Page 96 of For Your Eyes Only
He puts his arm around my shoulder, hugging me close. “Good thing I’m stuck here for the duration . I’ll stay with you.”
Rubbing my fingers over my forehead, I can only think of one way to get answers. Picking up the phone, I dial Bianca’s number.
CHAPTER27
TRIP
Six weeks have passed since Debbie “committed suicide”—a cover story I don’t believe for one minute. Six weeks since Grish was given his ultimatum from Simon Petrovich, the all-powerful oligarch.
Six weeks of me growing increasingly furious at the fucked-up web in which my friend and former business partner is entangled. The web in which he’s entangled me, which is now threatening everything I’ve worked for and love.
I’ve done my best to follow the money, to connect the dots, to track down the motives and the key players—so I can get out of this bullshit, lethal game.
Shortly after our meeting, Petrovich’s Master List went missing. He actually kept ahand-writtenrecord of all the people who worked for him, how much money they controlled, and their locations. Naturally everyone is salivating to get their hands on it—for blackmail purposes, leverage, money.
Overnight, Grish’s ticket to salvation changed from paying back the millions he owed to finding that book. Then Grish told me who’d stolen it, none other than Andre Bertonelli, my Number 1 nightmare.
I went back to being Grish’s right-hand man with one focus on both our minds—finding Andre. My reasons were known only to me.
Andre was the only one who knew about Gia, and if he was motivated enough to steal something that valuable from the scary big boss, he’d squeal like a pig when they caught him and start cutting off his fingers, one by one.
We followed the trail to Hamiltown, a hamlet on the South Carolina coast named for Blake and Hana’s family (because they own the town). We found the sisters staying in their great uncle’s big-assed mansion, which is complete with extensive grounds and horses.
I noticed Grish was very familiar with the place—like he’d been there before—and I realized this was where Shadow of the Moon was stashed. It all made sense. Blake’s father the fuckup kept that racehorse here, and this was where all the shit went down.
We tore the place apart, but we never found Andre or the book. What we did find was Blake being guarded by Hutch Winston, an oversized, former military brute and his buddy Scar, an even bigger, scary wolf-like dude with tattoos covering some pretty gnarly burn scars on his arms and chest.
Blake said her uncle hired them without her knowledge, but the whole setup was suspicious, like the old man knew somebody was coming for him. Honestly, I was relieved my friends were protected. One less thing for me to worry about.
Grish and I stayed until it was clearly a dead end, then we came back to the city. Blake came with us, and when I found out why, I was pissed as hell.
It’s a story for another day, but suffice to say, Ivan the dickhead had been blackmailing her to help Grish raise that fucking payback money. Now that the payback is off, Ivan has gotten greedy and won’t leave her alone.
I plan to handle his bullshit, but for now, we’re regrouping at Gibson’s.
Grish holds an unlit cigarette between his fingers, the muscle in his jaw ticking rapidly. “I’ve got to find that ledger,” he growls. “I’ve got to get Simon off my back.”
I’m nursing a vodka, thinking about finding Andre.
“So, Trip…” Natasha rounds Grish’s shoulder to stand in front of me. “I heard an interesting story about you.”
Rainey trots up behind her like a good little puppy. I turn, resting my elbow on the polished wood, to face this underworld climber.
“What about me could possibly interest you?” My careless smile is firmly in place.
“My thoughts exactly.” Natasha can’t resist a dig. “Then I heard you got serious with one of the strippers at your West Palm club.”
Surprise flashes in my chest. The last thing I need is another person knowing about Gia, especially one with criminal ambitions, but I hold my expression steady. “Gossip loves to travel, doesn’t it?”
“You dated a stripper?” Rainey’s green eyes widen. “So that’s what was so interesting in Florida.”
Grish’s attention turns to me as well. “I thought we had rules against sampling the merchandise.”
“Rules are made to be broken.” Like he has any say in what I do.
“So the famously aloof Trip Alexander has a weakness after all.” Natasha crosses her arms.
“I have a dick.” My tone is flat. I need to kill this story before it takes hold. “She was a good lay. Nothing more.”