Page 85 of Ruthless Creatures

She laughs again. I hear men’s voices in the background. “Stavros’s yacht has a lot of stairs.”

“Yacht? I thought you were in Rome!”

“We landed in Rome. Now we’re on his yacht. The Mediterranean Sea isunbelievable. Hey, you and Kage should come join us!”

No wonder she sounds like she’s having cocktails on the lido deck of a cruise ship: she is.

I demand, “You knew Stavros was in the mafia, didn’t you?”

“Sort of? It’s not like they make a big production out of it. Nobody’s going around wearing lapel pins that say, ‘mafioso.’ Or whatever the word is in Russian. I just got a vibe is all.”

“How could you not tell me you were dating a mobster? You said he was a tech guy!”

“He is a tech guy. Who also happens to be in the mafia. Why are you so upset?”

I say drily, “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe it has to do with the gunfight during dinner last night? Or the four dead bodies we left at La Cantina? Or the cops who knocked on my door this morning? Or the fact that Kage was gone when I woke up?”

She sucks in a thrilled breath. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

“Out of everything I said,that’swhat you’re interested in talking about?”

“Yes! Oh my god, bitch, spill!”

“Rewind, maniac.The cops knocked on my door this morning.”

“And you didn’t tell them anything. And now they’re gone. Let’s get back to the good stuff: you and Kage. I know the answer’s probably no because it was your first time being together and all, but I still have to ask… butt sex?”

“There is something very, very wrong with you.”

“Answer the question.”

“I could be in jail right now!”

“Babe, you didn’t do anything to get put in jail for. Now answer the damn question.”

“The answer’s no, psychopath!”

She sighs in disappointment. “Well, at least you’re okay. We got lucky getting out of that restaurant alive.”

“What happened, anyway? I missed how the shooting started.”

“Stavros saw some guys over at the bar who were looking at him sideways. He said something to Alex and Nick, the other guysapproached the table, there was a little bit of conversation, then Alex and Nick just jumped up and opened fire.”

So they started it. Interesting.“What did they say to each other?”

“Who the hell knows? It was all in Russian and Irish. Whatever it was, it obviously wasn’t good.”

“Did Stavros tell you anything?”

She chuckles. “Babe, I know better than to ask. The less we know, the better.”

She sounds exactly like Kage. I make a face at the phone.

“When are you coming back?”

“I’m not sure. But from what I’ve overheard, Stavros and his crew will wait for contact with Kage before they do anything. Apparently, sis, your man is the shit. Second only to the Grand Pooh-Bah of the Russian mafia himself.”

Maxim Mogdonovich. The man Kage said was in prison… leaving him to run the daily business.