Page 117 of Mafia King’s Dangerous Vow

I look at the map again. “Your father expects you to come back with information.”

Tamara’s mouth tightens. “Of course he does.”

“He won’t expect shipping details,” Igor says. “Not from you. He’ll want to know whether Aleksander is angry enough to become a problem.”

Tamara looks at me. “He already suspects that.”

“Yes,” I say. “But suspicion isn’t certainty. He’ll want to know whether I’m acting alone, whether Igor is holding me back, whether Yuri is looking at Morozov, whether the alliance still matters enough to keep me contained.”

Mikhail leans back in his chair. “In other words, he wants to know if Aleksander is becoming stupid over his wife.”

I give him a flat look.

Tamara doesn’t smile. “What do I tell him?”

“The truth,” Igor says. “Edited.”

I nod. “You tell him I’m angry. That I hate what he’s done. That Igor keeps reminding me we still need his network while the Colombians are pushing at the edges. That I’m not calm, but I am contained.”

Tamara takes that in, then looks down at the envelope her father gave her. “That will reassure him.”

“Yes.”

“Because he’ll think he still matters.”

“He does still matter,” Igor says. “For now.”

Her eyes lift at that. This is the part she needs more than comfort.

“For now,” she repeats.

“We use the time to make him replaceable.”

Tamara’s expression changes in a way that’s almost frightening: pure satisfaction spreading across her features.

“How?”

“His network,” I say. “Restoration contacts. Storage facilities. Customs relationships. Documentation vendors. The people who answer his calls because his paperwork opens doors.”

Igor moves closer to the table. “Some can be bought. Some can be pressured. Some will prefer Sokolov protection once they understand Kalinin is losing ground.”

“And the ones who stay loyal?” Tamara asks.

“We build around them,” I say. “Before he realizes we’re doing it.”

She returns to the roads around Woodstock, to Anna’s name, to the envelope her father gave her.

“So I keep him calm.”

“Yes.”

“And while he thinks he’s using me, you take away what makes him useful.”

“Yes.”

For the first time all morning, Tamara almost smiles.

“Good.”