Hotbox (89 page)

Jayden smiled and sat down beside him
, taking his hand
. Then her expression quickly changed. “Brandon…” She sighed. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m so sorry—”

“This wasn’t your fault, Jayden. These things just happen.
I’m
sorry that I couldn’t protect you.
They just… They played it perfectly,
”
he
sighed
.

“It’s not your fault either, so let’s just forget the apologies, okay? I’m just…so thankful that you’re all right. At least your stubbornness was good for something. I heard you fought like hell in the ER
to pull through
.”

He smiled. “I don’t really remember, but if you say so… Besides, you’re the stubborn one.” He looked at me standing near the door. “Your girl has quite the spirit in her.”

I nodded with a smile and Jayden said, “Oh! I’m sorry. Brandon this is Ty. Ty, Brandon—my other boyfriend.” She smiled at me smugly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told him.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

“Likewise.
Yo
u’re very famous in my world
.
Well…unofficially of cours
e.
There are only two of us that even know your name.
None of this really happened, right?
” He smiled, and I was very thankful th
at Cole had said the same thing
.
Only Kristof’s name was linked to the shootout in the warehouse, and that alone said enough to the world of crime.

“So what about you?” Jayden asked
him
. “What happens next?”

“Well, I’m going to be here for a while. I’ll have to see if my body heals okay. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be fit for special teams again, but there are other options. Maybe I’ll be for hire by the time you tour with a new album.”

She laughed. “Well you’d definitely be my first pick. I’m sure it would be a walk in the park compared to the brutality of the Russian mafia.”

“
I don’t know
;
music fans can be pretty crazy
.
But
I’m sure you could take on any one of them.” He looked at me again. “Did you know she tried to beat me up?”

“I did not!” she laughed. “He wanted me to show him
that I could defend myself.”

“Yeah, and she practically broke me in half over the coffee table. You took advantage of the fact that I couldn’t exactly use full force on you,” he accused her with his finger.

I listened to them joke back and forth
for a while
. I had been relieved
when Jayden said they got
along pretty well. It made me feel better
knowing
that she had someone she could talk to that knew the truth about what was going on. She admitted that sometimes Brandon felt like her only friend. Cali had moved to
L.A.
and Jayden was pretty broken up over that. And even though Chris was around, she didn’t feel like she could ever open up to him
completely
. Especially if it had to do with how she still felt about me.
She hadn’t been getting along with her father either, and she was glad for the chance to “move in” with Brandon. Her father hadn’t even openly disapproved of it since he hoped it was a way for Jayden to get over me.

We stayed with Brandon for another half
an
hour until a nurse came in and advised us to leave
so he could get some rest
.

Then we stopped by another hospital to visit
Boris.
His leg had undergone some intense surgical procedures to fix the damage that had been done. Apparently
Meinikov’s
shots were meant to destroy his knee just as it had, and despite all the repairs that had been done, Boris would never have full use of his leg again.

“You are supposed to be a happy man,”
Boris
said to me
when we entered his room
.

I slowly arrived at his bedside. “I’m not when I see you like this.”

He smiled. “Does wearing a hospital gown weaken my image?”

I smiled
at his sense of humor.
“No, it doesn’t. You’re still a hero in my eyes.”

He c
huckled. “Well, thank you, sir.”

Jayden and I sat down beside his bed and talked to him
for nearly an hour, and by the end of our visit, I was convinced the man was one of a kind.

I finally got to celebrate Jayden’s birthday on the eighteenth of October. I had missed last year’s and I was determined to make up for it.
We had a huge bash at
Zero
, against Jayden’s wishes, but she warmed up to the idea when I told her
Nick
was coming down to perform a special
acoustic
show, just for her. I had so much fun just…celebrating life.

Two days later I was sitt
ing
at a cold, metal table in visiting
quarters
.
Kristof
was led into the room, and I wasn’t surprised to see him smile as he sat down.

“Hello, Tyler. It’s good to see you.”

My mood was mixed. I still didn’t know how I felt about
him
.
“It’s good to see you, too. Especially alive.
I think.
”

He lightly laughed. “Well, I’m not so sure that’s a good thing right now. I’m here, after all.” He motioned to his surroundings.

“So tell me about that. Why did you do it?”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t really a decision. I wanted you to have your life back, Tyler. When Boris told me you were willing to face Meinikov
and
Derevenko alone, I couldn’t let that happen. I would much rather give myself in your place.
It is what would have eventually happened anyway.
”

“So why did
you let it go as far as it did?
If you were willing to work with the poli
ce, why didn’t you do it sooner?
”

“I wasn’t willing to work with the police,” he smiled. “That only happened because I had no choice. My plans were to eliminate Meinikov myself.
I’m very sorry you were involved in this.
The threa
t of those men alive…
Do you realize what would happen if the police were to ‘arrest’ Aleksey Meinikov? Lev Derevenko?
Yakov
Derevenko
?” He sighed. “Tyler, don’t be naïve. You know that even behind bars these men could do some serious damage to your life.
It was better
to take care of the problem once and for all.
And…don’t underestimate the government’s ability to realize the same,” he added with another mysterious smile. “
There’s no such thing as a perfect setup, is there?
Of course, unless it’s one of my own…
”

             
“You knew where
they
would meet?”

             
“I have eyes everywhere. Let’s just say t
hat Derevenko has employees that…actually work for me
.
And the government got what they wanted.
A
mass
assassination… It didn’t matter
which crime family
. And now t
hey have
me
,” he smiled
again, motioning to his lovely jumpsuit and prison loafers
. “And they have some other information that they wanted. I think they’re happy.”
Then his appearance became somber and he asked,
“
Tyler, h
ow is Boris?”

             
I realized he completely changed the subject, but I didn’t mind. “Boris is in good spirits, altho
ugh I don’t understand why. His knee is pretty much done for
. He probably won’t ever walk
right
again.”

He slowly nodded
, but I could tell he was affected
.
“I’m glad he was able to get you out safely.”

“Well he
could’ve
died doing it,” I said bitterly. “For a ‘babysitter’ he sure does a lot for you.”

He
smiled
with surprise
. “Who called him a babysitter?”

“Meinikov.”

He paused in contemplation and rubbed his chin with his fingers. Finally he leaned forward on the table. “Boris is far from just a babysitter,” he said quietly. “Boris is the heir to my estate
.”

I raised my eyebrows
. “Your heir? Does
he
know that?”

He lightly laughed. “No, I don’t think so. But Boris and I are very close. He’s not my servant, Tyler, although we make it appear that way. He is very much my equal.
He’s like a brother to me.
”

“Has he really been looking out for me all these years?”

“Yes, he has. I’m sorry if you’re upset that the mansion
s are
going to him
instead of you
.” He was hiding a smile.

I chuckled. “No, not at
all. I wouldn’t have accepted
anyway.”

“Yes, I know. But Boris will be very comfortable
in one of his choosing
.”

“And the business?”

He shook his head. “The business is no longer.”

“What about Kenny?”

“He has relocated his family. Something he’s wanted to do for some time now.”

“And the rest of the Derevenkos? I was told I didn’t have anything to worry about, but it’s hard to believe when people keep things so vague.”

“There aren’t any
loose ends
.”

“Meaning?”

He smiled. “Meaning there isn’t anyone left
that cares anything about me.
Lev Derevenko treated his employees like prisoners. They all hated him.”

“Does anyone really love their crime boss?”

He laughed. “No, probably not. But I’d like to say that I took care of my employees well, as long as they were loyal.”

“What about Kenny? Dean said Kenny suffered a great deal because he had a family.”

He eyed me carefully. “Let’s not get into why I do the things I do.”

“Fine. What
about Bobby?
Where is he these days?”

He smiled again
when he replied, “I finally made that piece of garbage go to rehab. For the first time in his life I’m sure he has the courage to kill me himself.”

Just
the thought of it made me smile
. Poor weak, defenseless Bobby. He was so messed up
from
drugs I wasn’t sure if he’d ever be the same.“

So what’s going to happen to
you
?”
I finally asked.

He didn’t answer me
and I was fo
rced to draw my own conclusion. I wasn’t aware of what terms he’d agreed to,
and
Cole wouldn’t
talk about it
, either
. I didn’t
want to speculate as to
why it was such a mystery, but I figured the less I knew the better.
The
only thing that I did know—the only thing that was important to me—was that I was finally free to live a normal life. I was ready to devote myself to Jayden entirely, and even though I still had issues I needed to sort out from the past twenty years, I knew anything was possible because I had her love and support beyond measure.

I was glad that I didn’t have to be caught between bases anymore. The hotbox that had been my life before was no longer an issue.

A week later
brought
a pretty big
surprise
.
I was lying on the couch with Jayden at her place, and there was a knock at the door.

“Why do people always know when to interrupt us?” I mumbled against her lips.

She smiled and replied, “I don’t know, but I hope it’s not my dad.”

I groaned and she laughed.

“Or Chris,
”
she added.

I groaned again. I’d already had my share of both of them.

She slid off of me and straightened her hair
as
she walked across the room, and
I stood up as she opened the door. “Hello. Can I help you?”

“Uh, you must be Jayden?”

The female voice was unmistakable
,
and I joined Jayden at the door to open it further. My mother
and brother were all smiles, standing on the porch.