“Do you recognize him?” Gorya asked, his tone curt.
“Yes. Leo Bugrov,” Gedeon answered. “Definitely more worried about his back trail than having you or me come after him. I’ve always liked Leo. Never thought he’d be a traitor.”
“I didn’t get that from him either.” Gorya swept his hand down Maya’s hair because he couldn’t resist touching her. “He’s married. Seems devoted to his wife. He has a daughter around fourteen or fifteen. He always laughswhen he’s with his family, but I noticed he doesn’t so much when he’s around quite a few of the other families in the lair. He and his wife own one of the local businesses, a clothing shop.”
“Why would he be skulking around in the dead of night?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?”
“He isn’t approaching as a leopard,” Maya pointed out. “He’s coming to the front door as a man.”
“But he doesn’t want to be seen.”
“Let me answer the door,” Maya said.
“Not on your life. You stay out of sight.” His voice didn’t just rasp, he growled the order.
He should have known Maya would laugh. She seemed to do that a lot when he issued commands. Everyone else in the vicinity took him seriously, but not his woman. Her eyes lit up and that mouth of hers curved into sweet temptation. It was a kick right in the gut.
“Gedeon and Meiling will handle the door and security,” Gorya said, attempting to cover his mistake with her. Ordering Maya to leave his security to others was never a good idea unless he could give her a good reason. “You stay out of sight and be backup, especially when we bring him into the house. If he doesn’t see you or know where you are, you’re my ace in the hole.”
That should satisfy her. And it was the truth. Maya was fast and she could kill in seconds. So could Gorya. If Leo had come to assassinate him, he would never get near Gorya. He’d be dead. It was important to him that Maya was as protected as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she was lethal as hell, he knew better, but she was his world. If anything happened to her, he wouldn’t be able to overcome it. Neither would Rogue.
“No worries,” Maya agreed as they moved together toward the front door.
Gedeon met them in the foyer. Meiling was nowhere tobe seen. It didn’t surprise Gorya to see Timur moving into a position to defend his cousin. He stayed out of sight on the second floor landing overlooking the great room, where he had a clear view of most of the seating area.
Gedeon opened the door without turning on lights. “Leo, strange time of night to come calling.”
Leo nodded. “I’m sorry, Gedeon. I couldn’t take the chance of warning you. I need to get inside as quickly as possible. I can’t be seen.”
Gedeon stepped back to allow him entry and closed the heavy door after him. Leo stood just inside, not making the mistake of moving until Gedeon thoroughly searched him for weapons.
“Sit down, Leo,” Gorya invited, waving his hand toward one of the comfortable chairs facing the fireplace. It also faced Timur and put him directly in Maya’s path. She was in the shadows just to the right of the fireplace.
Leo dropped into the chair as if his legs could no longer hold him upright. He put his head into his hands. “This wasn’t always such a bad lair, Gorya. There was a time when most of the families here were worthwhile. Now I can’t say that. I don’t know who to tell you to trust. Not that there aren’t some who would stand by you if they could.”
He lifted his head and looked directly at Gorya, his dark eyes drowning in sorrow. “It’s too late for most of us, but it isn’t too late for you. Get out of here. They plan to kill you. They’ll kill your woman and Gedeon’s woman. No one is safe. A few of us thought, when we saw you fight for leadership and you immediately gave the order to shut down the trafficking, there was a chance, but there isn’t. We thought we could protect you.” He shook his head.
“Leo.” Gorya’s voice was very low and compelling. “Something happened to bring you here tonight. I want you to tell me what that is.”
“I was too outspoken from the beginning againsttrafficking, even back when it was first starting. My wife and I kept away from the business as much as possible. There’s been a group of us. Forgive me, Gorya, but we watched what happened to your families in the lairs in Russia, and part of the reason we came to this country was to ensure we weren’t a part of that. At first, we had a good territory. The gulf was close, we had access to highways and could fly small planes out, so we were able to slowly build a good business. We were under the radar and thrived. Everyone seemed happy.”
This time his hand came up to rub his temples. His hand was visibly shaking. Leo appeared to be a man in his prime, around forty, solidly built. He didn’t seem the least bit afraid of most things, yet clearly, he was beyond all hope. From the little Gorya knew of him, he was devoted to his family. That was about it.
“A couple of years ago, Braum Malcom’s son, Derk, came home from college and brought a friend with him. A kid from Panama. He called himself Raul Escabar Alba. Seemed like a nice enough kid at first. Everyone liked him. Really intelligent. But eventually, I found I didn’t like the way he treated the women. Neither did my wife. Some of the other wives noticed as well. Braum brushed off his mannerisms as his age, just a brash young college kid, same as his son. Rumors began circulating about the treatment of some of the girls he and Derk dated, but they were hushed up.”
I have the feeling this is the heralding of a visit from Albert Krylov. This sounds like what I saw happen in New Orleans and Houston,Maya informed him.Not that I ever encountered Raul Escabar Alba, but I’d heard of him.
Gorya passed the information on to Gedeon, Timur and Ashe. “I’ve heard this name before,” he told Leo by way of encouragement to continue when he seemed to falter or expect Gorya to become impatient with the way hewas getting around to what had prompted him to be there that particular evening.
“A couple of years before you challenged for leadership, ourpakhan, Rivel, was visited by a man introduced by Braum and Derk. He came with Raul. He was from Russia.”
Albert Krylov,Maya guessed, breathing the name into Gorya’s mind.
“Albert Krylov,” Leo echoed aloud. “He was here for just a brief visit but arranged to return, with the intention of hosting a party for everyone the next time he came. He would arrange everything.”
The women, the drugs. The cameras to record everything that went on. He’s so good at leading them down the path of complete debauchery.Maya’s mind was filled with disgust.He preys on the weakest first. He strips them of their inhibitions and frees their monsters. Those men help him persuade their friends to join him until it becomes a domino effect. I saw that with Polina and the women I knew when I was a teen in Houston. Albert was so good at leading men to do despicable things even then, when he was young. He filmed it all, and then he had them. They would be willing to do more for the rush of power. Or if they balked, to keep him quiet so he wouldn’t use the evidence he had against them.
