Page 6 of Avenging Azalea (California Made Men #2)

Chapter

Five

TITUS

FOUR WEEKS LATER – HALLOWEEN

This operation wasn’t something that I would normally handle, but it was Fawn’s brother.

I stared across the street at the dilapidated home.

The address Fawn had given me was no good.

Her family was gone, and the rent was unpaid.

But I wasn’t that easy to hide from. I found the Carmichaels three hours later.

The home was so rundown that a strong windstorm could’ve blown it over. I couldn’t picture growing up in a neighborhood like this. It was a huge step down from the middle-class area they’d been in before Fawn was given to my family as payment for her stepfather’s debt.

Most of the homes were dark, but others tried to be festive for the season with fake spiders, ghosts, and skeletons on their lawns. Luckily, there were no children out at this hour.

“The men are in place,” Naji said, and I nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Pushing open my door, I stepped out into the humid night and marched across the street toward my target. An older woman looked out the window of a neighboring house but closed her drapes as soon as she spotted us.

Despite searching the shadows for my men, they were skilled and blended in perfectly to make sure no one escaped.

The house was dark, but they were home. We’d parked down the street and watched as Mr. Carmichael arrived home from work.

How did someone like that man end up in a high-stakes poker game?

The sound of my fist echoed in the night like gunshots against the crappy wooden door. I caught the movement of the curtains in the living room and then heard thumping like someone was running through the house.

“Target is heading for the side door,” Naji said into his headpiece.

A moment later, I heard the l screech of a screen door and a brief altercation before everything went quiet again.

“Stay here just in case someone else decides to come out the front,” I said, pointing to two of the guards.

Naji and I casually walked around the side of the house. My eyes landed on Fawn’s stepfather. Maurice held Mr. Carmichael in place with his arm twisted behind his back and face pressed against the siding. His eyes were wary as I stepped closer.

“It’s not very nice to run away from guests,” I said.

“I don’t owe anyone,” he said.

“Do you always run from people you don’t owe?”

He didn’t say anything, which was telling. Someone was coming to collect, but who and how much wasn’t my concern.

“Check the house. Keep anyone else here under guard in a back room until Mr. Carmichael and I are done speaking.”

Six of my soldiers, wearing their all-black military uniforms, walked into the home. A scream was quickly silenced, and a few seconds later, Naji nodded that the house was clear.

Stepping inside, my men dragged Mr. Carmichael behind me as I turned on the lights. The bare bulbs flickered, the orange glow adding to the ominousness of the night.

The living room was practically bare, with only a couch and a single chair, while dozens of scented candles made me want to gag.

I sat down at the small kitchen table and placed my gun on the sticky surface as Maurice forced Mr. Carmichael to sit across from me. His eyes darted around, looking for an escape. This was definitely not his first rodeo.

“Do you know who I am,” I asked casually. Neil shook his head. “Let me see if I can jog your memory. You lost half a million dollars in a high-stakes poker game to Dimitri Mikhailov.”

“I paid that debt,” he said, and my hand flexed.

People like him disgusted me. Stepfather or not, the callous way he spoke about Fawn made my blood boil. I lifted a finger, and Maurice punched Mr. Carmichael.

His head snapped to the side, and tears ran down his cheeks as he blubbered. Good, if he thought he was going to die, that worked in my favor.

“Did you really believe that one teenage girl would be enough payment for that debt?”

His eyes slowly lifted to mine, and there was a pain in them that I couldn’t quite decipher.

“You already took the most important thing I had. What else do you want?”

That was very interesting phrasing. Fawn had been reduced to a thing, but he obviously cared. Mr. Carmichael was a conundrum. I looked around the kitchen and sighed.

“Well, I was going to say money, but that appears to be the equivalent of drawing blood from a stone.” Leaning forward, my leather gloves creaked as I placed them on the table next to my gun. He gasped and clenched his eyes tight when I picked it up and pointed it at his head.

It took a few minutes, but when the gun didn’t go off, he cracked one eyelid to look at me.

“You tempt me to put a bullet right between your eyes,” I drawled. “My trigger finger is itchy.”

“Please, I’ll do anything. Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen. Do you want to fuck my wife?”

What the fuck is up with this guy?

“No, I don’t want to fuck your wife.”

He licked his lips, and a wild desperation settled in his blue eyes. Shaking my head, I set the gun down. He slumped in apparent relief, but it was definitely too soon for that.

“Your stepdaughter tells me that she has a brother…George.”

Mr. Carmichael’s eyes went wide at the mention of his son.

“Yes,” he stuttered. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“So you beg for your son’s life but traded your stepdaughter to pay your debt. Very interesting. Did you beg for her life?”

“I did. I never wanted Fawn to leave. But Cesare said she was the only thing of value I possessed. Please, I’m begging you, I thought my debt was paid. Don’t hurt my son.”

“I’m not going to hurt him.” He sucked in a deep breath. “But I am going to take him.”

“What?”

Maurice held onto Mr. Carmichael’s shoulders as I stood. I picked up the gun and stepped closer before putting it to his temple.

“Listen carefully, Mr. Carmichael. Can I call you Neil? Since you’re going to end up giving me both of your children, I think I should be able to call you by your first name.”

“Su…su…sure,” he stammered, his eyes rolling up to mine.

“Okay then, Neil. My name is Titus Mikhailov. I want you to remember that because if it were my father or any other member of my family, they wouldn’t be so understanding.

You can consider this your lucky night, a happy Halloween if you will.

” He glanced at the gun and then back to me.

“I’m taking George, but not to kill him, sell him, or abuse him.

He’ll be placed in a private school far away from your reach where he’ll be safe and receive a top-rate education. Naji, bag.”

Naji stepped up to the kitchen table and dropped a duffel on the table. Unzipping it, he pulled the sides open and showed off the fifty grand in cash. Neil’s eyes bugged out of his head.

“Here’s the deal, it’s a take it or die type of thing.

You’re going to tell George that we are friends of Fawn’s and that you want him to come with us.

Then you’ll use this money to pay your debts and forget all about Fawn and George.

If George calls you on his birthday or at Christmas, you’re simply to say that you’re happy and excited for him.

Tell him you love him, and that’s it. I’ll be notified if you ever visit the school, and if you try to turn George against me, then… .”

Snatching his jaw, I squeezed hard enough that he cried out and opened his mouth. I shoved my gun inside as I stared into his terrified eyes while he choked around the barrel.

“You don’t want me to come back. I’m nice to a point, and then I don’t care. Every nightmare scenario of what could happen to you will only be the beginning. Understand?”

He nodded as much as he could with his mouth full.

“Good, I’m happy we were able to come to an arrangement.”

Neil coughed as I pulled my gun away.

“Why? I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

“The why isn’t important. All that matters is that you do what you’re told. That money won’t go very far, and you’re out of children to sell. My suggestion…pay who you owe and get in a fucking program so you can get your shit together.”

Putting my gun away, I smiled.

“Now that we have that settled, Naji, tell the guards to bring Mrs. Carmichael and George downstairs.”

“No, please, not my wife. She thinks Fawn ran away from home.” My eyebrow cocked in disgust. “Cesare drugged her when he took Fawn, and I thought it would be easier on her if she thought that she ran off.”

I snorted in disgust. “No, it was easier for you to hide what a fucking piece of shit you are.” I shrugged. “What your wife believes or doesn’t believe is not my concern.” I looked at Naji. “Just the boy.”

He relayed the message, and while I waited, I walked over to the window that looked out to the stamp-sized backyard. A small black cat figurine sat on the sill, and I picked it up to admire the tiny painted features.

“Dad,” George said as he was ushered into the kitchen. The two embraced before George looked around at the rest of us. I set the figurine down and stuffed my hands into the pockets of my long peacoat.

“George, these are friends of Fawn.”

“They don’t look very friendly,” George said, and my lip twitched.

“Well, they are, and she sent them to help me out. They’re taking you to a private school where you’ll live and learn and have stability without all the moving.”

“I don’t mind moving.”

Neil looked up at me and then laid his hands on his son’s shoulders. “I know, but your Mom and I can’t offer you this kind of opportunity. So go pack a bag and don’t give them any hassle.”

“But I don’t want to leave you and Mom. I’m not like Fawn. I don’t want to run away.”

My nostrils flared, and I shook my head. How despicable did you have to be to throw your child under the bus to save your own skin?

Pretty fucking low, apparently.

“I want you to do this. It’s for the best, George. Now, don’t argue with me anymore. Go pack.”

“But, Dad….”

“No. I said pack, right now,” Neil growled, and George’s bottom lip pushed out as he hung his head.

George walked out of the kitchen, and my men followed, leaving me alone with Neil. He ran his hand through his hair and looked genuinely distraught. But I couldn’t tell if he was upset because he was losing his son or because he didn’t have the child to sell.

“There, that wasn’t so difficult. Cheer up, Neil. He’ll have a life that you could never give him, and you get to live another day. Where I come from, they call that winning the jackpot.”

He slowly looked up at me and nodded. It wasn’t a confirmation of what I’d just said, but it would do.

We were flying to Portland tonight. Golden Oak Prep was expecting us.

George had a single backpack of clothes, a Yankees baseball hat on his head and a glove on his hand when he walked into the kitchen again. Neil gave him a hug, but George was tough, he didn’t cry.

When we stepped outside, I pulled out my cell and sent Fawn a text.

T: George is safe, and we are on our way to the school.

F: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t know what else to say.

I smiled.

T: You’re welcome. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.

Putting my phone away, I got in the SUV, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I’d done something good. Something that made a difference. I liked it.