Page 84 of Lord of Debauchery

The last man walked on board, scanning the area including the portable communications and satellite equipment at the far end of the salon. “Sabatino DiMaggio. You come highly recommended. From what I heard, quite a formidable enemy.”

“It just goes to prove you don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m not the playboy the media makes me out to be.”

“Especially since you’re getting married.” Kraven grinned, lifting his full glass of liquor.

“Then we’re all off the bachelor list.” It was the first time Maxim had genuinely smiled. I’d heard he was still infatuated with his wife, Taylor. She was a former FBI translator and had been very helpful in deciphering Bratva chatter across the world. The Russians truly believed they were meant to be kings, not threatened by anyone.

“Yes, I only hope I’m not putting Kenya in danger. Why doesn’t everyone get a drink? Then we’ll start.”

“You’re sure we are secure here?” Diego asked.

I nodded. “I assure you that if anyone by sea, plane, or ground attempts to get to us, we’ll know well in advance. I have rocket launchers hidden on various locations, the missiles capable of hitting a 747 if necessary.”

“Wow. You have connections,” Brogan stated, grinning before he headed toward the bar.

“Yes, I do.”

“When are the announcements regarding your fabulous engagement going out?” Constantine asked.

“Day after tomorrow. After that, we need to hunker down and be very careful.”

Constantine sighed. “I’m like you. I’m not happy about this but we have no other choice. You’re certain you trust your beautiful fiancée?”

I should be angry. I should toss him off the boat for even asking the question, but I completely understood why he was asking. “With my life.”

“I hope so since it might mean all our lives.”

“I had your lovely Russian bride checked out myself,” Maxim said, daring me to say anything to him.

There was no point in bristling. They had every right to protect their own families, many of them with children already. Their families had in a sense now become my family as well. And vice versa. I completely understood our alliance could mean the difference in life and death of those we loved.

And goddamn it if I wasn’t falling in love with Kenya.

“From what we’ve found every word of the story she told is true, including almost being married off to an old fart from Moscow. The poor girl would have been kept as his slave in a real harem and nothing more.”

“I hope the fucker is dead by now.”

Maxim grinned. “I thought you’d say that. I have a few connections left in Russia. He’s floating somewhere if not shark bait by now.”

Maybe I could learn to like the guy. “You did that for me?”

“Hey, we are brothers. Aren’t we?”

While the camaraderie was good to have, the combined resources making us an extremely powerful regime of our own, we still hadn’t been able to get a full grasp on what we were dealing with.

Perhaps we never would.

“Let’s get down to business,” Gabriel suggested. “Then we will have a ceremony we can all participate in this time.”

I moved to the presentation I’d put together, including comparing lists of those we considered the most powerful and dangerous men and women involved. Their entire worlds had been checked and observed over some period of time, including financial transactions. What James had been able to find was a potential smoking gun, a bank in the Caribbean used for various operations. But all in private. All very hidden. It had taken him some time to find the trail but once he had, it had been a matter of time before he’d unraveled the single clue tying every member together.

“Whoa. Your man did this?” Constantine asked as he stared at the various slides, with examples of locating the smoking gun.

“He did. He’s connected to eighty-four percent of the upper two tiers of the combined lists of supposed members. In my mind, the key to discovering more is to use the information to fill in the blanks. However, he’ll need additional manpower.”

“I can have my guys work with him,” Gabriel suggested.

“I have a couple damn good researchers and computer experts myself,” Sabatino threw in.

---