“Sir…” the guy drawled before Viktor pulled the trigger, eliciting a rough growl from him as he held his bloodied right ear.
“Should I ask again?”
“Here in America, sir,” he practically wheezed, tears glossing his bloodshot eyes.
“Leonid, considering that I’ll call her right now to confirm, where does your aunt live?” Viktor inquired.
“Scotland,” Leonid revealed with a terrified expression on his face.
“And that brings me to my last question. How many of you were involved?”
“It was just us three, sir.”
Viktor turned to me as he put his gun back in its holster. “You have your guys, brother.”
“We’re sorry, boss.”
“We’ll refund all the money.”
“We’ll never try it again, sir!”
“That was quick,” I commented, smiling at Viktor, who was already moving towards the door.
“Gary,” I called one of the men guarding the door. “Take them to the basement. Yuri will come by later to attend to them.”
“How did you know Juan knew something?” I asked as we walked out of the warehouse’s metal doors.
“He was scared. A weaker link,” he revealed, going the other way towards the passenger door.
“Bye, sir!” Rory greeted, closing the passenger door for him.
“Don’t send anything out until Yuri gets here,” I instructed Paul.
“Yes, boss.”
“They were all scared. Most of them have never seen you,” I continued as I started the engine.
“They were apprehensive.Hewas scared, “ he clarified. “They were all trying to act normal, yes. But he was trying much harder, even before you stated the reason for the visit. And that only means he’s trying to cover something that he knows will put him in trouble.”
“Your mighty Pakhan detective skills are still strong,” I commented as I swerved onto the empty avenue.
“You could have handled it yourself,” he pointed out. “Just as effectively.”
“Maybe almost but not quite,” I corrected. “Let’s just say I miss working with you. You know, like our mafia soldier days.”
A half-smile appeared on his face. “A meeting awaits us, I hope you remember that.”
“Of course. We’ll be there before you can say Jack.”
**********
Sergei hadn’t arrived when Viktor and I arrived at my estate. Roman’s green Bugatti Chiron Super Sport was in the parking lot as I came to a stop.
“How did the funeral go?” Roman asked, rising to his feet as we joined them in my private meeting room. “Yuri said you weren’t there for long.”
Amidst half hugs and handshakes, Viktor answered, “It was brief; the usual. We’d be here earlier if Mikhail didn’t stage a detour to his warehouse.”
“How’s Emilia and the young man?” Roman inquired as we sat, his clean-shaven face and sleek suit making him look every bit the legitimate businessman he was.
