Page 56 of Lord of Pain
I freeze, staring between him and Vadik. "What kind of unsanctioned activity? Are they not listening to their guards?"
Ivan looks at Vadik. Vadik looks pleadingly back at Ivan. Ivan must win this round because Vadik clears his throat.
"I'll be blunt," Vadik says. "The girls are running stolen merchandise." He says it in a rush, as if relieved to get the words out of his mouth.
"What?" I shriek, whirling to stare at Roman, who I can tell is desperately holding in a laugh. "This isn't funny! What do you mean?"
Vadik scratches the back of his neck. "They've been picking up boxes from storage units and passing things back-and-forth at lunches or hangouts with their friends. Some of the boxes we bring home and stack in their room and then take them out again on their next outing."
Ivan takes over. "This morning when the men were loading three boxes into the trunk of the car, I checked them. They were full of new Xbox's, they're stolen."
"How do you know?" I ask, dizzy.
Ivan smiles at me sympathetically. "There's stamps on cargo that define each part of a shipment, at the dock or warehouse, then again when the store or merchant signs off on the delivery. These boxes were intercepted before they got to the buyer. Now, the perfume, the jewelry and high-end shoe brands, that's just…" He looks at Roman, who is still trying to smother a laugh and is no help at all. "It's like play crime."
I sway a bit, the room's tilting. "Did you sayplaycrime?"
"The Xboxes put this in a different category," Ivan hurries on. "Stolen electronics are an active crime field with uh, legitimate criminals." He frowns, looking unsure if he's explaining this.
"Let's go back," I say looking sharply at Vadik. "Did you know the first time they passed something off that it was stolen goods?"
"We would have to check every item for security purposes, so yes." He's rigid, like he's waiting for me to hit him.
I drop into the chair next to Roman's desk, thinking back to that first pile of boxes I saw in their room weeks ago. I bury my face in my hands. I've seen kids pass stolen goods back-and-forth in the neighborhood around the shelter. I'm not an idiot. I know what it looks like but something this size? This is a full-scale operation.
"My sisters have been making thousands of dollars from stolen property," I say numbly.
"Well, more like tens of thousands, but yes," Vadik says. "But I give you my word, we've been extremely careful, Miss Monroe. They are never out of our sight. There's never any interaction with someone we haven't vetted first."
Ivan reaches out to gingerly pats me on the shoulder but thinks the better of it. "Violet, look at it this way…" He's searching for something positive to say and comes up with, "At least they're not doing drugs."
Roman chokes back a laugh, rearranging his expression into something more serious. "Thank you gentlemen. Vadik, halt any excursions for Iris and Rose for the time being until Violet and I discuss this."
"Of course." He seems to be eager to get out of the room, and I don't blame him. He's been squiring my thieving sisters around town forweeks,watching them exchange stolen property.
The door shuts behind them and I bolt out of the chair, taking shaky steps towards the windows and then back to Roman, who's watching me with a sympathetic smile.
Did the twins take anything from here? Oh, holy fuck, we were just over at Dmitri's and Ava's a couple of days ago, watching the Fourth of July fireworks! Their penthouse isloadedwith small, expensive objects. Running my hands through my hair, I tug on it, barely noticing the sting.
"Hey, hey…" Roman's hands pull mine down, holding them. "It's okay." He smiles down at me, cupping my cheek. "Ivan's right. At least it's not drugs."
My jaw drops.
"My sisters who just graduated fromCatholicschool are running stolen merchandise. This is a felony, Roman! Of course youwould know that being in the business, but we're not! My sisters are committing felonies!"
He has theaudacityto shrug. "Well, you have to respect their entrepreneurial spirit." His grin drops, he knows instantly this is the wrong thing to say to me.
"Did you know? Of course you knew," I say, pushing him away. "Nothing goes on here without you knowing about it. And you never told me."
Roman has always seemed supremely self-assured, but right now, he looks like he knows he fucked up.
"How could you know something like this and not tell me?" I smack him on his shoulder, which of course makes me feel like I broke my wrist. Cradling it, I shout, "I'm theirguardian,Roman! They're my responsibility and you knowingly let those- thosefelonsmove stolen merchandise without telling me."
"Violet, baby," he uses that soft tone that usually makes me melt. "They were worried about college expenses and did something that they thought would help pay for it. They're not criminal masterminds."
"We… we have to leave," I stammer, heading for the door. "I can't believe that they have violated your hospitality like this. I can't trust my sisters. They shouldn't be here. And I can't trustyou. We've been playing house, cooking dinner, and having sex and-
“Well, Jack and Poppy are gone. Nothing has happened for weeks. We're going to move back to my place."
