Page 66 of High Stakes

It’s not an easy thing to grapple with—knowing someone’s life hangs in the balance yet being unable to act. It’s the kind of dilemma that eats away at you, that makes you question your own principles. Every action, every decision has consequences. And in this case, those consequences could be catastrophic.

As the day drags on, a gnawing feeling in my gut refuses to leave. There’s something off, something that’s been bothering me since the night at the casino with the Russians. Fallon’smother, Rebecca, was there with them. It doesn’t make sense. I need answers, and there’s only one man who can give them to me.

I pick up the phone, dialing the number I know by heart since he is constantly calling checking in on his daughter; I swear I am on that man’s speed dial. The line rings twice when it’s picked up.

“Nathan,” I say curtly, not bothering with pleasantries. “I need you to come in and see me. Now.”

Fallon didn’t want her father to know about her mother’s return, afraid it would upset her father and Emma, but Nathan has had his fair share of trouble and loss; he’s barely holding it together for the sake of his daughters. He’s no stranger to the darker side of life, and I know this is something he should know. He may be the only one who has the answers we need.

Nathan arrives within the hour, his face lined with worry as he’s escorted into my office. He peers around warily, his eyes flicking over the opulent surroundings before settling on me.

“Leone,” Nathan’s voice crackles when he enters, tinged with a mix of apprehension and resignation. “Is Fallon okay?”

“She’s fine,” I reply, my tone clipped. “This isn’t about her. It’s about Rebecca.”

There’s a pause as he closes the door behind him, and I can practically hear the gears turning in Nathan’s head. “Rebecca?” he repeats slowly, confusion evident in his tone.

“What’s this about? Why are you asking about Rebecca?”

I study him for a moment, gauging his reaction before I speak. “I saw her, Nathan. At the casino, with the Russians.”

Nathan’s face pales, his eyes widening in shock. “What? That can’t be.”

“It was her,” I say firmly, leaving no room for doubt. “I saw her with my own eyes; Fallon was here when she came; she confirmed it was her.”

He shakes his head, disbelief etched into every line of his face. “I need to know when the last time you heard from her was?” I ask him. He staggers to a chair, falling heavily into it.

“Did you know she was mixed up with the Russian mafia?”

He shakes his head and scrubs both hands through his hair. “No. After Emma was born, I went to work and came home to find the neighbor watching the girls and Rebecca gone. I never saw her again. She just… vanished.”

The confusion in Nathan’s voice mirrors the disarray in my own mind. This doesn’t add up. Why would she leave her family behind only to end up with the Russians?

“Why do you need to know about Rebecca now?” Nathan asks, his voice trembling slightly. “What’s going on, Leone?”

“I’m trying to piece this together,” I admit, my voice heavy with frustration. “I need to understand why she was there, why she’s involved with them. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Nathan leans forward, his hands gripping the edge of the desk as if grounding himself. “Are you sure it was her? I mean… It’s been years. How can you be certain? I’m surprised Fallon would recognize her?”

“I’m certain,” I say, my tone leaving no room for argument. “And if she’s with the Russians, it means she could be a threat to Fallon, to all of us.”

Nathan’s face crumples, the weight of my words settling over him like a suffocating blanket. “I don’t understand,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me. “She was a good mother before she left, she was trying to stay clean, she was for a bit… but then she up and left.”

“That’s precisely what I’m trying to figure out,” I reply, my voice sharp. “What made her change? Why did she leave you and the girls? And why the hell is she with the Russians?”

Nathan looks up at me, his eyes filled with a desperation that tugs at something deep within me. “What do you plan to do to her?”

I don’t answer immediately. The truth is, I don’t know. Rebecca’s presence complicates everything, and I’m not one to act without understanding the full picture.

“First, I need to know if Fallon is in any immediate danger because of her mother. Fallon said her mother didn’t want Mikhail to know they were related, but if she becomes a threat to Fallon or my business,” I finally say, choosing my words carefully. “If she is, I’ll do what needs to be done. But right now, I’m more concerned about who else might be feeding information to the Russians.”

Nathan’s expression shifts from fear to confusion. “You think someone in your organization is working with them?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, my frustration mounting. “But I’m going to find out. And when I do, I’ll deal with them.”

The room falls into a tense silence, the weight of our conversation pressing down on us both. Nathan looks like a man who’s just been told his entire life is a lie, and maybe it is. But I can’t afford to dwell on that. I have bigger problems to solve.

“I want to see Fallon,” Nathan says after a long moment, his voice trembling slightly. “I need to know she’s okay.”

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