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“My sister never stops striking,” Andre comments. “I wonder how many protégés she’s trained for her coven.”
“If we’re lucky, at least a half-dozen,” Franco replies, his eyes glued to his phone. “We’ve got men in position on the South side. They are awaiting instructions.”
The sound of a vehicle approaching makes me turn and look through the open front doors. A black SUV pulls up, and a tall, imposing figure steps out.
“What the hell is he doing here?”
Maxsim strides into the house, his ice-blue eyes scanning our grim faces. “Alexey told me about Ari and Abby.”
Andre and Franco remain silent as they glare at the second in command of the Volkov Syndicate.
“I have come to offer my assistance.”
Seconds tick by, and Andre finally nods. “Franco will give you instructions when we have a location.”
“Very good.”
He tips his head, and if I wasn’t so fucking torn up about my sister and Abby being taken, I would be impressed. Maxsim makes ruthless men look like Girl Scouts and sociopaths appear like they could lead a mega-church. But here he is, in all his madman glory, willing to take orders to save Ari and Abby from the Cartels.
“I’m gonna check on Carolina.” My brother nods before returning his attention to his phone. He has contacts in all of the cities on the Eastern seaboard, and if I had to guess, I’d say he’s working them all in hopes someone has something useful.
“Any progress?” I ask, entering the kitchen.
“Working on it,” Carolina mutters, tapping away furiously at her laptop. “Here,” she announces, pointing at the screen where a signal blinks faintly. “I’ve managed to narrow down the location to this warehouse district.”
Maxsim walks in, jaw clenched. “If you need help, I can call my brother. He’s on a plane but reachable.”
“I don’t need Grigory’s help,” Carolina bites out as her eyes remain on the screen. “I can outmaneuver him any day of the week.”
“I doubt that,” Maxsim says quietly as he rolls his eyes.
Frustration gnaws on my bones like a rabid animal. Waiting for intel pulls me back into the past when Gianna was kidnapped by the Albanians. It took us five days to find her and two hours for me to find a way into the warehouse and pull her out of the cage she was being held in.
“Closer,” Carolina mutters.
My chest tightens as I hover over her shoulder, staring at the screen.
“Personal space,” Carolina snaps sharply.
“Apologies. I step back and wipe away visions of Ari and Abby in Rodrigo’s merciless grasp. Right now, I have to remain focused and not let rage make me ineffective when the time for reckoning comes.
“I’ve got it narrowed down to three buildings,” Carolina mutters, her expression grim.
“How did you manage to get this good and not let anyone know?”
“Easy,” she replies, her fingers flying over the keys. “No one pays attention to Fausto’s homely sister. I skip the parties and pretend like the men’s rejection is painful. Mama bought it and allows me to miss thefamigliagatherings.
Code scrolls across on the left side of the screen, and she looks up. “I took a page from Gianna’s playbook and copied her strategy.” She presses her finger against a large wart on her nose. “Prosthetics and all.”
“After we bury the Cartel members, we’ll have to get Andre to give you a job.”
“As long as I can work from home.” She leans forward. “Got it.” She types quickly. “Maps and addresses will be on your phones in a minute.” Leaning back, she sighs. “Do you think the Don will let me buy a fleet of drones? I need eyes in the sky to capture thermal images and monitor the family’s enemies. Hacking into the city’s camera feeds is so 2000. We’re better than that and can’t continue to command power and control unless we arm ourselves with the appropriate technology.”
“I’ll talk to him about it after we bring the women home.”
“Excellent.”
“You’re not blowing smoke. You are faster than Grigory,” Maxsim comments.
