Page 12 of Sinful Promise

I shrug. “It’s Pavel. I mean, who knows?”

“Apparently, money talks. Let’s get a rental car. We don’t want to implicate Pavel.”

My eyebrows raise. “Fine. Did he say who’s getting married?”

“No idea. We suspected those were his men at the pub last night. Perhaps that was a bachelor party,” Alex says as he puts a cigarette in his mouth.

“Could be.”

The clubs have closed. We stand outside our hotel room, watching locals drive home.

Alex pulls a matchbook from his pocket and lights his cigarette. “How old do you think Ratmim is? From the picture, he must be in his fifties. Kind of late to be getting married.”

“Who cares? We found him.”

“Right.” He takes a long drag on the cigarette. “What’s the plan?”

“I have no plan. Which means this might not end well. For starters, we need to identify as many of his men as possible before they know we’re here. We have the element of surprise, but I don’t want to get in trouble with the law.”

“Tell me about it.” He exhales a smoke ring.

It’s not like me to go into a mission without a plan. Before Dad died, I loved to micromanage every detail.

“Let’s just focus on gaining intel. We’ll follow him and find out where he’s living. We’ll track his associates, and maybe they will lead us to our guns. Then the next time Ratmim comes on our turf, we can make his death look like an accident.”

“What do we do between now and then?” Alex asks.

“We make their lives miserable. They come to Russia to steal, then run back across the border to safety. If we find our guns, we steal them back.” Leaning against a pillar, I smile at the thought of getting even.

He nods. “I didn’t think about that.” He inhales another drag and blows smoke.

“If we can find where they keep their stash, we can bring in more men. Take our guns back or steal something of theirs to hurt them financially.”

“Mm. This could turn into something huge. I’m not sure Nikolay would want us to fuck them that hard.”

“Right. Well, after Dad, I can’t be too vigilant. Information is information. It doesn’t hurt to keep our eyes on them going forward. New organizations pop up every year.”

“True. I have to admit, being here sucks. Letting them come to us gives us the advantage.” He takes another puff of his cigarette.

“That’s my thought as well. If they weren’t ballsy enough to intercept our weapons shipment, I’d be on vacation, cruising the Mediterranean.”

6

ROMAN

“Relaxing on a yacht sounds fun. Are you taking that skinny model with you?”

“Hell, no. I might go by myself. Not sure. You’re free, aren’t you?” I give Alex the side-eye and wait for him to spill the beans on his personal life.

“What fun is a huge yacht if you don’t have enough people to party with while you’re at sea?” he says without taking the bait.

“I’m bored with parties. It’s always the same faces. All these women are getting hair extensions and breast implants and Brazilian butt lifts and lip fillers, and in the end, they all look alike. Is it too much to ask for a natural beauty?” I ask, shifting my weight from the pillar I’m leaning against back to my feet.

“I stick to women from my neighborhood. Trust me, that’s not always the best idea, either,” Alex says while grinding his cigarette butt under the heel of his boot.

I nod. He never says much about the women in his life, but I’m sure he’s broken some hearts over the years.

“Ready to turn in?” I ask.

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