“Yes, I remember. He’s the guy who took you and Max in after your parents died. Right?”
“That’s the one, yes,” I answered, unwilling to throw my sister under the bus.
“What about him?”
“There’s no easy way to break it to you, Charlie, so I’m just going to say it. A few months back, Grigoriy called me to Moscow where he informed me that he would be moving drugs into America.”
“Okay,” Charlie said slowly.
“He knows I can’t refuse him because of the ‘debt’ Inessa, and I owe him. It’s bullshit, of course, but Grigoriy has it in his head that we owe him because he took care of us for a few years.”
“I don’t like where this is going, Max.”
“Let him finish, my love,” Inessa said.
“Anyway, now he’s smuggling his filth into the country and he’s using my company to do so.”
I sat back and braced myself for the explosion.
“For fuck’s sake, Max! Are you insane?”
“There’s more,” I said, calmly.
“More?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how, but the DEA knows about it.”
“Holy shit, Max. What are you going to do?”
“They’ve offered me a deal. I’m working with them to nail Grigoriy.”
“Well, good. Fuck me. I need a drink.”
“I’ll get it,” Inessa offered.
“What a mess, Max.”
“I’m sorry, Charlie. The last thing I ever wanted was to expose you to this. I love you guys so much. That’s why I’ve arranged for the three of you to go into a safe house until this mess is sorted out.”
“A safe house?”
“Yeah. The DEA has arranged everything. You will be safe there.”
“What about Angel?” he asked.
“She’s going to be there with you.”
“How am I going to work Max?”
“I’m sorry, buddy. You will have to take a break for a while. If you use your computer, they’ll track your IP address. Grigoriy is no fool. I’m happy to pay for all your expenses until you’re out of danger.”
“I don’t need your money, Max. We have plenty to keep us going. It’s about keeping contact with my clients.”
“We’ll think of something, Charlie. We’ll tell them you’re taking a bit of a sabbatical so we can travel,” Inessa offered.
“I guess we could do that. When will this happen?”
“As soon as possible,” I said.