Chapter 8

The background check on the screen in front of me was depressing. I realised I should have run a background check on Hana the moment I found out my son was marrying her. But back then I had been so caught up in the feeling of betrayal. It simply didn’t cross my mind. And in a sense, it was for the best that I didn’t check back then. I don’t know if I would have been able to ignore what the report said about her. It would have set off red flags. But after meeting her, spending time with her and, to be honest, obsessing over her, I could see how her past had formed her, but not into a cold and calculating person, but into a compassionate one. I looked at Hana’s picture that was on the first page of the report. It was her driver's licence photo. Taken two years prior. Probably when she was in the middle of her marriage to Simon. The woman looking back at me from the screen looked nothing like the woman that had ran into me, or that had invited me into her apartment yesterday. Hana had been tired and high-strung yesterday, but in the photo she looked like all hope was lost. Like a shadow of a person, her eyes were void of all feelings. I hated the photo, and I hated knowing that my son probably had a hand in extinguishing the hope from those brilliant blue eyes. I scrolled down and found a more recent picture in the report. It was only a year old and taken from a student ID. Life was back in Hana’s eyes and she looked determined. She looked like the woman I had met. I wondered what had changed in the year between the two photos. The door to my office opened and Jason walked in. He was the only one that my assistant allowed past her without warning.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were out saving that son of yours from certain doom,” he asked as he walked over to my desk. As the nosy busy buddy he was, he leaned over my shoulder and looked at my screen. A low whistle came from him. “Not bad, where did you find that one?” Irritated, I locked my computer using the short keys, turning the screen black.

“Stop snooping. I have the situation with Simon under control,” I told him.

“Mhm. And the girl, good or bad?” he asked. In Jason's eyes the world was black and white with very little grey. There were three kinds of people. The good ones, which included our men and our families and no one else. The clients, which were the select few we chose to work with. They were as grey as Jason would go. The rest were bad people. He knew there were innocent bystanders, but as he didn’t know who they were, he found it safer to just label them bad until they could be moved into one of the other two categories.

“She’s our new client, pro bono,” I said. There was a long silence. I didn’t need the reflection on my computer screen to tell me Jason was watching me.

“Didn’t know we took those types of clients,” he finally said.

“Fuck off,” I told him.

“Are you that horny?”

“Shut up.”

“Tell me why you decided to take her on as a client. We always agree on who we take on, always, no exceptions.” I sighed. There was no way around it, I needed to tell him something.

“Simon is in deep trouble. We're talking elephant shit deep.” I said. Another whistle came from Jason.

“Somehow he got involved with Aksakov. Now he is trying to get away from it and he has thrown his ex in front of the hunting hounds to distract them,” I finished.

“Fuck.”

“You can say that again.”

“Ex? As in ex-wife? I didn’t know he got divorced,” Jason told me.

“Neither did I. But I can’t just leave her in a mess that Simon created.”

“Sure, she’s family I guess,” he agreed. I just grumbled at it. She was, but by admitting that I also had to admit my feelings toward her were wrong. “What safe house are we using to put her in?” he then asked.

“She’s staying at her home for now,” I informed Jason. He looked at me like I was becoming senile, and I couldn’t blame him.

“As in the place she is legally registered in? As in it will take me two minutes to google her name and my fucking phone will guide me to her door?”

“Yes.”

“What the fuck man! Aksakov is as bad as they get, if he is going after her, she needs to get out,” he told me.

“Don’t you think I know that? I told her as much, but she said no.” I could hear how stupid it sounded as I spoke the words.

“She said no?” Jason asked.

“Yes.” He looked at me for a while and then started to laugh. I had the distinct feeling he was laughing at me.

“Well fuck me. Finally found someone as stubborn as you? I need to meet this woman. Beautiful and stubborn. Say what you will about your son, he has good taste in women,” Jason told me. I dragged my hand over my face to hide how much I hated hearing him referring to Hana as Simon’s woman. “So what’s the plan?” he asked.

“I have given her something to keep her at least somewhat safe for now. We need to reach out to Aksakov’s organisation and ask what Hana can do to make this go away.” Jason nodded.

“I have some connections that can get in touch with them. What are you going to do with your son?” I knew Jason didn’t like Simon. Jason thought he was spoiled and entitled. He was right. But he tried to be respectful around me, he was a good friend. I sighed and felt like a headache was brewing.

“I don’t know. I guess I need to track him down and see if he needs my help,” I said.

“If he has Aksakov on his tail he most certainly does. Let me know what I can do,” Jason offered

“Thanks, man. I appreciate your help,” I told him. He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal and left my office. I logged back into my computer and smiled as Hana’s picture was the first thing I saw. Fuck, I thought and closed the background check. I instead started to trace my son. As expected he did a sloppy job at hiding his tracks as he tried to hide. It didn’t take me more than an hour to narrow down the area he must be in. I checked it against the list of properties of the man his mother was married to and got two hits. Too easy. If I could do it, so could Aksakov. I thought about if I should drive out the properties at once, or wait until the next day. But I decided I would never forgive myself if I waited and something happened. I got my keys and left the office. It was the second day in a row I left before the office hours were over. The part of the city I was driving to was a stark contrast to my drive yesterday. Today I was heading into the more affluent part of the city. The first property was a luxury apartment. The building was well kept and there was a doorman in the entrance and plenty of security cameras. A good place to stay low. It also meant I couldn’t just walk inside and knock on the door to the apartment. Not like I had done last night and scared Hana half to death. I swore at my son's selfishness. Whatever had happened between him and Hana, Simon had an obligation to make sure she was safe. Especially since he had sent the mafia after her. There was a hotel opposite the apartment building. I parked the car and took my night bag I always kept in the car, just in case. I acted every bit my part of a businessman needing to stay a night and being a little peculiar about what direction I needed my bedroom window. The unfaced receptionist got me a room that suited my needs and I wondered what type of demands they were used to getting as I took the elevator up. The room was a floor above the one I needed to see on the other side of the road. But otherwise it was perfect. I took out my binoculars and felt the familiar gut feeling of being rude as I aimed them at the apartment across the street. It looked dark and empty. It was in the middle of the day, it could be that Simon was just out. I thought about going to the other site and then coming back. But I decided against it. Instead I took out my phone while I was waiting. I was planning on reading some emails. But ended up sending a text to Hana.

Me: Hello, How has your day been so far?

I looked at it as I had sent it and felt like an idiot. What the fuck was I doing?

H: It’s been good. At least better than yesterday. I called my realtor and told her I was no longer interested.

Me: I’m sorry

H: It’s okay. It is what it is. How has your day been?

Me: Nothing special. I did some paperwork at the office and now I’m reading some emails.

H: I thought your day would be filled with car chases, undercover work and hand to hand combat.

I had to chuckle at her reply.

Me: As the owner I let my men handle all the car chases. I’m mostly stuck behind the desk.

H: Smart. Do you miss the other parts?

I thought about it. I never stopped long enough to consider it before. I had always done what needed to be done. First, to put food on the table, then to survive and then to be able to give my son the life I wanted him to have. The last couple of years, my business has been motivated enough. I wanted it to grow, to succeed.

Me: Not really. I like my work.

H: That is good.

We continued texting, it was nothing serious, just some innocent fun to pass the time. At least that was what I was telling myself.