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“Look, I have something for you,” I say, remembering the papers that I stole from Daniil’s office earlier this week. Retrieving my purse, I offer Deidre the crumpled papers with the random numbers running in columns throughout. “I managed to get into his home office,” I explain.
She stares at the papers, her brows drawing together. “What is this?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I thought you could tell.”
Her mouth drops into a frown. “We’re going to need more than this, Bianca.”
I tug at my hair. “Like what?”
Her lips twist in thought. “I understand Jorge is in town and working with the Kozlovs. What’s he doing?”
I hesitate for the barest of moments, and Deidre notices. But I force myself to blurt out what I know. “The casino. The Kozlovs are laundering Zega money.”
She nods. “As we thought. But it’s nearly impossible to prove. The dirty money gets mixed up with the clean so fast in a casino there is no way to know where it all came from. It’s not enough.”
I rub my temples, feeling oddly defensive. “I’m doing my best,” I argue. “I even got a crazy-ass dog so I’d have an excuse to poke around in places I wouldn’t otherwise have an excuse to poke around in.”
“I understand, and I know you’re doing everything in your power to be useful”—she levels me with a sobering stare—“but now the real work begins.”
I knew this was coming. They want something more concrete to go on, but that can’t fall completely on my shoulders, can it? Grabbing the papers had already been too close of a call. My breath catches remembering how Daniil nearly caught me stuffing the sheets of paper down my pants.
She hands me a small black case. I grip it with hands that have gone cold and clammy. “What is this?” I ask, but even before the words are out of my mouth, I know.
I open the case only to find exactly what I expected. Four tiny black listening devices lay encased in gray Styrofoam. I don’t know what I expected them to look like, but it’s not this. They’re smaller than a baby's fingernail.
“A micro spy bug,” Deidre confirms. “Tiny but it has hundreds of hours of battery power and, most importantly, is undetectable by electronic sweeps.”
All I know is if I’m found with it, I’m a dead woman. “You want me to bug our home?” I ask, dread coiling low in my belly. For some reason, this seems worse than anything I’ve done before. “I’m sure they use some sort of audio jammers to avoid this kind of thing. Can’t you tap their phones?”
She shakes her head. “We tried, they gave nothing away. You’ll need to plant them in his home office, casino office, anywhere he conducts business that you can gain access to.”
“You don’t understand,” I breathe, grabbing her arm. “I don’t have access to anywhere Daniil works. He keeps me separate, locked away from his world. He doesn’t trust me as it is. Me demanding to visit his office or slinking around where I’m not supposed to, it’ll be obvious I’m up to something.”
Deidre’s face is impassive as she leads me to the couch in the corner of the room. We sit side by side, and she gives me a moment to compose myself.
“I know it seems like we’re asking the impossible of you, but you are a strong woman. I know what you’re capable of. You’ve lived through your uncle and Jorge, and now you’ll live through this.” She pauses for a moment. “I wish I could help you avenge your family’s death without expecting anything in return, but that’s not how we work.”
“But the Kozlovs have nothing to do with my uncle. He’s a monster… they’re not like that.” I swallow hard and cross my arms over my chest, feeling self-conscious that I’m defending the Kozlovs.
“They are cold-blooded killers, Bianca. Make no mistake, they aren’t good people.” She stands and smooths down her stylish ensemble. “Your uncle and the Kozlovs, they’re a package deal now. If you want to see your uncle behind bars, I suggest focusing on what you can learn from your husband.”
My hands curl by my sides, nails digging into my flesh. I knew this was coming, so I can’t comprehend why it feels so scary. In the early days, Deidre trained me on the basics of planting bugs and other necessities. I thought I’d never have to employ that skill, but I guess I thought wrong.
“How am I supposed to use these?” I ask, defeat weighing on my shoulders.
“Instructions are in the case. I’ll have Marco pack them into one of the many boxes of designer clothes you’ll be taking home. Make sure you insist on unpacking them yourself.”
Diedre stands, clapping her hands and loudly exclaims, “That dress looks beautiful on you, Mrs. Kozlov. The royal blue really sets off your complexion.”
I take the hideous dress she pushes into my hands. “Yes, thank you,” I say, my voice flat. “It’s perfect.”
“I’m glad I can be of service.” She nods, catching my eye. “Until we meet again.”
“Until we meet again,” I echo.
It’s me against the Kozlovs. I’ll have to find a way to get right with the way the feds need this to play out. If Daniil and his brothers walk free, so does my uncle. It’s all or nothing.
Time to ante up.
