A Sly Fox #2
Dante put a warning hand on my arm, but I shrugged him off. I didn’t need him to fight my battles for me, especially verbally. I was pretty darn good at that on my own.
Izzy clocked the gesture and raised an eyebrow. “My, she’s feisty, Dante. You sure you can handle her?”
“Enough,” Valentina interjected sharply. “Dante, control her or she’ll get herself into trouble.”
“She’s quite capable of controlling herself,” I bit out.
Valentina looked poised to tear into me, but I was saved from a reprimand by Leo’s arrival.
“I see I’m late to the party,” drawled a white-haired man in his late-seventies supporting himself with a cane. He was tall, despite his age, and had an almost reverent presence that was hard to describe, but evident by the way the room fell silent.
“Leo,” Valentina gushed, getting to her feet.
I watched as she crossed the floor and kissed her father-in-law, the former Don, on both cheeks. He nodded at her, but there was no fondness there.
It was strange to see the ice queen humbled by another family member. Leo might no longer be the ruling patriarch, but I could tell he was still very much the one everybody deferred to.
Marco got up next and shook the former Don’s hand. Nico followed suit, as did Dante, while only Izzy embraced him in a warm hug.
“Hello, grandfather,” she said fondly.
He smiled down at her, eyes crinkling. It was clear who the favorite was.
After she’d gone back to her seat, his gaze fell on me. I got to my feet and walked over to shake his hand. “Sir, it’s a pleasure.”
He took it in his weathered one, and I was surprised by his grip strength. “I doubt that, but it’s kind of you to say so.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
He held on to my hand. “I believe you’re helping us with our little Colombian problem?”
That was one way of putting it.
“It seemed the smartest option under the circumstances,” I replied evenly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marco bristle. I didn’t think he liked me very much.
Il Lupo gave another chuckle and looked past me to Dante. “I like her, Fuochino. She has spirit.”
Dante gave a stiff nod, a wary look in his eyes. He wasn’t sure how this was going to pan out. Neither was I, to be honest. But I did know one thing, if I showed weakness in this family, I’d be eaten for breakfast.
The art world was no joke, and fighting my way to the top had taken a considerable amount of determination. I’d learned the hard way how to hold my own, and I drew on that experience now.
Fuochino. I stored it away. I’d be asking him about that nickname later.
Leo released me and made his way to the armchair Marco had vacated for him. The eldest Marcelli went to join Izzy at the bar.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s get down to business,” Valentina said.
Everybody turned toward her.
“Malakov has taken the bait. He received another phone call from Orlov yesterday, which we think was to discuss the cashflow situation. His supply of laundered funds is drying up. We’re squeezing him out.”
“The call was over an hour long,” Nico said, straightening. “It was immediately followed by another call to Malakov’s financier in Switzerland. I think they’re releasing funds.”
Leo nodded, his gaze flitting from me to Dante and back again.
“What is the next stage?” he asked.
“Now we target key players in their network,” Dante said. “The cartel has got a small contingent here in New York. They arrived shortly after the ambush.”
“Pablo Ramirez, who visited the Agora the other day, is one of them,” Nico pointed out.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“He’s staying in the same hotel as the others, on the same floor.”
“Coincidence? I think not,” Valentina said softly.
I gulped and turned to Dante. “Was he there for me?”
“Maybe.” Dante glowered at Nico as if the threat was his fault. “We can’t be sure. He may just have been casing the joint.”
My eyes widened. “For what? A robbery?”
“They want control of the Agora,” Marco said, in a slightly condescending tone. “They want to utilize it as their pipeline into the States. That much was obvious from the ambush. Clearly, they’re upping their game.”
“And we’re going to stop them,” Izzy said, uncoiling her denim-clad legs from around the barstool and crossing them instead.
“You mean Malakov is going to stop them,” Valentina said with an icy grin that didn’t go anywhere near her eyes.
“Indirectly,” Izzy amended.
“You are going to mention to your friend Orlov that you saw this man,” Valentina instructed me. “That will feed his suspicion. We need him to understand what is at stake here. If he likes you, he will be concerned. Not just for your welfare, but for his own and that of the Bratva.”
“Should I mention my apartment was broken into as well?”
“It wouldn’t hurt.”
Dante gave an approving nod.
“Marco, you will get your NYPD contact to let slip that the cases from the ambush at the docks matched those used in previous cartel-related activity.”
“That’s not proven yet,” he said.
She nodded at Nico. “Then find something to prove it with. There must be previous jobs with the Los Santos Rotos cartel’s name on them.”
“I’ll set it up,” he said.
I stared at him, horrified at how easily evidence could be manipulated if you had the know-how.
“What do you want me to do?” Izzy asked.
“You stay out of this one,” Valentina said, shooting her a calculated look. “We might need you later, and it would be best they didn’t know who you were.”
“No problem,” she said, getting up. “In that case, I’m going to head off. I’ve got a high-stakes poker game on tonight and I need to be on site.”
“Watch your back,” Leo muttered, as she glided past.
“Always do,” she retorted, giving his arm a squeeze as she left the room.
I listened while they hashed out the finer details, in which Dante played an important part. Targeted hits on two of the cartel’s key players, both unsavory guys by the sounds of it. Not that that justified anything. Russian weapons. Bratva MO.
I decided I didn’t want to hear any more, but I couldn’t leave.
“You have a problem with this?” Marco asked, his sly gaze landing on me. He wanted me to react, wanted a reason to oust me from the inner sanctum. See, she’s not trustworthy, he’d say.
So I refused to give him one. Instead, I shook my head.
“Good,” he said, unconvinced.
The discussion moved on. Eventually, when everyone had been assigned tasks, Leo got to his feet, helped by Nico.
“I will leave this in your capable hands,” he said to Valentina, who gave a regal nod.
“Let me see you to your car,” Marco said, getting off the barstool, but Leo lifted a hand and turned to me.
“That’s all right. Evelyn can walk me out.”