Page 94 of Ace of Shadows
My fingers curl until my nails catch on the surface of the desk. “Tell me what he did.”
“I don’t know, exactly. All I know is that he blew up the plane to try and kill that girl. But he didn’t know it was our plane. The drugs were never part of his plan, and ever since, I’ve been trying to keep this mess from spiraling into a never-ending war. I was furious at him, believe me. He’s the stupidest man I have ever known, but he is my son. Whatever is going on with him, it’s my job to protect him, and I will.”
“He tried to kill me,” I reply tightly. “He tried to kill the Jack. That can’t go unanswered.”
“He knows better!” Kraven snaps. “There will be an explanation for that.”
“Then I want to hear it. I want to know every detail from his own mouth.”
“I won’t hand over my son,” Kraven snaps, his resolve steadfast. “He is my boy, no matter what he’s done.”
“I know.” Slowly, I stand. Part of me sympathizes with Kraven. His plan was simple and peace was on the table until his son barreled in with some other agenda and fucked everything up. “Tell me where he is.”
“I’m telling you I don’t know,” Kraven insists.
“Would you even tell me if you did?”
Kraven sighs deeply, his eyes darting back and forth as he considers his thoughts. “I love my son. He is a reckless, jealous man, but I love my son.”
“No one said you didn’t.”
“I never thought he would risk my business like this. I thought we were past this.”
“Let me talk to him. Maybe there’s something going on that he can’t share with you for the same reason you keep him in the dark about your dealings. Father and son only go so far.”
“Will you kill him?”
My lips part briefly, then I shake my head. “That’s not my decision to make. We need to know the truth, and then the Suit will punish accordingly.”
Pain flashes in Kraven’s eyes and he stands abruptly. A ripple of movement runs through his guards. “I will call him.”
“Good.”
As soon as I leave the Sidorov Estate, I call Bradley, who puts me on a three-way call with himself and Cassian.
“Did he tell you anything?” Bradley asks.
“I should have done an official visit from the start,” I say as I hurry down the long steps to my black car parked at the curb. Ivy sits inside, eager to visit Moira as soon as I’m wrapped up here.
“You know the rules,” Bradley reminds me. “An official visit only works if we have proof.”
“Did he admit it?” Cassian asks.
“He shifted blame to his son, Alexei. He admits Alexei was trying to kill Ivy and blew up the plane without knowing the drugs were on board. Kraven’s been trying to cover for him, blaming the Italians and likely hoping we would find a culprit so he could then work out a better deal with them that benefits him more.”
“Trying to make good of a bad situation,” Cassian murmurs.
“Exactly. But each attempt on our lives puts him a step back, so I figure Kraven’s using his contacts to free up the Italian airline was his attempt to push through the peace before Alexei could make anything worse.”
“But why?” Bradley’s deep voice vibrates in my ear.
“He claims not to know, but he did mention that Alexei is jealous and reckless. He told me he’ll make contact and set up a meeting.”
“Jealous,” Cassian murmurs. “Does this have something to do with Florence? Ivy was right?”
“I think so. But why he’s still trying to kill her is beyond me.”
“Keep me updated,” Bradley says. “Cassian, I want you at Kraven’s side until we have Alexei. Don’t need him giving us the slip.”
