Page 45 of Queens and Monsters

Her emerald eyes lit up. “Have you tried calling instead of going there?”

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Call the Green Lady Lounge and tell them you’re looking for her. It’s a long shot, but maybe you’ll get a connection. Dante wouldn’t want me to go into Myshkin’s territory, but if you could speak to your mom, maybe you could meet her someplace safer.” Camila hopped down from the tall stool and went to the kitchen table where her tablet was sitting. “Let’s look up the number for the Green Lady Lounge.” She began typing on the keyboard. Her smile returned as she brought the tablet to me. “You call and I’m going to message Mia. She helped me get married. She will help you.”

“No, she won’t.” My hopes faded. “She’s a Luciano. She hates me.”

Camila pressed her lips into a straight line. “She’s a Roríguez now. When I first met her, I wasn’t impressed. Since marrying Jano, she’s changed.”

“Is there anyone else you can call? I don’t feel confident about my marriage hopes depending on Mia Luciano.”

“Roríguez. Let me try Mia.” Camila walked into the living room with her phone.

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and called the number on the screen. It was only eleven o’clock. More than likely, the Green Lady Lounge wouldn’t even be open. As I was about to hang up, I heard a voice.

“Green Lady Lounge, how can I help you?”

My hands began to tremble. “This is a long shot, but I’m looking for Leah Renner.”

“No one works here by that name.”

“I was wondering if you knew how I could get ahold of her.”

“Why are you looking for Leah?”

“Do you know her?” I asked.

“Yeah, I know her, but I don’t give out personal information without a reason.”

“I’m her daughter.”

Chapter

Fifteen

Reinaldo

My home office was ostentatious and smothering just like the mansion where it was housed. This place belonged to Gerardo Ruiz, brother of Andrés and Nicolas.Mí padreput a lot of trust into the three brothers, all of them making it to the rank of senior lieutenant in the cartel.

Like many men their age, the Ruiz lieutenants had difficulty with Aléjandro’s and my advancement in our father’s organization. Case in point—Nicolas’s ridiculous show of sending a whore to me while I was showering. The only one to support the alliance with the famiglia was Andrés. He had little choice. His two daughters, Catalina and Camila, were married to famiglia, Catalina to the capo dei capi himself.

Gerardo Ruiz’s deception topped that of his brotherNicolas. Unwilling to accept that Jano was his superior, Gerardo partnered with our enemy Elizondro Herrera in an effort to sabotage the Mafia alliance and bring down the Roríguez cartel.

That kind of treachery was not tolerated.

Gerardo Ruiz was no longer living.

Upon his death,mí padresent me to Northern California to oversee our business in the region. This mansion belongs to the cartel, hidden behind numerous LLCs. That was why I was currently sitting behind a big-ass desk in a house ten thousand more square feet than any man needed, especially a bachelor.

I wasn’t alone. There was plenty of space to house guards and household staff.

Jano and I grew up in a large mansion. I wasn’t unaccustomed to luxury, but that didn’t mean that I liked it. I meant what I said when I’d told Em I’d rather move back into his pool house. Jano and I lived there for a short time before Jano married Mia and bought his own mini mansion on a cliff.

I made a few revisions after a recent attack on the house and grounds. Nevertheless, it was too large.

My vision blurred with weariness as I completed reports, fulfilling my duties. I was ready to fly east, and I didn’t give a fuck if I had any sleep before I did. I hadn’t had any since talking to Jasmine and torturing the spy.

Between calls with soldiers in the area, I did what I do well. I researched Jasmine’s mother and Zhdan Myshkin. I didn’t expect the two searches to intersect. They did.

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