Page 39 of Ace of Shadows
“Like my Enforcer?” Kraven fixes Valentina with a harsh look. “You killed three of my best Enforcers and it sounds like you castrated the fourth.”
Valentina scoffs. “If they were your best, then you’re in worse shape than the Romas think.”
“I’m not here to collect a blood debt,” I say. “I want you to look me in the eye and apologize. And then I want to know why.”
Kraven’s eyes dart to me, and the air in the room seems to grow thin as he suddenly stands up to his full height. For a man sorotund, there’s no way to miss the strength that exudes from his thick fists or his meaty neck.
“You have my deepest apologies, Ace. You were never a target. That woman was.”
“Ivy.” Her name warms my mouth.
“Yes. We wanted to get the truth out of her, to get her confession that she was hired by the Romas.”
“And if I tell you she wasn’t?” I ask. “Does that justify harming Jane and killing Camden?” Name-dropping Ivy’s parents doesn’t get me the reaction I hope for, but something does make Kraven’s brow twitch. He glances away from me and focuses on his desk as he sits once more.
“I know nothing about that.”
Valentina and I exchange glances. There’s no way he’s telling the truth.
“If you did know something, it would be in your best interests to tell us,” Valentina says sharply. “Because if I learn something for myself that you withheld from me, I’m going to have to come back here, and trust me when I say I don’t like having my time wasted.”
Kraven lifts his head and fixes her with a steady stare. “I don’t know anything about that,” he repeats. “Civilians mean nothing to me.”
“Even if those civilians are the family of a spy you’re hunting?”
Kraven nods. “You know me, Ruslan. You know my work. I kill to make people talk, and Ivy couldn’t talk to me because I didn’t have her. So why would I have her parents targeted?”
Annoyingly, he makes sense. Kraven has a reputation for cold cruelty and killing, but he always backs it up with a reason. Harming Ivy’s family when she wasn’t in his custody would push Ivy to run if she really was a spy, and she would take the truth with her.
After a short discussion about ensuring Kraven’s men are adequately educated in the Suit, Valentina and I return to our car.
“Do you believe him?” I ask her as we climb inside.
“No,” Valentina replies. “That picture proves he knows Ivy’s father, but we can’t present that until we know more. But I’m not entirely sure he’s lying about the Romas, either. Something about this isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Maybe we’ll get our answer from the Italians.”
Unfortunately, our visit to the Roma Estate doesn’t bring us much more in the way of answers. The Roma Don, Nico, is much angrier.
“Do you have any idea how much time and money went into that deal? It was supposed to be the end!” Nico slams his hand down on his desk, his chest heaving so hard that his white shirt almost bursts open. “I lostmillions. I let that fucker take my plane, fill it with cargo, and then blow it up on my own back door!”
“Nico.” Valentina’s voice takes on a deeper Italian curl as she speaks. “I understand how bad this makes you look.”
“Do you?” He drags one hand through his oiled black hair. “Three months. I spent three months whittling down the finer details with that Russian maniac. That deal was supposed to split the market, his product and my transport. Now I’m losingmen left and right because he thinks I blew up that fucking plane when I know it was him!” He yells so loud that he rises onto the balls of his feet. “And now I have the police sniffing up my ass because that crash threw those drugs and my plane into their hands. My entire airline is being investigated! Do you know how much money I’m losing because of that?”
Speaking up doesn’t seem like the right choice for me, so I remain quiet while Valentina works her magic.
“Nico, I need you to take a step back. I’m not saying you should stop defending your people or your territory, but I need you to know that I’m here because I need to find out who blew up that plane.”
“Why?” Nico spins to face her. “Why does the Suit care?”
“Because our blood was spilled while trying to remain impartial, so we can’t walk away.”
Nico glances at me, panting, then he tips his head. “I was sorry to hear what happened. My men would never have done such a thing.”
I flash him a brief smile. “But would they blow up a plane to make the Russians look bad and frame them for this disaster so it weakens them?”
Nico’s gaze darkens like impending thunder, but even as his fists clench, no more anger comes out of him. “No. We want peace. I hated dealing with that slime ball but I did it for my family, you understand? Talk to anyone you want, pore over my accounts if you must. This? This was not me. I swear on my family’s honor that we had nothing to do with this.”
