an unamused look, but he had a point. My attraction to her was off the charts.
“Just trust me,” I said, knowing that he did. “I know what I’m doing. I want her to be protected from the Italians while the trial is going on. She’s innocent and has been sucked into the darkness of our world. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you sound worried.”
We reached the car, and I got behind the wheel without responding to that statement. He was right; I was worried about Sarah. But I wasn’t about to admit that out loud.
It was just crazy.