Page 79 of Brutal Secrets
I hear the question in his voice, but I don’t want to go into details on the phone. He’s already met Kesera, and he was such a raging asshole that I didn’t see her again for years. This has the potential to go badly, but I need my best friend.
“Serious enough,” I say, and he grunts an affirmative before I hang up.
Laying my phone on the table, I say, “Do you have any faraday bags?”
And to my relief, Dex walks over to his backpack and pulls out a lightweight silver bag that blocks phone signals and tosses it over to me. I slide all of our phones into the bag and seal it shut.
“There,” I say. “Now no one can turn our phones into microphones. The Italians own plenty of corrupt cops.”
So do we, but who knows who’s listening in?
I turn to Dex. “My business partner Sasha is on his way. Can you send someone down to meet him once we find out where Danni lives? Then we can take it from there.” I force my voice lower and project as much calm and certainty as I can as Kesera’s shoulders start shaking again.
She chokes back a sob, and I haul her onto my lap, pulling her into my chest and putting a finger under her chin so that I can look into her jade eyes. They’re still beautiful, even after hours of crying.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get Nadia back,” I say. “It’s probably just kids being kids, but even if this is linked to the Italians, the girl I picked up is safe with us. We haven’t harmed her, so there’s no reason for the Italians to hurt our daughter.”
Kesera bites down on her lip, and then she looks up at me. “Two dead bodies at my place in upstate New York say otherwise.” Her eyes swim with tears.
I rock her back and forth on my lap. “They were foot soldiers, zolotaya. Pawns. Nadia is a queen in a chess game. She’ll be safe until the players work out how to put the other side in check. You don’t waste pieces like that.”
“You can’t be sure.” She looks away from me, but I pull her tighter into my arms.
“If you put a trace on her burner phone,” I say, “we can narrow the area down, but it’s not precise.”
“I don’t think she carries it,” Kesera says.
I shake my head. “I think she does. I’ve been getting daily updates on what she’s had for breakfast, and why she’s angry you won’t let her organize a spa party.”
“My god, how often is she messaging you?” Kesera looks upset.
“Daily. She has strong opinions about spa parties. I’m sure we can track her down and everything will be fine,” I say with more assurance than I feel.
I almost think I can make her believe me, but the elevator doors open and Sasha strides into the kitchen with a face like thunder.
“What the hell is going on?” he says, throwing his tall frame into one of the kitchen chairs with enough force to break it. “I’ve just had a message from Dante Spataro asking for a meeting in Westbury.”
Who the fuck is Dante Spataro? I look over at Sasha. “I thought the don’s name was Vincenzo.”
“It is,” Sasha says, nodding briefly at Kesera. “But apparently, Dante is his son, and he says he’s holding your daughter.”
Kesera slides off my lap and I nod at Sasha, picking up my phone and checking my gun is securely tucked in my waistband. I’m moving into work mode.
“Let’s go,” I say to him, but Kesera puts a hand on my chest and pushes me backward.
“No one is going anywhere to look for my daughter until you’ve explained what the hell is going on.” She pushes me into the chair and spins to face Sasha, who’s smirking at her like this is a joke. The animosity between my best friend and the woman I’m falling for hums through the air like pressure before a storm.
Chapter Fifty
Iremember the first time I met Sasha. He cast a shadow over the golden moment Vadim and I had created in the Russian woods.
Time has not improved his personality.
His moods are a like a weather front, and I can feel the pressure change when he enters a room. He walks across the kitchen, talking to himself under his breath in Russian loud enough for Nona to hear and start glaring at him. Vadim stands at the table and watches him, looking warily between us like an umpire.
“Vadim, are you coming? I haven’t got all day,” Sasha calls over his shoulder as if I’m not in the room. The final thread of my patience snaps, and a bright, energizing fury takes its place.
Jimmy, Stevie, and now Sasha.