I made sure she had her three guards and at the last minute I added one more.
She’d rushed out of there, yelling over her shoulder, “Misha, I don’t think I need another bodyguard.”
“With the way your ass is wiggling, you are lucky I did not put five more men on you.”
“Funny.”
Too bad, she had no idea that I was serious.
She would understand soon.
The short conversation in the shower returned to me.
“I’m your girlfriend.”
My dreams had come true.
I could bury my father now.
Anything could be accomplished this month.
I left Ava’s condo. She didn’t know it, but this condo was officially in her name. I would present her with the papers in a few weeks. Everything had to be planned properly. She wasn’t like the typical Russian woman I’d met, happy to take all my gifts and hoping for more.
She will have to get used to the gifts. And that lunch date with Akiva will not be happening.
It was also time for her own limo and driver. I would present that a few weeks after giving her the condo. Little by little, things would be in place.
I turned on my phone.
Thirty-five missed calls. That’s right, world. How are you going to fuck me now?
I didn’t care what would be coming my way.
Ava was officially mine.
She’d said the words herself.
Still, I groaned in annoyance and jumped on the elevator.
My men followed.
Naveen had called the most.
I dialed him first as the elevator doors closed.
Naveen’s voice jumped on the line. “Misha! Finally.”
“Yes?”
“What the fuck, man? The nukes are in California, in a town called Belladonna. You didn’t answer your phone, so I sent some men that way. I didn’t know what to do. It’s moving around is centered in Belladonna. We’re sure the codes were mailed to someone inside a package.”
“Hold on. Hold on.” I rubbed my temples. “I haven’t even had coffee. Start with the fact that the codes are in Belladonna.”
“Yes.”
“Belladonna?” I asked again. “The city that my father and the French pansies have been fighting about?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“So, Jean-Pierre is behind this?”
“Must be. Your father dies. Next thing you know, the codes are missing and heading right to the city that involves the French.”
“It is time to kill Jean-Pierre and his cousins.” I shook my head. “I would have done it myself years ago, but father would have been pissed, thinking I was trying to embarrass him.”
“Yeah. I figured you wanted that, but I can’t get a location on Jean-Pierre.”
I blew out a long breath as the elevator stopped on the first floor and opened.
I headed out. “Alright, but it is a good possibility that Jean-Pierre and the other pansies are involved?”
“Yes.”
“Now, let’s get back to the men that you sent to Belladonna.”
“Yes. Since the French are in this, I kept it local for them and used some guys out of Paris.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s an odd guy, but I’ve worked with him before. He’s efficient, fast, and no fucking nonsense.”
I nodded. “Okay. Is he doing this by himself?”
“No. He has a small crew, but they keep their mouths closed.
I exhaled. “So we can trust them?”
“Oh yes. We can trust the Devil, but—”
“The Devil?” I frowned. “That’s his name?”
“Yes.”
“You trust a man named the Devil?”
“Names don’t mean anything. They call you the Mosquito—”
“Only Valentina and you call me that. No one else. You both are lucky I let you live.”
Naveen argued, “Others do too.”
“Not to my fucking face, and by the way, mosquitos cause more deaths than lions.”
“Yes. You keep reminding us of that, but still. Names don’t mean shit. You are more dangerous than a mosquito no matter how many deaths they cause.”
“725,000 people die from mosquitos a year. Think about it. Malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus and Zika.”
“I don’t know what half of those things are, but I believe you and I trust the Devil.” Naveen coughed on the other line. “Either way, forget about the name. The Devil is from Paris. He knows Jean-Pierre and the cousins. If he sees them, I told them that he can kill them.”
“Good. The Corsican should have been finished a long time ago. If anything, my father has made them stronger.” I headed to the door.
My man opened it.
A new limo drove to the front.
The driver jumped out, ran over to my side, and had it open by the time I got there.
“Back to Belladonna,” Naveen said.
I climbed into the limo. “Go ahead.”
“The codes were mailed there. Once the tracker signaled the first bing for a location, it was a post office. Now it’s at an address. We have cops watching it. The place is a two-bedroom apartment.”
“Who owns it?”
“Some old man, but he doesn’t live there. Another man and woman are renting the apartment.”
“Anything else about the couple?”
“Musicians but that could be a front.”
“This does not make any sense. Dig deeper.”
“The Devil is on the way.”