Page 11 of Deadly Protector
CHAPTERFOUR
“So…what’s the deal?” Zamira asked as Dimitri ushered her into his house. He lived in a large house right on the water, and his driveway had a gated entrance. Nothing was completely secure, but she felt as if they’d be safe here. And clearly he thought that was what she needed. He’d been cautious driving here, taking a long way to make sure they weren’t followed.
“Lyosha sent me some information on Kurt Ryba,” he said as they stepped into his kitchen.
Everything was clean—no, pristine. All high-end appliances and lots of grays and earth tones. Not much color or mess anywhere. Not like her kitchen which, sure, wasn’t messy, but it was definitely used.
Her kids left their homework on the island top and usually hung their backpacks off their stools at the island instead of in the mudroom where they had hooks. And she had two bowls on the island always filled with snacks for the kids—one with fruit and the other with treats. Her refrigerator was covered in pictures of the kids, her familia and her ever-changing calendar. His fridge had one magnet on it—for a takeout place.
She knew they were different, but this highlighted it in a way that made her shift uncomfortably. She wasn’t sure she was ready to start dating again, especially someone who had a very different lifestyle than hers.
“Sit, please.” He motioned to the big island with a granite countertop. Then he grabbed a bottle of red wine from a well-stocked rack and held it out.
She nodded, figuring she’d need it.
“He looked familiar but I couldn’t figure out why until Lyosha got back to me.” He popped the cork and pulled down a glass.
“Is he going to be discreet about whatever this is?” She loved her family, but they could be a lot sometimes, and if they found out about this, they would bombard her.
Dimitri lifted a shoulder. “He’ll probably tell Mila.”
Mila might keep all this to herself, at least for a bit. Zamira nodded for him to continue.
“Do you know who Irene Gorcyca is?”
“Ah…she owns a real estate company, right? I think I’ve seen her billboards.” A pretty older woman with sharp cheekbones and a white smile.
Dimitri snorted softly. “She does own a real estate company. She also runs designer drugs along the East Coast, owns probably three dozen strip clubs from here to Orlando where she most definitely launders money. She also pulls a few heists a year. She’s smart and keeps her criminal enterprises diversified, I’ll give her that. She’s never been arrested, but it’s known among certain circles that if you cross her, you’ll end up dead. Or never seen again and assumed dead,” he corrected.
Zamira’s stomach twisted. “What does that have to do with Kurt?”
“She’s his aunt. And I’ve met him before, but it was a long time ago. It was why I recognized him. He was thinner then. Younger.” He slid a glass to her, his expression grim. “Clearly he bulked up in prison. Lyosha’s digging more into his time inside and I’m going to be reaching out to my own contacts. But if Ryba wants to talk to you, it’s not good. And you need to get ahead of it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I’m going to talk to him for you.”
“Dimitri—”
“No. It’s not up for discussion. I’m doing it. But I need to understand more about why he’s contacting you.”
“I told you, I have no idea.”
His expression was unreadable as he watched her, but then he sighed. “He used to be part of a violent carjacking crew.”
Zamira sucked in a breath. “Was Lucas…part of that?”
“No. From what Lyosha’s found out, Lucas was small-time. But there had been some contact between him and Ryba in the weeks before your husband died and before Ryba got put away.”
“Contact?”
“Phone calls. And records of texts.”
“Lyosha found all that?”
Dimitri nodded.
That was a little scary. She’d known that her new brother-in-law did well for himself, but she hadn’t realized he was a hacker. “Okay, so what does this mean?”
