“If you were wavering at all about ending him, there’s your motivation to stick with your original plan. You’re doing the world a favor,” I said.
I could hear him cursing in Spanish. “What about the warehouse? Do you need help with that? My dealers weren’t too happy to find out they were trying to replace their supply without telling them. None of them want to sell brawn. That’s going to ki II at least half their customer base. That’s a terrible business decision.”
“That’s what we’re finding on our end, too. When brawn originally surfaced, the story was that the bosses were the ones that forbade the dealers from making it and selling it, but I’m not sure I believe that story anymore. Something else went on. Or the city has entirely new dealers, which isn’t likely.” While this wasn’t a priority, I was curious to find out what really happened when brawn had originally appeared in the city. Somehow the story wasn’t adding up now.
“I can have my dealers get in touch with your guys. A few of them already offered to help. The rest of them will help if I tell them to. La zy cabrons…” he said, trailing off.
“That would be great, Trino. We’re gathering information right now to find out the best course of action. The warehouse is in an abandoned area, so we’re going to try to set up a fake warehouse next to it to gather intel. Gives us a reason to be there without arousing suspicion,” I said.
“Good plan. But as every good Colombian knows, a car bomb will work in a pinch,” he said.
I chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind, Trino.”
“I’ll keep you posted on the mo rons down here. If you hear anything more about the Mexican cartels, I would appreciate a heads up. Our relationship is strained, at best.”
“Will do, Trino. I’m trying to avoid a war between you and them. I’ll keep you informed. And on the off chance you talk to Armando, he doesn’t know of our plan for the warehouse yet. We’re still unsure of one of his security guys, so I haven’t brought him in on the plan yet.”
“You have my word, Jefe.”
Adrik
The weekend seemed to fly by. We spent most of Saturday finding information about the area of the docks where the warehouse was located. Andy had given us the exact location, so we were looking at the surrounding buildings to see what our options. were. It takes time to track down who owns what building and what that building was used for when it was occupied. If we were going to move into one of the buildings, it needed to be for a believable excuse.
The guys spent most of Sunday morning trying to calm Sephie’s nerves about the following morning’s plan for Mike. She was still okay with the plan, but she was still worried about it. Giana had asked Sephie if she wanted to go to lunch with Ms. Jackson on Sunday over a week ago. I sent Viktor, Misha, and Stephen with her. Armando sent Mike and Keith with Giana.
When Sephie got back, she was ready for the following morning. “Yep, I feel good about kicking his a ss now,” she said as she walked back into the penthouse with Viktor, Misha, and Stephen. They were all laughing.
Ivan and Andrei had been with me, still trying to find more information on the buildings at the docks. We all looked expectantly at Sephie as she walked in and sat down next to me on the couch. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. I couldn’t tell if it was because it was colder outside or if she was angry.
“Did something happen, solnishko?” I asked as she sat next to me on the couch. She exhaled loudly. I could see her frustration clearly on her face.
“You know it’s bad when Ms. Jackson says he’s not allowed at Bingo,” Misha said, laughing.
Viktor, still laughing, said, “he’s going to need that extra training. He might’ve embellished on his experience level.”
Sephie looked at Stephen. “King Turd,” she said, laughing. Stephen just nodded, laughing with her.
“I thought they did an okay job getting Andy?” I asked, somewhat confused.
“They did. Apparently when you add women, Mike turns into an as shole. Sephie had to check him again when he got a little too harsh with Giana,” Viktor said. “Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day for him,” Sephie said, leaning into me. She held onto my arm as I stretched it across her lap, leaning her head onto my shoulder.
“Bad day for him, but a good day for the rest of us,” Misha said, grinning at her.
“What happened?” Ivan asked, curious.
“Giana is used to you guys, at this point. You know what you’re doing and you kind of guide those of us that are mostly clueless along without saying anything and usually without us even realizing you’re doing it. You’re all very good at your Jobs, which means you can quietly do your jobs. Mike is not that way. He yelled at Giana for going the wrong way, so I yelled at him. It was completely unnecessary and now she’s scared of him even more than she’s scared of you guys,” Sephie said.
Ivan cursed under his breath. “Tomorrow is Indeed going to be rough for him.”
Sephie was awake bright and early on Monday morning. She woke up before the sun even really started to rise. I felt her stir, moving off my chest. She stretched next to me, her joints popping like normal. I rolled over, wrapping my arms around her and burying my face in her neck.
“You’re up early, my love,” I said.
She turned toward me, draping her leg over mine, her hand running lightly over my back. “Yeah, I can’t sleep anymore. My brain won’t stop.” “You’re still worried about Mike?” I asked. I moved so that I could look at her.
“Yes, but not just him. I just keep thinking about everything happening, really. I’m even worried for Trino now that we know just how si ck Massimo really is.” Her fingers started to lightly play with my facial hair.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.