Page 35 of To Have and To Hold

Liliana gasped.

“Who is Kozlov?” I asked.

Celeste rolled her eyes. “You have some catching up to do if you’re going to work with us.”

“Great. Catch me up.”

Celeste went on to tell me about the bratvas in California. Apparently up until recently, there were two. Ivan Kozlov was the head of one. He was assassinated Tuesday night. The Russians at the club were there to askel Patr?nfor clemency. He wasn’t at the club, but his brother, Reinaldo, was in town for a big meeting. The men were taken downstairs. Rei showed up to question them.

“Nobody trusts them,” Reina said. Her smile broadened. “I’m sure Rei got the truth out of them.”

Celeste giggled.

“What do you mean?”

Liliana answered, “Rei Roríguez is well known for his success at interrogation.”

“What does he do?”

The other three looked at one another and shook their heads.

“How am I supposed to be caught up if you don’t tell me?”

Reina asked, “You’re a Luciano, right?”

I straightened my shoulders. “Yes. I don’t know what that has to do?—”

Liliana laid her slender hand on the table. “Rumor is that Dante has a similar reputation.”

“Dante oversees Emerald Club.”

“Seriously,” Celeste said. “Izzy, it’s time for you to wake up. Rei tortures answers out of people. The only thing different in his interrogations and your uncle’s is the language they speak as they cut off body parts.”

My stomach twisted. “Dante is my cousin. And I can’t…”

“You could ask Julia,” Liliana said. “Nicolas sent her into the private bathroom tothankRei for his help after one of his questioning sessions. She said the water was red from all the blood.”

I pushed my container of remaining food away. I remembered Julia. She was the one who was accepted to school and wanted to be a nurse. “Did she?”

“Did she what?” Celeste asked.

“Thank him?”

Reina pressed her lips together. “No one refuses Nicolas Ruiz. He knows how to make life unbearable.”

“But Rei is married.” I pushed my chair back. “Jasmine married a killer.”

“I don’t think they were married at that time,” Liliana said. “As for marrying a killer, I did. So did Camila and Cat. We don’t judge.”

“Did…” I could hardly formulate a question. “Did you see the two Russians after they went downstairs?”

“No, Nick cut off entry. They closed down everything except VIP. At three we were all escorted back here. There was a rumor thatel Patr?nwas brought in through a back door.” Reina shrugged. “The fact they made it in at all had us all pretty wound up.”

“The Russians didn’t make it to the back rooms, did they?”

Celeste and Reina shook their heads.

“There was an incident a few years back,” Liliana said. “Russians killed two women in the back. Shot them up with a lethal dose of heroin.” She turned to Celeste and Reina. “If Nicolas or anyone else at the club does anything to make life unbearable, come to me. I’ll talk to Mia. You know we’re here for you.”

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