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“Okay, Victor Montalvo, aka Mikael Zhezhnov, had ties to the Russian mob,” Tenaya mused aloud. “It’s possible someone in the Red Hand organization wants to make it seem like he’s still alive and in charge.”
“Possible,” Tai allowed, intrigued by her logic. “Pretending Zhezhnov’s still in charge makes for greater stability. It would postpone the kind of infighting that happens when a top guy goes down.”
“But to what ultimate end?” Graham wondered.
Tenaya’s voice grew in strength. “To position themselves to take over his turf unchallenged.”
Tai forgot to breathe for a moment. Her insight felt exactly right. The full answer hovered just out of reach, but now they had a scent.
“But why stir up trouble with a rival gang?” Mason asked. “That doesn’t make much sense.”
“It does if you plan to be the person to fix the problem,” Bridger said.
“Sure.” Tai felt the rightness of his friend’s logic. “Whoever killed that woman went to great lengths to implicate Zhezhnov. That took time and effort. Enough time to plan a response to any triad blowback.”
Tenaya nodded. “That makes sense. They create a problem they already have the solution for. They’d look like a genius.”
“And a great leader,” Graham added.
Yup. They were on to something now. Tai grinned, riding the wave while it lasted.
Across the room, Paige looked up from her laptop, triumph in her eyes. “Wow. Just…wow. One of my contact’s deep cover operatives just posted a report. I’ve got chatter suggesting a woman, Svetlana Moreau, is making moves to consolidate her power in the Red Hand organization.”
Kate leaned closer to Paige’s screen. “Moreau...that name’s kind of familiar.”
Tenaya grimaced. “Because she’s Victor’s sister. I handled her divorce. That’s how he and I met. How this all started.”
Tai gripped the chair back fiercely enough to crack the polished wood. Victor’s own blood had betrayed him? If Tenaya was right, this case just became even more personal. And dangerous.
Paige gave a low whistle. “Wow. Blast from the past indeed.”
Bridger stood abruptly, prowling the room. “Okay, let’s think this through. If Moreau is snatching power from her dead brother, she’d need to neutralize anyone contesting that succession.”
“And maybe the leader himself. You know, hurry him along,” Graham mused.
“Or at the very least, make him out to be a wacked out psycho no one would miss.”
With visible effort, Tenaya composed herself. “None of what we thought we knew was real,” she whispered.
“Doesn’t matter.” Tai gentled his tone, willing her to feel his conviction. “All that matters is we have a trail to follow now.”
Across the room, Paige turned her laptop to display an elegant blonde smiling coyly over a champagne glass. Though lovely, avarice glinted in the woman’s eyes, chilling Tai’s blood.
“Here’s what my intel sources know,” Paige explained. “Svetlana’s been rapidly climbing the Red Hand ranks this past year. Most of the other principles figured Zhezhnov wanted to lay low and let her act as his mouthpiece. With Zhezhnov’s supposed backing, she’s now a principle in the organization, with her sights set on controlling the entire West Coast network.”
“Amazing promotion for a dedicated socialite,” Kate remarked sarcastically. “Guess she hid her inner mob boss well during those divorce proceedings?”
Mute with shock, Tenaya could only shake her head.
“Do you think she killed him?” she asked, her voice faint.
“Had him killed, more likely,” Graham answered. “Most of the top-level folks shy away from doing their own grunt work.”
Tenaya stared down at Tai’s hand engulfing hers, visibly struggling to process the revelation. Tai wished he could absorb her shock and pain into himself. But all he could do was remain steady, radiating implacable focus.
“I don’t understand how someone can be so heartless,” she whispered.
“First, we have to make sure she’s guilty,” Tai pointed out.
