Chapter 22
Her damn brothers are still missing. And there’s been no sign of them from any of my contacts throughout the country.
There’s been little movement on the part of the Petrosyans, and the little murmurings of the progress they’ve been trying to make has gone quiet.
Too quiet.
“You look ready to put a fist through something,” Kaz jokes as he sinks into the chair opposite me.
“It’s nothing.” I scrub my hand down my face, trying to wipe away the annoyance at not having full control over this bullshit going on around me.
It doesn’t work. I’m still pissed.
“It’s not nothing. But I think it’s someone.” He quirks an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair as one of the servers brings him a drink and places it in front of him.
“Don’t start.” I put a hand up to ward him off, but Kaz seems to be in a playful mood today.
“Start what? You’ve been busting balls all over town trying to find a set of twins that don’t want to be found, who have done nothing to you or your business dealings, all because of a girl.”
If I could set him on fire without destroying my restaurant I would gladly do it.
“Not a girl.”
He laughs. “No. She’s no girl.”
“Are you checking her out?” I can’t keep the civility in my tone.
Not when it’s Kaz. The man goes through women how ordinary humans go through underwear.
“Nah. Of course not.” He shakes his head. “She’s yours. Besides, she’s friends with my soon to be sister-in-law. That would make for one hell of an awkward situation.”
“Why? Because you’d use her and dump her like you do every other woman?”
His eyes harden. “Don’t say it like that. My women know what they’re getting into when they climb into my bed. No second dates. No second chances. One and done. I’m not a complete prick about it.”
I’m being hard on him, and it has nothing to do with him. He’s right. He’s not a total ass to women. He’s upfront. But still, I bet more than half think they’ll be the one to change Kaz’s mind. They believe they’re the one missing link to Kaz Volkov’s heart.
Poor saps. Those are the ones that get hurt. But he’s right, it’s their own doing.
“What did you find out from Sasha?” I turn the conversation.
“That he’s a cranky old man.” Kaz laughs. “He said if he knew working with Rurik was going to bring us to his doorstep so often, he might rethink it.”
“He gets paid well enough. Did he find anything?”
“Yeah. He did.” Kaz reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.
I flatten out the paper against the white linen of the tabletop and scan the photos and reports. “They’ve left the country, then.”
“It would appear so. They took a domestic flight to New York and from there they went over to Italy.”
“Italy?” My eyes scan further down. “What the fuck are they doing in Italy? If they’re working with the Petrosyans, why would they be there?”
Kaz shrugs. “I have no clue. Sasha wasn’t able to get much more other than they passed through customs in Sicily a week ago. No car rentals in their names, no hotel reservations. They used their US-issued passports, which was dumb if they were trying to stay under the radar.”
“What if they weren’t?” I toss the paper down. “What if they wanted us to know they’re in Italy?”
“What would be the point of that? These guys know you’re looking for them.”
“If they’ve read any of the hundred messages Maxine has sent them since they’ve gone missing. Yes.” I take a drink of my cognac.
“He didn’t give me any phone records, but we could get him to track them down.” Kaz offers.
“I’m heading past his place to pick up Maxine. I’ll stop by his place and see what he can do,” I say. “Ivan settle in okay?”
Kaz nods with a frown. “Yeah. I’m surprised he agreed to take time off and go to the safe house.”
“He’d do anything to keep Vee safe.”
“Yeah.” He shifts his gaze away. “If only we could get Elana to take safety so seriously.”
“She’s still fighting against the extra security?”
He nods. “Artem’s created a team specifically for her, but she still manages to lose them. I think we taught her too much while she was growing up.”
“Artem’s not handling her security anymore?” I cock my head.
Kaz shakes his head. “With all the bullshit going on with the DeAngelo’s there are other things that need to be done. Baby sitting’s not really his thing.”
I narrow my eyes. “He said that? He said watching over your little sister isn’t his thing?”
He sits straighter. “No, it’s not like that. You know Artem, he’d give his fucking life for any of us.”
“Right. So why doesn’t he want to be the one watching over Elana?”
“We need him in other places, and Elana wasn’t exactly being co-operative.”
I nod. “Ah, that makes more sense.”
“What does?” He leans forward. “You got a weird look on your face, what does that mean?”
“Nothing.” I lift a shoulder.
The last encounter I had with Artem it was obvious the man’s focus was on one person in the room. His gaze followed Elana around the room the entire night, his jaw ticking more times that I could have counted.
Now, after having spent time with my own free-spirited dragon, I understand his demeanor. Kaz, however, would probably be less amused by it if I were to tell him. Elana being his little sister, he wouldn’t take my thoughts on the matter well.
“Has there been any movement on the weapons Maxine’s brothers had?” Kaz questions.
“No.” I drum my fingers against the tabletop beside my drink. “It doesn’t make much sense that the Petrosyans would want to move into this area and start using street punks. But without knowing what those idiots were doing meeting with them, I can’t know for certain.”
“You have men on it, I assume?”
“I have eyes on the situation.” I pick up my glass, finishing off my drink. It’s late, and Maxine will be getting off work soon.
“And nothing from the DeAngelo pricks?”
“So far nothing. But I don’t expect it to stay that way. They’ve had to piece together by now what’s happened to the soldiers they sent to kill Ivan.”
“They found the bodies?” Kaz’s eyebrows raise.
“No. But I made sure enough parts of them were returned to Marco, they could be identified.”
“You’re putting a big target on your back.” He frowns. “You could stay clear of this. Marco will come at you. Rurik’s lost a warehouse, and all he did was pick up a girl.”
“He’s already rebuilding and considering that girl’s about to be wearing his name, I doubt he has regrets.”
“Still. No one would blame you for stepping away from this mess.”
I lean forward. “You insult me to suggest I would not back your family against the Italians. An attack on the Volkovs is an attack on all Bratva. The pussies aren’t even going after the men; they target the women. It’s disgusting.”
“I meant no insult.” He raises his hands and gives a small bow of his head.
My phone rings from inside my suit jacket.
“Sasha,” I say, taking the call. “You’re saving me a trip.”
Kaz leans back and gestures for a waitress while I take the call.
“Have you spoken with Kaz?” Sasha begins.
“He’s here with me. He relayed what you found about the twins. Have you found anything else out?”
“I have their location. I got a hit on a credit card in their name. It took some time to find it because neither of them are the primary holders on the card, so I wasn’t finding them at first. But I started digging into your girl, and that’s when I found it.”
“They’re using her credit card?” My fingers tighten around the phone.
She doesn’t have enough trouble in her life because of these assholes, now they’re digging into debt?
“Looks like she’s the primary, yeah, but I have my doubts she’s aware of it.”
“Why?”
“Well, the only charges on the card seem to be related to them. I pulled her credit accounts and did some comparison. The only thing she charges are her cell phone bills, a streaming service, and some coffee. Her bill’s paid off every month.”
Of course, because Maxine is responsible. She’s relied on herself, and only herself, for far too long. She’s appointed herself as the caretaker for those two, and they repay her by stealing from her.
“I’m guessing this new card hasn’t been used in that way?”
He laughs, but there’s little joy in it. “No. Bar charges, gas stations, the tickets for the trip to Italy are on here. And there’s a balance. They’ve had this card for several years now. Minimum payments mostly, but enough for the card company to keep upping their available credit.”
I grit my teeth. “How much?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
“Fucking assholes.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “And with the minimums only being paid, her credit score is probably in the trash.”
He sighs. “Yeah. It looks like they’ve done a lot of damage. They’ve also taken a personal loan with the same bank that holds the credit card.”
“In her name too?” I’m going to break their fucking necks when I get my hands on them.
She has no idea how badly these boys have been using her. The entire time, she’s trying to keep them on the straight and narrow. Helping them whenever they need it, and behind her back they’re destroying her financial future.
“Yes, she’s the primary on the card, so the loan is, too.”
“How the fuck are they able to do that?”
“This shit is all done online now. All they needed was her social security number, some basic information and it’s finished. The card company offers promotions, and they offered a personal loan with a low introductory interest rate.”
“How long ago?”
“A year. The rate is twenty two percent now, and the balance is ten thousand.”
Twenty-five thousand dollars of debt that I’m positive she’s completely unaware of.
“You’re able to get into these accounts, I assume?”
“I’m already in there. You want something done?”
My jaw tightens. The things I want done can’t happen yet and having to wait to get these fuckers back for what they’ve done is making my mood darken. She doesn’t deserve what they’ve done to her. She sees them as her blood brothers, as her family. And they’ve used her, abused her good nature.
“Not yet. I need them first, if we do anything that alerts them they’ve been found out, they might take off again. Send me their exact location, I’ll have men in the air within the hour.” Once I get eyes on them, I’ll feel better. Not great, but at least more in control of this fucked up situation.
“I’ll send it over now. Uh…oh…hold on a sec, I’m getting something.” The line goes quiet, like he’s put me on mute.
“You look like you’re ready to murder someone.” Kaz’s brow raises. “Sasha find them?”
“He’s getting me their location. I’ll have Vas there by morning.”
Kaz’s gaze drifts away from our table, and a smile tugs on his lips. “My date’s arrived.”
He stands, buttoning his suit jacket.
I turn enough to see the young woman standing at the foot of the short set of stairs, separating our table from the main restaurant lounge.
A blonde woman, face pristinely painted for an evening out, and her hair perfectly in place wound up in a twist. Diamond earrings dangle from her ears, and another diamond hangs around her thin neck.
The black dress she’s wearing, while fitting her nicely, isn’t anything special.
Nothing about her is special, or natural.
Not like my Maxine. She doesn’t need a speck of makeup to draw out her beauty. Her hair has a natural wave to it, dark and frames her face as though to accentuate her eyes and full lips. She has a casual beauty, and merely thinking about it, about her, has made my pants too snug for comfort.
“Okay, I’m back.” Sasha’s line goes live again as I get up from my table. I need to get to Maxine’s book shop to pick her up.
“Anything useful?” I ask, making my way through the crowded restaurant.
There’s typing on the other end of the line.
“I’m sending you the address now of their exact location.”
I step out into the street; a cold breeze blows through my hair.
“And?”
“They’re staying at a villa owned by Vincente Conti.” He pauses a beat. “Marco DeAngelos’ uncle.”