He sighs, spiking my curiosity. His reaction isn’t quite what I anticipated.
“The guy wasn’t terrible, but he got into some shit—drugs and gambling. Terina never knew about it, and we decided not to tell her. Hell, I didn’t realize until the guy was dead. No reason to hurt her further by dragging him through the mud. It was over. End of story.”
Interesting.
“How much does she know?” I ask to make sure I don’t share anything I’m not supposed to.
“Just that he was stabbed in an attempted mugging. Wrong place, wrong time.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t get a read on him earlier.”
“Me, too. The guy was a finance bro. Worked on Wall Street and had never been in any trouble before. Took his first big corporate job right before they got married, and someone there must have got him coked up is all I could figure.”
I huff, knowing how ruthless it is in the financial district. Cops love to peg us for all the crime in the city, but that white-collar shit is nuts. Those guys would piss down their own mother’s throats to get a leg up.
“Sounds like she’s better off, no matter how shitty that is.”
“Hope so, since there’s nothing we can do about it now. Listen, I called to let you know we’ve got word on the Russians.”
“I’m listening.” A mild understatement. My heart suddenly slows to a quiet thrum as if to help me hear every possible detail.
“We got confirmation that Pasha isn’t rolling over easily and has stayed in the city despite Simeon’s warning to leave. He’spissed about the ouster, though there’s not much he can do about it. Only a handful of guys went with him. I’m hoping the two brothers focus their grievances on one another and forget their beef with us.”
“Any idea where he’s holing up?”
“Nope.”
“Then we still don’t know much,” I grumble.
“I know, but we’ve got our ears to the ground.”
“You still okay with Terina on the street?” At some point, if things get too dangerous, I’ll make the call myself to keep her sequestered somewhere safe. Renzo doesn’t want to resort to that if possible, nor do I. Rina herself offered to stop going to yoga. I insisted classes were fine so long as we varied the schedule.
“Yeah. I know you’ve got her covered. Besides, the whole thing may blow over. It’s hard to say.”
It’s wishful thinking, if you ask me, but he didn’t, so I keep my thoughts to myself.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Later.”
As soon as the call ends, another rings through. This time, it’s Rina. She usually texts, so I’m immediately on guard.
“Yeah?”
The terror in her voice plunges me into an icy river.
“D, you need to come over here fast! Please, hurry.”
CHAPTER 13
TERINA
Present
Exercise classes have a culture.Anyone who has regularly attended a step class, Zumba, or any group fitness class knows they function like mini families. Sure, there are always a few stragglers who come and go, but the regulars get to know one another. It’s understood that Shannon from Vermont always works out in the front corner, and Jessi with the red hair keeps to the back because she has two small kids and isalwayslate. If you go to the morning class, the instructor is super chill and always has chakra candles burning, while the lunch-hour instructor’s energy levels rival that of a toddler on a sugar binge.
Every class is different in its own unique way, so switching classes is more than just a schedule change. It’s with that in mind that I assess my yoga class options for next week. Do I like the instructor for the 3 p.m. class? Does Tammy with the horrible body odor go to the 11 a.m. session? And if I go to class in the morning, do I shower right after or wait until my usual evening shower?
