Page 76 of Mafia and Scars

“Three of ours are down, not fatal,” Yuri answers.

“We’ve got one of the enemy still alive,” Igor reports.

We secure the convoy, patch up the wounded, and move fast. Our destination changes as we shift to our emergency fallback plan. We split, and the three injured men are rushed to our private medical facility. I, along with Yuri and Igor, take the prisoner to a safe house located about thirty miles away. It’s an abandoned ranch we maintain off-grid.

We arrive at the safe house, and inside, the place smells like old wood and dust. We drag the prisoner into one of the buildings and bind him to a chair bolted to the floor. He’s young, probably in his twenties. Buzzcut, combat boots, tactical vest. He’s bleeding from his side but still conscious.

I give him water. Just enough to keep him awake. “Who are you working for?” I growl.

He stares at me and doesn’t even blink.

“Who gave you our route?”

Still nothing.

Igor steps forward and backhands him hard across the face. The man spits blood and shakes his head.

Then it’s time to get to work on really hurting him.

Eventually, he mumbles some names. Most are nonsense, and I know he’s stalling.

I kneel beside him. “You’re bleeding out. Give me something useful, and maybe you’ll get a ride to the clinic. Otherwise…”

He’s struggling to breathe now. “Didn’t see his face. Said we’d be paid double if we made it look like a Cartel job.”

“Name?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t ask.”

And this time, I believe him for some reason. He doesn’t last much longer, and then I check his skin. He might have prison tattoos or some other clues. I find some ink, but they’re nothing useful.

I light a cigarette and step outside while Yuri and Igor handle the cleanup. The wind is picking up, warm and dry, as I stare out at the empty road.

We eventually start back to Vegas, arriving in the early hours. After showering in one of the spare bathrooms, I approach the chair outside my bedroom. The door is slightly ajar, and I see Avelina stir.

“Viktor?” Avelina murmurs as she catches sight of me. “What’s wrong?”

I step inside the doorway. “We were ambushed tonight.”

Her breath hitches, and she shuffles into a sitting position. “Is everyone okay?”

“Some injuries, but everyone’s alive. We captured one, and he talked before he died.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing that mattered.” I stare at her. “I think someone revealed our route. Someone who knew exactly when and where we’d be. Geliy had the opportunity to snoop through stuff while he was staying here, or he might have overheard something. And his visit was totally out ofthe blue and unexpected. He’s not one for keeping in touch, so I’m wondering now why he chose to visit me when he did.”

“His past…it’s the reason we’re not together anymore. I tried to make it work, but the disappearances and lies were too much.”

I pause before asking her what I really need to know. “Do you think he’d sell us out?”

“If he had a reason.”

“What kind of reason would justify this?”

She’s quiet for a few long moments. “With Geliy…there’s always a reason. You just won’t know it until it’s too late.”

After my morning workout, I push open the gym door, still breathing hard from my workout, and almost trip over a lump of golden fur sprawled across the steps.