Chapter Sixteen #2
If none of their safe houses were in that area, it meant they were staying with someone else.
The first thing he’d done when Mae took Charlie was to reach out directly to every single person who might owe allegiance to Alethea and let them know in no uncertain terms that he’d eliminate any and all hints of betrayal.
To a man, they’d gotten out of his way. Alethea should have no one to turn to among that group.
He’d still check, but it didn’t feel right.
She had to know Dmitri would hunt her down without mercy.
She wouldn’t risk herself and Mae by staying with someone who would betray them.
The only people she could be sure were loyal was her family, and right now that consisted of Mae, who had no resources of her own.
No, there had to be someone else.
He picked up his phone and dialed from memory. Ivan picked up almost immediately. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Why aren’t you still fucking that girl into submission?”
Ivan was the oldest of the Romanov cousins, which gave him some freedom the others didn’t have. Namely, that he talked to everyone exactly the same fucking way—as if he had better things to be doing. “I need some information.”
“That wasn’t even an artful dodge.” Ivan tsked. “All work and no play, and it’s no wonder that your new wife has to act out to get your attention. It’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Dima.”
You have no idea. It was achingly clear that Ivan wouldn’t get around to business until he’d satisfied his curiosity, so Dmitri sighed. “It’s nearly ten, Ivan. I have to let her out of the bedroom at some point. We have a reception to plan, after all.”
He snorted. “Last time I saw the girl, you hadn’t consummated your marriage. A fucking waste, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you.” His life would be a lot simpler if Ivan wasn’t able to infer so damn much.
“You should have. We’re family. What’s more, we’ve been friends for how many years, Dima?
And the first I’m hearing about this girl is when you summon me to your residence like some kind of servant.
Then she shows up, this tiny furious package in a gown that couldn’t have said ‘fuck you’ louder if it was written across those pert little tits of hers. ”
“Enough.” He didn’t want anyone talking about Keira’s breasts.
Fuck, he wanted to go back in time and haul her ass out of that room before the other man got an eyeful.
It would have showed weakness, but at least she would have been shielded from Ivan.
But no, he’d been too proud, too intent on playing his game, and she’d accomplished exactly what she’d set out to do—chaos.
Ivan chortled. “Got under your skin, didn’t she? Never thought I’d see the day where the proud Dima is brought low.”
Enough was enough. He injected ice into his tone. “The marriage started off with some bumps, but they’ve been resolved.”
If anything, Ivan laughed harder. “You’re too smart to believe that. You don’t give that girl a purpose, and she’ll bring your house down in flames.”
As if Dmitri didn’t know that. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m working on it.”
“Be sure to keep me updated on how well that goes over.” Another laugh and then, between one breath and the next, all amusement was gone from his voice. “You needed a favor.”
“Less a favor than help recalling a bit of old gossip. Alethea Eldridge is rumored to have killed her husband around the time you were still living in New York. Does he still have family in the city?” It had been before Dmitri’s time, and his father’s files were woefully lacking in information about Clayton Norris and what remained of his people.
“Oh, that.” Ivan grunted as if settling deeper into a chair.
“She didn’t kill her old man, though it served her purposes to have everyone think she did.
You were too young at the time, and I don’t know that I would have registered it at all, but Clayton Norris owed money to my mother’s oldest brother.
The fool liked to gamble and didn’t know when to stop.
I think Alethea tried to curtail it, but he just went behind her back to our territory. ”
“I have a list of Clayton’s brothers—Jermaine, Dane, and Earl—but no other information. My father usually kept better files, but those three seem to have disappeared into the ether. There is no record of them anywhere in New York.”
“That’s because they’re dead. Your father tangled with the Norris clan a few times back in the seventies, but they were dwindling fast by the time you were born.
Clayton was the only remaining living child of his parents, and allying with Eldridges through marriage was their last-ditch effort to remain relevant—and it failed. ”
Damn it. If the brothers were dead, so was his lead. “You said she didn’t kill him. Who did?”
“She was supposed to—her mother wasn’t a fan—but ended up backing out at the last moment. Instead, she bought off his debts with my uncle and Clayton disappeared. We thought she’d sent him away, but there was a rumor a few years ago that he was back—if not back. You understand?”
He’s alive. Adrenaline surged, and Dmitri had to pause a moment to get control of himself. Got you, Alethea. “One last question.”
“Naturally.”
He ignored that. “Does he have any known pseudonyms?” If anyone would know that, it would be the people he gambled with. Ivan’s uncle had a reputation for being incredibly thorough when it came to people who owed him money.
“Just the one—John Cash.”
“You’re joking.”
“I wish I was. I only remember because it was so absurd.”
The whole point of a pseudonym was to fly under the radar—something impossible to do if one insisted on using the name of a famous musician. “Thank you for the information.”
“Easily given. I look forward to your party, Dima. Something tells me that it’ll be one for the record books.”
It certainly was shaping up to be. “Good-bye, Ivan.” He hung up before his friend could say anything more absurd.
Several minutes later, he had the confirmation he needed. Neither Clayton Norris nor John Cash brought up anything worthwhile, but a Clayton Cash owned a small apartment in Brooklyn—which happened to be almost directly in the middle of the area Cillian O’Malley had given him.
Dmitri called Alexei. He barely waited for the other man to answer to speak. “Gather the men. I believe I’ve found our Mikhail.” He hung up. Calling Keira was tempting, but she deserved an update in person, and it wouldn’t take but a minute to deliver the information.
And maybe he wanted to see what she’d gotten up to in the last few hours.
It would take his men a good ten minutes to be ready to leave, which gave him plenty of time to hunt her down in the grand ballroom in the center of the house.
He’d always found the room ostentatious—much easier to plan things at a neutral location than to invite friends and enemies alike into his home—but it was the best option for the reception.
The O’Malleys needed to be reassured. His allies had all been here before.
The Eldridges were a wild card, but he fully intended to remove them from the playing field before they had a chance to do further damage.
Keira glanced up as he walked through the door.
She looked like herself for the first time since she’d arrived in New York, wearing a pleated skirt that was several inches too short for his peace of mind, and a cropped muscle tank top with some band he’d never heard of written across the front.
The black shirt showed off her pale skin, and he frowned when he realized he could count her ribs. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes, O benevolent overlord. I had two eggs twenty minutes ago to keep my energy up for this appointment you set up for me, and Pavel basically threatens me with snacks every hour or two.” She stopped and frowned. “You’re leaving.”
“I found him.” He didn’t feel relief—not yet—but he hoped they wouldn’t arrive too late.
It was in Alethea’s best interest to keep his man alive, and she was too smart to kill him and lose her pawn.
But Mae was unpredictable, and he didn’t have the utmost faith in her mother’s ability to control her.
Keira set her notepad down on the table and crossed to him. “Be careful.”
With her looking at him like that, he could almost believe she was worried about him. Too much to ask. He took her hands and pressed a kiss to each one of her knuckles. “Stay in the house until we return.” He belatedly added, “Please.”
He half expected her to throw a fit, but she just raised her eyebrows. “You think this could be a bait and switch.”
“I think that there is little Mae Eldridge would like more than to see you dead.” It was all too easy to remember the head she’d had delivered to him and superimpose Keira’s features on it.
No. I will not allow it to happen. He squeezed her hands, knowing damn well that if he tried to order her to stay, it would be as effective as waving a red flag in front of a bull.
“I respectfully request that you stay put.” He hadn’t forgotten that someone had infiltrated the house, but Pavel could be trusted.
That, Dmitri was sure of. “I’ll send Pavel in when I leave.
He’ll hover, but allow it as a favor to me. Please.”
She smirked, even as her hazel eyes were concerned. “You’re being polite, which means you’re worried. I’ll be good and stay in my cage while you’re gone—this time.”
It was the best he was going to get. “Thank you.”
“Come back safely, Romanov. No one gets to torture you but me.”