Becoming Carter (The Carter Series) (Volume 2) (32 page)
Read Becoming Carter (The Carter Series) (Volume 2) Online
Authors: W. S. Greer
I believe him when he says that we’ll be making more money than ever, but we’ll also be being watched more than ever, and we’ll be in more danger than ever also. But, you don’t have to be. You can walk away from all of this, and never have to worry about any of the shit I’m about to have to worry about. All I want is for you to be safe and happy. How could I go on if anything ever happened to you? If you got hurt because of this shit, I’d kill him. I really don’t want to have to take it there, but I would if it came down to you. I’ll do anything for you. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
A small tear rolled down each of Kelvin’s cheeks as he put his head down. He looked like a shell of himself, and I couldn’t stand to see him this way. So, I reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it over into my lap and cupping it in my hands.
“Kelvin, look at me,” I began. “Everything you just said to me, I already know. Your father is a terrible person, and I know he’d do anything to get ahead. He doesn’t care about you, and he damn sure doesn’t care about me. But, you know what? It doesn’t matter, because I don’t give a fuck about him either. All I care about is you.
You keep saying that you just want to see me safe and happy. But, if being safe means being without you, then I wouldn’t be happy. I can’t be happy without you, Kelvin. Since the day we met, I’ve never been the same, and I’ll never be the same ever again, and I don’t want to be. The person I’ve become with you may be a little rougher around the edges. I may be harsher, and I may be a little meaner, and maybe even a little kinkier, but I love that person. I’m the person that I want to be, because I’m with the person that I want to be with. So, all this shit about the drugs and the danger, you can save your breath. You’re not getting rid of me. I’m here to stay. Forever. So, what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna get up and stop letting your father win. We’re gonna put our heads together, and we’re gonna figure this shit out. Your dad wants you to work for him. Fine. Let that be where our path to getting away from him begins. We’ll do what we have to do to keep him in the dark—to keep him thinking that everything is how
he
wants it to be. We’ll bide our time, and when the time comes, we’ll make a break from him.
You’re always telling me that you got me. Always saying how you’re gonna protect me and make sure that nothing happens to me. Well, this time I got
you
, Baby. We’re gonna figure out how to get away from him, and we’re gonna do it together, because you and me together is stronger than anything and anybody.”
Kelvin’s eyes filled with tears as he stared at me with a smile tugging at the side of his mouth.
“I love you so fucking much, Lilliana,” he said, still smiling and shaking his head.
“I love
you
, Kelvin, and it doesn’t matter what he says or what he does, we’re not gonna let him break us. We’ll destroy him before we ever let him destroy us. You with me?”
Kelvin looked up at me with his deep, dark brown eyes, and I could see his confidence coming back to him as he smiled a broad smile once again.
“Of course I’m with you,” he said. “I got you.”
“So, what did he give you?”
“He’s still a little out of it from the surgery, but he was surprisingly candid given the circumstances.”
“Okay, so spill it. Was he willing to give you anything or not?”
“The man was shot in both of his knees and had to undergo reconstructive surgery, Captain. He was
more
than willing to give me everything that he knew. But, you know it wasn’t enough to do what we need to do, which is why we’re still going through with this.”
“I understand that, Agent Jenkins, but I need to know the details of Officer Gavlik’s statement. If we’re gonna go through with this, we need every detail out on the table, and I need to be in the loop one hundred percent about absolutely everything. I’m the only one who’s gonna be able to protect your ass if shit goes haywire. So, close the door and let’s put this thing into action.”
“Alright, Captain Perez, this is what we’ve got. Officer Viktor Gavlik informed me that Ivan Baskov may have been killed by his own brother, Ilia Baskov. Ilia had been talking to other members of the family about offing Ivan so that he could become the boss himself. However, when the hit actually took place, Officer Gavlik was in the hospital, so he isn’t sure exactly who killed Ivan.”
“Okay, so we’re still at square one with that. What else?”
“Officer Gavlik also told me that he believes that now that Ivan is out of the picture, the Baskovs and the Carters are planning to start smuggling heroin, and of course distributing it in our fair city of Chicago. Apparently one shipment has already come in, but no eyes have been put on it, so we don’t have any assurances. We have no idea when, and we have no idea where. There’s nothing solid, Captain. At this point in time, we’ve got absolutely nothing but a bunch of hearsay and assumptions and suspicions. We need something solid if we’re gonna do this. If we try to bust him on any of this weak shit, you know he’ll walk. This shit will never stick.”
“You’re exactly right, Russell. If we’re gonna try to take him down, we need everything. I want hard evidence of the extortion, the money laundering, the prostitution, the guns, the drugs, and the murders. I want it all, so that when we go in and bust this son of a bitch, there isn’t a chance in hell he’ll get off. So, if Viktor says that it’s all happening, I want proof.”
“What about the fact that Officer Gavlik is taking a deal to minimize his own sentence, due to his own involvement with the Baskovs?”
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything? We get a lot of dirty cops who turn snitch to save their own asses. This is nothing new. So, we’re gonna take the information Officer Gavlik provided to us, and we’re gonna use it to our advantage, and bring down one of the most notorious families in this city. Don’t start getting cold feet on me, Agent Jenkins.”
“I’m not getting cold feet. I just want to make sure that we can use everything we’ve been given. I don’t want this shit coming back to bite us in the ass. If he says it’s there, it better be there, or we’re gonna hang Viktor out to dry.”
“Viktor knows better than to be lying to us now. So, here’s your file. Make sure you study the shit out of this. You can’t afford to make any mistakes, Russell. You need to know this thing front and back, every single detail.”
“Geez, Captain. You couldn’t have given me a better name?”
“Who gives a fuck about the name? It’s an undercover identity, Russell. Fuck the name. Just make sure that you know those details inside and out.”
“This shit is deep, Captain. How the hell am I supposed to remember all this?”
“Of course it’s deep, and you damn well better remember it. You don’t send an undercover agent to infiltrate the Carter crime family without covering all your bases. So, you better memorize it, Russell. All of it.”
“I got it, Captain. I won’t slip up.”
“You better not. You can’t. This is Kelvin Carter we’re talking about, Agent Jenkins. If he finds out you’re a cop, you know he’ll kill you.”
“He won’t find out until I want him to find out. And, that won’t be until the moment he realizes that I’m the one taking him and his entire family down. Every single one of them, Captain. We’re gonna get them all.”
To be continued…
Before I say anything, I first have to acknowledge the one person who has been there for me way before I ever had any aspirations of being an author—my wife. Without you, I don’t know where I would be in this life. I think about how far we’ve come over the course of our fifteen year relationship, and I’m so proud to be able to call you my wife and my partner. I cherish every moment that I get to spend with you, and I’m so proud of your success, and how you’ve been able to turn your love of literature into your job. You’re an amazing woman and I’m so proud to be your husband. You’re my best friend, and I’m so thankful that I get to share this wonderful journey with you by my side. We’re just getting started, babe! Imagine where we’ll be in a few years! There’s no stopping us as long as we’re together.
Next, I have to thank my incredible support team—Greer Street. There are a few ladies who I’ve met over the course of writing
Becoming Carter
, who’ve grown into great friends of mine, and you’ve all done such an amazing job with promoting me and my work, and I am forever grateful.
Tonya Nichols, you’ve been a soldier for us all year long, and me and the wife just love you to death! Thank you so much for everything that you do for us, and for being such a good friend. Even after we went through our little drama with some “disturbed” people, you stuck around and had faith in us, and your support never wavered, and we won’t forget that. Thank you!
Also, I have to shout out Alisha May, Kizeeta Williams, Carrie Sutton, Melissa Stevens-Kulis, Iris Rodriguez, Holly Morales, and Lyndsey Wharton. You ladies, in particular, did such an amazing job with promotion for this book, plus you beta read it and helped me to stay confident in this story, which was exactly what I needed after everything I went through with the release of
Claiming Carter
. I needed to feel like I hit a homerun with this book, and all your support and push helped me tremendously, and I am very thankful.
I also have to thank my parents, and my brother for their continuous support. I know it’s hard being away from us all the time, and I appreciate you being so supportive of my military career and the decisions I’ve made in it. These books look like they just might be my ticket out, and I hope to be back in the states with you all in the very near future. I love you, and miss you all very much.
Last, but not least, I have to thank the most important people in any author’s life—the fans. Although I felt like I could’ve written a better story when I wrote
Claiming Carter
, it still ushered in a whole new group of fans for me, and I absolutely adore you all. Every single one of you who has talked to me, and have started following my blog, and telling your friends about this series, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’m so glad you loved book 1, and I hope you are pulled even deeper into this story with book 2. Without your love and support, I’m nothing, and I will never take that for granted. Thank you for supporting me and being my fans. I still can’t believe I actually have fans.
Now, after I type this last paragraph, I’ll proofread it, edit it, and send it off to be formatted. Then, I’ll officially be done with this book and the transition into book 3 of The Carter Series will have officially begun. I hope you loved this story, because the next book will be an even crazier, sexier, hotter ride! I have so much in mind for this entire series, and I promise to keep you all right on the very edges of your seats. I plan to have you fanning yourselves, craving a cold shower, and unable to put the book down, all at the same time. This book, in my opinion, is the best thing I’ve ever written, but I plan to make book 3 much, much better. So get for a hot summer! Until we meet again… “I got you.”
Don’t forget to check out…
Claiming Carter
(The Carter Series #1)
AMAZON
:
http://amzn.to/1iw2Hob
Frozen Secrets
(Detective Granger #1)
AMAZON:
http://amzn.to/1jRgbLE
Follow W.S. Greer
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWSGreer