Chapter 4
“How’s the prisoner?” Bastian laughed as he plopped down into a vacant chair.
Matias growled as he tossed a folder at his brother. “Infuriating. She refuses to tell me anything about her or her family.”
“Can you blame her?” Cristian set his feet on the desk in front of Matias. “You’re holding her prisoner.”
“I need to be sure she isn’t a spy.”
Bastian grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’ve never known a spy to look like her.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I think what our baby brother is trying to say, Matias,” Cristian rested his hands behind his head and grinned. “Is that your prisoner is hot as fuck!”
Matias closed his eyes as the vision of Katya assaulted his brain. His brothers weren’t wrong. She was fucking beautiful. “That doesn’t change the fact that she’s an Ivanov.”
“Can’t always help who you’re born to, Matty.”
“Yeah, I know, but I need to be sure.” He pushed Cristian’s feet off the desk. “Where are we on Jorge? It’s odd to me he hasn’t been looking for Katya.”
“I might know why that is.” Bastian leaned forward as he spoke, “His father died two days ago. Heart attack. Jorge is now the sole heir of the Peru Wineries. A marriage isn’t needed now.”
“Christ.” Cristian shook his head. “That motherfucker just tossed aside one of the most ruthless mobster’s daughter. Does he realize he has painted a target on himself?”
“Have you made any headway with any of our contacts in America?”
“Yes. Apparently, the Anastasi Syndicate is having some problems with the Russians.”
“This is bad.” Matias leaned back in his chair. “If the Russians are making a move on the Italians and stealing from us, they must have something big planned. We need to know how Jorge fits into this.”
Bastian stood and stretched. “I’ll drive down to wine country. I need to see what I’ll be running soon, anyway.”
“Take Pedro with you. I don’t trust that motherfucker.”
Bastian left Matias and Cristian alone in the room. “What about the girl, Matty? You can’t keep her locked up forever.”
“I know. Once we find out Jorge’s game in all this, I’ll let her go. Having her locked up is the only thing keeping her safe; we’re sitting blind.”
“Are you sure there isn’t something more behind keeping her locked up?”
“What are you implying?”
“I don’t know. You seem so tense when we talk about her. I worry she’s getting under your skin—and not in a good way.”
“I’ve got it under control, Cris.”
“If you say so, Brother. We need to get ahead of this.”
Knowing that they were dealing with the Russians worried Matias. Dmitri having his hands on the lithium meant nothing good would come to any of them. His phone vibrated across the desk, startling him. Cristian eyed his cell and glanced back to Matias.
He pressed the phone to his ear and barked, “Speak.”
“Boss,” Marco, one of his men, spoke. “We have another problem.”
“What is it?” Matias sat up straighter in his chair and pressed speaker. This alerted Cristian there was an issue, and he leaned in closer to listen.
“Rumor has it, Jorge is in deeper with Dmitri than we suspected. Dmitri was here a few hours ago. One of the guys saw him at the airport boarding a private jet.”
“Fuck! Call Bastian. He’s headed out to that fucker’s winery. Let him know what you learned. Bastian needs to be on his toes if he’s going to speak with that snake.”
“There’s something else,” Marco paused.
“Well? What is it?” Matias grunted.
“Dmitri was transporting something in a crate. The locals told me they believe there was a person stashed inside. Dmitri’s men were good at keeping enough distance between them, so it was hard to prove.”
“Shit. This is bad. Get some guys to ask more questions. We need to know what was inside that box.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Matias tossed the phone on the desk and stared at his brother. “It’s time Katya told me everything she knows.
“And if she doesn’t?”
“I’ll kill her myself.”