AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Deidre. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Her cold voice huffs down the line. “That’s the problem. We have nothing. The Kozlovs talk about the weather, they talk about their fitness routines, they talk about restaurants, but what they don’t discussat allis business,” she huffs. “They know, somehow they know.”
I shake my head furiously even though she can’t see me. “They don’t,” I insist. “If they found anything, I’d know about it.”
“Would you?” Her voice drips with doubt.
“Certainly, if they suspected me.”
Restless energy zips across the line between us. “They must have another office, another place where they actually conduct their mafia business. At the casino and home, they keep it all above board.”
This moment was inevitable from the very start. The moment where I choose to either twist the knife or simply step away. I’ve betrayed Daniil a thousand times over, but miraculously the feds still have nothing. This is my only chance at redemption.
“If they do, I don’t know about it.” The lie slips as smoothly through my lips as butter.
I’m done being a lapdog for the feds. I am done being strung along by their empty promises. From here on out, I’m firmly Team Kozlov. As difficult as it’s going to be, I’m going to come clean to Daniil tonight. He deserves to know everything, the full truth. And although my stomach is a riot of nerves when I consider how he will react, I owe him transparency.
And maybe in time, he’ll help me exact the revenge I’ve been seeking for most of my adult life.
“My bosses are out of patience,” she sniffs. “Soon they’ll find another way to get to the Kozlovs, and if that happens, the case against your uncle disappears.”
“They’re not the only ones out of patience. How long have you had to prove my uncle was behind my family’s car accident? I handed you the evidence, everything you need—”
“Everything we have is circumstantial,” she interrupts harshly. “We’ve been through this.”
The familiar burn of anguish climbs up my throat, and I have to swallow the emotions down. Five years has done nothing to ease my pain. It may as well have happened yesterday.
“I can’t work with you anymore,” I say, fighting to steady my voice. “I’m done.”
There’s a tense silence on the line, followed by a defeated sigh. “I want to help you, Bianca. You know I do.”
“We must have different definitions ofhelpin that case.”
“There’s something you should know,” she responds, a hint of desperation in her tone. “We intercepted a call Jorge made to your uncle a day ago. They mostly spoke in code, but Jorge said that they’d—and I quote—‘be able to take over the Kozlovs’ shipping routes soon.’ What do you know about that?”
It takes me a long moment before I remember to breathe, because if she’s saying what I think she’s saying, this could be detrimental for the Kozlovs. “Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
“To remind you to be patient. We can still get your uncle. If they start shipping cocaine, working together, we’ll have something solid—something that will hold up in court.”
A full-body shiver racks my body. Fuck Deidre and her empty promises. “Too little too late.”
She sucks in a sharp intake of breath. “You’re not done until we say you’re done. We make the rules. That’s how it works.”
With my hands shaking, and my heart in my throat, I stand my ground. “Do your best,” I threaten, because tonight I’m setting the world to rights. I’m choosing Daniil.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
DANIIL
“Look over here,”Yulian says. His fingers fly over the keyboard of his laptop, clicking and hitting keys until he finally zooms in on a frozen image on the screen. It takes me a minute to understand what I’m seeing, but my blood runs cold when I realize what I’m looking at.
Jorge and Bianca. Together.
It’s from the night of the art school fundraiser at the casino, over a week ago. The image was taken from the back stairwell of the casino that leads to our offices. What either of them are doing there is unclear.
Jorge wasn’t invited; I banned all Zega members from attending.
And Bianca, why would she be in the back stairway?
