Page 90 of Barinov

He sighs. “Bells.”

“Ugh, fine,” I huff, rolling my eyes. “So Luca’s just… what? Setting up the Red Hour in Miami then?” I ask.

He nods. “Yeah in less than forty-eight hours.”

“Do you know who he’s pinning Lex up against?”

“No.” He frowns. “Luca’s sort of shut me out these past few days.”

“Why?” I ask, though I’m pretty certain I already know the answer.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” he says slowly. “But I think he no longer wants the trio…”

Called it.

“He just wants you.”

“Lovely.”

Chapter 21

LAING

The Lotus Market - Chinatown, New York City

23 days since Iz was taken.

“This bloody thing’s about to start,” Mac’s voice crackles through the comms, thick with impatience. He and Khoza are both posted up at the bar inside already scoping the crowd.

“Get your arses in here.”

I adjust my earpiece.

“I don’t like this,” Nate says as Kenji and I roll up beside him. “We should wait until tomorrow.”

“Not a fucking chance,” I retort, sliding my pistol into its holster. “We wait until tomorrow and she could be long gone.”

“We don’t even know if she’s in there,” Nate adds.

“I’m not taking that risk,” I say, buttoning my suit jacket. “Kenji and I are going in. Now.”

The Lotus Market doesn’t look like one of the normal trafficking shit-holes we usually bust. No more busted up warehouses that’ll for sure give you tetanus if you accidentally lean against a wall. Or docks that smell like a fisherman’s armpit.

This place looks more like a goddamn temple of opulence.

Red silk drapes the ceiling in waves. Golden lanterns float like promises no one intends to keep. White Lotus flowers line the small stage up front. And each table is elegantly draped in red and gold linens, shining just as bright as the monsters covered in diamonds seated at them.

I nod toward the entrance where a line snakes through a pair of men standing next to metal detectors. We walk up, cocky smirks locked and loaded. Well, mine is anyway. Kenji’s got his usual no-bullshit look about him. The guy seriously needs to get laid.

“Better pray this shit works, Laing,” Nate’s voice clicks in my ears.

The guard eyes me up and down. “Code?”

I tilt my phone to him, revealing the barcode I hacked from a known trafficker’s server last night. He’s going to be royally pissed when he gets here and his code’s already been scanned.

Oh well. That’s a him problem, not a me problem.

“He’s with me,” I add, nodding to Kenji.