Moshe Holofcener 2.
My eyes follow Yakov as he paces the length of the war room.
Like a caged animal, cornered, and more action than thought.
I know that feeling. I remember it all too well when Seril and Ruthie were taken by Seril’s brother.
When Ruthie was found broken and battered at the bottom of the servants’ stairs.
When my pregnant wife left me because of my own shame and idiocy.
Moses, can’t one of us fall in love without the world taking offense?
Thijs Teuling. Once he finds out that his hired help kidnapped the wrong woman, he could go in one of several different ways. Kill Sophie. Call us to negotiate a trade. Keep her instead. Come after us.
He has started a war with the Kosher Nostra and I can’t tell if he is intelligent enough to realize exactly what that means.
We live in North Carolina, but our reach extends much farther than the east coast. It spans continents.
Family in the far reaches of the world that would be only too happy to help protect one of their own.
However, watching Yak, Jonah, and Morris… this will be handled in house.
We cannot wait for Teuling to make a move.
We need to put plans in motion far before he finds out the mistake that was made.
And therein lies my current problem. Desidario Diaz is a wildcard.
Yes, he helped us with Hiram Goldman initially, but he promised the debt would be collected at some point in the future since eliminating Goldman served his own purposes as well.
To ask him again for help…his reaction is as unknown to me as Teuling’s, and both situations give me indigestion.
I close my eyes briefly, picturing my cousin. Sophie is strong, capable, and smart. If any of the women can survive something like this besides Tovah, it’s Sophie. That doesn’t mean I like her being in this position to begin with.
Tev snaps his fingers, getting my attention as he switches the phone to speaker.
“The infamous Avraham Avinu Moshe Holofcener. To what do I owe the pleasure?” His accented English grates on my nerves.
For no other reason than the smug tone in which he speaks.
I do not enjoy being indebted to anyone.
“Thijs Teuling.” He spits something out in rapid fire Spanish. At least he isn’t smug anymore. I dare say the Cuban is quite miffed.
“Yes, the Netherlands nitwit. Would his arrival in Miami not long ago have anything to do with this call?” He’s a smart man.
“I do not know you, Desidario. Our last interaction was orchestrated by a third-party and online communications.”
“I do not know you either.”
“No, but our reputations speak for themselves, do they not?” I glance around the room and inhale. “My understanding is that you are a family man.”
“Family is why we continue to fight when rolling over would be far easier…and less deadly.”
“My cousin Sophie Schlay has been taken.”
“Sophie…this is because of Sophia Goldman’s contract?” Yakov emits a broken sound that tears at my heart.
“It is.”
“What is it you want exactly?”
“I want my cousin rescued. Protected. Until we can eliminate the threat against her. And then sent back home to the loving arms of her family.”
“He is well insulated in the States.”
“He is.” I have a list of holdings and business associates pages long. “The question is, is he protected by you?”
“El Fuego de los Muertos (The Fire of the Dead) does not protect molesters and rapists.” Uncle Morris sucks in a sharp breath, my uncles and father reassure him as I continue with our only hope in reaching Sophie quickly.
“Neither do we.”
“Did we just become best friends?”
“Stepbrothers…unexpected, Desidario.”
“The Kosher Nostra is racking up quite the debt with me.”
“Perhaps it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
“We have a few other things going on right now, however, I will put my men on tracking down Miss Schlay. I do not know how long it will take to find her, Moshe. As I said, Teuling has many friends of his own.”
“Let us worry about his friends.”