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“Wait, that’s not possible!” Mateo practically shouted. “I talked to Mrs. Morrison. She saw Lainey taking Xena out for a walk Friday morning.”

“Okay. Okay. So, it’s fifteen-hundred hours on Sunday. Worst case is what? Eight-hundred hours Friday?” Kostya asked.

Mateo nodded. “So, fifty-six hours. My woman’s strong. She can do this. She’s already coming up with bullshit for them about how she can get them their money. She’s figured out a way to get out of her condo. She’s smart.”

“That’s right,” Kostya said calmly. “We just have to wait until tomorrow morning. Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll take shifts watching her window.”

“I’ll take the first shift,” Mateo said.

“I’m going back to my Mustang and put the seat back. I saw a Teeter’s grocery store parking lot not so far from here.”

Brax got out of the passenger side door so Jase could get out of the backseat.

“Brax, go with Jase,” Kostya ordered as he followed Jase out of the backseat. “I’m going to take this shift with Mateo.” He took Brax’s place in the front seat.

“It’s like you said, boss, nothing’s going to happen,” Mateo protested. “You don’t need to stay.”

“If I get too bored, I’ll crash in the backseat,” Kostya said. Mateo knew he wouldn’t.

Fuck, am I going to get some speech about getting involved with a suspect?

As soon as Jase and Brax walked away, Kostya jerry-rigged the listening device so that it was still pointed toward Lainey’s big living room window, but all had gone quiet. Then he turned to Mateo.

“You got something to say?” Mateo asked Kostya. He really didn’t want to drag this out.

“I’ve always listened to your instincts when we’ve been out in the field. If you’ve had something to say, I knew I had to give it weight. You never talked a lot, but when you did, it was important. Your gut was normally right, and I should have known it was in this case, too. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“You just thought I was thinking with my little head, not my big head.”

Kostya nodded. “It was a shitty thing to do, when all of us who have fallen for our women have been right on the money. All I can say is that this thing with the Kraken has me all twisted up. Being on a mission, risking my life, that’s fine. Yeah, leading a team, it’s killed me when men under my command have died, but we have all signed up for the same thing. But our children? Our families? Mateo, this has ripped out my soul.”

Kostya looked away for a minute, then turned back to Mateo. “Apparently, it’s ripped out part of my brain too.” He chuckled. “I should have listened to you sooner.”

“Hell, Kostya, if you did, you might have taken me off this assignment. That would have been the worst thing in the world.”

“I’ll try to find solace in that,” Kostya whispered.

They sat there in silence, waiting for some kind of noise to come over the amplifier, but nothing did.

“You got any pictures of Romy?” Mateo asked.

Kostya grinned. “Sure do.”

At Romy’s christening, she had been christened Romana Beatrice Barona. Lark explained that Romy was named after Kostya’s brother Roman who had died as a child. Beatrice was the name of Lark’s mother. He had heard Lark call Romy, Romy Bea.

“Here she is.” Kostya handed Mateo his phone. “Beatrice has her playing in the shallow water. The kid started out a water baby.”

She looked adorable with her red polka dot sun hat and matching swimsuit. He laughed out loud when he saw Beatrice Allen wore the same hat. “Your mother-in-law is a kick.”

“Tell me about it.” Kostya laughed. “Damn lucky to have her at times like these.”

They stopped talking when they heard the doorbell ring in Lainey’s apartment.

“Are you expecting anyone?” the woman asked.

“No.” Lainey’s voice was raspy.

“Ivan, go see who it is.”