Claiming Carter (29 page)

The man didn’t look the least bit amused, and unlike most men, he obviously wasn’t intimidated by Lexy’s hardcore attitude. He seemed to be in thought for a second, then his expression softened and he smiled insolently. “My apologies, ma’am. Wouldn’t want to make
Kelvin Carter Jr.
upset, now would we? Who knows what he might do.”

There was something about the way he said Kelvin’s name that really stood out to me. It was like I could hear the hatred attached to Kelvin’s name when the creepy man spat it out like it made him sick. His arrogant smile had disappeared just as fast as it had come, and he glared at me as he rose from his seat to leave.

I watched him walk towards the exit to the bar, and when he reached the door, another man was standing there waiting for him. This man was also wearing all black, and was littered with tattoos, and he stared at me as his friend approached. This wasn’t a look of desire. He stared at me with a look of anger and disgust, and I felt nervous butterflies in my stomach as the two men turned around and walked out together.

“I got your back, Lil. Cojack won’t be back anytime soon,” Lexy chuckled. “He’s lucky Kelvin wasn’t here to see him hitting on you.”

“I’m not sure if he was hitting on me,” I replied in confusion. “That was weird.”

“Well, guys who look like Cojack are weird. It would take, like, a hundred of those guys to make one Kelvin—and that’s lowballing.”

“Speak of the devil!” I chirped as Kelvin came sauntering through the door. I was excited to see him—especially after the creepiness that had just ensued—and I smiled as I noticed other women in the restaurant staring at him as he walked in. One woman had stopped herself just before putting her forkful of salad in her mouth, and it was like she was frozen with her fork in front of her face. Another woman tapped her friend on the shoulder aggressively, demanding that she look over her shoulder to watch Kelvin walk by. When he reached our spot at the bar, the women glared at me as if I’d done something wrong, and I proudly winked at them as I leaned in to kiss my boyfriend.

“Hi, baby,” Kelvin said as he took his seat next to me.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hi, Kelvin!” Lexy interrupted loudly.

“What’s up, Lexy? Nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you too. Nice shoes, but enough about that, how does it feel to be in love?” Lexy squeaked, her excitement getting the best of her.

Kelvin smiled bashfully. “It’s great,” he answered. “You know Mike is outside waiting for you, right? I saw him sitting in your car.”

“Oh, I know. He can wait. I just want another second to look at the two lovebirds. You guys are too cute.”

“Oh, geez, Lex. You’re killing me,” I said with a smile. “Don’t be mean to your husband. We all have to get going if we’re going to make it to the movie. I’ve waited a long time to watch Catching Fire, and I won’t wait another day. So, let’s go ahead and go.”

“Fine,” Lexy replied. “I’ll just stare at you two while we are in the theater then.”

We all shared a laugh as we rose from out seats at the bar. Lexy paid our tab and we all started towards the exit. I made sure to grab Kelvin’s hand as we weaved our way through the tables, passing all of the women who were lusting after him. It wasn’t in my nature to show off or brag, but a day after saying we loved each other, I ready for the whole world to know that he was mine, and I was his.

When we got outside, I gave Lexy a small hug and told her I would see her at the theater in a few minutes, and laughed as she walked backwards to her car, staring at me and Kelvin with an idiotic look on her face.

“That girl is a mess,” I said as Kelvin and I turned around and began walking towards his beautiful Camaro. He seemed to favor the Camaro a lot lately, and I appreciated the lack of wind blowing in my face and hair.

When we reached the car, Kelvin stepped in front of me to open my door as he always did, but as he was reaching for the handle, someone spoke up from behind us.

“Now
that
is a nice car!” the voice said.

Kelvin whipped his head around to see who it was, and I saw his demeanor instantly change. The look on his face scared me, so I turned around to see for myself.

The man was wearing an all back suit, with a black undershirt and no tie. He was about six-feet tall, with a very strong jawline and distinct cheek bones. The wrinkles in his face and the gray in his well-groomed hair suggested he was probably in his late fifties, and his blue eyes were piercing as he stared at Kelvin menacingly. Directly behind him were the two men who were glaring at me in the restaurant.

“So, you put the motorcycle away,” the man said, gesturing towards the Camaro. When he lifted his hand to point, I immediately noticed the tattoos on his hands and wrists that he was struggling to hide with his sleeve. “A little more inconspicuous with the car, but not so much. You Carters always have to have a little flash.”

Kelvin didn’t say a word, he just stared at the three men. The look on his face was the same look I’d seen on the night he beat the crap out of Tim in my house.

Suddenly, the man’s eyes turned to me, and he gave me soft smile. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Kelvin?” The man reached out like he wanted me to shake his hand, but Kelvin placed his arm in front of me so that I couldn’t. “I take that as a no. Now that’s just offensive, but we both know you don’t care about who you offend. Isn’t that right?”

“This isn’t the time,” Kelvin snapped.

“No? Why not? Because your family isn’t around to do your dirty work? Can you not take care of business on your own? I guess you’re only capable of putting hits on people from afar.”

“This isn’t the time, Ivan,” Kelvin barked once again as he grew more and more tense.

“Was it
the time
when you ordered to have Abram shot as he left the movies with his friend? Was that
the time
? Because that is the only time I can think of.”

My heart rate sped up rapidly and I suddenly felt overwhelmingly hot. Had he just said what I thought he said? Kelvin ordered someone to be shot? Kelvin put a hit on someone? So it was true? Kelvin actually was in the mob? I had too many questions floating around in my head, but all I could do was watch as the intense scene unfolded in front of me.

“At least Abram lived. I can’t say the same for my brother,” Kelvin snipped. The look on his face seemed to be bordering on rage.

“Ah, yes,” Ivan replied. “That’s what it all comes back to, doesn’t it? You wanting revenge for your brother’s death. I can understand that. And since you took his place at the table, your first job was to order a hit on my son to exact your revenge. I get it. You wanted to impress The Family by avenging your brother. I understand, Junior. I get it.”

Kelvin didn’t respond at all, so Ivan took a step closer and leaned in, stopping only inches from Kelvin’s face. Kelvin didn’t budge.

“Let me make something very clear to you,” Ivan said. “The days of hiding from me are over. Run back and tell Kelvin Sr. that I found you, and I will find him too. You can keep switching vehicles, but eventually, the past always catches up to you.”

Ivan turned on his heel and started walking away, with the two men following closely behind him. The two men walked to a black SUV and climbed in. Ivan walked over to a separate vehicle that he’d driven himself. As he opened the door to the black Mercedes, he stopped before climbing inside.

“Oh, and you should thank your beautiful lady friend,” he said, gesturing towards me. “She’s the only reason you didn’t die today.”

The ride back to Kelvin’s penthouse was unbearably quiet. We hadn’t said a word to each other since we’d left the Applebee’s parking lot. I’d called Lexy and told her that I was feeling sick all of a sudden, and that Kelvin and I wouldn’t be able to make the movie that I’d been dying to see. She immediately chalked it up to me being pregnant, and struggled to decide if she was going to be happy or upset. When she heard the seriousness in my voice, she stopped kidding around and realized that something was wrong, and she began questioning me, but I told her I really did feel sick and not to worry. It was partially true. After hearing that Kelvin had put a hit on Ivan’s son, I
really was
feeling sick.

The elevator ride up to the penthouse wasn’t any better than the car ride to the Red Chip. I could feel Kelvin looking at me, wondering what I was thinking, but he didn’t want to ask me anything. I was glad, because I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t know what to say. So, when he looked at me, I immediately looked away.

The bell rang, the doors slid open, and Kelvin and I walked out of the elevator and into the living room of the suite. I sat down on the couch and tried to figure things out in my head, while Kelvin made his way into the bar in the other room to pour himself a drink. He was obviously on edge after the confrontation with Ivan, and I understood why he may have needed an adult beverage to calm himself. I intended to join him, but the thoughts in my head were holding me captive on the cushions of the couch.

When Kelvin walked back into the room, he sat on the couch opposite me and took bigger sips of his drink than usual. He looked up at me and I was didn’t look away fast enough. We locked eyes, and I suddenly couldn’t control my emotions. I needed to know everything. I was tired of being in the dark, so I spoke up.

“Please tell me the truth, Kelvin. What is going on?”

Kelvin took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I really don’t know where to begin.”

“Why don’t you start with telling me who the hell that man was at the restaurant?”

“His name is Ivan Baskov.” Kelvin shifted in his seat and stopped himself from saying any more.

“No more hiding, Kelvin. Please. Tell me everything. Who is Ivan Baskov?”

Kelvin took another deep breath, and then seemed to brace himself for the sound of his own words. “Ivan Baskov is the boss of the Baskov crime family. They’re Russian mafia. He’s the man who ordered the hit on my brother.”

“I thought you said it was a robbery.”

“I said it was something like that. The truth is that Ivan put a hit on my brother so that he could hurt my father. They had a bit of a misunderstanding about some money. My dad made a bad bet, and now he owes Ivan half a million dollars. Ivan confronted my dad outside of a Bulls game one day, and Fab stepped in to defend him. Two days later, me and Fab were driving around after having seen a movie, and a car pulled up next to us and sprayed bullets all through the driver side door. My brother was hit seven times, and he was dead before the ambulance arrived. I had to watch my big brother die in the seat next to me because of Ivan Baskov.”

Tears slowly trickled down Kelvin’s face as the memory of his brother’s last moments coursed through his mind. The emotion of it all was still there, and I could feel the pain and rage emanating off of him. But, as much as I wanted to console him, there were still more questions that I needed answered.

“I’m so sorry, Kelvin. I know that must have been terrible,” I said quietly, pausing before moving on to my next question. “I need to know if what Ivan said is true. Did you put a hit on his son?”

“He killed my brother!” Kelvin barked. “Ivan Baskov tore my family apart. My father was so heartbroken that he couldn’t make any decisions, so I made it for him. I chose to avenge my brother’s death by attacking Ivan the same way he attacked my father—by going after his son. I told my uncle to watch Ivan’s son, Abram, and one night he called me and told me that Abram was at the movies. All I could think about was how me and Fab were just leaving a theater when we were hit. So, I told my Uncle Deshaun, to do it after he left the theater. When he reported back to me and told me he did it, I regretted it immediately. I felt terrible, and I knew it was the worst decision I’d ever made in my entire life. But, a few days later, we got word that Abram had survived, and I was so happy about it that I got mad at myself. Why was I happy that he lived, when my brother died? I didn’t know what to feel. But I know now that it was a good thing that he survived. I don’t have to live with the guilt of knowing that I had someone killed.”

“But you tried to have him killed, Kelvin! You tried to have Abram killed, and you didn’t even know him. How could you do that?”

“I don’t expect you to understand, Lilliana. I’d never felt that kind of hurt before. I’d never known that kind of hate, and anger, and pain. I acted on emotion and I didn’t think before I acted. I still regret it, but at least he survived.”

“No thanks to you,” I snapped in response. “So, everything Tim told me about you is true? You really are a mob boss?”

“No. Not exactly.”

“What the hell does that mean? Stop lying to me, Kelvin! Are you in the mob or not?”

“Yes!”

I felt heat building up in my chest as my heart began pounding. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. He’d promised me that he wasn’t in the mob, and now he was taking it all away. He was taking it all back. He was ruining everything.

“But, it’s not what you think,” Kelvin continued. “I don’t kill people, or hurt people, Lilliana. I don’t break people’s legs and shit, and I’m not the boss.”