Niko sat in the passenger seat looking out of the window, only half of her paying attention to Kellen and Roman sitting in the back of the cab.
Kellen was proving to be a godsend in keeping Roman amused and was currently sitting with the bears on his lap, making up stories and using different voices for each of the bears.
Niko felt a twinge of guilt that it wasn’t her back there with her son. She hadn’t heard him giggling this much in so long, and she worried that the constant stress she was under all the time with Ilya was having a negative effect on Roman. Was he picking up on her permanent state of anxiety?
The simple answer was yes, of course he was.
But what could she have done to stop it?
Absolutely nothing. That was the honest answer.
Her situation was not of her own making, and nothing about her life was as she would have chosen it. The only single thing that she wouldn’t change if she could, was her son. He was her one ray of sunshine in a world filled with storm-clouds.
As Roman let out a particularly high-pitch squeal of laughter, she glanced around to find Hollywood watching her.
“Roman sounds like he’s found a new best friend.” He grinned.
“He never had an old best friend.” Niko shrugged. “He’s just had me, and Noni, the old woman who looks after him when I have to work. She’s not exactly friend material.”
“Doesn’t he mix with other kids at school?” Hollywood frowned.
“He’s too young for school.” Niko pointed out. “And we’ve never been in the same place long enough for me to register him for pre-school.”
“So, does he ever get to mix with other kids?” Hollywood wasn’t going to change the subject.
“If I get a chance to take him to the park to play, then he mixes with whoever is there.” Niko explained. “I don’t have a lot of free time for stuff like that.”
Hollywood kept his attention on the road, but she could almost hear his brain ticking over.
“So, where will he go to school?” No, he really wasn’t letting up.
“Unless Ilya decides to settle somewhere for any length of time, it’s not likely we’ll be able to register him anywhere.” She sighed. “I’m already planning on home-schooling him, starting when he turns four. Each time I have a little extra money, I buy one of the books he’ll need for his studies. He’s a bright boy, so I don’t think he’ll suffer from not having traditional schooling.”
“He’ll miss out on interaction with his peers, though.” Hollywood pointed out. “That’s a big part of learning.”
“I’m well aware of what he’ll be missing out on.” Niko just wanted to tell him to mind his own business. “I don’t plan on working for my brother for ever, y’know. One day soon I plan on getting away from him, and I’ll find a place where I can raise my son properly. We’ll get a small apartment, and I’ll get a job for when he’s in school, and we’ll live a proper life. Not like now. But until that can happen, the best I can do for Roman is try and teach him his lessons, so when he starts school he won’t be behind the other kids. He can already read and write a little. He knows his numbers and can do basic arithmetic, and he’s already fluent in two languages. I don’t think he’s doing badly for a three-year-old.”
“He’s doing great, Niko. I wasn’t criticising your parenting skills.” Hollywood glanced over at her. “I just know how tough it is to be a single mom, and how having a network of friends will be beneficial for Roman.”
“You’re speaking from experience, I suppose.” Niko stared at Hollywood.
“I am, yes.” He nodded. “I was raised by the best single mom ever, no offence. But even she couldn’t provide everything a kid needed. That’s where friends come into it. They have your back in school to stop you being bullied, and then keep you company after school until your mom gets home from her third job. They’re important to a kid’s mental wellbeing.”
“You were bullied?” Niko found this hard to believe. The guy was huge!
Hollywood grinned as though he was reading her mind.
“I wasn’t always this size.” He pointed out. “I was a scrawny four-year-old once, and my first week in school was hell. My mom dressed me up in new jeans and new sneakers, and I went to school thinking I was something special. Only they were the wrong brand of jeans, and the sneakers didn’t have a label that anyone recognised, so I got teased a lot. Gradually, I made friends with the other kids who also got teased a lot, and we banded together until we outnumbered the kids who had all the right gear. But it wasn’t easy.”
Niko couldn’t believe kids could be so cruel, but of course, she knew deep down they could.
“Roman will have to learn that you have to work hard if you want nice things.” She sighed. “I won’t have enough money to buy designer gear, so it’ll have to be the fake label stuff you can get in the markets.”
Roman’s giggles were still coming loud and fast.
“If he keeps laughing like that he’s gonna make himself sick.” She glanced back through the curtain to see Kellen holding a couple of bears up, pretending they were having some kind of conversation. “Kellen’s really good with kids.”
“Probably because he’s still a big kid at heart.” Hollywood nodded.
“How long have you two known each other?” Niko asked, wondering what their connection was.
“We served together for ten years or so in the Marines.” Hollywood explained. “He joined my team after he finished basic training, and I kinda adopted him. I guess I felt sorry for the scrawny new kid on the block.”
Niko spluttered a laugh. Kellen was around six and a half feet tall, and almost as wide across the chest. She couldn’t imagine him ever being scrawny.
“You can laugh, but he wasn’t always the size he is today either.” Hollywood shook his head. “It took a few years of hard work to build his strength up to what it is now. It’s not just about building up muscle, y’know. It’s about building up muscle while still maintaining agility, and actually getting stronger. Those aren’t pretty-boy muscles from the gym, lady. Those are the fruit of hours and days of blood, sweat, and tears on some of the toughest damn assault courses the military ever built. Just so you understand the difference.”
“I wouldn’t have known the difference.” Niko admitted, solemnly. “Thank you for explaining that to me.”
Hollywood grinned at her before turning back to the road, leaving her the opportunity to study his profile under the guise of watching her son.
He was film-star handsome, alright. Strong jaw, thick, dark brown hair, and long dark lashes around those warm chocolate brown eyes.
If only he didn’t hate her, Niko thought.
Well, if only he didn’t want to hate her. That might be more accurate.
For reasons she could only assume were connected to her brother’s business, Hollywood really seemed to want to despise her. It was as though he had mixed feelings between what he actually felt, and what he thought he ought to feel towards her.
For the past ten minutes he had been able to have a conversation with her without snarling at her.
Yes, he had raised questions about how she was bringing Roman up, but that had been out of concern for her son, not meant to criticize her as a parent.
Give it another ten minutes though, and thoughts of the women in the back of the truck would re-surface, and he would be treating her like a devil in disguise.
Niko turned and stared out of the window.
There was nothing she could do to influence that, so why should she let it bother her if the guy was acting all mercurial, warm one minute, icy cold the next.
Niko’s phone buzzed, and she saw a reply coming through from Ilya’s phone to her message.
“Drago here. Food sorted – will be delivered on arrival in Bucharest. We’ll have to sort out the provisions for when we arrive at Alba Iulia and Budapest when we meet up later.”
“Thank goodness for that.” She glanced at Hollywood. “I messaged Ilya earlier about the food position, and it looks like Drago has got it sorted. There’ll be a delivery in time for when we arrive in Bucharest, and he said he’ll speak to me later about sourcing food for when we stop near Alba Iulia and then in Budapest. I guess they’re the next two destinations on his new route.”
“Will there be enough for everyone including the women?” Hollywood committed the names of the cities to memory as he asked the question.
“I reckon so.” Niko nodded. “Left up to Ilya, it really could have gone either way. But as Drago responded, I’d like to think he’s used his common sense and bought enough for everyone.”
“He doesn’t seem the sort of guy to be working for an asshole like Ilya. No offence.” Hollywood glanced at Niko to see if he’d upset her at all. “Has he always been around?”
Niko smiled.
“No offence taken. An asshole is probably the nicest thing you can call my brother.” She shook her head. “And no, Drago hasn’t always been around. He started working for my brother a few years ago, and actually saved his life during a drug deal that went bad. Someone tried to stab Ilya, and Drago jumped in the way, and fought the guy off. Got a stab wound to his stomach for his troubles, though thankfully, it wasn’t too serious. Since then, Drago is virtually the only person Ilya trusts.”
“What about you? Do you trust Drago?” Hollywood asked, glancing around to see her reaction to his question.
“I trust him to have my back, when it comes to dealing with Ilya’s men.” Niko explained. “But whether he would have my back if it came to Ilya, I doubt very much. Drago is as smart as he is brave, and I think he’d probably put survival at the top of his wish-list. If you want to survive in Ilya’s world, you act in Ilya’s best interests at all times.”
“Even if that meant he was supporting Ilya at your expense?” Hollywood asked with a frown.
“Drago is… would be… a good man, I think, if circumstances were different.” Niko explained. “I don’t think he actually likes Ilya’s businesses any more than I do. He certainly doesn’t like trafficking women any more than me. But having been given Ilya’s backing, it comes with a price. You have to do what you’re told, when you’re told. I’m not sure of Drago’s background exactly, but I think he had a tough upbringing. At least with Ilya he gets a good wage and some authority. It’s better than what he had, so I guess he thinks the price is worth paying.”
“How much does Ilya pay him?” Hollywood asked.
“I wouldn’t know.” Niko shrugged. “I’ve seen Ilya hand over a bundle of cash from time to time. Like after a big deal has gone down successfully. Maybe twenty or thirty thousand euros?”
“And you get fifty euros a week?” Hollywood scowled. “Woman, you need to get the union involved to fight for better terms and conditions for employees.”
Niko turned to face Hollywood, thinking the guy had gone loco, but then she noticed the twinkle in his eyes.
Ok, so maybe he wasn’t hating her right at that minute.
“Which union do you think I should join? There are a few transport unions, but I don’t think they’d like our brand of ‘haulage’.” She smirked.
“How about the Traffickers Union? There’s bound to be one somewhere in the world.” Hollywood smiled.
“I bet there’s a Traffickers, Drug Smugglers and Arms Dealers’ Workers’ Union somewhere if I Google it.” She chuckled. “And if there’s not, then there should be. Why didn’t I think of it before? Oh, wait. Because Ilya would kill me as soon as look at me if I asked for more money. That’s why.”
“We could just drive the truck into the forest, open up the back and let the women go.” Hollywood suggested. “You and Roman could make a break for it and go and make that new life you wanted for the two of you.”
Niko glanced across at him. Was he serious?
“In theory that sounds like a great idea.” She conceded. “But in reality, the trucks are fitted with trackers, so as soon as we moved off the main road they’d know we’ve gone walkabout and would come after us. There are half a dozen small vehicles within a couple of miles of us at any time, so they’d easily catch us. Ilya wouldn’t hesitate to kill me, just to make an example of anyone who tried to take what he believes is his. Where would that leave Roman? Then there’s your employer, who, I’m sure, is also set to make a pretty penny out of this little arrangement. I think they’d be less than impressed with you if we let the women go.”
Hollywood scowled, and she felt a little sympathy for the guy. Having a conscience made living this life so hard.
“But on a positive note… when you get back after this trip, you can always quit, can’t you?” She suggested. “You’re not stuck in this life like I am.”
Hollywood didn’t respond, and she guessed he was re-evaluating. Whatever he was getting paid, and she assumed it was a decent amount, was it really enough to assuage his conscience?
Her phone buzzed again with another message.
“There’s a rest-stop about two miles ahead where you’re supposed to pull in.” She instructed. “It’s probably got no security cameras to pick us up, but even so, when you park, don’t pull in next to the other trucks. Keep a respectable distance, like you want some privacy.”
Hollywood followed her instructions, and as they pulled in, she saw both of their other trucks parked in different areas. She recognised a couple of the vans, and the men sitting on a wall enjoying a cigarette.
“Roman, come with me, baby.” Niko reached into her pack and pulled out some tissues and wet cloth wipes. “There’s a bathroom here, so we can get cleaned up.”
Roman slid off the bed and stepped between the curtains, climbing up on her lap so he could see out of the window.
“Do they have a park with swings?” He asked, seeing the open grass area off to one side.
“I don’t think so.” Niko hated seeing his disappointment. “But once we get where we’re going, I’m sure we’ll be able to find somewhere where you can play on the swings.”
“And a slide, too?” Roman stared up at her hopefully.
“I hope so, baby.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his warm body. “And maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll find a park with one of those roundabout things too, and I can spin you around and around.”
“Until I’m sick.” Roman giggled.
“Well, maybe we’ll try and stop before that happens, hmm?” Niko kissed his cheek, and as Hollywood brought the truck to a complete halt, she opened the door and carefully climbed down.
“Now come on, let’s head to the bathroom.” She watched as Hollywood lifted Roman down. “We probably haven’t got long before we need to get going, and I don’t know when we’ll get the chance to stop again.”
As she walked across to the bathroom, she pulled out her phone and started typing.
“Bucharest tonight, a site near Alba Iulia tomorrow and Budapest the day after. Suggest Budapest interception would be preferable. Will provide exact location as soon as confirmed.”
Niko hadn’t walked another ten paces before the reply came back.
“Green light on Budapest in two days.”
Her heart raced a mile a minute. Finally, things were about to change!