Page 99 of Cruel Lies

Because he's not wrong, and we both know it. There's just no point in saying so.

The rest of the drive is business.

"How about Pyotr?" I say to change the subject. "Any word?"

Navi shakes his head. "Nada." He signals, changes lanes. "He landed in Istanbul like he was supposed to, right on schedule. And then—" He makes a little poof gesture with one hand off the wheel. "Gone. Off the grid."

"That was the arrangement."

"Right. Sure. Except I didn't love that arrangement, so I put a man on him. Quiet. Just to keep eyes."

I turn to look at him. "You put a tail on Pyotr?"

"Just to keep tabs." Navi lifts a shoulder. "I wanted eyes on a loose end. Sue me."

"And?"

"And my guy lost him, temporarily." Navi doesn't sound too troubled by it. "Somewhere between the airport and wherever he's laying low. Old man's better at disappearing than I gave him credit for. Twenty years of making money vanish, I guess he figured out how to do it to himself, too."

I consider this. Maybe I ought to be concerned, but I can't bring myself to give a damn about a retired bastard half a world away.

"He's a frightened old man with a bad heart and a dream of a happy ending," I say. "He got exactly what he wanted. He's going to keep his head down and die peacefully somewhere with grandchildren on his knee."

"Probably," Navi agrees. "I'm sure it'll all be fine. But I'm gonna keep my tail out there just in case."

"Do what you want, man."

"There's one more thing," Navi adds. "Might be nothing. Just chatter."

"Say it."

"Lev."

I keep my face still. I've had a lifetime of practice, but the shock of hearing that name again out of nowhere tests me.

"What about Lev?" I ask.

"Word is he's been making the rounds. Talking to people. The kind of people who miss the old days." Navi's jaw works from side to side. "People who think you've gone soft. No offense."

I shrug, unbothered. "None taken."

"He's not doing anything yet. Just talking. Buying drinks. Reminding everyone he was there when Igor ran things, back when the Bratva wasthe Bratva, none of this law-firm, wash-your-hands, don't-touch-the-family business." Navi shakes his head. "You know how it is. Every few years, some dinosaur crawls out of the tar and decides he liked things better when there were more dead bodies."

Lev.

I can see him if I close my eyes. My father's lieutenant, once. A big man, though not as big as Igor, with a scar through one eyebrow and a menacing aura. He used to come to the house, and if he happened to be there on one of the bad nights, he had no problem watching my mother sweeping up the glass without saying a word.

He never lifted a finger to stop any of it.

"Lev is an old man clinging to a dead man's shadow," I snarl. "Igor's been in the ground a long time. The world he wants back doesn't exist anymore. I made sure of that."

"Sure. Yeah. Of course. We all know that."

"Buying drinks and telling stories isn't a threat, Navi," I insist, even though he's agreeing with me. "Let him talk."

"You want me to keep an ear on it?"

"Keep an ear on it," I say. "But don't spend real resources. He's irrelevant."