Between HeVan and Hell (15 page)

As they entered the Lounge, Anton’s
grandfather was still grilling Jalen about his work and Jalen, in
turn, was deftly turning aside his verbal jabs. She heard Mr.
Kadyrov laugh. “You and I must have a game of chess. I feel you
would be a worthy opponent.”

“Thank you. I would be delighted,”
said Jalen.

Jalen saw Mr. Kadyrov look up and
smile so he and Jett turned their heads. Upon seeing Grace, they
once again rose from their seats. They towered over Anton and she
could tell that he wasn’t too happy about that, as he stiffened
beside her.

“Ah, Anton, there you are, my boy.
Allow me to introduce Grace’s fiancé and his brother,” said Mr.
Kadyrov.

As his grandfather introduced him to
the other gentlemen, she sidled over to Jalen’s side, where he
immediately put his arm around her waist.

At the end of the introductions, she
spoke up, “Well, it’s time we left. Thank you for inviting me to
bring Jalen to see you. I’ll be back at work tomorrow at three for
my regular shift,” said Grace.

“My dear, don’t you want to enjoy
yourselves? Take these two and show them around the place,” said
Mr. Kadyrov.

At the same time, his grandson said,
“Leaving on my account?”

Grace ignored Anton and said, “You
forget, Sir, I work here. I know how much the odds favor the
house.”

Jalen started to agree when Jett
interrupted to say, “Why don’t you two go on back to the condo? If
Mr. Kadyrov doesn’t mind, I’ll play for an hour or two and then
head home. That way you can celebrate your new engagement
alone.”

Before he could respond, Kadyrov spoke
up, “I don’t mind at all, my boy. That seems a fine idea. Lovers
must have their time alone.”

He waved over a hostess and told her
to show Mr. Contadina around the gaming floor. Jalen and Grace said
their good nights and left.

Anton sat down at his grandfather’s
table. When everyone had moved away, his grandfather turned to him
and said, “Well?”

“The engagement is legit. He went down
on one knee in the Food Court at the mall, of all places. As soon
as Gregor called and told me, I drove back to get a look. I saw
them go into a small jewelry store for the rings. I don’t like
these two guys, though. What do you think?” asked Anton.

“First, the owner of the jewelry store
called Grace because you mentioned her when you went in. You need
to take care of that, because Jalen mentioned she’s gone to the
police. As for him and his brothers, he’s a lone operator. He
didn’t drop any names and he doesn’t fear me. Either he’s connected
deep or he’s a cop or he’s a fool. I don’t recognize the accent so
it’s possibly a fake.

Watch the brother. I’m going home
early. I have some other business to take care of. Don’t forget, we
have a meeting with the Board of Directors Friday afternoon. We’ll
wait and see what happens,” said Mr. Kadyrov.

Then he added, “No more following her.
Or beating up old women for telling you things you don’t want to
hear.”

“I will have her, Grandfather, willing
or not. She’s strong and will be the perfect addition to my
collection,” answered Anton.

“Did I say you couldn’t have her?”
asked Mr. Kadyrov. “No, you are better than those two. Well, you
will have to take her, then. It will be an enjoyable challenge for
you. Please do so away from our business. We don’t want the cops
here snooping around.”

With that final word, he got up and
left, leaving his grandson to run the place for the
night.

Jett walked around with the casino
hostess on his arm. He introduced himself and then asked her
questions about Grace. He explained that he wanted to know his
future sister-in-law better. He passed by the card tables. It was
too easy to count the cards; not enough of a challenge and not
really gambling, to his mind. He finally settled on craps, not
liking the odds at the roulette wheel.

He played for a little over two hours
so the time was just past midnight. At first on a winning streak,
his chips were adding up to a tidy sum. Then he started losing and
the pile was beginning to shrink. He activated the communicator in
his pocket and made the transmission to the ship about picking up
Gilda and the rest. Then he received back the most recent data
downloads Becky and Addie had requested. He was just picking up his
chips to leave, tossing a few to the dealer as he had seen others
doing, when Anton Kadyrov showed up at his side.

“You are leaving here so soon, Mr.
Contadina?” he asked.

“I’ve been playing longer than I had
intended. They’ve had enough privacy; it’s time for me to head
home. I had an entertaining evening, but I don’t think I’m much of
a gambler,” said Jett.

“Oh, I hope you haven’t lost too
much,” Anton stated with a quirk of an eyebrow and a sardonic
smile.

“No, I’ve quit before losing all I had
won. I’ll be leaving a little heavier in my pocket than before I
came in,” said Jett, returning the smile with one of his
own.

“Allow me to show you to the cashier,
so you may cash in your chips,” said Anton.

As they walked to the cashier’s booth,
Jett decided this was the perfect time to rile up Anton Kadyrov. It
was obvious Anton didn’t have the same control as his grandfather.
And Jett was still angry over his treatment of Gilda. He wished he
could mete out a little punishment of his own. This would have to
do.

When Jett cashed in his chips, the
amount came to just over ten thousand dollars. Since he’d started
with five thousand of his own, he’d more than doubled his money. He
refused a check, telling them he preferred the cash. As the cashier
was counting out the funds, he turned to Anton Kadyrov.

“Is it true, what they imply in the
papers? Are you and your grandfather members of the criminal class,
what they call the Russian Mafia?” Jett asked directly.

“It is impolite to insult your host,
especially in his place of business when you have so handsomely
profited from the association. I would prefer that you and your
brother not come back here again. You won’t be made welcome,”
responded Anton, as the clerk did his best to count and listen in
at the same time.

“I had not planned on it. And when I
explain to Grace what you have said, I think I can convince her to
quit this job. That will please my brother.”

He then gave Anton his own shark grin.
“You have not denied the question.”

“Such rudeness doesn’t deserve a
response. These two men will show you out,” Anton replied,
gesturing to two security guards.

Jett gave a slight bow. “Your
grandfather has charm and a veneer of class. Your own veneer is
much thinner, and the thug you are shows through. I saw the way you
looked at Grace. Stay away from her,” he warned in a cold sharp
voice.

“You threaten me, in my own place?”
Anton’s face went red. He was angry that the man’s words had
momentarily scared him.

“I made no threat, merely a demand;
one that you will obey or face the consequences. That is my promise
to you.”

And turning sharply on his heel, Jett
quickly strode to the front door. With his long legs, his stride
quickly carried him across the floor. People naturally parted in
front of him. The security guards were practically jogging to keep
up with him. Jett just laughed as he left.

Anton made a motion across the room
and another man stepped out of the shadows and came quickly over.
Stepping away from the cashier and giving a quick look around, he
spoke.

“Find him and kill him. Make sure to
do it away from the club. And make sure it’s painful; I want him to
know who ordered the hit.”

“Yes, Sir, Mr. Anton. Right away,”
answered the thug as he turned and hurried off. He’d grab more than
his usual crew, he’d seen how big the guy was and how he
moved.

As Jett strode down the street, he
hoped he’d insulted and pushed Anton Kadyrov enough to act. It was
less than a mile to the new location the Captain had given them to
pick up the nano’s transmissions. He still needed to go there and
show the Captain how to download the signals and explain that he
was the only one who had the right equipment and when the optimum
time would be. He decided to walk. The fresh air would do him good
and since he didn’t get to punch Anton Kadyrov, this small amount
of exercise would have to suffice. Since he’d spent almost two
hours with the stupid games, if that bastard tried anything, the
nanos would record it. That reminded him—he slipped a hand in his
front pocket and activated his phone’s voice controls, just in
case. Thinking about the controls, he decided to also activate his
body shield.

He turned another corner down a side
street. He was walking leisurely towards his eventual destination
when four men stepped out of an alley about twenty feet in front of
him.

“Mr. Anton wants you dead, and he
wants it to be painful. You should hand over your money and your
other valuables now. I’d hate to get your blood on them,” said one
of the four. The others chuckled. He felt more than saw more
attackers coming up from behind.

He tilted his head down, like a parent
shaking their head at the actions of a child. In fact, he was
speaking to his pocket, telling the camera to start recording.
“Record,” he murmured in a soft voice, then he let his voice rise
up as he continued, “Are you saying that because I called him a
thug and told him to stay away from Grace, that he ordered you to
kill me? That seems unlikely. You are just an opportunist, mugging
one of his customers, I think,” said Jett, hoping the thug would
betray himself further.

“As soon as you left, he waved me
over. Told me to find you and kill you. He wants you dead and he
wants you to know that he ordered the hit -- his very words. Ask
him yourself. Oh, no, you can’t, can you? You’ll already be dead
and I’ll be splitting the ten grand in your pocket with my friends
here.” The others laughed and jeered.

“Stop yapping, Ron, and kill him,
then,” said one of the others from behind.

“So you are all prepared to help this
Ron individual kill me and take my own money as payment for the
task?” asked Jett.

They nodded and yelled, explaining
exactly what they were going to do, hyping themselves up to take
him on.