“I suppose you told him that,” Gorya said with a little sigh.
“Yes,” Jeremiah admitted. “More than once.” He rubbed his ear, a faint smile on his face. “He cuffed me a few times, but my mom and sisters protested. He said they babied me.”
“What happened to him?”
“He didn’t come home one night, and my mother and I went looking for him the next morning.” Jeremiah’s voice was devoid of all emotion, but Gorya could feel the sorrow in him. “We tracked him through the forest and came to a spot where there had been a terrible fight. I could see where he’d attacked three men who had trapped a woman. That was like him. He stood up for others.”
That explained a lot about Jeremiah. Early in his life he’d seen his father stand up for others he didn’t believe could defend themselves. Gorya could see what an impression that had made on the boy, whether Jeremiah knew it or not.
“He’d killed two of them, but they had torn him topieces. He was dead before we got there. The woman was dead, and the third man was gone. I wanted to track him, but my mother wouldn’t let me. I was only eleven. He was a shifter, and wounded. She said it would be suicide and she was probably right. We burned the bodies and buried the ashes. My mother contacted a local tribe, who packed us up, and we left that night. We relocated completely to the other side of the jungle. The tribe made certain there was no trace of us left behind.”
To Gorya’s relief, Maya moved away from Jeremiah, back toward the shadows, although she didn’t make her retreat noticeable. She simply eased toward Gorya as if to stand behind his chair. As she approached him, he wrapped his arm around her waist.
Are you satisfied he’s clean?
Yes. I could feel his sorrow. He has nothing at all to do with the shifters in Panama.
Timur was concerned you were going to cut Jeremiah’s throat.Gorya couldn’t keep the amusement from his mind.
I was aware. I like that he’s protective of Jeremiah. And of you,she added.I like him for that.
Gorya tightened his arm around her, careful of the wound.You should probably sit down.
Sitting hurts more. When I stand, it feels better. I’m still weak, but getting stronger. This needs to be said.
“Where is your mother now? You said you have sisters?” Gorya was concerned for Jeremiah’s family.
“I sent them money at first, but after what I discovered had been going on in Panama, I was uneasy with my mother and sisters being alone, so I asked my mother to relocate to Borneo. It took some persuasion, but she finally did. A few of Drake’s men helped her.” He flashed a grin. “I keep trying to talk her into coming here.”
“I hope she does come,” Maya said, surprising Gorya. “Family is a good thing. Drake, you’ve been very patient.You must be wondering why Gorya asked you to drop everything to come here.”
Drake nodded. “I knew he wouldn’t ask me if it weren’t important, and finding out that you were involved has added to the mystery.”
“I’ll start from the beginning so you kind of get the entire picture. I was tracking a man by the name of Albert Krylov.”
Timur’s head lifted immediately. He spun around in his chair to look at Gorya. “He grew up with us. His father was one of the worst and beat the shit out of him all the time. By the time he was a teen, he was nearly as bad as his father.”
Maya nodded. “He made quite a name for himself with his ability to kidnap women and children and get their cooperation for the whorehouses they were sent to. Eventually, he moved up the ladder and began to branch out of Russia to teach some of the other lairs how to handle the product more efficiently. It wasn’t just about the women and children; it was about the customers and how they could pull them in deeper as well. He was extremely good at his job.”
Ordinarily I would have simply killed him, but I realized he would lead me to others even higher up the food chain. It was then I knew he wasn’t alone. He wasn’t the top dog.
Gorya rubbed her neck, easing the tension out of her. He understood the parties her friends had been taken to now. The women had been considered expendable. Albert Krylov was luring insanely wealthy customers to commit more and more depraved acts in order to ensnare them further in his world. Apparently, he was quite brilliant at his job.
I don’t know how you managed to keep from killing him.
It wasn’t easy,she admitted.But I wanted to know who he answered to.
“I was in Houston when I encountered Krylov. In Houston he spoke with several men who worked on the docks, which isn’t surprising. When you bring in new women and children, you must have someone to receive them. Freighters come in. Planes. So airstrips as well. That’s why this place is so perfect. It’s remote and has both, and it’s central. Houston is a regular hub.”
“Were you able to get any of the names there?” Jake asked.
“Of course. I followed Krylov. He met with two men from the Anwar family at a café and again on the docks at around three in the morning. Enrico and Samuele Anwar. Both are shifters. I’m certain you’re aware the Anwar family has held the territory in Houston for generations.”
The men surrounding the table exchanged shocked looks. “Are you sure of this information, Maya? The Anwars gave up the port to the Carusos some years ago,” Drake said. “Marzio Caruso and his family came from Florida to Houston and negotiated with Bartolo for the ports. They came to some sort of understanding. There was no bloodshed, and they’ve gotten along as allies. Everyone was shocked; they’ve never so much as had a fight between their crews. We suspected the Caruso family, especially with them having roots in Florida.”
“Florida has connections to the Amurovs,” Timur added. “We suspected the Caruso family had been dealing with Krylov’s older brother, Artur, but couldn’t catch them at it.”
“I even went through their books,” Jake said. “But I got nowhere.”
