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“I’ll check in with him, Brogan. Thank you.” When he gave me a salacious grin, I rolled my eyes. The man had tried to get me to go out with him more than once. I waited until he walked away then moved directly in front of Zoe. “What was the reason for his leave of absence?”
“Just personal reasons so I heard. He dropped all his cases. I honestly don’t know but we all suspected it’s because of what happened between the two of you.”
I laughed, the sound far too bitter. “No. I doubt the end of our relationship had anything to do with his strange behavior. Thank you. Does Mr. Parker have anyone in his office?”
“Yes, He’s with Mr. Sanchez. Do you want me to let him know you’re here?”
“No. I can handle this.” I squeezed her arm then took another deep breath before heading to Mr. Parker’s office, tapping on his closed door. The fact the attorney general and two of his top associates were together was even more disconcerting.
“Come.” Mr. Parker’s voice was gruff.
The moment I walked inside I could tell something was terribly wrong.
“Ms. Morgan. I must say I’m surprised to see you, but I’m glad. Please, come sit down and join us.”
I shifted my gaze toward the other man in the room, who paled as I walked closer. “Mr. Sanchez.” Parker, Sanchez, and Hampton. The two men were older, highly respected, and had been through several horrible challenges within the office over the years. Why did I have a feeling I’d just stepped into another one of them?
“Please, call me Frank. You’ve been with us for far too long to stand on formalities. Please sit down like Harry suggested.”
I did as was requested, feeling as sick as I had on the plane. Did this have something to do with Alexei? Had they found out that I’d spent the weekend with him? Oh, that was ridiculous. Although if they had, it would certainly break every moral code within the firm.
Harry took his time drumming his fingers on his desk before leaning over. “I hate to drop this on you after the experience you went through but both Frank and I believe it’s necessary. In fact, I was going to disturb your time off by calling you.”
“I’m sorry to be rude, Mr. Parker, I mean Harry, but will you please tell me what’s going on?” I glanced from one to the other before noticing an old case file on Harry’s desk. I was able to catch the name on the tab.
For the second time in a single day, my blood turned to ice.
* * *
Alexei
We both remained quiet as Kirill drove to one of our construction warehouses. He’d left two soldiers guarding the location, blocking off the area he’d used to keep our regular employees from gaining entrance. Business had to go on, especially given the upcoming casino opening. Kirill’s penchant for knifework was almost as skilled as mine. Sadly, I couldn’t afford to take the time to one up his game at this point.
My next step was accelerating my plan on dealing with Stephanie. She could supply me with information that no one else could. As I walked into the area, I realized I was continuing to lie to myself. I also wanted to protect her. The shitstorm that was coming would be bloody, the potential for innocent lives to be destroyed high. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d be caught in the middle, used against me.
At least she’d already left St. Martin, returning home on an earlier flight. That would make what I needed to do easier.
Hissing, I took long strides toward the man hanging from the rafters, his feet barely touching the ground. The body of the second man had already been removed, the trail of blood from Kirill’s handiwork remaining. It would need to be cleaned prior to allowing anyone inside.
I was pleased to see my cleanup man already waiting, lounging against a stack of metal studs. “Vassily,” I said in acknowledgement before turning my full attention to the whimpering man. He’d made the mistake of laughing about what would happen to the Kozlov family, boasting that we’d soon be ‘carved up like ‘pigs.’ He would soon face the same fate he hoped would happen to my family. I stood in front of him, taking several deep breaths.
Kirill’s work on the man’s now dead accomplice had terrified him. His eyes opened wide as I approached, a string of whimpers slipping from his lips.
“I’m not wasting any fucking time here, pig,” I addressed him. “Repeat what you said to my associate.”
I was expecting him to hesitate, but without missing a beat, he started rambling. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kozlov. I heard the Ghost was coming back to town. He has a job to finish.”
The Ghost was a name I’m heard first from my father when I was still a teenager. He’d been the monster the Russians had used to slice and dice dissenters, hunting them down like dogs. My father could have faced the same fate, instead receiving the torturous prison term. Many others hadn’t been so lucky. Then he’d resurfaced years later, although who’d hired him to eliminate my family had never been determined. The entire regime that had driven my father and mother away from their own country had been destroyed long before.
His real name was Sergei Politoff, although there were no connections to family or anyone else. He was also one of the men in the photographs I’d supplied to Kostya.
Sergei had made a single mistake when in New York for his last assignment, allowing himself to be caught and sent to an American prison. The fact he’d attacked soldiers from the family operation had been splashed across the news for weeks. The people prosecuting the case?
Gregory Hampton and Stephanie Morgan.
The timing was deadly, and it wasn’t a coincidence.
Gregory had some explaining to do. I would handle his interrogation personally.
