17. Antonio

Cristiano’s alert, waiting for me to fill him in. And I will. Fully. He’s not compromised. I’m certain. And I’m fucking relieved, too.

“Daniela and I had dinner with Fedorov tonight.”

“You and Daniela?” he asks, like I just told him the damn world was ending at the stroke of midnight.

“He wanted to have dinner with Daniela in exchange for your freedom.”

Cristiano gapes at me, then at Lucas, his features tight. “You should have told him to go fuck himself.”

I almost did.It would have been a huge mistake. An unforgiveable one.

“If you have a problem with my decisions,” I growl, “take a goddamn number and get in line. But you won’t like how I handle complaints. Just listen.”

I lean back in my chair. “Fedorov left here minutes before you arrived. The explosion we heard was his car being blown to hell.”

“Jesus,” Cristiano mutters.

“It takes a lot of doing to get to someone like Fedorov,” Lucas adds. “It would be almost impossible, even for us.”

“He knew he was vulnerable.” Maybe I should have listened more closely. Although it’s not that I didn’t take him seriously. I just didn’t give a damn.

“Fedorov gabbed tonight, like he was a housewife who didn’t get out much. In hindsight, it was a soul-cleansing of sorts. Before he left, he asked for my help. Not directly. But there was no doubt in my mind he wanted me to help him find Nikitin.”

I stand and grip the back of my chair. “Fedorov’s gone, but we still need to find Nikitin. He poses a substantial risk.”

They nod.

“I’m going to the valley for the night. Call me if anything comes up. Anything. On the way, I’m going to get in touch with the police chief. I want us to take the lead on that investigation. Get our ducks in order,” I instruct Lucas. “No one you could even fathom might have ties to the Russians gets anywhere near any of the evidence. I want to know exactly what happened without those fuckers distorting it.”

“You think the chief is going to hand the investigation over?”

“Once I tell him who was in the car? Fuck, yes. He’ll send the file over with a thank-you note and a bottle of booze. They don’t want to deal with the Bratva.”

I glance at Cristiano. “You need to stay here, at least for tonight. Until we’re certain there isn’t a price on your head.”

“Do you want me involved in the case?” he asks, carefully.

I see the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“No. I want you sitting around with your dick in your hand, chugging bourbon. Yes, I want you on the case. Get your ass to the villa and help Lucas oversee the collection of evidence.”

His features relax as the relief floods him.

“Do you have a sense of how close Mikhail was to Fedorov?”

“I’d say pretty close.”

“Find him and bring him here. I want to talk to him.”