Page 72 of To Have and To Hold

I couldn’t believe we were approved. “Carmine didn’t protest?”

“I didn’t have time for details. The capo gave you permission. That’s all that you need to know.”

Isabella was mine or would be soon. However, if I didn’t keep my mind in this fight, she would be right about her first heartbreak. Straightening my shoulders, I vowed not to let that happen.

An hour later, Rei and Sebastián, Rei’s number-two up north, arrived with a slew of computers.

“No cameras,” Jano repeated.

“No te preocupes, hermano,” Rei replied. “Once I have all of this set up,el Patr?nand Sebastián will watch the building’s surveillance from here and relay to us where to go.”

“I’m with my men.”

“Hermano,” Rei said.

Jano sent him a piercing glare.

Rei shook his head and continued. “Once we’re on our way out of The Legend, Sebastián will replace the footage of us entering and exiting with still footage we’ve collected.”

“How much time do we have?” Jano asked.

“In and out in eight minutes or less.” Rei continued, speaking to everyone. “It’s confirmed that Volkov is in the condo. It’s believed he’s there with his mistress.”

“Do we have an ID on her?” I asked.

Rei’s nostrils flared as he let out a breath. “We do.”

“Is there a problem?” Nick asked.

“Just one.” Rei reached for the mouse and projected a picture of a thin dark-haired woman, dressed in a long evening gown. Her clothing was expensive. Her face was youthified by Botox or surgery—maybe both. However, if anyone asked me, she looked as if she’d been ridden hard and put away wet. My guess was that she was somewhere in her fifties.

“That’s his mistress?” Piero asked. “Apparently, he doesn’t like them young.”

“No,” Rei replied. “Volkov chose her for another reason.” He showed another picture of the woman with an older man. While I couldn’t place him, I knew it wasn’t Volkov. “Two months ago, she married Dmitri Makarova.”

That name rang a bell. “He was with Myshkin’s bratva in Kansas City.”

Rei nodded. “He’s now with Volkov. Worked his way up the ladder fast. I don’t trust him or the woman.”

I shook my head.

“Wait a minute,” Lorenzo said. “Volkov is sleeping with the wife of one of his men—one of his top men?”

“Who the fuck is this woman?” I asked.

“Rei’s mother-in-law,” Jano answered.

The room went silent.

Rei planted his feet shoulder-width apart and nodded. He took us back to the picture of her in the long evening gown. “This is Leah Renner, Jasmine’s biological mother. History includes manslaughter. Twenty years ago, she sold drugs to a college boy, and he died. She served her sentence in the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center. From what we can determine, Dmitri worked a deal with the parole board. She was released earlier this year before her sentence was complete. It appears she wasn’t going to let her imprisonment or Myshkin’s death stop her pursuit of fortune. She’s now Leah Makarova—Mrs. Dmitri Makarova.”

Nick and I exchanged glances.

Rei went on. “If she’s there, she’s to meet the same fate as Volkov.”

“You’re authorizing a hit on Jasmine’s mother?” I asked.

“I’m authorizing a hit on the woman married to one of Volkov’s newest officers, who is also sleeping with Volkov. It’s a fucking perfect setup. We get in and get out. Who will be the number-one suspect?”

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