I also didn’t know how Lev had gotten here so fast—an hour, and with her by his side. I had called him because he was extra manpower. Lev was one of the deadliest Russian assassins that lived. Most people called him Smoke. A rescue mission such as this one would be considered a party to him.
After I assured Vincenzo that I would refrain from attacking Colette, he put me down behind the desk. Brando’s brothers hovered around me on each side. Vincenzo, Donato, and Guido stood in the doorway, the only way out.
Lev took a seat in one of the chairs set before the desk. Colette chose to stand, and then asked for a cigarette. Vincenzo stepped forward and gave her one.
“Still as feisty as ever.” Lev grinned at me, resting one foot on the opposite leg. I wondered for a moment if he grinned at his victims like that before he went in for the final blow. “Understandable. The Italians and French have the Dragon. You have his heart.”
“Tell me how you know this,” Dario said. “That the French and Italians have my brother.”
He looked up at Dario, eyes as cold as ice. “I know everything.”
I waved a cloud of smoke from my face from Colette’s cigarette. “You know where he’s being held?”
Lev answered in Russian. “Yes. I have been waiting for your call. I knew the Italians had you as well.”
“You knew they had me too?” I repeated for the Italian’s sakes. “And where?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“You didn’t bother to help!”
“No one called me. The Dragon has my number.”
The Italians all looked at each other at once. This thought never crossed their minds. Lev didn’t inspire trust. He was too lethal to ever be considered a friendly, or at the least, a hired hand.
Lev and I stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. “What’s her deal?” I finally asked.
“Pfft!” Colette blew out a thick puff of smoke, irritated that I refused to address her.
Give it time, traitor,I thought.
“What she tells you is the truth. She has been a spy for the Frenchman, Nemours. He has been forcing her to report back to him with your every move.”
This made sense. Brando and I had figured as much but had no real proof to accuse her properly. Even though she left before the dinner that changed our lives, she had given Nemours all the information he needed.
“This has been since the very beginning. She was romantically linked to Nemours at one time. He took a young, poor girl off the streets of Paris and made her into something. Her loyalty is with him—to a certain degree. She was his wife, at one point.”
To a certain degree meant unless it had to do withher. And married? Collette was married to Nemours? There was no telling how deep this went.
Lev put his foot to the ground, leaning forward, watching me in earnest. “She is scheduled to dance on the yacht where the Dragon is being held—three days from now. Before they kill him.”
“Dance on the yacht?” I asked, falling to the seat behind me. “What does that mean?”
“Colette is a dancer. A high-priced dancer for Nemours.”
“Oh,” I said, my eyes turning to meet hers without consent. A thousand pieces started to click into place at once. “I see.”
“À propos du temps,” she said, blowing a line of smoke directly at me. Her nostrils flared when she released a breath.About time,she had said.
Lev nodded. Brando’s brothers didn’t speak, but their curiosity surrounded me, urging me to explain. Not yet. We had time for that. Later.
“I need to get on that boat, Lev,” I said. “I have to.”
Romeo rested his hand on my shoulder and gave a squeeze. I put my hand over his. In order to get through this, we would have to pool our strength together.
Lev watched me for some time. He opened and closed his hands, then nodded toward Colette. “This can be arranged.”
I applied more pressure on Romeo’s hand. “At what cost?”
