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“Now’s not the time to ruffle the don’s feathers, Drago.” Filip leans forward. “Especially with the new plan we’ve set in place. Bogdan will retaliate the moment he finds out you’ve decided to push him out of the arms business. We can’t take on the Romanians and the Italians at the same time.”
“I doubt that Ajello would give a fuck about our plans. He doesn’t work with Bogdan anymore, so I don’t see why he would butt into our business. As for his feathers, I wouldn’t worry too much about them.”
“Everything that happens in New York is Ajello’s business. If he thinks the war between us and the Romanians might have even the slightest impact on his projects, he’ll do something about it. I actually find it interesting that he picked this exact moment to try reestablishing a collaboration between us.”
“You think he found out about the arms deal we’re negotiating?”
“He probably knows we’re into something, but I don’t think he’s aware of the details. Then again, you never know with Salvatore Ajello.”
“Fucking perfect.” I throw the bloody rag on the table. “Call Ajello. Tell him I’ll be out of town for the next couple of months, but I’ll think about his request. We can talk when I get back.”
“And will you? Think about it?”
I grab my jacket and helmet off the chair and head toward the front door. “No.”
Chapter 2
Two months later
I’m lying on my bed, playing a Disney movie that’s been dubbed in Serbian on my laptop when an email notification shows up at the bottom of the screen. It’s probably a newsletter from one of my fashion magazines. I close the pop-up window and continue watching.
I prefer learning languages at my own pace, but since I’m on a deadline, I signed up for an online course, as well. It took me five weeks of daily sessions with a virtual tutor to cover the basics. The Serbian language is very similar to Russian, which I understand on an intermediate level, and that helped somewhat. Thank God I only need to be proficient in speaking it and don’t have to know how to write it, because that would take me months. For the past three weeks, I’ve been focusing on listening. I started with Serbian movies and shows, but there’s a lot of slang in those, so they can be hard to follow. I found a Serbian channel online last week, but it’s mostly news and politics. It was so boring that I fell asleep watching it yesterday. Today, I’ve decided to try something else.The Little Mermaidseemed like a nice choice.
The ringing phone on my nightstand pulls my attention. It’s the don.
“Don Ajello. What can I—”
“Did you see the email I sent you?”
“Just a second.” I exit the movie and flip over to the email tab. There’s a message in my inbox, but there is no text, just some attachments. I open the first one. It’s a slightly blurry photo of a man entering a building. Only a part of his profile is visible. He’s dressed in a leather jacket and dark jeans. I zoom in on the image, trying to make out something more than the man’s dark hair and short stubble that is only just visible, but the thing is too grainy.
“Um, okay,” I say. “And this is . . .?”
“That’s your future husband. Drago Popov. The head of the Serbian crime organization.”
“Oh . . . so he’s not a lawyer.”
“No, Sienna. He’s most certainly not a lawyer. For years, Popov’s moved more than half of our drugs to Europe, but after the attack on his club by Rocco Pisanno two years ago, Popov cut all ties with Cosa Nostra. Since then, the distributors we’ve used have been neither as fast nor as reliable as Popov. I want him back in the picture.”
“Okay,” I mumble. “So, I’m . . . an incentive to seal the deal? You don’t need me to spy on him?”
“Of course I do. That’s the main reason why I’ve chosen you for this marriage.” The sound of shuffled papers comes across the line. “Most of the underground deals that are made in this city are negotiated at Popov’s club, Naos. It’s considered neutral territory, suitable for meetings concerning sensitive matters. I need someone reliable on the inside who can gather information on Popov’s business and pass it on to me. How’s your Serbian now?”
“Well, I can watchThe Little Mermaidwithout subtitles.” I smile.
“A little what?”
“Mermaid. The movie.” He’s never heard ofThe Little Mermaid? “Unless a person is speaking too fast or using too much slang, I can understand most of it.”
“Good. We’ll be moving forward with the wedding sooner than anticipated.”
“What? Why?”
“Popov closed a big deal last week, but no one knows what it is. I need to know about it, and I want to know now.”
Wow. Controlling much?
“I’m heading to meet him,” he continues, “to let him know about the arrangement.”
