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He held a piece of paper up to the camera. Picked out in heavy, black ink was a vicious-looking dog, its leash gripped in a stylized fist.
Colton leaned into shot. “I saw this on a guy, once. Scary-looking dude. Accent sounded like Eastern Europe.”
JD took a screenshot of the drawing, thanked them and ended the call.
“Eastern Europe,” I said slowly. “Do you think it is the Russian mafia? Maybe Konstantin is behind it all?”
JD frowned and shook his head. “Still doesn’t feel right to me. I think Konstantin was telling the truth. And I still think it feels personal. But I know someone we can ask.” He dug through his phone, searching for a number. “There’s a hacker group we use, the Sisters of Invidia. One of them has a boyfriend who used to be Russian mafia.”
Hacker groups, Russian mafia boyfriends: it was a reminder that he lived in a completely different world to me. He found the number, buttoned up his shirt, and started a video call.
A beautiful, curvy woman with hazel eyes answered. She was wearing an apron and had flour on her nose. “JD?”
“Hey Gabriella. Is Alexei there?”
The camera bobbed and we got a glimpse of a kitchen. Then it focused on a dangerously handsome man with sharp cheekbones and dark stubble. The edges of tattoos were just visible in the open collar of his white shirt. He would have been scary as hell but the apron and the fact his hands were covered in dough softened him a little. He glanced down at himself, looking embarrassed. “Yes?” he asked in a heavy Russian accent.
JD sent him the screenshot. “You ever seen that before?”
Alexei showed us his sticky hands apologetically and instead of taking the phone, he let Gabriella keep hold of it and just leaned closer. He frowned. “Yes. Once.”
“Is it a Russian mafia family?”
Alexei shook his head. “I saw it when I was in military.” His English was fractured. “Is Special Forces. A very particular group. Assassination squad, a brutal bunch.”
“Why would the Russian military be after me?” I asked in a small voice.
Alexei shook his head. “Is not Russian. I met them when they try to cross our border. Is Polish.”
“Son of a bitch,” muttered JD. “I know who’s trying to kill you.”
55
JD
The storm was moving in and rain was pattering on the roof of the car as we sped back into Manhattan. Lorna was desperate to know what I’d figured out but I stubbornly refused to share my theory until I could back it up.
We headed back to the hospital. The second Gabriel saw us, he looked me in the eye and lifted his chin, grinning knowingly. I flushed. It didn’t matter that we’d fastened up all the buttons and Lorna had untangled her hair, he could tell we’d fucked. And that something deeper was different, now. Kian was giving me a similar look. Hell, all of them were.
I put my arm around Lorna and pulled her close, giving them their answer. Both of us went red, but at least it got it out of the way.
“Aw, shit, boss, you too?” said Colton. “Y’all pairing up faster than raccoons in winter.”
“Don’t worry.” Gabriel patted his back.”We’ll find you someone.”
To my relief, a nurse told us that we could finally go in and see Danny, but only two of us and only for a few minutes. I went in with Erin.
Danny was shockingly pale and most of his torso and one leg were wrapped in bandages. But the grin he gave us was still cocky. “Get over here, you two,” he rasped. Erin rushed over and he touched his forehead to hers, both of them closing their eyes in relief. He reached out with his hand and I took it and squeezed, a lump in my throat.
“You seen sense and got back together with her, yet?” Danny managed.
I sighed in defeat. “Yeah.”
A satisfied grin spread over Danny’s face. “Took you long enough.”
The nurse said that was enough and herded us out of the room, saying we could visit again in the morning. I managed to persuade Erin to go back to the hotel and get some sleep, and the rest of us headed back to the penthouse. The storm was right overhead, now, the wind picking up and the rain hammering the windshield so hard I could barely see to drive.
As soon as we arrived, I called Lily, another of the Sisters of Invidia. She’s the best there is when it comes to hacking databases. I asked her to get into the Polish military and check their Special Forces records for a certain surname. Lily being Lily, it took her less than five minutes. “Got him. No photo, but a whole string of commendations and a lot of kills. Special Forces, then recruited as a spy by military intelligence. Head of some sort of elite unit: all that stuff’s redacted.
