I have heard about those boats of his, and he would never get it. He was trafficking women and children for a hefty profit. Although with Michail’s and my interference over the years, I was sure their income suffered. It was clear they didn’t know it was us since they approached me. Or maybe they were playing games. They should really find a different source of income.

Either way, for as long as my brothers and I lived, we would always fight human traffickers. I was eighteen when Dimitry, Nikolai, and I intercepted the agreement Boris was going to make with Lebanese’s head. Boris wanted in on the human trafficking. We didn’t and never would. We waited for the Lebanese, hidden in the alley off the Red Square and killed them all. We may have done our share of illegal shit, but we drew a hard line on hurting innocents. We’d always protect the innocents. It was the reason we got a sacred heart tattoo. Our reminder never to forget who we were.

I returned my attention to Bartek and his wife, disgusted that they’d get involved in something like that. They deserved nothing better than what those Lebanese had received. But since I was here, I’d get some information out of him.

“What are the goods and when exactly?”

He eyed me as if debating whether to tell me the truth or lie to me. Or maybe it was whether to trust me or not. I didn’t really care. Silence stretched and I wondered whether the old man forgot the question. My phone buzzed and I threw it a quick glance. Scarlett’s message flashed.

*All good.*

It was all it took to make my day better and brighter. Now, I just had to get this prick handled.

“Bartek, I have a full schedule today,” I told him. “If you are not prepared to disclose the terms, contact us when you are.”

I turned around to leave, when his voice stopped me.

“Next week. And it is just a shipment of dry goods.” Lying bastard. I watched him stoic, waiting for further explanation.

He was right, we controlled smuggled shipment routes through the Baltic Sea but we were working on getting away from it. Obviously, he didn’t know that.

He didn’t finish but Irina did, which told me a lot more about what was going on.

“We just need it to get safely to Ryga, and we’ll handle it from there.” Her voice was raspier than I remembered, like she smoked a shit ton of cigarettes since the last time I saw her. She smoked back then too, which I didn’t care for. It looked like she kept that bad habit. “We just need to be able to have it safely in the port.”

Yeah, I bet they would like that.

It was disappointing that she would knowingly traffic women and children, leaving them to the cruel people who resorted to buying them and putting them through hell. She was in the same category as Bartek and Lebanese, in my book.

I would ensure we intercepted this one and brought those victims to safety.

“That is not our port,” I told them both. “So you can do whatever you want in Ryga.”

I tilted my head in greeting to him and his wife then left them both standing there. It would seem Irina has gotten herself ingrained into her husband’s business. And I would bet she knew exactly what was on that boat and didn’t give a shit, which told more than anything about her character. Not that it surprised me. She was always that greedy and I was just too blind to see it.

Both Michail and I got into the car, and our men followed into their vehicles. As we drove off, I pulled out my phone to reply to Scarlett. I never spared another glance at Irina. She no longer mattered.

“Michail, make sure we get that shipment and set those women free,” I told him as I typed a confirmation back to Scarlett. “Use whatever resources you need.”

“With pleasure!” This just made his day. “I’m glad that bitch had no impact on you,” he added wryly. “It would seem she is trying to run this shit.”

“She won’t succeed,” I told him.

Michail was right. Irina no longer mattered. Scarlett was my future.