Page 66 of The Umarova Crime Family

“Boss, do you have a minute?”

“I should. Just let me see my woman first. I’ll be with you in a few minutes,” I tell Ludvik, and he gives me a nod.

I head over to Emily, and she has two bags in her hands. “Did you have some fun today?”

“I sure did. I got a few things. Maybe I’ll show you what I got later.” Emily winks at me, and I can only imagine what she bought.

“Let me guess, it’s something I might have to take off with my teeth later?” I keep my voice low, so no one else hears us.

“Maybe. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” I smirk at the fact she’s using my own words against me.

“I’ll try to be as patient as I can then. I need to go handle some business matters, but I’ll come find you soon.”

“Sounds good. I’ll go pack up some of this stuff. Do you want me to get started on your bag too?”

Wow. I didn’t expect her to say anything like that. “Yeah, that would be great, actually. Thank you.”

“Don’t sweat it. It’ll be super simple. I’ll see you in a bit.” Emily stands up on her tippy toes to kiss me on the cheek and walks off. As she does, I motion with my head for Ludvik to meet me in the kitchen since the women have walked back to their rooms.

“What do you have for me?”

“I found out some shit on Emily’s aunt. You’re going to want to hear this.”

I lean back against the bar and raise my brows. “All right, so fill me in on what you discovered.” I hate it when people waste time. Emily’s aunt has been causing hell for her, and I want to know as much as I can so this can all stop.

“Well, it turns out that Emily’s aunt is getting out of jail a lot sooner than anyone thought. Apparently, someone got her a good lawyer, and she’s had exceptional behavior while on the inside. She’s even been going to church and Bible classes. A truly reformed woman.”

I scoff at Ludvik’s words. It’s all bullshit, and we know it. She’s only doing this to get out sooner, and it’s working. I don’t know how people can twist things like this, but I guess it’s because others have been successfully doing the same fucking thing.

“Do you know how she got a lawyer? Last I knew, she was burning through money and had nothing.”

“I do. She’s got a new beau, and from what we found out, she’s had this beau for a while. Now, I can’t say why he didn’t help her get out of the charges in the first place… because he likely could’ve. He has money and lots of it. She has years’ worth of connections with Julio Ramirez.”

I know this name, but why? I’m trying to piece together everything when it finally hits me. This is the guy who wants to take over the Ramirez cartel.

“All right, you have to know more. I see it all over your face.”

“I do know more, and it gets really interesting, boss. As I just said, these two have known one another for years, but what I haven’t told you is what Lucy got really good at.”

“Continue,” I urge him, needing Ludvik to get straight to the fucking point.

“Lucy set up private adoptions for desperate teenage mothers. Most of them hid their pregnancies from their parents, and Lucy was a trusting face, but she wasn’t adopting the kids out. She sold them to Julio’s people, or rather the cartel he’s slowly been creating over the years so he can go up against his uncle Alejandro.”

I swallow hard at what Ludvik’s telling me because Emily told me her aunt helped her set up a private adoption. It’s what Emily’s aunt tried to blackmail her with. What if she never adopted out the baby, to begin with? What if she sold it over to whatever Julio’s been doing?

“It’s child trafficking, isn’t it?” I already know the answer as I ask him this, but I need the answer as a formality.

Ludvik nods immediately, “I’m one thousand percent sure that it is.”

Fuck. What in the actual fuck am I supposed to do right now? Do I tell Emily about her aunt’s involvement? I have no fucking idea. This is very much personal since I’m in a relationship with her, but at the same time, this is crossing the lines with the Umarova family business, especially since Julio’s come up a couple of times now.

“I need you to keep digging, keep looking into things.”

“I will,” Ludvik pauses for a moment. “I know about Emily’s personal situation with this, and I can look into things further as far as that goes if you’d like.” Ludvik’s speaking in a code, but it’s one I understand. He knows about her daughter, and I’d be grateful if he could find out something about her.

“Yes, please do, and I’ll give you as much information as I can to help assist your efforts.”

“Sounds good.” Ludvik walks off, and I take in a deep breath.

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