Page 18 of Venus

“I need to know where Zaitsev is. The Tzars and Grim’s tech guys had him pinned down, but he still managed to get around us.”

“Victor Zaitsev is cunning and, more than that, he’s paranoid. Too many years of drugs and booze. Unfortunately, Venus was under his control before his mind started going. She’s his stepdaughter, the one he intended to be his ace in the hole.”

“A plant inside the Federal Security Service.”

“Yes. The FSB.” I could hear keys clicking in the background as Giovanni did some shit with his computer.

“Zaitsev was content to leave Venus alone after she and Millie escaped. He figured it was better she was a continent away from him because once the woman sets her mind to something, there’s no stopping her.”

“That’s not new information, Gio. Give me something I can work with.”

“He’s tracking Venus.”

Everything inside me stilled. My gaze went to the sleeping woman in my bed. “What the fuck do you mean?” My voice was soft and low, but there was no doubt Giovanni heard the menace there.

“Just what I said. He put a tracker in her before he sent her off for training. It’s old.”

“Does Venus know?”

“No. At least, she probably didn’t realize what it was at the time. Small dose of Propofol and she’s out while they put a tiny tracking device in her deltoid.”

“Why not take it out of her?”

“I wasn’t sure at the time how dangerous it would be. I’m still not. Believe me when I tell you I’d prefer she not have it. That fuckin’ tracker is the reason I sent her out into the field. I wanted her as far away from the estate as possible. I found it a couple months after she got here. She was the best at what she did already, so sending her out was the best option.”

“For you?”

“For her, Piston. I sent her to one of Cain’s partners in ExFil. She was there for a special mission. It’s how she met Thorn, which was a happy coincidence I can’t take credit for. Worked out for the best, though. She and Thorn got along from the very beginning.”

I was starting to see red. If Giovanni knew but Venus didn’t, that meant he was using Venus for more than just testing new tech. I took a calming breath. “Why did you give Venus those contacts, Gio?”

“There is no one like Venus, Piston. She’s the best at what she does. Even El Diablo thought twice about crossing her back in the day.”

“You’re just dropping all kinds of bombs, ain’t ‘cha.” I still held the phone to my ear but had to lean against the bathroom vanity on my other arm. Otherwise, I’d probably throw the satphone through the fucking window and go after Giovanni and kill him to death.

“That ain’t the half of it, but you’re gonna have to get the other shit from Venus. As to why I gave her those contacts? They also allow me to not only keep an eye on her, but if I need to, I can access the chip in her contacts and see what she’s seeing.”

“You son of a bitch,” I breathed. “Does she fuckin’ know?”

“It didn’t seem like something she’d approve of, so no. She doesn’t. Besides, have you told her how long you’ve been following her?”

“Gio…” The threat in my voice was clear. Even for someone as dangerous and cunning as Giovanni.

“It was for her own good. All of it. I can send her help if she needs it, though admittedly she’s never needed it. The woman is… special. She’s built for killing.”

“Tell me something I don’t fuckin’ know.”

“How about this? You need to get away from Kiss of Death. They’re too secluded. Bohannon and Torpedo haven’t gotten all the infrastructure set up to protect them from a threat like Zaitsev. They don’t have backup from another club. My suggestion would be to get her back to Grim Road or Salvation’s Bane. In fact, I’m letting Thorn know to expect you and to get the other two clubs ready for trouble.”

“Other two? You really think we need to involve Black Reign? Bringing in El Diablo just opens up a whole other subset of problems.”

“I do. Zaitsev is not like any threat you’ve been up against.”

“I’m aware of how dangerous he is. I assume this is all about his daughter, Katya. Does Zaitsev not know where she is?”

“No. Millie got the trackers out of that girl when they first rescued her. Since she went to stay with Millie and Shadow at the Bones compound, Shadow has done his best to keep a low profile for all three of them. Occasionally Millie takes a job for Cain with ExFil, but they’re careful not to put her on the radar. Until you kill Zaitsev, the safest place for Venus is anywhere Katya is not.”

“If that bastard’s able to keep tabs on Venus, why is he just now coming after her? It’s been a couple of years since they rescued the girl.” I was rapidly getting a headache. There was so much to do I didn’t know where to start.

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