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“Oh, and Mr. Valentinetti is here.”
“Send him in.” Montana kindly ordered.
Mrs. Alice smiled as Giovanni walked in, nodding to Mrs. Alice as she left the office.
“Thought you were in retirement?” Montana smiled, leaning forward.
“So did I,” Giovanni muttered grumpily, as he removed his gloves and coat. “Any word on my sister before I get started with the reason for this visit?”
Both of us shook our heads.
Giovanni sat, unbuttoning his suit jacket and began. “Got a call from a former contact of mine in the IRA. He told me this amazing story. Would either of you like to hear about it? Or do you two gentlemen already know?”
I looked over at Montana, who steeled his face but said nothing. When neither of us spoke up, Giovanni continued, “I learned that the IRA has picked a side. Now I thought that was rather odd considering they generally stay to themselves, preferring to keep their hands in many pots, so to speak. Taking into consideration that you, Maxim, contract with the IRA for shipping and receiving of your goods across the pond, and you, Montana, use them for your weapon disbursement in Europe. Tell me, gentlemen, why would the IRA sever ties with both of you and back Petrovitch? What do they know that we don’t?”
“That makes no sense,” Montana frowned. “They wouldn’t. We pay them handsomely.”
“He’s right. I’ve been using the IRA for my shipping line for years. Never had a problem with them before.”
Reaching into his suit jacket, Giovanni pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to me. “Maybe this has something to do with it.”
Opening the paper, I stared at Illyria’s face.
“What the fuck is this?”
“My sister’s face on a wanted poster. My contact sent it to me. They are all over Ireland and in England. There is a bounty on my sister’s head.”
Handing the paper to Montana, I got to my feet and started pacing again. The implications of the IRA siding with Petrovitch were profound. There was only one reason they would sever ties and side with a man like him and it had nothing to do with their cause. It was strictly monetary. They wanted the money.
Montana whistled. “Damn. A hundred mill for one woman.”
“Which means my sister is now the most wanted woman on the planet. Those flyers have hit the dark web. They are everywhere. Petrovitch is willing to pay anyone to deliver her into his hands. Whatever his reasoning for wanting Illyria is more than any of us thought. He doesn’t just want Illyria to get to you, Maxim. There is another reason. No man in any position of power would fork over that kind of money for a woman, regardless of who she was. No. There is a specific reason for his desire to get my sister.”
“And only she would know what it was,” Montana whispered, placing the paper on his desk. “Maxim, she knows something. Something big. You know her the best. What could Illyria possibly know that has the eyes of the world on her.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t think of a single thing.
“She never really confided in me. Not like most women do when they are in a relationship. Our relationship had boundaries. I never talked about my business with her, and she never talked about her family business with me. We both come from two different worlds. We knew that going in. Our lives never mixed.”
“Well, something did, and it peaked my sister’s interest because she’s out there somewhere digging. I know Illyria. She won’t stop until she’s found every thread of evidence. Whatever she’s learned, it’s going to get her killed if we don’t find her before Petrovitch does.”
“Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way,” Montana muttered, looking at the paper again. “Illyria is a business savvy woman. Smart, cunning and can throw down with the best of them. She doesn’t do anything without knowing exactly how it will turn out. Maybe this isn’t so much about what she’s learned but maybe something she’s protecting.”
“You can’t seriously think that my sister is protecting Fedorov? She knows the man can take care of himself.”
Montana nodded. “I agree. It’s not Maxim. It’s something else. Something that she cares deeply for, would even kill to protect.”
“Funny you say that, Montana. There is only one thing that I know of that Illyria truly cares for in this world more than herself and it’s her family. So, I found it odd that shortly after Illyria arrived in New York, she called me wanting to discuss our Uncle Colin Buchannon, Dwayne and Reggie’s father. I thought it odd, considering she was small when he left our family. Do either of you know why Illyria would suddenly become interested in a man she barely remembered?”
I carefully looked at Montana, who steeled his features.
Giovanni shook his head. “You know, this was one of the main reasons I left the game. All the damn secrets. I tired of them, but I learned something valuable from my time in the thick of things. Knowledge was power. Those who have it and those who will kill to obtain it. So, I called the one person on the planet who could possibly know what the hell my sister was going on about. I don’t have to tell either of you who I called. What he told me got me thinking long and hard about everything that’s happened over the last few years. A lot of instances that made no sense. Like how did Reaper know exactly when the Society would attack at the wedding? Or how he found the heads of the Society? But my favorite mystery is why would a man who dearly loved his wife, who never thought twice before killing for her, suddenly change course and destroy the very thing he lived for? Then it hit me.”
Giovanni smirked, looking at both of us. “My dear friend knew the threat to his beloved wouldn’t end with just the Society. There was someone else. Someone none of us considered. The middleman. He knew as long as the middleman lived, there was still a threat to his woman. Only my friend couldn’t get to him because he was untouchable. So, he asked for help. He couldn’t ask me because my family business rarely left Chicago, but you two are global. Both of your organizations have a reach my family will never have. I think Reaper knew that and reached out to you two. I also believe that you two were in on this from the beginning. Feeding Reaper information as you learned it, allowing my friend to take all the chances while you two reaped the rewards and when my friend became too big of a threat to your endgame, you had him killed. Correct me if I’m wrong, gentleman, because I’m just getting started.”
Fuck!
Sitting down, I looked at Montana, who stared blankly at Giovanni Valentinetti. The fucking Italian was right.
