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“Boss.” Alexei’s voice hitches, as does my heart.
“Can you talk?”
Something ruffles over the phone, and a dull voice mumbles incoherently in the background. Two doors close loudly before Alexei’s back on the phone.
“Yeah,” he whispers, “I can talk.”
“Then talk.” Whatever details he can give me to narrow down which members of my circle handed me and my love to the wolves will help immensely.
“I don’t have much.”
I wait.
“I’ve been doing some digging, as much as I can. Everything is on high alert y’know?” He talks in a quick whisper, some of his words melting together with his low tone. “But I know whoever it was reached out first, and it was some time after you arrived in Russia. They only gave information about Alena, but I know Aleksander pushed for more.”
“More?”
“Stuff on you. What your plans were. Whatever they are. They only gave updates on Alena, though, and you can imagine how that pissed him off.”
“Hmm.” I rock slightly in the chair, drifting from side to side as my mind runs through everyone I trust. “How can you be sure it’s not the Irish?”
They’re my main suspect, and admittedly, it’s difficult to release the idea that they caused this when it was so easy to hate them after the ceasefire talks.
“Because if it were the Irish, I’m pretty sure they would be in contact with Aleksander.”
My brow knits south. “What?”
“I’m, like, ninety percent sure that the mole is in contact with Mara. I know it sounds odd, but bear with me.”
I remain silent.
“I can’t speak for the ceasefire because they didn’t take me, but Aleksander came back frustrated and pissed. He definitely wasn’t a man who had just secured peace between two Families. He then spent hours in his office with only Mara, and then ever since, he referred to her before making a decision.” Alexei pauses abruptly, and fabric scrapes over the speaker.
A few long seconds tick by before he speaks again.
“Even here, he waited for a call from Mara before sending people to your home. But when we were back in America, I heard them.”
“Who?” My back stiffens and I lean forward. “You heard who it was?”
“Only a voice. Mara was talking to someone about Alena on speakerphone. I only heard a few words because Aleksander had called me over to then send me away for a few things. I didn’t think much of it at first, but before the attack, I overheard Aleksander saying ‘she says it’s clear’.”
She.
“I thought he meant Mara until a few days ago when Aleksander was fuming that he hadn’t heard from her, and then I knew he wasn’t talking about Mara because she’s been calling nonstop.
Silence falls as the information stews in my mind. A woman?
“Boss?” Alexei hisses. “I gotta go.”
“Be safe.” The line clicks, and as silence falls, my phone slips to dangle loosely between my fingers.
A woman.
My stomach drops, and for a few fleeting seconds, I consider Nastja. Her death would explain why Aleksander hasn’t heard from his contact in a while, but as soon as that thought crosses my mind, it immediately turns to ash.
No. Not Nastja. She would never betray me.
And Aleksander knows she is dead. He wouldn’t ask for her.
