Page 96 of Bad Medicine
“Lexi,” I warned, and finally, the woman relented.
“Fine,” she huffed like a whiny toddler. “You never let me have any fun. Yes, I got something. You’re welcome.”
“What did you find?” I asked, switching my phone over to speaker and signaling the guys to gather around.
“Your boy Gregor has been off grid for the last two days. He’s left no digital trail; not a phone call or text, not even so much as a stop for gas or a Starbucks run has shown up anywhere.”
“That makes sense,” Masi said quietly. “The guy probably has a massive reserve of cash. It’s not like drug deals are done through Venmo or anything.”
“Very astute, Massimo,” Lexi said, and I swore the guy blushed. “But there are some things you can’t buy with cash, and Gregor hasfinallymade a purchase that I can track. But,” she said, pausing for dramatic effect, and I rolled my eyes. “You’re not gonna like it.”
There were any number of things that Gregor could have bought that would piss me off. Guns, but he wasn’t very likely to get those through legal channels. He could have bought a business, one in direct competition with all of Enzo’s dealings. Not that it would matter, considering as soon as we got our hands on him, he was gonna find himself very dead very quickly.
Whatever it was, I didn’t see how it would make any difference to our plans for Gregor, aside from providing us with a location, which was the one thing we desperately needed.
But what Lexi actually told us made all the difference in the world.
“He bought a plane ticket, Rocco,” she said solemnly, all traces of her early joking gone from her tone. “Gregor Belikov is currently sitting in first class with a one-way ticket to Moscow.”
Well, son of a bitch.
Chapter forty-four
Mia
Thesunfeltgoodon my skin, warming me where I sat on a park bench, its gentle caress feeling like a hug from an old friend.
Of course, I knew better than to spendtoomuch time under the Las Vegas sun, even in the winter. But after more than two days in Rocco’s underground bunker, I was just happy to have fresh air and natural light again, even if the soft rumble of thunder could be heard from the clouds showing their faces as they moved over the low mountains.
Benny sat beside me, a hulking, brooding shadow assigned to watch over us while Rocco went about conducting his business, and I was actually pretty grateful.
Benny was a decent guy, even if he was a little mopey when it came to his own love life.
Maybe the sunshine would be good for both of us; a little light therapy, if you would.
When Rocco had stormed back into The Shed the day before yesterday, his face told me everything I needed to know.
He hadn’t been able to locate Greg.
I couldn’t say I wasn’t disappointed, which had me all kinds of conflicted.
I wasn’t used to actively hoping for a person’s demise, but Greg was a special case; not only had he hurt me and threatened to take Jasper from me, but he was hurting dozens of others. Maybe more, if I really thought about it.
So no, I wasn’t about to mourn the loss of Greg, or Gregor, or whatever his real name actually was.
What Iwasconcerned about was Rocco; I hated the thought of him being in danger because of me.
I didn’treallyknow if he had killed people before, and I didn’t want to know, to be honest.
I was under no delusions; I was aware of what Rock did for a living, of what they all did. Francesca, Enzo, even Lexi. They were all involved in some less than legal dealings, and I had made my peace with it, for better or worse.
But that didn’t mean I wanted Rocco being put in a position where his life was on the line for me—forus—and I felt responsible for how this was all playing out.
Changing position on the park bench, I watched as Jasper raced around the playground, his laughter ringing out as he chased a few other children in a game of tag. I had brought him to the playground today, knowing he’d been feeling just as cooped up as I had, regardless of how many trending internet dances Sway tried to teach him.
I smiled, loving seeing Jasper having fun with other kids. Growing up, I had always pictured a big family, one with lots of kids, all of us gathered around a Christmas tree or sharing a lively family dinner. But, when I had gotten pregnant with Jasper, I had had no choice but to put those thoughts aside and just focused on surviving.
Now, with Rocco in my life, I was starting to wonder if that future was once again an option for me. Rocco was so great with Jasper, so caring and gentle with him, that it sometimes made my heart melt. I wondered if he had ever wanted children of his own.
