Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
“What exactly are we looking at right now?”
Dmitriy moved closer to the screens. He spotted Anastasia but didn’t give any sign that he recognized her.
“Is there any way you could access the security footage from six months ago?”
“Not from here. That shit would be in storage, especially if they handle it on tapes, or it gets wiped over.”
Dmitriy looked at all the cameras and there were a lot. More than he recalled Gnesin ever having. He came to the bottom corner, and it wasn’t quite clear.
“This one, can you make this bigger?”
That main camera came to life on all the screens, and Dmitriy stared into the cage of Nikolai Gnesin. The head of the Gnesin Bratva was in a cage, with no way to escape.
“Fuck!”
He wanted to be wrong.
He wanted Gnesin to some way be in cahoots with the Gambinos.
“Well, shit,” Jack said.
Dmitriy looked at the image. Anastasia was going to have trouble locating him.
“What do you want me to do?” Jack asked.
He stared at the image.
“I need to figure out a way inside.”
****
Anastasia stared at the computer screen and she saw Gnesin locked up. Dmitriy had already made the introductions, and Jack was sitting behind his computer desk as Dmitriy paced.
“Is there anyone we could call?” Anastasia asked.
“There’s no one, not unless we put Gnesin at risk.”
“You think the Gambinos are listening in?” Jack asked.
“They were able to infiltrate his home, and I think at this point, we’ve got no choice but to assume the worst.”
She looked at the surrounding cage. “That has to be the basement, right?”
“With one access,” Dmitriy said. “So don’t even for a second attempt to think what I know you’re thinking.”
“You can read minds now?” Jack asked.
“She wants to get to the basement.”
She rolled her eyes and looked toward Jack, then to Dmitriy. “Someone needs to get to him to let him know we’re trying to figure this out. He might have someone we can call.”
“It’s too risky.”
“At lunch, I believe that is when the guards leave their stations,” Anastasia said.
She watched as he ran fingers through his hair.
“No.”
“Damn it, Dmitriy, you have got to give me a chance here.”
“If the Gambinos find you, they will kill you. This is too much risk and I am not going to allow you to do that.”
“She has a point,” Jack said, who visibly flinched when Dmitriy looked his way.
“You don’t get to glare at him,” she said, putting a hand on Dmitriy’s arm.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Right now, it’s all we’ve got. Otherwise, we’re in the dark,” Jack said. “We need to know if Gnesin had any kind of contact with someone who might be able to help us, because right now, all that will happen is you’ll be infiltrating a heavily guarded prison.”
Dmitriy shook his head.
“Look, I can do this,” Anastasia said. “All I have to do is stay behind, and the moment the coast is clear, I go looking for Nikolai. It’s easy.”
She tried not to wince at her own words, because the truth was, there was absolutely nothing easy about what she was going to attempt to do.
“This is our only shot.”
“And if that doesn’t work, you can go in all guns blazing, and I can direct you from here,” Jack said.
It looked good on paper.
“I need to think.”
Dmitriy didn’t say anything else as he turned on his heel and walked away.
She watched him leave, and sighed. “I’m sorry about this.”
“Nah, it’s all good. It’s nice to see Dmitriy has found someone he cares about.”
She turned to look at Jack.
Jack smiled. “You think I’m kidding?”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“Our ghost devil is not a guy known for feelings, and he certainly is not the kind of guy to allow anyone to live when an order is given. I mean, assuming that order is ... well, you know, the right one.”
She breathed out. “You know, I’ve been thinking about that, and I can’t help but wonder if my parents ... helped.”
Spending the last few days in Gnesin’s home, with all the guards breathing down her neck, it had made her wonder how they were able to get to Gnesin.
“What do you mean?”
“Gnesin is known for loyal followers, and they didn’t destroy my parents’ home. They made it like another port, or something. A hub?” She frowned. “What if my parents did this?”
Jack blew out a breath. “And you think they got killed because of it?”
“I don’t know, but it does mean that if we save Nikolai, he may demand that Dmitriy kill me. It seems only fair. My family nearly destroyed the Bratva.”
“That is assuming you’re correct,” he said.
She shrugged. “I don’t have any other explanation.” She ran fingers through her hair.
“Dmitriy won’t kill you,” Jack said.
“You don’t know that.”
Jack laughed. “You know, he could have already killed you. It was an order that, at the time, he assumed came from Nikolai, and he didn’t do it. You need to start figuring out why.”