Page 47 of The Mafia's Property

“I found a buyer who can double that,” Nico cut in.

“Ah. You’re also there,” he said over the phone. “Tell your brother to be reasonable. The money is more than adequate. And where did you find this buyer who’s willing to take it for double?”

“It’s a valuable and historical piece Volkov, I’m sure you understand the interest in something like that, surely.”

He scoffed. “This was my way of being nice to you. But fine, have it your way. I will get that jewel whether you like it or not. “

With that, he ended the call. Nico and I stared at each other for a couple of seconds. “That was fucking weird,” I said.

“He was nipping at my heels in Europe.” Nico rubbed his temple. “Can’t we just sell it to him?”

I shook my head. “Dante explicitly told me not to. It’s not like we’re in the business of doing good, but the man is downright despicable. Even Saccone thought Volkov was awful.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.”

“Trust me. Once it’s off our hands, he won’t bother us.”

Nico leaned back, paused, then leaned forward again, then back again and slapped his thighs. “Fucking hell, I don’t know why it never occurred to me before.”

I shook my head. “What?”

“Volkov. Freya and Derreck.”

“You think they’re connected?” I got up from the couch, feeling a rush of adrenaline coursing through my body.

“Think about it. Derreck was at the raid. He was still working under us. He was also part of the team that dealt with inventory. He must have known about it. Derreck went to Volkov and tells him he can get it for him. Derreck gets Freya to come work for us as Property.”

A property had more access to our private space than a maid or even a bodyguard. She would be able to look around the apartment when we were away. I remembered the time I saw her sneaking around in my room. She was hovering over the button, if I recall correctly. Was that what she was looking for? I glanced at the painting opposite Dante’s desk. Good thing I moved the jewel to a safer location than where it initially was. There was no reason why she would be in my room and instead of interrogating why, I instead got aroused by the prospect of punishing her for disobeying me.

“But why the drug?” I asked. “Maybe it’s not to kill, but to knock us out and steal the jewel. She probably hadn’t used it yet because she didn’t know where it was.”

“Possible, but I’m not taking any chances.”

“Fine, but we need a plan if we are to make sure that was her intention. For all we know, she never intended to use it.”

“Bullshit.”

“We have to catch her red-handed. Right now we have no proof that she’s even working with Derreck.”

“Right. I know what to do.”

Rico pulled out his phone from his pocket. “The app,” he said. I knew what he was talking about. The app we used to track her movements. I took out my phone and opened it. And for sure, it showed her in motion. A red dot was walking down the street, making its way to the coffee shop she usually frequented. She liked that coffee shop, I thought. I called the guy we put on her detail. He answered immediately. “Tell her you have some pressing business to attend to,” I said to him. “Make it seem like you’re leaving her unattended for your own personal reasons and not as a directive from me. But follow her from a discrete distance and make sure she doesn’t see you.”

“Right on, boss,” he said, and ended the call. It was a risk that had little chance of panning out, but if it did, this would be it. I watched the red dot stop. This must be the bodyguard telling her he’s leaving. The dot resumed movement and entered the cafe. A little circling around and it stopped. I called Bennie. “What’s happening?”

“She sat down at a table alone,” he replied.

“Keep your eye on her.”

I ended the call. For a few minutes, Nico and I stared at a still dot. I was sure nothing was going to come out of this when I got a call from the bodyguard.

“A man just joined her.” My phone was on speaker, and when the guy spoke, Nico whipped his head to me. “What does he look like?” he asked. The description he gave was that of Derreck to a tee. “They’re fucking working together. I fucking new it!”

“try to get close and see if you can record the conversation,” I said.

Nico threw his phone back into his pocket. “I’m going over there.”

“Wait.” I followed him and told my assistant to cancel everything for the day. Our sudden rush surprised her when we got out of the office. She didn’t question my instructions. “Call the general manager and tell him to run things while I’m gone,” I said.

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