Finding Gary (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 4) (23 page)

By the time he’d turned down the lights and made his way to the door, he was nodding at his own thoughts, hyped by the reminder of why he’d taken this job.  By the time he stepped outside, he was smiling as he locked the doors. 

He was always the last to leave every night, and the manager trusted him to lock everything up.  His manager liked him, trusted him, and had been hinting at a raise.  That made his smile bloom even more.

Just as Val was double checking the lock, tires screamed against the street behind him, and nearly made him jump out of his shoes.

His golden eyes flew towards the sound, and he caught sight of his brother’s white Cadillac barreling into the parking lot.  He recognized it because of that ridiculous purple flame painted on the side.  The profanities were back on his lips with a vengeance, because the car didn’t appear to be slowing down, but speeding up.

The driver honked incessantly, and Val jumped out of the way just before the car came barreling over the curb, hitting the wall just a foot away from where he’d been standing, coming to a stop only after the bumper had unhinged a few bricks.

“Gary!” Val cried when his baby brother jumped out of the driver’s seat. “I thought Pop told you not to touch the car until Roman got… back…” His words slowed to a stop when his brother circled the rear of the car and came closer, his long, thin body trembling from head to toe, green eyes bigger than Val had ever seen them.

“Val… I… we… it… we…”

Val shook his head at Gary’s incomprehensible ramblings, his eyes flying to Reggie when he stepped out of the passengers seat and made his way over to Val, too.  Reggie tried to speak, as well, but sadly, was making just as little sense as Gary.

“Okay,” Val said, his smile coming back as he realized these two idiots had managed to get themselves into a world of trouble, again.  It was what they did best, after all.  “Take a deep breath, both of you.  Calm down, and tell me what you fucked up this time so we can fix it before Pop finds out.”

Reggie’s dark brown eyes filled with moisture.  “It was an accident,” he whispered.

The smile vanished from Val’s face.  Reggie and Gary got into their fair share of nonsense.  Val was used to seeing them fall apart when it occurred to them they’d be made to pay the price for their idiotic choice of the week. 

But something about Reggie’s eyes in that moment… was different.  Gary’s too.  It sent a cold chill down Val’s spine.

Val’s shrunken eyes moved back to Gary, and he was in the midst of asking for an explanation again when a police siren roared in out of nowhere.

All three of them jolted—Gary even screamed—and turned towards the sound.   Gary and Reggie scooted in closer to Val, and they squinted against the bright lights of the police cruiser that came barreling into the lot just as quickly as the Cadillac had.  The cruiser stopped at the curb, a few feet away front of them.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Gary wheezed, pushing past Val and back against the wall.  Fat tears spilled out of his eyes.

Val watched him, stunned.  When he turned to Reggie and found him squatting down on the sidewalk, mumbling incoherently into his hands, he was in disbelief.

The police officer climbed out of the cruiser and shone a flashlight at Val, who reached up and covered his eyes.

“Sir, is this your vehicle?” the officer asked, nodding towards the Cadillac.

“No, it’s my older brother’s…” Val sighed.  “It’s my family’s car, sir.  I’m Valentin Romanovs—”

“Who is the driver?” the officer asked, still keeping the light on Val’s face unnecessarily, closing the door to his car and stepping closer.  With a cringe, the officer moved the light to Gary, whose cries had turned to wails, and then Reggie, who was still curled in a ball down on the ground.

Val followed the flashlight’s beam, took in the two morons falling apart behind him, and laughed softly when the officer put the flashlight back on him. 

“It was me,” Val said.

And, just like that, the hysterics stopped.  The crying stopped.  Gary and Reggie both went dead silent.

The officer dropped the flashlight to his side, studying Val with cold eyes.

Val held up his hands, grateful he no longer had to listen to those two punks moaning. 

“Whatever it was,” Val smirked, shooting another look at his little brother, a look that made it very clear Gary was going to owe him big time for this, before looking back to the officer.  “It was me, all right?  I was driving.”

The officer held his eyes, nodding.  “Well, in that case, you’re under arrest, son.”

Val’s heart dropped.  The smile was, once again, wiped from his face.  Though the officer took his arm in a gentle hold, Val felt like he’d been violently yanked from the peaceful world he’d lived in just seconds ago.  As his arms were pulled behind his back, the handcuffs cooling the skin on his wrists, his wide golden eyes bore into Gary’s, who mouthed “I’m sorry”, over and over, but couldn’t verbalize the words.

Val’s eyes flew to Reggie, who seemed to be at a loss for words as well.

“What did you do?” Val mouthed so that the officer couldn’t hear, throwing his horrified eyes back to Gary.  “What the fuck did you do?”

His ears pounded, so loudly he was sure permanent eardrum damage was on the horizon, as the officer read him his rights.  Through the ringing in his ears, Val got the gist.  ‘Felony’, ‘hit and run’, and ‘leaving the scene’ were just a few of the words that registered, and his heart picked up even more.

“I’m Val Romanovsky,” he finally said, when the officer began dragging him away.  He’d always vowed never to use his father’s name to get out of sticky situations, but he’d also never been caught up in one quite as sticky as this. “My father is Supervising Chief at 5th, Tony Romanovsky? And that kid right over there?  That’s Victor King’s son.  Are the handcuffs really necessary, sir?”  When Val’s words seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the officer, who was in the midst of pulling the back door to his cruiser open, Val willed himself to calm down.  He knew his father would take care of it.  “I can’t leave my little brother here alone,” he said, nodding towards Gary and Reggie.

The officer pushed Val’s head into the back seat of the car and slammed the door shut.

***

From the pews, Val’s hands still shook from the emotion that had overtaken him during his testimony.  He’d stepped down from the witness stand over ten minutes ago, but his body still trembled.  Leaning forward on his knees, he tried to clasp one hand over the other to help stop them from shaking, but it didn’t work.  Both Leo and his mother rubbed his back from where they sat on either side of him, and he could feel Roman’s eyes on him from his seat next to Leo.  Even though he’d done nothing but sit for most of the morning, Val couldn’t get his breathing under control, gasping like he’d just run a marathon.

When he looked up and met eyes with his father, Tony Romanovsky, who’d just taken his own seat behind the witness stand, Val said a silent prayer for him, because that shit was a lot harder than it looked.

“I’m proud of you, baby,” Bette whispered in his ear, pushing a kiss on his cheek.  “It’s almost over.”

Val didn’t hear the words, not just because he couldn’t conceptualize them being true but because Jack was on the verge of asking the question that had made this trial possible to begin with.  The question that really would end all of this for good.

Holding onto the edge of the witness stand with one hand, Jack pushed his other hand in his pocket.  “Tony, we know Gary Romanovsky struck and killed Pansy and Marcus Black.  We know Val Romanovsky took the fall, which is why his face appears on the mug shot.  We also know that mug shot went away.  The car went away.  The charges went away.  So the real question becomes…” Jack paused; something that after several courtroom sessions, Val knew he did for effect.  And effective it was because every inch of his body went tight before Jack went on, how voice lowering.  “That night at the 5th Precinct… who made it all go away?”

Tony’s chest swelled.

19

10 Years Earlier

As Head Chief at the 5th Precinct, Victor King’s office was the largest, by far.  Still, it was embarrassingly basic.  Sterile.   Wall-to-wall with beat up filing cabinets, and a cheap wood desk that had been passed down from Chief to Chief for decades.  He’d believed the title of Head Chief would be enough.  That being the ruler of the 5th Precinct would satiate him.  He’d been wrong.  Coming into that shit hole of an office, day after day, only reminded him that he was better than this.  He was better than this raggedy office and better than the raggedy officers who surrounded him daily.  He wanted more.  He was entitled to more.  He deserved more.

“I’ll be damned if I allow you two little piss ants to fuck up what I’ve been working nearly a decade for,” Victor said, from behind the very desk he’d grown to despise, leaning on it with his hands clasped in front of him.  On the other side of his desk Gary, Reggie, and Val sat in three plastic chairs.  Gary and Reggie had yet to lift their eyes from the floor, but Val met Victor’s gaze head on, making him shift.  Victor had never liked that arrogant fucking kid.  Wildly self-assured for a sixteen-year-old, Val never missed an opportunity to stare someone dead in the eye until they were so uncomfortable they had no choice but to look away.  He’d challenged Victor on several occasions, with a ferocity his son wouldn’t even dare. 

“You seem pretty damn proud of yourself,” Victor said, holding Val’s gaze.

Val tilted his head ever so softly, and a gentle squint narrowed his eyes.

Victor squinted back.  “You’ve got nothing to be proud of tonight.”

“My brother was about to be cuffed,” Val said.  “He was on his knees on the sidewalk, on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.”

“You shouldn’t have told the responding officer who you were,” Victor spat.  “Now it will be ten times harder to clean up this mess.”

“If you’re waiting for me to apologize for protecting my brother, you’ll be waiting for the rest of your life.”

Gary lifted his eyes from the floor just long enough to shoot a look at Val.

Val met Gary’s eyes and nodded upward, silently reassuring him.

The door to the office flew open, and Tony Romanovsky appeared with frantic green eyes.  Those eyes flew straight to Gary, and Tony showed his teeth, eyes gleaming.

“Goddamn it, Gary,” Tony breathed.

Gary’s body visibly shook from head to toe, an uncontrollable response he’d managed to keep under control until that moment.  Tears tumbled out of his eyes without needing a single second to accumulate, and his mouth turned down, shaking just as violently as his body.  Even when Val’s big hand came to his shoulder, it didn’t calm him.

“It was an accident, Pop,” Gary whispered.  “I didn’t mean to…. I didn’t want to… I didn’t…”

“Close the door,” Victor said, in the same tone he would use if he were throwing a party and offering Tony an hors d’oeuvre.

Tony slammed the door closed, zeroing in on Val.  “And how the hell did you get involved?  You’re supposed to be at work.”

Val’s shoulders lifted.  “I was closing up the shop then Gary pulled up in the Cadillac, crying so hard he couldn’t even tell me what was going on.  Reggie too.  I had no idea, Pop.  By the time the responding officer pulled up, I just said it was me because I thought it would be some bullshit like it always is with them.  I didn’t know he’d hit somebody.”

“He didn’t hit somebody,” Tony cried, his voice breaking.  “He killed somebody! Two somebody's!”

The air left the room for everyone but Victor, who was too busy straightening his spine, wondering why Tony was so emotional.  In the years they’d worked together, Victor knew it took a hell of a lot for Tony to lose his cool, and he’d never seen Tony cry.  Not even a hint of moisture in the farthest corner of his eye.  Now, even though he was still managing to choke them back, Victor could see tears shining in Tony’s eyes.

“Killed?” Val’s voice lowered.  For the first time, his shoulders fell. A tiny shred of that arrogance left him. 

Victor would kill a million more men if it meant taking that fucking kid down a couple more notches.

“They’re…” Tony cringed and covered his mouth with the back of his hand, turning away from everyone, a hand on his hip as he moved towards the door.  “That was my…” He faced them and still couldn’t speak, giving up all together when his voice wouldn’t operate.

“How did you know them?” Victor asked, understanding what Tony couldn’t say.

Tony pressed both hands to his hips and let his head fall.  Several quiet moments passed before he sucked in a deep breath and looked back up.  “My best friend.  My best friend since I was five years old…” He covered his mouth again, struggling.   “And his wife,” he finally finished, turning away again.

“Pop, I’m so sorry,” Gary went to stand, stopping halfway when Val squeezed his shoulder.  He plopped back down, his voice rose with his emotion.  “I’m so, so, so sorry.”

Tony kept his back turned, taking deep, steady breaths until he had himself under control.  The silence went on, no one daring to speak another word until he turned back to them.

“How could this happen?” he asked, his voice more controlled than it had been a moment ago.  He motioned to Gary, and his shaking hand gave away the fact that, calm as he may appear, his core was still in shambles.  “Why didn’t you stop?  Slow down?  How fast were you going?”

“The brakes,” Reggie spoke, catching everyone’s attention.  He froze for a moment, caught off guard when every eye in the room flew to him.  He motioned to Gary half-heartedly.  “You said something about the brakes being off…”

Val and Tony shot their gazes to Gary, who shrugged one shoulder. 

Gary said, “They felt kind of weird…”

“How so?” Tony pressed.

“They were, I dunno…” Gary cocked his lip.  “Like, mushy.”

“And you still drove!” Tony roared.

Gary’s voice rose.  “That car’s always been a piece of shit.  Even Rome always complained about all the work it needed!  I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Why didn’t you swerve?  Turn the goddamn wheel? I would’ve rather you ended up in somebody’s yard than with two lives on your hands.”

“I couldn’t see,” Gary cried.  “Pop, I literally couldn’t see anything because I was crying so hard…” Gary bit his lip and threw Reggie a wide-eyed look.

Reggie returned his big eyed glare and gnawed on his bottom lip.

“Why?” Val asked, stealing all the eyes in the room.  He shot a look at Tony.  “He was, Pop, he was crying.”   He motioned to Gary.  “But I figured it was because you were freaked out about hitting those people.   You were crying before that?”

Gary breathed in.  “No.  You were right.  I was crying because of the accident.”

“You just said you were crying before the accident.  That you couldn’t see the road because of it,” Tony circled the chairs to shoot fire at Gary.  “Tell me the truth!”

Gary jolted.

Tony pressed his thumb and forefingers together, leaning down and putting them in Gary’s face.  “What happened?  Why were you so upset that you couldn’t see the road?  Tell me the truth.”

“Pop…” Gary shook his head, tears tumbling over his eyes.  “Please.”

The further Tony leaned forward, the deeper he squinted at his youngest son, and in the next second, he had Gary’s jaw under his fingers in a hold so fierce he made pockets in his cheeks.  He turned Gary’s head to the side.

Tony’s eyes widened at the sight of a red welt taking root in Gary’s eye, and his own skin reddened.  “What the hell happened to you?” he demanded.

“Nothing!” Gary moved Tony’s hand away, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “I hit my head during the accident, that’s all,” he said, his voice lowering considerably.

Tony let that answer sink in, but was unable to stop his angry eyes from moving to Reggie, traveling his banged up face.  “I’m sure you just hit your head, too, right?”

Reggie sat taller at the question.  “Maybe we should check the brakes on the car.  I saw Gary slam down on them.  Over and over. I heard his foot hitting the floor of the car.  Why didn’t it stop?”

“I’ve heard all I need to hear,” Victor said.  He removed his hands from where they’d been pressed to his lips.  “Here’s what we do.  We get rid of the car.  Lucky for you two idiots, our servers just went down, and Val’s paperwork had to be done by hand.  We get rid of the paperwork.  We wipe the streetlight footage.  We wipe Val’s mug shot when the server comes back up, and…” Victor sighed.  “Pretend this whole thing never happened.”

Horrified eyes looked back at him.  He held his hands out. “This is the only way.”

“No, it isn’t the only way,” Tony approached his desk.  “Gary is a minor.  It was an accident.  With the right lawyer, he won’t even be put behind bars.  Involuntary manslaughter, at most.  When he hits eighteen, we’ll have it expunged.”

“And my son?  Am I going to allow word to get out that he was in the passenger’s seat?” Victor asked.  “Absolutely not.”

Tony searched his eyes, nostrils expanding.  “Can’t have that, can we? Not when your city council win is on the line, right?  Not when you’ve got a 17 point lead.”

Val, Gary, and Reggie’s eyes flew back and forth between the two men as that comment seemed to light a fire under Victor that sent his voice ten decibels higher.

“How dare you imply this has anything to do with my run,” Victor roared.

“Oh please, spare me the bullshit.  Please,” Tony spat, in the midst of losing all control when the door to the room creaked open.  Every eye went to the door, as a tall man with hair so blonde it was nearly white stepped in.  His gray-blue orbs were almost as light as his skin and nearly disappeared into the whites of his eyes, giving him a demonic look that made Val push back in his seat.

Victor motioned to the door.  “Good, Knox.  Come in and close the door, you need to hear this too.”

Icy blue eyes jumped from one untrusting face to the next, Knox Jefferson did as he was told, closing the door with the same gentle hand you’d use to close a sleeping babies room.  He froze with his hand on the handle for a moment before turning back to them.  Knox’s eyes went straight to Tony, and when Tony’s fists clenched in response, they fell back down to the floor. 

Knox fiddled with a folder between his fingers.  His tongue seemed to have taken up permanent residence resting on his bottom lip.  It lived there as if it were too big to fit in his mouth.  His eyes never stopped moving, like he was taking a mental picture of every inch of the room.

The only person not made uncomfortable by Knox’s behavior was Victor as he motioned to him.  “You’ve done what I asked?”

Knox met Victor’s eyes.  “Yeah.”

“Val’s paperwork?”

Knox lifted the file, meeting Val’s eyes.

Val’s eyes grew big, and he shifted.

“Bring it to me,” Victor demanded, waiting for Knox to approach his desk and drop the files.  Victor threw it open and flipped through it, giving each page a long, thorough look before slamming the file closed.  “This is the only copy?”

“Yeah.  Wrote it up myself.”

“It hasn’t been computerized?”

“System went down right after we took Val’s mug shot,” Knox nodded.  “That’s why I did it by hand.”

Victor stood from the desk and moved across the room with the file.  Fingering a matchbook from his back pocket, he threw the file into the trash bin before flipping it open and igniting a match.  The scent of sulphur filled his nose, and white smoke floated into the air before Victor dropped the match into the bin.

He waited until the flames were licking the edge of the trashcan, until the unbearable burning scent was too much to bear before he turned back to the five people in the room.  He pointed to the bin.

“I don’t think I have to explain to any of you why, after we leave this office, none of us can be connected again.”  He motioned to Reggie and Gary.  “I’m talking to you, dumb and dumbest.”

“Nah, nah….” Tony stepped in front of Gary’s, holding a hand out.  “You’re not going to make this kind of decision for my kid.  Not when you can’t even show me the basic respect of consulting me first.  Who the hell do you think you are?”

Victor shot Tony a hot look.  “I’m the man who’s about to save your son from a very bleak future, Tony.”

“You don’t get to make that decision for my son.  I don’t know how the hell you raised your son, but my boys were brought up to face their mistakes like real men.”

Victor tilted his head.  “Your sons, huh?  Call me crazy, but I think, in some instances, your use of the word ‘son’ might be… a little ambitious.”  His eyes went to Knox.  “Am I right, Knox?”

Tony laughed, but his pained face didn’t match the sound.  Tony’s eyes followed Victor across the room, watching him re-take his seat with a smirk before leaning forward, hands clasped in front of his mouth.

“What’s he talking about, Pop?” Val asked, craning his neck to look up at Tony.

Tony’s chest heaved.  “You’re not going to get Gary twisted up in evidence tampering and obstruction of justice just because you’re obsessed with winning city council, Vic.  I won’t let you do it.  This is completely unacceptable.”