Page 37 of Lord of Vice

“You think he wants the casinos?”

“If I knew that, I’d be a very rich man.”

Konstantin grinned at me. “You make more money than God.”

“Oh, that’s right. I do.” It was a standing joke that I used mostly when I was perplexed about something. I had my feet on the desk, my third cup of coffee in my hand and still, there was zero clarity as to what the fuck was going on. I didn’t like feeling out of control and it wasn’t good for business. This was the busy tourist season, the time when I made the most money. I couldn’t have my eye off the ball for one second.

A timid knock on the door drew our attention.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Sokolov, but there’s a phone call for you and the man says it’s vital you talk.”

“Take a message, Linda. I don’t need another salesman.”

She looked sheepish. “He told me to tell you his name is Diego Santos from Los Angeles.”

It took a few seconds for the name to ring a bell.

Santos.

Well, shit. How fascinating.

When it did, Konstantin and I locked eyes. One of the smartest things to do was to keep a list of those who were on the same level of power as I was, including men and woman who had nothing to do with organized crime, more like white color crime. There were very few wealthy businesspeople who hadn’t used the gray area more than once.

And Diego was powerful indeed, as ruthless as they came. As one of two leaders of the Santos regime out of Los Angeles, he had a solid hold on several western states, his diamond industry twice what mine was at this point. He and his twin brother, along with their wives owned two movie production companies making close to a billion dollars plus a music studio and production company as well. If anyone could make the world of mafia leaders looks suave, it was the two men.

What I found fascinating was that their wives were heavily involved in their businesses, equals on several levels. That was the way of the future, not the way my father and his father had believed in.

“I’ll take it, Linda.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What does he want?” Konstantin asked.

“Well, we do know the various cartels from Mexico and South America prefer the warm, sunny state of California where the women are beautiful and the beaches bountiful.”

“You sound like a spokesman for the California tourist industry,” he said, grinning. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Not at this point. Make certain there are no issues in any of our locations. I may need to do a sweep later today.”

“Will do.”

“And find out what the Morelli brothers have been up to. Put a tail on them. I don’t like the fact their name surfaced again.”

“You really think they’re involved?”

“Our dead buddy Steve was a high roller in their world. They took a significant hit when part of the man’s body parts showed up in their huge aquarium.”

He grinned evilly. “Yeah, so what?”

“So, they’re the kind of men who refuse to take shit from anyone. Not too bright but they are savages. Besides, I don’t like coincidences and the fact my lovely guest worked for them could mean two things.” I didn’t need to spell it out for him.

“Understood. Let me see what I can find.”

As soon as he left, I picked up the phone. “Mr. Santos. How nice of you to call.”

He laughed, the deep baritone not surprising. “I think we can do away with formalities, don’t you, Kraven?”

“That will be fine. What can I do for you, Diego?”

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