“This fuckin’ guy…”
He holds out his hand, offering to shake on the deal, but pulls back when I reach for it. “The big guy gets a leash, yeah?”
“Yeah, all right,” I say, taking his hand and making Madison roll her lips inward, since she also heard Dimitri and knows I just did exactly what he told me not to.
“Good. We’re cool then?”
It’s a loaded question—one he apparently didn’t expect an answer to as he shuffles out of the booth sideways. As he stands, he tugs on the lapels of his jacket to straighten it. “And speaking of debts,” he reaches into a pocket and tosses a small notebook onto the table. “That’s for the Russian. Tell him… I’m sorry. That ought to settle things up between us.”
Felix is looking at Madison when he says it. She grins at him, nods, and grabs the booklet, pocketing it without looking at the pages.
“Oye, mamá, ¿podrías preparar un plato para llevar para los dos idiotas que están en la furgoneta?”Felix lifts his voice so his mother can hear him across the room. She whips her head around and smiles at the request to make up some plates to go. Even though they’re meant for Mac and Dimitri, it smells so good in here that I might need tocheckthem first.
“One last thing,” he says, leveling a serious look at me. “What do you plan to do about SmarTech—like, the people who work there?”
“We’re only interested in ensuring this program never sees the light of day.”
His smile turns dark. “Good. But if you happen to cross paths with Craig Pinsley during your mission, you leave him be. He’s mine.”
“The CEO of SmarTech? Why?”
He rolls his eyes. “Would you just mind your fuckin’ biz, already? Christ.”
Felix and Leo both give Madison an affectionate gesture—hair ruffle and signed goodbye, respectively—before disappearing to the back of the restaurant. I’m curious whether this is another of Felix’s many operations, but I don’t want to ask too many questions where I can be overheard. Better to hold them until we’re back in the van.
Once we’re inside, Dimitri immediately starts making his displeasure known. “You cannot control what I do, so you should not make assurances as if you can,” he starts in as soon as I get the door slammed shut. “It will only make you look foolish.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. “Won’t matter much anyway, considering he’ll be off handling the servers for us. You won’t even have toseehim.”
“Hmm.” The noise is equal parts dismissive and displeased. “What did he give you for me?” he demands, scowling in the rearview mirror.
Madison pulls the little book out of her purse and tosses it up to him.
“I’m curious to know, myself,” I say as he catches it just before it hits him in the back of the head.
I glance at Madison, and she shrugs, unrepentant about her aim.
Acting as if each page might contain some kind of explosive, or jump out and bite him, he carefully and slowly flips through, using the very tip of his index finger and thumb.
“Worried about leaving prints?” Mac jokes. “Come on, we’re on the edge of our seats.”
“It is…” Dimitri’s brows lower, and he turns another page. “Names and addresses… Volkevich, Volkevich, Volkevich…”
“Did he give you the name and location of the rest of the VolkevichBratvamembers?” Mac asks, jaw falling.
“Every remaining rat,” Dimitri mutters under his breath, the frown melting off his face as he continues turning pages. After the list runs out, he carefully closes and pockets the book. “We will see if these tips pan out. Until then, I will reserve judgment.”
Madison, looking chuffed as hell, wheels over to sit next to me and leans in. “I did that,” she whispers with a proud smile.
“Yeah, I had a feeling,” I say, pulling her in for a kiss before we reenter problem-solving mode and discuss what just happened with Felix as a group.
42
Madison
This is when I knew.
As I slip through the opening in the doorway, I hear an exhausted Wesley confirm with the room, “So we’re all clear for tomorrow, yeah?” The door closes before I hear any of the responses.
