CHAPTER 58 — FAINA PETROV

It's been almost two months since my father attacked the warehouses, causing delays in the Green brothers' business. I was practically trapped inside, afraid that they, Dostoevsky or my father were lurking, waiting for the chance to catch me.

Heros and Lohan went to one of the warehouses accompanied by their henchmen, while I remained here with Luther, Noah and Zedekiah, who didn't take their eyes off the computer, monitoring the cameras in all the warehouses, day after day.

I can't live like this anymore. At some point, I will need to leave for a check-up on my babies with an obstetrician.

— Here. They are in this location. — Zed says, pointing to my father's men and Dostoevsky.

— No. It's just his henchmen. My father is cunning. They won't show themselves now; they will wait until the last moment. — I say, placing my hand on my stomach. She's massive, bigger than expected for a four-month pregnancy. Maybe it is normal for someone who is expecting three babies instead of one.

— Heros is already impatient, wanting to enter. — Noah comments, holding the phone.

— Tell him to wait a little longer and allow his men to act. — I ask him to convey my message.

— He won't want to wait; When Heros becomes impatient, it is because he has already reached his limit. — Luther says next to me, as we watch the screen with several cameras spread across all the warehouses they have.

I took the phone from Noah and called, being answered on the second ring.

— Don't go in there! — I speak before he can say anything.

— We know what we're doing, Faina! We were doing this long before you were born and came into our lives.

— Unless you want to be blown up, you will stay inside this damn car and wait. — I say on the phone, impatiently.

It was at that moment that the entire warehouse caught fire. I hear the deafening boom over the phone and look at the screen, where the A12 camera shows the warehouse being engulfed in flames. Men flee in despair, with fire spreading across their bodies, until they collapse to the ground.

— Heros, Lohan! Are you guys okay? Heros! — I call out, waiting for a response from both of them.

— Damn, there’s no need to scream, Faina! We are fine. The vehicle we are in is a good distance away.

Sigh of relief.

— They're fine, I inform the boys.

— Thank you, sweet. — at least he was able to express his gratitude.

Hearing your thanks and calling me sweet again is considerable progress.

— Thank you later, now get out of there! They're not, and if they are, they're waiting for you to show up first.

— Wait a minute. — Zedekiah says — Isn't this Dostoevsky?

Zedekiah directs his gaze to camera A22, located in the south warehouse, where the drug shipments are. On the screen, I see a man in a long black overcoat that reaches his feet, dark blond hair falling over his face and a smirk. He looks directly at the camera.

It's him.

However, my father does not meet with my godfather as he is alone with more men behind him. Upon entering the industrial warehouse, he approaches the table full of drugs and tries some from a package. Many of the Greens' men are dead, even those who worked on the packages on the tables. Dostoevsky walks among the bodies, not bothering to step, walking as if he were an unattainable king.

— I'm going to kill this bastard! — Luther, growls next to me.

— Faina… Faina? What is happening? Put it on speaker — Lohan, shouts into the phone.

I hear car tires sliding across the road.

I press a button on the cell phone screen.

— It seems that Dostoevsky is in the south warehouse, where the cocaine and other drugs are. But I still haven't found my father.

— Damn! — he grumbles.

— That's where we're going, then! — Heros warns me as I hear the car tire skidding on the asphalt.

— No! This is very risky. We have no idea where my father is; this could be a trap.

— Faina, we need to act, or he'll destroy all our shipments, dammit! — he shouts into the phone. I hear the car tire sliding across the asphalt again and several horns sound behind them. — This shit ends today.

— Let's divide ourselves between the warehouses we have left, and Zedekiah stays here with Faina. — Luther takes his weapons, as does Noah.

— No way am I just going to stay here and watch? I'm going too. — he tells them.

— You won't, Faina. You get Zedekiah. He is skilled with knives and will protect you if you are not mistaken. As mentioned, they know you as well as you know them, so they know that your every step is premeditated by you and will act differently. —What Heros states is correct.

However, I will not sit here idly, no.

— And they want to leave me here where it's easier for them to catch me?

— Zedekiah will know how to take care of you and get you out of there if they break into the house.

That's what he states before hanging up. Luther and Noah have their vests equipped with guns and knives, ready for battle.

— Please be careful. — I run up to them and give each one a kiss. Even though things between us aren't completely perfect, they don't move away, returning my kiss.

— Don't worry. — says Luther, before kissing my hair and running a hand across my stomach while Noah rests on my left shoulder.

They pull away and an unsettling feeling washes over me. Something weighs heavy on my heart, my chest tightens and the pain is so intense that it makes it difficult for me to breathe properly.

— If the situation gets worse, no one, not even you, Zed, will be able to stop me from going to them. — I look at the dark-skinned Muslim man with blue eyes, who nods in agreement and wraps me in his arms.

— They are safe, and they are good at what they do. Especially when it comes to defending those we love.

Although I want to trust your words, my heart tells me otherwise. He warns me about the possibility of a very serious situation occurring with one of them, and I'm not sure that I can handle it.

From the moment I saw my godfather's eyes on camera, a tremor ran through my body. I close my eyes and pray for the four of them to emerge unharmed.

— I only saw Dostoevsky appear, there was no sign of my father, Zedekiah. This doesn't seem right. Dostoevsky would never act without my father's support.

— Maybe he's just lurking, waiting for you to appear before taking action.

It will be? He may be right.

*

I still keep my attention on the cameras, going up and down, while eating a bag of potato ruffles to calm my nerves. Pregnancy only makes me eat more, especially in stressful times like this.

When I return to Zedekiah's side, I offer him some potatoes, but he refuses. So far, everything seems peaceful, but the situation is far from resolved. His brothers arrived at the south warehouse, and Dostoevsky was no longer there. He disappeared completely from our sight, and we lost track of him. Heros and Lohan managed to stop the goons from setting everything on fire before escaping. Lohan dealt with them while Luther put out the start of the fire, preventing it from spreading and destroying everything.

— Nothing yet? I ask Zedekiah, my very evolved belly touching his chair. He pulls me onto his lap, but his eyes remain fixed on the cameras.

—Zedekiah, did you hear that?

— What? — he asks, pulling one of the wiretaps linked to our brothers out of his ear.

—That was a shot, Zed. There's someone here. — I get up quickly and run to the weapons behind us. I see Zedekiah do the same, grabbing his notebook and a backpack to put everything inside.

— Put it on. — He hands me a bulletproof vest, the last one we have.

— But what about you? — I ask, reluctant to accept.

— Faina, put that drug down. — Zedekiah pushes the vest back to me, and this time, I accept it without hesitation. He goes to the door, locks it from the inside and turns off all the equipment on the table, dragging it to the side and lifting the handle from the floor that was hidden by a rug.

I feel my heart speed up. The tension in the air is palpable. I try to focus on Zedekiah's instructions and prepare myself for what's to come.