Page 61 of The Devil's Revelation
“Snakes usually are,” Bullet remarks darkly. “What about this last dickhead?”
“Ah yes, Tony AKA Anton Sokolov,” Cryos sneers. “You want to talk about a prince, this guy is definitely a real big one.”
“He looks like a real keeper,” Torque remarks sarcastically.
I look at the picture of Tony. No, Anton. I need to remember that these men are not the men I worked with. They were playing a role and I didn’t know them at all. Especially this man. His rap sheet is longer than Edik’s, and I guess I’m not surprised. I knew something was up with Tony the day I started, and now I have my answer.
“Anton is fully in the mob from what I can tell, and I believe the entire purpose of him being in the shop is to make sure the product get out, and to make sure it isn’t found,” Cryos continues.
“He is the one I saw handing the packages to the guys,” I say absently. “He’s also the one who went after me the hardest.”
“Probably trying to suss you out and figure out if you are trustworthy,” Torque remarks.
I snort. “He’s a sexist pig that has no respect for women. He has a wife, but definitely one mistress, if not more, on the side.”
“From what I can see he’s got at least three,” Cryos answers. “He came here under the order of the Bratva when he was twenty, and he’s been working slowly up the ranks. I get the impression he’s hoping to have a higher roll soon from the messages and movements he’s making, but for now he’s in charge of making sure the product is getting out. Or at least, that’s how it’s looking on my side.”
“It makes sense,” Bullet remarks. “Hell, we had no clue they were here, and now we know partly how they’re getting it under our noses.”
Shadow nods his agreement. “This is only the tip of the iceberg but it’s a good place to start. We take this down, we deal a blow to their operation and we might get them to scatter just enough that they reveal where some more of their operations are.”
“You think there are more places like this around the city?” I ask, shocked.
“They’re like cockroaches,” Shadow answers. “You see one, there are definitely more.”
It boggles my mind, but none of the guys look surprised by the statement, so they must be of the same mindset. “My God, out of everywhere I could have chosen to move, I had to pick the one with the mob in it. Isn’t that my luck?”
“Hate to tell you, honey, but the mob is all over this damn country,” Bullet answers me. “Most of the time, you won’t even know it. They’ve learned to hide this shit so damn well because that’s the name of the game. The cops can be bought, they can find the rich and famous to help them, and they use people down on their luck who need that little bit of extra shove. People like to think America is the land of the free and we’re free of corruption, but they’re living with rose-colored glasses. The mafia, the cartel, the black market, all these people have their dirty little fingers in almost every country in the world.”
He has a point. I look back at the screen. “Anton is the one who was watching me earlier today. He seemed annoyed when I went for the test drive when he went into the bathroom.”
“He was probably supposed to let someone know you were leaving,” Shadow suggests.
“Because they were worried I would tell someone?”
Shadow shrugs. “Possibly. It could be that they want to make sure that you’re not running off with the product. Or they want to make sure you’re not stopped by a cop that isn’t on their payroll.”
It makes sense, but I get the feeling that’s not what he believes was happening.
I look back at the screen and frown when I see the face of the man at the shop a few weeks ago. “I know him,” I say absently. The room goes quiet and I look around in surprise when I see them all staring at me. “What?”
“You know him?” Torque asks carefully, nodding at the man on the screen.
“Well, not know-know, as in we’re friends or whatever,” I correct. “He was at the shop one night back when I first started. The guys told me I had to clean the shop before I left, and by the time I was done and leaving, I bumped into him on the way out. Sergio, I mean Sergey, was shocked I was still there and nervous. This guy actually was polite, and said I shouldn’t have to work so late when the shop had a cleaning crew. Sergey forbade me from working late from then on.”
“And you told him your name?” Bullet asks.
I nod. “He asked, so I did. I got the impression that Sergey was nervous around him, so I figured maybe he was the guy who owned the shop or something. Or a super important customer.”
Torque curses. “Izzy, you were talking to Dmitri Norikov, theObshchakof the local branch of the Russian mob.”
I blink at him. “And I assume that’s a bad thing,” I remark slowly.
Torque gives me a grave look, but it’s Shadow who says, “He’s the very man that is running the operation in this town, and he doesn’t like his face being seen. You’re on his radar, and that is not a good thing. Once he realizes you’re not back at the shop tomorrow, he’s going to be after you for sure. He doesn’t let anyone know who he is.”
Fear grips me, and I have to fight to keep from hyperventilating. Oh my God. Not only did I move to a town where I’ve stepped in deep shit, I’ve sunk neck deep in the shit because I’ve interacted with a head guy in the mob. Once Zeb hears about this, he’s going to try and whisk me back to Missouri for sure.
“Hey, you’ll be okay,” Torque assures me, pulling him against him and wrapping me up tight in his arms. “They won’t get to you. We have a plan.”
