Page 149 of Near Miss

“So, you didn’t know.”

“Where are you getting this information?”

“Is that really important?”

“It is if the information is wrong.”

“It’s not.”

“Okay, well. Thank you for telling me. If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to take care of.” Asimov stood to see them out, but the Bean Counter remained in his seat.

“I don’t think you understand the situation,” the Bean Counter said.

“What situation?”

“Your situation.”

The Bean Counter nodded to Korolev, who reached under his jacket, pulled out a pistol with an attached silencer, and shot Asimov twice in the chest.

Chapter 73

Stone woke to the sound of his cell phone vibrating on his nightstand. Beside him, Carly groaned and turned away without fully rousing.

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly tenam. He seldom slept this late, but last night had been a long one, even with Dino’s help to free him from the investigators.

Speaking of Dino. He pressed accept on his phone.

“Don’t tell me I woke you,” Dino said.

“I’m not sure if you know this,” Stone said, “but I had a rather eventful evening.”

“I was there, remember?”

“Not until after the fireworks.”

“Traffic, what’s a guy gonna do? Speaking of the fireworks, I was given a message to pass on to you.”

“From whom?”

“Gregor Dryga.”

“Never heard of him.”

“He’s also known as the Bean Counter.”

“That name I know. What’s the message?”

“That for the foreseeable future the Russians have no interest in seeing you dead.”

“That is not news I was expecting to hear this morning, welcome as it is. But is he even in a position to tell me that?”

“From my understanding, he is. He is now the head of the family.”

“What happened to Asimov?”

“I was told his services were no longer needed, and that he has been retired.”

“Permanently?”

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