Chapter 15
Chapte r
Fifteen
Reinaldo
M y home office was ostentatious and smothering just like the mansion where it was housed. This place belonged to Gerardo Ruiz, brother of Andrés and Nicolas. Mí padre put a lot of trust into the three brothers, all of them making it to the rank of senior lieutenant in the cartel.
Like many men their age, the Ruiz lieutenants had difficulty with Aléjandro’s and my advancement in our father’s organization. Case in point—Nicolas’s ridiculous show of sending a whore to me while I was showering. The only one to support the alliance with the famiglia was Andrés. He had little choice. His two daughters, Catalina and Camila, were married to famiglia, Catalina to the capo dei capi himself.
Gerardo Ruiz’s deception topped that of his brother Nicolas. Unwilling to accept that Jano was his superior, Gerardo partnered with our enemy Elizondro Herrera in an effort to sabotage the Mafia alliance and bring down the Roríguez cartel.
That kind of treachery was not tolerated.
Gerardo Ruiz was no longer living.
Upon his death, mí padre sent me to Northern California to oversee our business in the region. This mansion belongs to the cartel, hidden behind numerous LLCs. That was why I was currently sitting behind a big-ass desk in a house ten thousand more square feet than any man needed, especially a bachelor.
I wasn’t alone. There was plenty of space to house guards and household staff.
Jano and I grew up in a large mansion. I wasn’t unaccustomed to luxury, but that didn’t mean that I liked it. I meant what I said when I’d told Em I’d rather move back into his pool house. Jano and I lived there for a short time before Jano married Mia and bought his own mini mansion on a cliff.
I made a few revisions after a recent attack on the house and grounds. Nevertheless, it was too large.
My vision blurred with weariness as I completed reports, fulfilling my duties. I was ready to fly east, and I didn’t give a fuck if I had any sleep before I did. I hadn’t had any since talking to Jasmine and torturing the spy.
Between calls with soldiers in the area, I did what I do well. I researched Jasmine’s mother and Zhdan Myshkin. I didn’t expect the two searches to intersect. They did.
As I’d told Jasmine, I’d known about Leah Renner ever since Jasmine was recommended to me. I had a standing internet search on her mother. For some reason, the search wasn’t triggered with her release. The more I learned, the less I liked the idea of Jasmine making contact with her.
It wasn’t only because her mother was a felon. If I or any other member of the cartel had an issue with people who broke laws, our circle would be entirely too small. Breaking laws and getting caught were two different things.
Leah Renner was caught.
The defense tried to play Leah off as an innocent victim of the Smirnov bratva, the predecessor to the Myshkin bratva. She was given the tainted cocaine and passed it on without knowledge of the fentanyl content. The judge nor jury cared where Leah Renner received the illegal drugs. The fact that she had multiple priors for drug use, child endangerment, and prostitution didn’t help her case.
The parents of the dead college student had money, enough to help the wheels of justice put Leah away for the maximum penalty of twenty years at a women’s prison in Vandalia, Missouri. Her early release on parole was due to prison overcrowding.
“What the fuck?” I said aloud as I read about multiple visits to her in prison by a man named Dmitri Makarova.
According to the records I accessed from the women’s prison, he began visiting Leah around the time her case was scheduled to go before the parole board. Opening another screen, I researched the parole board. It took a few hoops, and I had more information.
While most people don’t list their association to a Mafia family, cartel, or bratva on their LinkedIn resume, there were a few telltale signs. In California, Volkov Construction, Inc. was the cover for the Volkov bratva. In St. Louis and Kansas City, Smirnov Properties was the cover for the Myshkin bratva.
Dmitri Makarova was employed by Smirnov Properties.
Zhdan Myshkin, the man the capo wanted Jasmine to marry was his father’s sovietnik, or counselor or advisor. Dmitri reported to Zhdan.
I looked at the clock in the corner of my computer screen. It was only a little after seven in the morning. That would be two hours later in Kansas City. I picked up my phone to tell Jasmine that no way in hell was she going to approach her mother, not without me at her side and an army at her back.
Maybe it was my lack of sleep, but the information I’d found heated my blood, filling my nervous system with alarm. Dmitri Makarova visited Leah Renner for one reason, and she was too dumb to realize that it was because Dario Luciano was her daughter’s guardian.
“Fuck.” Staring at my phone, my gut told me to call the capo directly. He didn’t want to hear from me after Christmas Eve, but he needed to know that Jasmine was in danger. Going through my contacts, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t have the capo’s direct number. As I started to call Jano, my phone rang.
Mia’s name was on the screen .
“ Hola , I was about to call your husband.”
“He’s not home right now. Do you have a minute to talk?”
“I need your brother’s number.”
“Dario or Dante?” she asked.
“I have Dante’s. I need the capo’s.”
“From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Fuck him. He doesn’t have to talk. He needs to listen.”
Mia’s voice lowered. “Rei, be careful. Dario didn’t become capo dei capi by being lectured to.”
“He’s going to listen to what I have to say.”
“Okay, I’ll give you his number,” Mia said. “Before I do, I promised to talk to you about Jasmine.”
“Are you going to try to talk me out of marrying her?”
“I’ve made it my mission to advocate for consensual marriages. That means if she wants to marry you and you want to marry her, I’m on your side. Did you propose?”
I scoffed. “I told her she was mine and the next time I saw her we’d wed.”
Mia made a noise. “You men are such pigs.”
“But you love us.”
“I love Jano. For the record, he proposed.”
“After the capo informed you of the upcoming nuptials. The problem is the capo. He thinks he can marry her off to a Russian.”
“That’s what I heard. Did you know,” Mia asked, “that marriages in Mexico are recognized in the United States? ”
“You’re suggesting that I kidnap Jasmine and take her out of the country?”
“No. But if you can get her, I know the perfect place for a wedding with your brother, pregnant sister-in-law, and parents.”
Impossible. Jano wouldn’t let Mia travel. And my parents…“My parents are out on Bella.”
“Exactly, floating Mexico off the California coast.”
“Fuck, Mia, you’re a genius. Now how do I get Jasmine?”
“I can’t think of everything. I also can’t take full credit. It was Camila.”
“Camila is in on helping me marry Jasmine?”
“We live in a strange world. Let me get you Dario’s private number. You might not want to lead with your plans to kidnap his…whatever Jasmine is.”
“My future wife is not to be disrespected.”
It was as if I could hear my sister-in-law’s smile. “That’s what you need to show Jasmine and Dario, the irresistible Roríguez possessiveness. Some see it as charm.”
A few minutes later, I heard the ring of my call to the capo dei capi. Another glance at the clock told me it was too early for a shot of tequila.
I hadn’t slept. Didn’t that make it still late?
“Dario here.”
“Sir, this is Reinaldo Roríguez.”
“I know your number, Reinaldo. Why are you calling?”
“I’m concerned about Jasmine.”
His voice deepened. “She isn’t your concern. ”
“She is and will be, but that’s not why I’m calling you. I’m calling because I was informed that Leah Renner is out on parole.”
“How would you know about her?”
“Did you know all you could about Cat before you married her?” I asked.
“I’ve learned more important things since then.”
“I meant it when I said that I plan to marry Jasmine. I’ve done my research. Mí padre knows about Jasmine’s mother and her sister. It was recently brought to my attention that Leah Renner was released. This morning, I started to do research?—”
“Not your responsibility.” His voice was firm. “The famiglia will take care of this.”
I jumped to my feet and recited all that I knew before he could hang up on me. Mia might be right about the capo not wanting a lecture. That wasn’t going to stop me. “Before her release, Leah was visited by a man named Dmitri Makarova. He works for Smirnov Properties. Makarova didn’t begin to visit Leah in prison until she was scheduled to have her case reviewed by the parole board. Two members of the parole board received significant deposits of cash into their bank accounts after the board ruled to release Leah early. Both of those deposits were labeled as Jackpot.com. What are the chances that two members of the same board both won Missouri Lottery Prizes?”
“Will you send me that information? I’ll admit, we didn’t have that.”
“I will.” I continued my information dump. “ Makarova reports directly to Zhdan Myshkin. Someone?—”
“How do you know about Myshkin?”
“Just listen. From what I can deduce, it appears that one or both of the Myshkins sent Makarova to the women’s prison because Leah was of some value to them. They paid off the board to release her. Why would Leah be of value to the bratva?”
“When did Makarova begin visiting Ms. Renner?” the capo asked.
“October of last year.”
“Fuck, that was the beginning of our negotiations.”
“They want Jasmine to get to you. You can’t allow her to be close to Zhdan. There’s more to this than we can see. Jasmine will be collateral damage, and Myshkin doesn’t give a damn. If what I learned about prior charges of child endangerment regarding prostitution and trafficking connected to Jasmine’s sister are correct, Leah doesn’t give a fuck either.”
“How did you learn all this?” he asked.
“I’m fucking good at what I do. Capo, don’t allow Jasmine to meet with Zhdan or her mother.”
“She’s not. She’s here with us, where she’s the safest.”
“I’d like your permission to marry her.”
He was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Jasmine isn’t a fair offer for the alliance. Especially with what’s happening with her mother.”
Gripping the phone tighter, I paced behind my desk. Beyond the windows I stared at the lap pool and well-tended gardens, trying to find the right words. “If anyone is undeserving in our possible match, it’s me. You’re aware of Jasmine’s value. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be so protective of her.”
“She’s safe here.”
“I’ll send my findings to Dante’s email and then I’m getting my bride.”
“You have a job to do in California.”
I took a deep breath. “I’ll do it with Jasmine at my side. Myshkin won’t be able to get to her here.”
“I need to see what you found.”
I leaned over my desk and hit a few keys. “Sent.” I disconnected the call.