Chapter 64
Nico
“So, what you are saying,” I say as I sit directly in front of Aurora in my office. She leans forward with her elbows resting on her knees. “Is that somehow this Yelena woman is the daughter of a Russian woman, was given up for adoption and taken in by a Russian family. That the Sokolova family are Mafia related? Is this for real? I thought there was no mafia connection?”
She rubs one of her perfect arched brows with her forefinger. I can see the pulse going in her neck. “That would be correct, Boss.”
“And the mother, where is she? I thought you were on this Aurora.”
“Boss, we are on it. She is nowhere to be found. It seems she went dark after the birth of the baby. Last to have been registered in a small town outside of Chicago.”
My butler comes in with a tray on top of which sits a coffee pot, two cups and saucers, cream jug and sugar bowl. I nod my thanks as he sets it down and leaves us to it. “Continue. What about other relatives?”
“There are no other children born to this woman. Yelena is an only child so it would appear. The woman disappeared after we traced her to Chicago. Previously she lived here in New York. It would appear she was working in one of the houses.”
“Houses? As a cleaner or as a sex slave?”
“Sex slave. We did some asking around, and we found a woman named Irena registered at the apartment block that Yelena’s mother was registered at. Turns out she has lived there for the last twenty-five or more years and knew the mother well. Told me they both had been brought to New York and worked in the sex industry.”
“Interesting, so the father could be literally anyone.”
“That is correct and on the birth certificate there is no named father.”
“God, this is not getting us anywhere. Someone must know who the father of the child is. What a fuck up. We have a woman on the loose who is a threat to Lucky, myself and the family and we can’t even trace her connection.”
“Other than if you have an enemy, Boss within the Russian Mafia.”
“Of course, I don’t you know that, Aurora.” I didn’t mean for it to come out quite as harshly as it did but my patience is being tested here. “Perhaps she isn’t actually working for one of the Russians. There would be no target on me by them. We have made our peace; we have worked hard to stay out of each other’s lives. I don’t touch their turf they don’t touch ours.”
“And what about old man Gianluca? What if there is bad blood there?” She says frowning as she reaches for the coffee pot and pours us both the coffee. I notice as she places a sugar in her cup and pours some cream
“Apparently no he doesn’t. Otherwise, I would not have entered into an alliance with him and taken Lucky on. He is clean. The only ones that have a beef with the Gianluca family are the bastards, Monletto. They are our enemies, one day we will get rid of the fucking lot of them.”
Aurora leans back in the easy chair and crosses one leg over the other, her top leg at a right angle to the ground, she takes a long stare at me. For another person this would be intimidating but not to me. I have known her a while now. “Perhaps it was one of them who hired Yelena. Maybe we are barking up the wrong tree. Just because she was taken in by Russian Mafia doesn’t mean that it’s them gunning for you.”
It's my turn to frown and furrow my dark brows. “I thought there was no Mafia connection so are you one-hundred percent sure there is now.?”
“Yes, Boss more information came to light after my team did more digging. Definitely a connection. I think it is about time we gave Don Monletto a visit what do you think?” She sets the coffee cup down on the saucer and cocks her head at me.
“I think we should give it a go. Have your team go and pay him a visit if you can pin him down. Dario has confessed to stealing the money with that cunt son of his. He owes me the three million back, persuade him to give it back to me.”
She chuckles, “I shall persuade him alright, but it won’t be nicely.”
“Do whatever it takes, I want the money, and I want answers about Yelena. We need to narrow it down or better still get the fucking cunt and bring her in so we can question her.” I pause as one of my guards comes in without knocking. I glare at him, they know better than to enter my office, my domain without knocking first.
“How dare you interrupt?” I shoot at him.
“Sir, there has been a shooting whilst Lucky was out near the woodland. One of our staff a stable boy named Phillip has been shot dead. We don’t have eyes on Lucky.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” I yell and stand up my heart racing at the thought of Lucky being in any kind of danger. I swear to God I am having palpitations right now. Aurora stands up too, she looks like she wants to strangle the messenger.
“Shooting Sir, shots were fired. Villessey was last seen taking Lucky back into the woodland area, we have eyes in the sky and seen nothing since they went deeper into the woods.” He shifts on his feet.
“They must have headed for the tunnel trap door, get a team out there right now I want the place surrounded.” I snap at him, my jaw ticking grinding my molars.
“On it,” Aurora nods and leaves the room. I know she will be on to her team asap to organize the inner and outer perimeter to be surrounded. She will ensure that a team are at the entry to the tunnels in no time.
“I will enter the tunnels from this end to ensure that he has taken her down there. Who took the shot?”
My detail looks at me with what seems to be pain on his eyes. “Andrewkov, Sir.”
I feel like my jaw has gone slack. My own personal bodyguard, one of my finest who has been with me for the last few years. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Fuck, this is an inside job. “Where is he now?”
“No idea, Sir he ran after them both into the forest ground.”
My heart is racing, the pressure bursts in my ears as I move passed him. “I am going down into the tunnels. Get the best of your team ready now, we’re going in. If anything happens to Lucky you will all be responsible.”
I hope to God that Villessey is not one of them and is taking Lucky to safety. Only, Andrewkov knows this layout like the back of his hand and knows there is more than on entrance in the woodland. It’s now a race against time to get to Lucky.