"Gabriel Romano stole one million dollars from me."
The words hit like a physical blow.
A million.
Not fifty thousand. Not a gambling debt spiraling out of control.
A million fucking dollars.
"You're fucking with me," I say, but even as the words come out, I know he's not. And I know that this is deeperthan gambling. Alexei wouldn't let someone rack up that much debt.
"Am I?" Alexei moves to a filing cabinet, pulls out a folder, tosses it on the desk. "Bank records. Shipping manifests. Security footage. Your brother-in-law worked the docks for six months. Your men aren't the only game in town. He had access to my operations. Skimmed a little here, a little there. By the time I caught on, he'd stolen nearly a million dollars."
I flip through the folder. Bank records. Shipping manifests. Gabriel's signature on documents showing systematic theft over six months.
The evidence is solid. Damning.
But something doesn't add up.
Gabriel was begging Sera for rent money. Two hundred dollars. Coming to her apartment desperate for five hundred. Acting like a man with nothing.
If he stole a million dollars, where the fuck is it?
"Where's the money now?" I ask.
Alexei's expression shifts. Just slightly. "That's the question, isn't it?"
"You're telling me Gabriel stole a million dollars and you DON'T KNOW where it went?"
"The money disappeared." His voice goes flat. Professional. "Offshore accounts, shell companies. We tracked it for a while. Trail went cold three weeks ago."
"Gabriel Romano doesn't have the sophistication for that kind of operation."
"No." Alexei's eyes narrow. "He doesn't. Which means someone else does."
The implication hangs between us.
A third party. Someone neither of us can see. Someone playing us both.
"Who?" I demand.
"If I knew that, your wife's brother would already bedead." Alexei leans back against his desk. "But I'd very much like to find out. Wouldn't you?"
I would. Because whoever has that money has leverage. Over Gabriel. Over Sera. Over this entire situation.
"What does my wife have to do with this?" I ask.
Alexei pretends to look confused, but I see something in his eyes that tells me otherwise.
"You tell me."
"Don't fuck with me, Alexei," I hiss. "Gabriel would know Sera couldn't help him here, so why go to her? Why would you send Dimitri?"
Alexei sucks his teeth. "Originally, Gabriel offered me his sister to cover his debts."
I knew this. I'd guessed as much. But hearing it confirmed makes my blood run cold.
"That was before I figured out what that little fucker was doing." I notice he doesn't mention whether he accepted the offer. I suspect he did.
