Headhunter (With Me in Seattle Mafia 2)

“No,” Annika says softly and then stands to pace the room. “I can’t believe I’m about to tell you this, but she’s in danger, and you have to know.”

My hands curl into fists.

“Know what?” I demand.

“Ivie’s real name is Laryssa Pavlov. Her father was a Bulgarian asshole, but she escaped him when she was young. Made a new life for herself—one she could be proud of.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. After all the hours Ivie and I spent talking, she never told me any of this.

“So, this guy really is trying to punish her for her father’s sins,” Rocco says, blowing out a breath.

My brother’s eyes haven’t left Annika. It’s no surprise he doesn’t give me a hard time about Ivie. He, too, longs for someone he can’t have.

It’s a shitty situation to be in.

“What was her father’s name?”

“Ivan. Ivan Pavlov,” Annika says. “I can’t tell you much about her past. She told me the story in confidence, but this definitely has something to do with her father.”

“Get me that footage so I can find this motherfucker and get Ivie home where she belongs.”

“Of course,” Annika says, reaching for her laptop.

“I need to transfer this file to my system,” I inform her, already tapping the keys on her computer. “I can find out who he is by running the face through some software and a database I have.”

My hands fly over the keyboard, and then I reach into my bag for my laptop and get to work again, fingers flying.

When the screen simply says Searching… for what feels like a fucking year, I want to punch my hand through a wall.

But, finally, an image and bio appear on the screen.

“Boris Nicolov, fifty-eight. Bulgarian. Last known address is in New York. Looks like I’m going to the east coast.”

I stand, and Rocco joins me. “Maybe you should do some more digging before you head off on a wild goose chase.”

I push my brother against the wall and get up in his face.

“Get the fuck out of my way.”

“Hey.” His hands come up in surrender. “I’m not in your way. I’m just, you know, trying to be the voice of reason.”

“Either you’ll help me, or I’ll do this without you.”

“You know we’ll help,” Nadia says.

“I’ll inform the Sergi family that we’ll be on their turf for this,” Carmine adds, referencing another mafia family. No one just shows up on another family’s turf. You always let them know in advance.

“I didn’t even think of that,” I mutter and rub my hand down my face. “Thanks. Let’s do this.”

“Keep me posted,” Annika says as she hurries behind us to the door. “I guess I could have shown you all of this while you were still in Seattle.”

“It’s better in person,” I reply and then reach back to squeeze her hand. “And this way, we’re closer to New York than we were a few hours ago.”

She offers me a watery smile, and Nadia, Carmine, and I all hurry back to the car.

Rocco hangs back to say something to Annika that has her tearing up again, then he jumps in the car with us, and we’re off to the airfield.

“What did you say to her?” I ask quietly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Chapter 2

~Ivie~

My head is pounding. I can’t see well because my eyes are blurry from the multiple slaps across the face that this asshole seems to enjoy handing out.

I don’t know where I am. After he plunged the needle into my arm at the clinic, I blacked out. This room is dark, with no windows. And I’m sitting in a chair, my hands tied behind my back, just like the James Bond movies.

“You’re going to tell me,” he says. His voice has remained calm the entire time. How long has it been? It feels like weeks.

“I’ve told you over and over again, I don’t know.”

“I don’t believe you.” His lips spread into a thin line. “My associates and I will be very disappointed if you don’t tell me where he hid the money. And they’ll be here soon.”

“My father couldn’t keep a dollar in his pocket,” I reply. “He spent money, his or anyone else’s, as soon as it landed in his hand. If he had your money, I’m sure he spent it long before he died and went to hell.”

His eyes narrow. “You didn’t like your father.”

“Of course, I didn’t. He was a pitiful excuse for a human being, and I ran away the first opportunity I got. And let me just say, at fifteen, it wasn’t like I could hide easily. But he also never came looking, so there was no love lost, was there?”

I firm my lips and blink the tears from my eyes. Not from crying. No, this asshole isn’t going to make me blubber like a baby. The water is from that last slap.