“Lochlan. It’s Nik.”
Nikolai Malakov. Russian Bratva out of Miami and my supplier for hard-to-find Mustang parts. But car restoration isn’t all he does. The Malakov family doesn’t operate like the Kozlovs. They’re smarter and cleaner in their business operations. Nik thinks the Kozlovs are reckless and sloppy… bad for everyone in the business.
“Nik. What’s going on?”
“Word just came through my contacts. The Kozlovs are mobilizing on the waterfront in Southie. Something big is happening in Boston. Today.”
My blood ices. “What do you mean, mobilizing?”
“Vehicles, men, lots of activity at the Kozlov warehouses in Southie. Whatever’s going down, it’s already in motion.” Nik pauses. “I wanted to let you know so you could protect yourselves.”
“I think my wife might be missing,” I say. “She went to a meeting near that area over an hour ago. Her phone’s dead and her car’s still there, but she’s gone.”
Nik sighs. “That’s not good, brother. The Kozlovs don’t move like this unless they’re confident. They think they’ve already won something.”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Watch your back. And if you need anything from my end?—”
“I’ll call.”
I hang up and look at Wolfe. “The Kozlovs are mobilizing near the waterfront, just south of where Adriana was supposed to meet Vincenzo.”
Wolfe’s fingers fly across the keyboard. “Let me cross-reference.” A few seconds pass, an invisible hand clenching my throat gets tighter and tighter. “I’ve got Vincenzo’s SUV on camera heading into an industrial area in Southie. It’s the same area the Kozlovs have been operating out of, according to intel I’ve been able to gather.”
“What’s there?” I ask, even though I already know.
Wolfe’s face darkens. “Abandoned warehouses. They’ve been running product through them for months.”
“But what the hell would Vincenzo’s SUV be doing there? Would he have brought Adriana there for some reason? To call them out on some attack he got wind of? Because what the fuck else could have gotten him to take her there? He’s family. He loves her. There’s no way he’d?—”
My eyes tangle with Cillian’s. “No way what, Loch? No way he’d sell her out to the Russians after their other attempts to weaken her have failed epically?”
I sink down next to Wolfe. “He could never betray her family like that,” I mutter.
“Yeah, becausethatnever happens,” Gavin says with a roll of his eyes.
Shit. I shoot up from the couch again and storm around the living room. The pieces start clicking together and I don’t like the picture they’re beginning to create.
“Pull up the location,” I say.
Wolfe turns the laptop toward me. On the screen is a satellite view of an industrial zone near the water. Shipping containers stacked like building blocks on the outside of a group of decrepit buildings.
“So we know that Vincenzo’s SUV was spotted where the Kozlovs are gathered, and Adriana’s car is still at their original meeting location at the pier. What happened to Riccardo? Could he be with them?” Cillian asks.
Nobody has an answer. But the possibilities running through my head are making me sick.
Either Vincenzo’s also in trouble or he’s the reason Adriana’s missing.
“I need to get there,” I say.
“You’re not going alone.” Cillian stands up.
Gavin pushes himself up from the couch, wincing. “I’m coming.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You’re staying here. You can barely move.”
“Lochlan, come on,” he says. “I can’t let you guys go in there alone.”
