crises. You’re one to fucking talk, and those girls? They might be the things that save us from ourselves. The point I am trying to make is this. I left, but I sat around doing nothing. I’ll be honest, K. I loved it. Never thought I would, but I did. My place is stunning. Nothing but olive groves and sea and sky. Fuck me, but it’s peaceful, K.”
He sips again, and I let myself imagine that. Peace.
What must it feel like?
“Thing is, we’re soldiers, you and I.” Andrius gestures between us with two fingers. “When I retired to do nothing, it obviously gave some of my enemies a green light. They thought I’d gone soft in the head because I had settled. I’ve never gone soft. But I do want out of this life. You and me, we got into this for different reasons, and I respect that. But we can get out for the same reason.”
“The reason being?”
“So the people we love don’t end up dead.” He puts it out there, blunt and true.
“Okay. I’m not getting the bit where we leave without anyone thinking we’ve both lost our shit. Plus, I make a lot of money. Why the hell would I walk away from that?”
He shakes his head. “K, you’ve got money to last ten lifetimes. You can still run all your legit businesses, if you want. The other shit, though. We take out the Armenians, in spectacular fashion, as a warning to all and sundry, and we walk away. Totally. No more Allyov fucking pulling me back in. I’m going to do such depraved things to those Armenians, Allyov will shit a brick; as the Brits say, when he hears about them. I want out. I think I’ve got a way, and I’m offering you in on it.”
“I’m listening.”
I sip at the drink and listen to a bird outside. Why is it singing at night? Maybe the bright lights around the house have it confused, I think idly. Then, for some reason, I think of Cassie, laid in a hospital bed because of me, and I focus on Andrius.
“When I left the first time, I played house, which seemed to say to all and sundry, he’s gone soft. And, if I’m being honest, at some point, it would have gotten old. Maybe next year, maybe the one after. Violet will never become boring to me, ever. Doing nothing. It will get old. I know this about myself. I’ve been thinking and thinking about this. Seeing if there’s a way to resolve it.”
“And?”
“How about we stay soldiers, but on the right side of the fight. It sends a message to all around us not to fuck with us because we’re still sharp. It also gives us powerful allies.”
He’s lost me now.
“You know what Liam does?”
“Yes, he runs the protection company with Reece and the rest.”
“Yes, he does.”
He sips at his drink again, and I want to tell him to stop dragging this out. Instead, I get up, head into the living room and open the dresser, taking out a cigar box. I grab us both a Ghurka cigar and head back to Andrius. We light up and for a moment sit in silence, appreciating the rich cocoa and coffee flavors.
Andrius pulls on the cigar, the red light under his ghostly eyes making him look otherworldly for a moment, and then he blows out and carries on speaking.
“Okay, you’re aware what Liam does. Can you guess how many millionaire and billionaires there are in Northern Corfu at any one time?”
I shake my head.
“A fuck-ton, my friend. And they all need security. Right now, they don’t have it, or not to the degree one could argue they should. In London? They’re covered. In New York? They’re fine. If they’re Russian, they’re probably surrounded by armed to the hilt men in Moscow, but what about when they holiday in Spain or Italy or Greece?”
“They’ll take some of their men. I’m sure.”
“Yes, they will, but those men won’t know the area, or how the land lies. They won’t be as highly trained as us.”
I’m starting to see where he’s going with this, and I’m incredulous. “You want me to become a bodyguard to rich people? Andrius, I am the rich people.”
He chuckles. “Yes, you are. And no, I don’t think we should become bodyguards. I think we should build a private army.”
I lean forward, more interested now. “Go on.”
“I’ve been talking to Liam. He guards people personally, but he also trains up