Page 44 of Guarding her Gangster Girl

Inside the restaurant, the hostess leads me through to a private dining room. The air is heavy with the sound and scent of grilling Wagyu. We enter a secluded room in a corner, hidden behind delicate screen doors painted with koi fish.

Eva is cross-legged on the floor at the low table, somehow looking as elegant as ever in bare feet, jeans, and a crisp white shirt. She smiles as I enter, and waves me down to sit. “I’m starving,” she says. “Glad you’re here. I’ve ordered for us both already,” she adds in Russian, as I awkwardly pull off my boots as indicated by the hostess. “So we can have a nice, long,chat.”

That does not bode well.

I pad over and sit, and then a waiter materializes, pouring us both glasses of sake. I don’t touch mine.

“How are you finding your assignment?” Eva asks, swirling the clear liquid in her glass. “The widow Colombo seems to be keeping you on your toes. I haven’t had a report from you since you started with her.”

I choose my words carefully. “It’s been an eventful time. The Family is still in flux after Don Colombo’s death, as you can imagine.”

“Mm.” Eva leans forward, her voice dropping. “And who will be the successor?”

“They haven’t chosen one yet.” There, at least, I can be truthful.

But Eva won’t let it rest. “Who is in the running? Caruso, I assume. Frank Colombo, perhaps, the cousin?”

“No one has mentioned Frank Colombo as a potential.” I do take a sip of the sake now, to give myself time to think. Surely dropping Sabatelli’s name can’t hurt. He was already thought of as a front-runner, and there must have been chatter about what happened last night. “Vince Sabatelli was the only other serious contender, but as you might have heard?—”

“Yes,” Eva cuts me off, sounding bored. “He will be dead soon enough. Was he the Don’s killer, do you think?”

“I don’t know.” Once again, I can rely on truth. “Frank Colombo is supposed to be looking into things. My understanding is that only Vince Sabatelli is considered a serious suspect.”

“But why attempt a hit on the widow?” Eva muses. The door of the room slides open and the first round of food is brought in.

Once we’re alone again, I’ve had enough time to decide on a strategy. “Brie Colombo is not some defenseless widow, just as you suspected, boss. Perhaps someone thinks she knows too much, or that her influence in the Family is too great. Or…” I glance up at her. “Or perhaps an outside agency believes the same thing? That it would be simpler to deal with Frank than Brie Colombo.”

Eva sips at her sake. “It wasn’t me, if that’s what you’re asking. You know the rules—no involvement. No playing politics. Now, of course I’d rather deal with the genuine article, the new Don, but the Colombos will sign one way or another. And don’t forget, Dominika—” Finally she looks me in the eye. “—the inflated costs on that contract wereyouridea.”

I give a rueful smile. “Not my best one. But on that subject, boss, I have some news.”

“Finally,” she says coolly. “I was beginning to think I’d have to torture it out of you.”

Uh oh. At least what I’m about to say, I can say with Brie’s blessing. “Mrs. Colombo has asked for my help in discovering her husband’s killer. She says that if I help her, she will sign the original contract we offered.”

Eva’s eyes stay as cold as ever. “Why does she trust you so much?”

A pointed question. I never told her about the fact that I was there during the first attempt on Brie’s life. “I’m not sure that she does. But she sees me as enough of an outsider to have no motive for her death.”

It doesn’t satisfy Eva, that much is clear. But she moves on. “What else have you learned?”

“Not much.”

“I didn’t send you there to give me cheek.” Her tone sharpens. “What’s really going on inside the Colombo family? Who’s vying for power? And most importantly, what are the widow’s weaknesses, and how can you exploit her for the Consortium’s benefit?”

I take a sip of water, buying time. “Frank Colombo is trying to maintain order. The old Don…he had a lover. A young man.”

Eva rolls her eyes. “We all knew about his private secretary. So did the Colombos, they just chose to look away.”

Well, shit.

“And the gold-digging widow?” Eva presses me.

“She’s…smart, adaptable. The men underestimate her.”

Eva’s laugh is cold. “Don’t tell meyou’refalling for her charms, Dominika. I thought your father taught you better than that.”

“I know my duty.”

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