“Yeah, you want me to call them?” Will asked.
I nodded, all of us charging out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. “Tell them to meet us at the hilltop gate. Tell them to bring something good from Marina. Something my father’s men would miss.”
Damon
Present
Since we knew my father’s men would be keeping a closer eye on the woods that we escaped through last night, it seemed less of a risk just to get them to open the rear gate for us. With a little finesse and guts, anyway.
“Thanks for coming.” I walked up to David and Lev, meeting them as they stepped out of their SUV.
“Banks made us,” Lev spat out.
Pissant.
Both of them used to work for my father, but now they worked for Kai and my sister at their home in Meridian City. Doing what, I wasn’t sure, but they stayed, so there must be something exciting going on over there.
I jerked my chin at the tin Lev was holding. “What did you bring?”
He popped the lid, but David answered, “She had some vatrushka already made. There’s zephyr in there, too.”
“Fuck, yeah.” I reached in, snatching one of the berry marshmallow things and popping it in my mouth. My taste buds exploded, making my mouth water like crazy, but it was probably more because I hadn’t eaten in two days rather than them tasting that good.
Although, they were good.
Marina also worked for my father before Banks stole her away, too. She and my sister were the only things I missed about this house, and now that they were no longer there, I had no reason to visit unless I was forced to.
I grabbed a vatrushka bun, barely chewing it before I swallowed it down, and led them over to a tree. I peered around it, the hilltop gate my father used for deliveries, caterers, and employees sat a hundred yards away, lit up by two lanterns.
Rika stood near, blowing into her hands to warm them up, while Will put on a sweatshirt, pulling the hood over his head.
“We just need you to get the gate open,” I told Lev and David.
If we could get them to come out, they’d shut off the cameras, not wanting a secret meetup caught on film.
“And then distract them, so we can get in,” Rika added, tucking her hands under her arms.
“And when you need to get out?” David retorted.
I exchanged a look with Rika, neither of us having an answer. “We’ll deal with that later,” I said.
Grabbing our backpack off the ground, I led Rika and Will to the edge of the tree line, waiting for the tiny lights on the cameras to go dark so we could move.
Behind us, I heard David on the phone.
“Hey,” he said.
He was silent a moment and then he laughed. “Aw, you still mad about that?” he joked. “Well, David and I aren’t here as friends. We come with a drug deal. We got some of Marina’s vatrushka. Bring us a bottle of Mamont, and we’ll call it even.” And then he added, “We have a little zephyr, too.”
He was quiet, and I looked over at him, seeing him hang up the phone and nod once at me.
Good. They were going for it.
I dug out some surgical tape, quickly tearing off three pieces and adding them to my wound to reinforce the stitches and hold the cut together. I’d be lucky if this shit didn’t tear open again before the end of the night.
I zipped up the pack, but Rika took it, putting it on her own back instead of letting me carry it. I almost argued, but I didn’t need another trip to the hospital, so fuck it.
After another moment, the power lights went off, and we bolted, running across the dirt road, jumping over the low hedges lining the wall, and crouching down, waiting for the gates to open.