Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(2)

He had so many unanswered questions that while he wouldn’t have stayed away from Violet even if they put a f*cking gun to his head, now he wouldn’t because his father was trying to keep them apart for a reason. And he was ready to know why.

“I underestimated him,” Kaz found himself saying but not elaborating on it. “It won’t happen again.”

He doubted next time he would be as lucky.

Vera had always been a careful driver, even with growing up in one of the worst f*cking cities to drive in, but today, she seemed to be obeying the street laws a little too much, as though she were trying to avoid any and all attention.

He didn’t have to question why—not when she made it quite clear with her next words.

“I talked to Rus …”

That could mean a number of things, but only one was of concern to Kaz and that was whether Rus had revealed his plans.

While Vasily had thought his stint in jail would magically cure him of whatever spell Violet had him under, it had only managed to make him want her more. When the other inmates kept him up all night with the sounds of their fighting, yelling, and late night musings, just hearing her voice was enough to keep him going—to keep him sane.

Even as he knew he would need to figure his shit out with Vasily—and he didn’t trust that the man hadn’t been making plans while he was away—he needed to get away to clear his head and think about how he wanted to proceed.

And to do that, he was leaving the state.

The idea had come to him a little more than two months ago. When Rus had come to visit him one early Friday afternoon, he had run the idea by his older brother, hoping that he thought the idea was a good one, and more, if he would be able to arrange any of it. Kaz didn’t doubt that his father was looking through his shit and trying to find any evidence of what he was doing, so he had asked for Rus to handle it—because the two avoided each other as much as possible.

And because Rus ran a successful nightclub where people from all different walks of life came strolling through, he brushed shoulders with people who could get anything done with a single phone call.

That was all Kaz had needed.

“Yeah?” Kaz finally responded to Vera, glancing in her direction.

She worried her lips between her teeth, tapping her thumbs against the steering wheel, one other thing they had in common. “I don’t know what the two of you have planned, but I don’t want you to do anything stupid—or at least not more than what you already do.”

Though Kaz wasn’t always prone to outlandish things, he also had a habit of pushing as hard as he could to see how much it would take to break someone. But this decision wasn’t one he had made lightly.

“I’m just taking some time away, letting the waters settle before I’m forced to meet with Vasily. He’ll give me that. And even if he doesn’t, he won’t step foot where I’m going.”

It wasn’t fear, Kaz knew—Vasily didn’t fear any man—but his father made a point to avoid certain people. In his quest to get to the top, he had made plenty of enemies along the way—a hazard of the job, some would say, but most had been because of his own doing.

And when he had decided to cross the Boykov family in Chicago, he had made enemies for life. But they still had a decent relationship with Kaz, despite their hatred for his father.

Enemy of my enemy and all …

They had been all too happy to extend an invitation for Kaz to come to their city. He had been more than happy to accept, letting the eldest son know an approximate date he would be in town.

As long as Rus had done his part, everything would work out fine … As long as he was out of the state before Vasily caught up with him.

“You have to be careful, Kaz,” Vera said as they finally crossed the bridge to Coney Island. “It’s not just our father who has it out for you now.”

She didn’t have to remind him that now the Italians—or rather the Gallucci family—wouldn’t be as understanding if he showed his face in Brooklyn. They would make him bleed.

But where was the fun if he didn’t cause a little mayhem before he left?

Instead of the club, Kaz had given Ruslan an address to one of the few places that Vasily didn’t know about. Though it was usually known which businesses Kaz had his hand in, he had kept this one to himself.

As Vera turned the wheel, easing into the parking lot and circling the building, Kaz dug his phone out of his pocket. Turning the device over in his hands, he checked for a missed call or text. Nothing. He was almost tempted to send one of his own but decided against it. Violet still had a choice, and he didn’t want to take that away from her.

So he would wait, even if it killed him.

They had a plan, one that had been in the works for weeks now, and he just needed to see it through.

Shifting the car into park, Vera sat back with a sigh, staring out the windshield at the view of the harbor. “Are you sure this is what you want to do, Kaz? Is she really worth all this?”

Kaz didn’t offer a response, not initially. He knew that Vera didn’t actively dislike Violet, but she was skeptical, especially considering Violet’s family. Despite only being a year older, she worried about him just as much as his mother did, even when he didn’t need her to.

Glancing over at his sister, Kaz reached over to turn down the radio. “We wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t.”