“They weren’t in the parking lot.”
“No, they weren’t, Jonah. While everyone else was dealing with the BABs, I was following their retreat. No one removed their mask or gloves, but they scattered in different directions, which is smart. These guys fucked up, but they are professionals. What? Yeah. Hey, Masud said to turn on the interrogation feed, one of them is spilling secrets.”
I quickly pull up the feed and cast it to the large screen on the wall for all of us to watch. A man, bloodied and broken, is hanging from a hook, his head lolling from side to side. The Pharaoh, Masud to the rest of us, walks around his catch, playing with him like a lion would play with its food. I turn the sound up.
“…the contract was negotiated remotely. Listen, man, our handler tells us where to go, what to do, and where to drop off any assets.”
“Mercenaries for hire.”
“Yes.”
“Who was your objective?”
“Women of the Kosher Nostra.”
“Which one?”
“All of them.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. We don’t ask questions.”
“You don’t care? Mothers, wives, sisters, daughters—”
“Money is money.”
“Why do they want the women? Who hired you?”
“Don’t. Know. Don’t. Care.”
Masud looks directly at the camera. “For those with sensitive stomachs, I would turn the feed off. I will let you know if I gain any other useful information.” Then he smirks. “Jonah, there is no shame in being squeamish. I’m sure your wife still respects you as a man.”
I click off the feed as the room erupts in laughter. Jonah’s face is red with anger, though his lips twitch because Masud got him good.
Zilv sighs as his laughter trails off. “Still weird to hear The Pharaoh speaking, let alone whole sentences and cracking jokes.”
“Yak, why didn’t we know about this?”
“Masud’s sense of humor? I’ve known all along, then again, I took the time to get to know the man.”
“Yakov.” Moshe is unimpressed.
“I have programs running constantly scanning for any mention of the Kosher Nostra. This wasn’t set up online or in the corners of the dark web. With the information we just learned, and access to that man’s electronic devices and life, I can start working backward to trace the exchange of money. Since they failed to extract a single target, whoever hired them might get desperate.”
“Play the surveillance footage.” I nod, pulling up the cameras from the businesses in the area. “It’s an obvious case of self-defense. The cops are content for now, but anything involving us is bound to get blown out of proportion. Tev, contain the dissemination of information, we don’t need more eyes on us as we figure this out.” I listen to Moshe, but I can’t tear my eyes away from Sophia. The abject terror contorting her beautiful face froze her in place. She’s motionless until someone breaks through the protection of the security detail. She fights back; she doesn’t go willingly. A flash of fire that causes pride to swell within me as well as fear.
“I want additional soldiers brought in. Five guards on each woman. Two additional perimeter lines at fifteen hundred and two thousand feet. Yak, Tev, keep digging. I do not want to be caught by surprise again.” Moshe sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We’ll meet again tomorrow afternoon. For now, go comfort your women…and yourselves.”
I’m itching to get back to Monty and Sophia. Needing to put my eyes on them as well as my hands. I text Monty to let him know I’m on my way.
“Yak.” I stop with a heavy sigh and turn to face my Avinu. It’s just the two of us left. “Tovah should have been on this council from the beginning.” Well, that is certainly unexpected. “As progressive as we might be, those we deal with aren’t so much. I decided on the easier path, not the right one. Thank you for finally calling me on it.”
“It was my pleasure.”
He smirks, looking younger, lighter. “This is mine.” He lashes out, smacking the back of his hand hard against my cock and balls, then runs out of the room like a kid, laughing hysterically. I bend at the waist, rest my hands on my thighs as I breathe through the pain and nausea. I deserved that.
I open the door to our suite, closing it quietly behind me. Monty wraps himself around me, his hands resting on my chest, his cheek against my back. He has always calmed me, just being near him. I’m a fucking moron for not seeing it sooner, for not seeingussooner. I place my hands over his and voice what’s been plaguing me for hours.
