King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

“I think it’s time we stop all this nonsense for good. We have good intel on the brawn operations, so we know how to hit them. I want to do away with all the bosses, as well. Armando included. I haven’t decided how exactly I’m going to run the entire city by myself, but I’ll figure that out later. But I’m done dealing with these children,” Adrik said. As he said it out loud, I felt the goosebumps rise over my entire body once again. I glanced at Misha quickly, curious how he would react as well. I saw his upper body shudder slightly. I squeezed Adrik’s arms around me, knowing this was what needed to happen.

“I love a good planning session in the morning,” Ivan said.

We spent the next few hours planning and talking about every possible scenario we could think of. We talked through Armando still being loyal, Armando not being loyal, and everything in between. I spent most of the rest of the morning and into the afternoon listening to the guys talk about how they were going to hit the brawn operations. I was curious how everything was going to work, but I was also worried where I fit into those plans. I’d gotten so used to never being alone. At least one of the guys was always with me. Now, I was fa ced with the very real possibility of having to be alone while they took care of the brawn operations. My mind was so focused on that and the sudden fear of being alone that I didn’t notice my legs start to shake until Adrik pulled me closer to him. “Solnishko, what’s wrong? I can feel your fear, my love. What’s going on?” he whispered in my ear. I was so lost in my thoughts that it jarred me back to reality. I heard him laugh quietly as I glanced around the room. The guys were talking amongst themselves and not paying attention to us. “Talk to me,” Adrik said as he leaned down and kissed my neck gently.

I shifted in his lap so I could more easily see him. As soon as I looked at him, I saw the concern grow on his face. He searched my eyes for a moment, then a small smile spread across his face. “You won’t be alone, love. I haven’t figured out the details yet, but I know for sure you won’t be alone,” he said as he kissed me gently.

“You’re getting better at that,” I said quietly. My fingers moved to the collar of his shirt, then to his neck. He closed his eyes briefly, enjoying my touch. When he opened them again, his deep blue eyes were sincere. “This one was easy. I have the same fear. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m afraid to leave you alone,” he said. I felt the pull in my chest that he feels as I smiled at him. I rested my forehead against his as the relief washed over my body.

“Sestrichka, can you translate this for me?” Viktor asked, handing me his computer. The conversation had shifted from planning to gathering more information on Armando and his associate that I’d overheard him arguing with. Viktor was trying to find as much information on his associate as possible, but that meant much of the information was in Italian.

“Of course, Papa Bear,” I said as I moved next to him on the couch. I scanned over yet another article, trying to find the valid information in it. We’d spent much of the afternoon looking for information on Armando. Viktor was now also looking to see if he’d made deals with any of the other bosses. “This one is about a housing project outside Naples. Um, looks like possible vacation rentals, as well as residential. Mando seems to keep the same investors around him. Giana’s father is on this one.” I kept reading and came across a new name. “Oh, well, that’s interesting,” I said. I looked up from the computer to find everyone waiting for me to finish. “It seems Salvadori is branching out into Italian real estate.”

There was a collective groan, along with quiet cursing as they all tried to contain their anger at finding out Armando had made at least one deal with Salvadori.

“If they’ve made one deal, there’s a good chance there’s more,” Viktor said. I handed his computer back to him.

“If anyone can find more deals, it’s you, Papa Bear.”

Stephen’s phone beeped, then beeped again, then beeped again. He looked at the incoming messages. “It’s Keith. He’s sent over what he was able to get today at Armando’s house,” he said. He got up to hand me his phone, along with a pair of earphones. *Here, these might help you hear the conversation better,” he said. “You know, since your human hearing is Inferior to mine.”

“This is why you’re my favorite senior citizen,” I said as I moved to the table so I could write more easily.,

I went through all the recordings, listening to each one multiple times to make sure I was hearing everything correctly. I listed all the projects that Armando spoke about on the recordings and gave the highlights about what was said to Adrik. He knew

about all the projects. None of the conversation that was recorded raised any red flags. There were two meetings that Keith wasn’t able to record, because Armando shu t the door, but Chris was able to get a picture of the men he met with. One of them was the man we now knew as Ricardo, the man that I’d overheard Armando arguing with.

“Viktor, what if Ricardo is the missing link?” I asked. Viktor looked at me, somewhat puzzled. “What if he’s the go-between. Can you find any deals he’s made with the other bosses? Like what if he’s the silent partner in all this? It might not look like he has a hand in the illegal side of things, but he invests so much in the legitimate side that he has a say in the illegal side.” Viktor just raised his eyebrow as he thought about the question, then returned to his computer and started yet another search.