Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

“The Anwar family is one of the oldest in Houston,” Drake said. “They held that territory exclusively until the Caruso family moved from Florida to Houston and took over the port there. What kind of a deal was struck between the two families, no one knows, but they never went to war, and there wasn’t a single killing over the takeover.”

Fyodor looked up. “It is possible the notebook was being delivered to convince the Anwar family to side with whoever is behind this.”

“That’s a definite possibility,” Elijah Lospostos said. “We’ve got Fyodor and Mitya and me, known in our world already as criminals. Drake, Eli and Jake are known as good guys, working with cops. Eli was a cop. We’re all friends. That definitely would give someone pause if they were looking for reasons to doubt us.”

“How do we find the notebook?” Eli asked. He was sprawled out, feet in front of him, chewing on a toothpick as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He had been the one to help dispose of the bodies of the three shifters on his property.

“I don’t know yet,” Mitya admitted. “I’m hoping Ania will have some ideas. This isn’t the best time for her right now.” He glanced at the door again, knowing she would be burning up soon.

He’d had to call a meeting and try to ferret out who might be a traitor, but he heard the ring of truth in every word said. Several times he’d glanced at his cousins; all of them but Gorya was in the room. Fyodor, Sevastyan and Timur hadn’t indicated that they heard a lie. Gorya was out with the bodyguards, hoping to discern if any of them was the enemy.

“There is also the possibility that my father, Lazar, has managed to slip into the country. His three lieutenants managed to do so without a single rumbling or whisper of a rumor. Any thoughts?” Mitya threw it out there, watching their faces carefully.

“If they came through Miami, we would have been informed immediately. Sasha Bogomolov runs Miami. He would have told us immediately. He knew Lazar and Rolan, your uncle, would eventually make a try for you. No one is going to get into Miami without his knowledge.”

“Unless one of his men is working for the same people Amory was working for,” Drake said. “The Caruso family run the port in Houston. They could have come in that way.”

“Alessandro Caruso keeps hanging around Ania, although she admits, prior to all this, he was never that interested,” Mitya said. “The old man wanted her to dump me and choose one of his sons. It’s understandable, but the timing seems suspect given that none of them approached her after her father was shot.”

“The bottom line, gentlemen,” Drake said, “is we have to all be careful and watch one another’s backs. Don’t just trust blindly. Make certain you know who you’re putting your faith in because you’re putting your life in their hands as well as those of people you love.” His gaze moved over Jake, but he didn’t single him out.

“How soon will Lazar strike at you again, Mitya?” Joshua asked. “We can stick around for a while if it would help.”

Mitya shook his head. “Whoever is out to get Jake and Drake is somewhere in or around New Orleans. The problem originates there, I’m sure of it. We need eyes and ears in that area. Watch the men you’re uncertain of. See where they go, who they talk to. We have a mutual enemy and he’s patient. He’s so patient he put people in place to activate when needed. Drake seems to be the person they go to for training and also for validation. If he endorses them, no one ever questions it.”

That much was true. Mitya was the only holdout because he didn’t know Drake the way everyone else did. And he had Lazar for a father. That meant he had little trust or faith in anyone, least of all a stranger.

“I’ll start going over everyone who might have applied for work around the same time Amory did. Also, I can match up various people Amory worked with. A pattern might emerge,” Drake said.

“I think we’re done here,” Mitya said. “I appreciate everyone coming, especially to Antosha’s service. It meant a lot to Ania. She needed to see that her father was well-respected. The last few years have been rough.”

“What do you plan to do with her property?” Fyodor asked.

“She wants to keep it for now,” Mitya said. He didn’t look at Sevastyan. He hoped eventually his cousin would buy the property as his home.

“I can see that, no breaking ties. Evangeline still has her house as well,” Fyodor said. “She has a difficult time whenever I bring up the subject of selling.”

“You told us what Ania did in that tree,” Elijah said. “She’s tough, that one. Having neighbors who won’t even acknowledge you or pretend to be your friend and then talk behind your back is extremely hard on women and children.” He knew from experience. His family was generations in the crime business.