Page 107 of Massimo

"He never told you?"

"I never asked." In all honesty, the reason or circumstances didn't matter; all that mattered was a debt was owed, and I had called it in.

"Someone I loved like a sister was murdered by the French mafia. Tommaso provided information I needed to find and end those responsible."

"We have a common enemy, then."

There's silence over the line before Rurik speaks. "So the rumors are true. No, don't answer that. It's not important. What is important is the French have just upped the bounty again for getting the Mancini Princess back. It's up to four million."

"Is that a threat?" I growl.

"Not at all,moy droog. My friend. You have an ally in me against thosemudaks." Some emotion cuts through with his words, and he clears his throat. "Now, what can I do for you?"

As the leader of our family, I was raised living and breathing strategy. I was taught to look at every move on the chessboard and consider its possible ripples and implications. I want to know more about the French mafia, but Mancini is my main concern right now. However, Rurik hates the French mafia, so he may supply some information on them for free.

"Ineed you to confirm something and provide me with whatever intel you can," I say.

"Color me intrigued. Go on."

"You have a hacker under your protection."

"This conversation is over." Heat has cut into the ice of Rurik's voice.

Anger flares within me, but I tamp it down. "I don't want the hacker. I want what information they can tell me about Mancini."

"The answer is still no."

Rurik Frolov has a reputation for being cold and heartless, but beyond that, he's an enigma. However, his reputation for never reneging on a deal or debt is rock solid. The fact that he responded so quickly, and damn near irrationally, tells me this isn't just some hacker under his protection.

They're family.

So I counter with my own. "Sophie… The woman who was in the middle of what the hacker was involved in—the hacker who aided those hunting Sophie, but who also helpedand played a pivotal role insavingher."

"Get to the point, or this conversation is over."

I take a guess that he doesn't know all the details. "Sophie is my sister-in-law."

The line is dead silent as the realization of my statement hits.

"Is that a threat?" His voice is pure ice when he finally speaks.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Rurik. No, it's not a threat. I know the hacker was coerced into helping Mancini. What I want and need is whatever intel they have on him."

He's silent, and I wait patiently. He'll assess this from all angles—strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats—a SWOT analysis for the criminal underworld.

"What do you want to know?"

I ease back into my chair and rest my ankle on my knee. "Everything you can tell me."

He expels a harsh breath. "The first major task Mancini had them do was to get blueprints for a top-secret holding facility—specifically, subterranean holding cells. After that, he had them perform other hackjobs, almost like he was testing their skills before getting to the part involving Sophie. Then he had them hack into security systems and replace camera feeds at Sophie's university, and protect him and his crew by keeping their movements off the radar."

"How did Mancini get his hooks into the hacker?"

"That, we could never find out."

"How did you get him to back off?"

Rurik chuckles darkly. "I sent him a gift: his top capo's head."

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