Until the End (Volkov Bratva #2)(17)

Mikhail stood to leave, but Lauren reached for him, halting him mid-climb. His men moved to grab her, but Mikhail held his hand up to stop them.

Lauren removed her hand.

“What can I do for you, young Lauren?”

There were only two people that knew her father well enough to explain his actions. Susan and Mikhail, but only one of them could explain why her father chose a life with the Russian Mafia.

“I—I need to know why he did it. Why did he work for you?”

Mikhail sat back down, downing his Vodka in one giant swallow. “I will tell you, but I am not sure it will be what you want.”

Twenty-two-year-old Cameron Thompson stepped out of the yellow taxi, his eyes wide and unsure as he gazed around the sketchy neighborhood he had come to in an act of desperation. Two months ago, he had been accepted to Stanford, the only college he had wanted to attend since he was a boy.

While in school, Cameron had made sure to apply himself, keeping his grades up so that he would be able to attend the University of his Choice...at least until senior year. His mother had grown ill, a fatal brain tumor that had caused her to be hospitalized for the majority of that time. While his high school had been more accommodating about his plight, his GPA had fallen, causing the scholarship he had worked so hard for to be revoked. So instead of a full ride, he was only given a partial scholarship that would hardly cover his expensive tuition.

He worked tirelessly around the clock, saving whatever money he could for the upcoming year, but he was still short.

Cameron was about to give up hope until a good friend of his suggested an alternative revenue source. Billy knew of a man that gave out loans, one that rarely cared who came to him as long as they were willing to pay.

This was his last chance.

Turning his collar up, Cameron crossed the street, finding the loan shark exactly where Billy said he would be.

Cameron couldn’t recall the man’s name, only an initial. D. He was burly, wearing a black leather jacket, black slacks, and a white dress shirt open at the collar with dark springy chest hair peeking out.

He was standing with two other guys, both much younger than him. D noticed Cameron immediately, tapping one of the guys. They all looked to him, sizing him up.

“What can I do for you, kid?”

“I need a favor.” That was the code, Billy had said.

They all laughed, but it was D who responded. “Do I know you?”

“I’m a friend of Billy’s.”

“Oh, yea? Billy, with the bad hair. I know him, but I don’t know you.”

He had a distinct accent, one that Cameron had never heard before and Cameron might have headed the warning in D’s voice, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“I’m willing to do anything,” Cameron said. “Please.”

D was silent for so long that Cameron just knew that he was going to send him off, but he was shocked when D nodded.

“What do you need?”

“Forty.”

D didn’t deal in small amounts. When someone came to him for a loan, it was done in thousands, not a penny less.

“For school,” Cameron went on to explain as though that might help his case. “Medical school. I’m trying to become a doctor.”

When he only got an amused look from D, Cameron finally stopped talking, shifting on his feet.

Snapping his fingers, D gestured to one of the boys, waiting for him to hand over a small notepad and pen.

“Come to this address tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late.”

This was said with a level stare, a thick finger pointed in Cameron’s face before he was handed a scrap of paper. Clutching it in his hand, Cameron didn’t bother with a thank you.

They had already dismissed him.

The following day, Cameron arrived at a local restaurant in Brighton Beach ten minutes early. It was a rather run-down place, filled with men in different states of dress.

One of the guys from the previous night recognized Cameron, waving him over to where he stood near the bar.

“D is waiting for you in the back,” he explained before pushing Cameron through the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Thick smoke made it hard to see, but Cameron kept going, trying to ignore the glares of the men watching his every step.

D was seated at a round table in the back, several men surrounding him, but they all seemed to be angled around a single man.

Even Cameron could tell there was something different about him. He wasn’t dressed as lavishly as the others, and unlike the empty glasses in front of the others, his glass was full.

Cameron wasn’t sure what to do when two men stood, refusing to let him pass. He looked to D, but he was leaning over to the man in the center, speaking rapidly in another language.

Nodding, the man waved for them to let Cameron through. He tentatively stepped forward.

“Please, sit.”

Cameron took up the vacant seat, folding his hands in his lap. Sweat formed at the nape of his neck, his nerves getting the best of him as he became the subject of everyone’s attention.

“My associate tells me you are in a predicament, yes?”

When the man spoke, everyone stopped to listen. It sounded unbearably loud when Cameron cleared his throat.

“Yes, sir.”

“And you want this money to be a doctor?”

Cameron nodded.