Russian Mobster's Obsession Read Online Free PDF Page A

something nice for your wife.”
    “I have always thought that you were an angel, my dear.” Franco brushed her cheek with his flour-covered fingers. “Just be careful not to get your wings singed.”
    * * *
    Viktor walked toward the docks. The scent of the harbor was heavy in the air and the darkness was falling quickly. He grasped a set of keys in his hand. They cut into his palm as he searched for the van that should have been sitting in plain sight. He circumvented a large container, not even wanting to know what cargo might be inside. He had long ago learned that ignorance wasn’t just bliss; it was survival.
    Finally he saw the van sitting by a loading dock. The dingy brown color made it nearly invisible in the deep shadows. Normally he was not a jumpy man. He could handle himself quite well in almost any situation, a status that lent itself to confidence. But tonight he felt as if something were just off.
    He stuck the key in the door and it opened without incident. Climbing inside, Viktor started the engine and began coasting out of the wharf area before he even considered turning any lights on.
    “Help!”
    The sound nearly made him swerve off the road. Viktor turned around, but the only thing he could see was the solid wall between the cab of the van and the cargo area. It was late. It was dark. He was already tired and feeling out of sorts because of all the drama involving Katie’s return. It was not unrealistic to think that his mind was playing tricks on him.
    “Please help us!”
    “Shit,” he muttered. Apparently his mind was not playing tricks at all. He groaned softly. How could he simply drive on as though nothing had happened?
    “Please! I know you’re there. We have children back here!”
    It could have been a ploy, but Viktor could hear the whimpers of what sounded like very young girls. He knew then that he could not complete this job. The only question was how to circumvent it without losing his life in the process.
    Viktor was supposed to meet Sasha at the park in the usual place to trade out vans. Before now, Viktor had never thought to wonder why Sasha was the one who brought the money, which Viktor then had to deliver to a third location while Sasha took the merchandise to the buyer.
    His road was just passing a hospital when Viktor had an idea. Of course, he would have to be careful not to be caught on one of the hospital’s security cameras. It wouldn’t matter that he was doing a good thing. The authorities would string him up from the nearest tree.
    Carefully pulling the van around the far side of the hospital and parking in an alley, Viktor got out of the vehicle. There was no doubt in his mind that the back of the vehicle was going to be locked. Fortunately, he had a childhood full of lock picking to fall back on.
    * * *
    Katie paced back and forth in front of her little fireplace. There was a little bit of a spring chill in the air this evening, so she had started a fire. Truthfully, though, she sought the comfort of the merrily crackling flames rather than the warmth.
    She could not stop thinking about Viktor. It seemed such a shame that the whole neighborhood had written him off simply because they didn’t want to chance an interaction with the mafia. Since Viktor wasn’t tied to Karkoff enough for the man to accept Viktor’s pledge, surely Viktor was a free man. Right?
    A sudden knock on the back door nearly made Katie leap out of her skin. On the couch, Max sat up and cocked his head. He wasn’t barking, which suggested that whoever was at the door wasn’t a stranger. But Max wasn’t rushing to the door either, so it wasn’t really a friend. There was only one person she could think of.
    “Come with me, boy,” she murmured to her dog.
    Max yawned and jumped down off the sofa. He followed her lead through the house, his toenails clicking on the wood floors as they made their way through the kitchen to the back door. Sure enough, she could see Viktor peeking between