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“They left the club together. What happened outside the club, I don’t know. She might’ve sent him back to the house and she left with Martin. I didn’t follow them outside to see,” Stephen said.
I felt myself getting angry at all the lies that Armando had told us. This one didn’t even matter in the grand scheme of things, but I still felt myself getting angry at just how easy it had been for him to make up a complete alternate reality in front of us. Adrik’s warm hand slipped underneath my shirt, his thumb rubbing my bare skin lightly. He pressed his cheek gently to my neck, kissing my neck lightly. “I know, solnishko. It makes me angry too,” he said quietly.
I leaned back against him, taking a deep breath. I grabbed his arms and pulled them around my waist. “You’re getting so much better at that,” I said, kissing his cheek.
Viktor’s phone beeped once more. I looked at it, reading the latest message. “Aww, that’s all for tonight, gentlemen. She says the only charger she can find won’t work on this phone, so she’s going to turn it off until she can lift a charger from Ms. Jackson. Rude,” I said.
“You called it, princess. Serial user,” Ivan said, laughing.
Viktor sighed. “So, let’s assume that they’re going to steal the artwork from Armando’s house, since that’s really all they can get to. I’m sure there’s more stuff of value there, but the artwork is the main thing. Artwork is really hard to move as far as stolen items go. They’re not going to finance much with that loot.”
“What are Martin’s finances like? I know Trino’s wealthy and has legitimate businesses, but what about Martin?” I asked.
“From what I know, Martin is doing fine financially. He’s not quite the businessman that Trino is, but he has his own investments that allow him to live quite comfortably, plus whatever Trino pays him,” Adrik said.
“This still doesn’t make complete sense to my brain. Why would he risk so much for her? Can one woman be that good in bed? Legitimate question, by the way. I really want to know,” I said.
Adrik laughed, holding me tighter. “I’m not the one you should be asking that question to, my love. I would risk everything for you.”
“You guys don’t count,” Ivan said.
“It’s not about Giana, I don’t think. I think she’s an excuse,” Stephen said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. I could always count on Stephen to fill in the psychological gaps for me.
“Martin likely hasn’t been happy with Trino, for whatever reason, for some time. It’s only just now coming to a head. He’s using Giana as the excuse he needs to finally make a move. It just so happens that he can feel like the white knight coming to her rescue if he risks everything to get her safely away from Armando. That cancels out whatever guilt he feels for leaving Trino for whatever trivial reason he has,” he said.
“The user is getting used. That’s somewhat satisfying,” I said.
“Are you going to wait to tell Trino?” Ivan asked Adrik.
“Let’s give them more time to see what they give us. You know what kind of temper Trino has. He might not be able to sit on this one if we tell him too early. With his guys’ loyalty already in question, it puts him in a dangerous position,” Adrik said.
“Shit. I didn’t think about that,” I said. “His guys might side with Martin and help him overthrow Trino. Giana definitely isn’t as weird as me, although it could be argued that she’s definitely put some kind of spell on Martin. Shit, shit, shit.”
“Boobies, am I right?” Stephen said, completely straight-faced. Everyone erupted into laughter.
It was two more days before Viktor got more information from Giana’s stolen fake phone. Viktor had one of the guards that was watching her leave a charger for the phone in the hallway like someone had dropped it outside Ms. Jackson’s apartment. Of course, she picked it up.
Adrik and I were in his office when all the guys came in, clearly amused. “Is she back?” I asked, excitedly.
“She’s back,” Misha said, grinning at me. I clapped my hands, waiting to hear what had been said.
“I think we all need to get out more,” I said, shaking my head.
“It looks like they’re finalizing the plans for Armando’s house. Martin said he has a few guys that can do it,” Viktor said.
“Does he give names, by chance?” Adrik asked. “Trino’s dealers are very loyal to him. I would like to know if any of them are doing this for Martin without Trino knowing.”
“No names,” Viktor said. “But they’re planning on making it happen this weekend. We can have guys watch Armando’s house to see who it is.”
Adrik nodded. “Make that happen. If they’re Trino’s guys too, he needs to know. Maybe Martin has his own guys here, but if that’s the case, I want to know. He doesn’t get to have guys in my city,” he said. I was across the room from him, but I felt his anger loud and clear. I knew my eyes were dark. It seemed like any level of anger would make them go dark now. I went to Adrik, even though I was enjoying feeling his anger. I didn’t necessarily want it to stop this time. Trino was the only one staying loyal through all this, so a betrayal of him felt like a betrayal of us. Adrik pushed his chair back from his desk, opening his arms for me.
“Do we let this robbery happen?” Ivan asked.
“I don’t necessarily care if they steal from Armando. Serves him right. But I want to know if Martin is bold enough to think he can operate in my city without my knowledge. If that’s the case, I won’t need to tell Trino anything until after I’ve killed Martin,” Adrik said.
“Giana is asking about Martin getting her out of the building,” Viktor said. “He didn’t know she was being held there, under guard, apparently. He says he thought she was at Armando’s house.”
