or whatever, but they eventually tracked down the ten million when it hit an offshore account owned by a European businessman.”
“Who the hell is he?” Cris snapped.
Connelly shook his head. “He doesn’t exist. The name was an alias. One the FBI was familiar with.”
“Meaning they know who the real person behind the alias is,” Luka supplied.
“Anyone we know?” This from Rome.
When Connelly’s eyes swung back to me, I got a real bad feeling. “It’s someone Nico knows.”
I narrowed my eyes. “The suspense is only fun the first five times, Bryce.”
His mouth tightened. “Sergei Kozlov.”
I froze in Dad’s chair. “What the fuck did you say?”
His expression turned sympathetic. “The same alias popped up once in a large land purchase he made years ago outside of St. Petersburg. The fact that it’s near a military base had the FBI curious. It’s the same alias, Nico. Raphael Esposito wired ten million dollars to Sergei Kozlov two days before he broke out of prison.”
My heart was racing. What the hell did this mean?
Luka threw his hands up. “Are you actually saying that the New York boss paid the boss of the Russian fucking mafia to break him out of prison?”
We knew someone had hired those men. Knew they’d been instructed to leave us all alive.
But…Sergei?
“The Russians would never do business with the New York families,” I said woodenly. I didn’t know what to make of this. “Especially Sergei. It would never happen.”
“This isn’t the families,” Ace pointed out. “This is Raphael alone. A desperate man like him behind bars would do almost anything to get out. And you said yourself that Sergei has debts. He needed a way to buy the loyalty of the deserters and fence-riders within his syndicate. He needed protection, and he knew Raphael would pay.”
Cris ran his fingers over his chin as he watched me from one of the wingback chairs. “Between the ten million and what you were paying him for his shares in KI, he’d have a serious advantage over the Voiny. He could regain all of his power with nothing more than bribes.”
“Teaming up with the families won’t win him any favors among his followers,” I argued, grasping for any other explanation.
“But money talks louder than code or principle,” Rome cut in. “If Sergei pays them well enough, they won’t care where the money came from.”
Was it really just about the money? Sergei had hit up Raphael for some extra cash? All to maintain his position in the Russian syndicate? And probably to save his life.
I pushed back from the desk, scrubbing a hand down my face. “What’s in it for Raphael? Other than getting out of prison.”
“Allies, for one,” Bryce answered. “He saw how the families cowed down to Stefano’s leadership while he was behind bars.”
“Not to mention, how they let Santi Gabbiano waltz right in and assume authority without much of a fight,” Ace added. “He’s probably not sure who he’s still got at his back.”
Bryce inclined his head. “And it doesn’t hurt to have the Russian boss on your side.”
Shooting to my feet, I turned my back on them. I needed to school my features before I revealed how fucking worried this was making me. I interlocked my fingers on top of my head, taking measured breaths.
“What about Lexi, then?” I said in a low voice. “Why would Sergei involve her in any of this?”
A few moments of silence passed.
“It’s possible he actually thought you could keep her safe,” Rome speculated. “Maybe he really wanted you to protect her while he reclaimed his empire. After all, he knew shit was about to go down.”
“Or she’s a fucking spy,” Luka deadpanned.
I whirled around with murder in my eyes and stormed across the room to the tattooed asshole. “You shut your goddamn mouth right now, brother.”
He didn’t so much as blink at my fury. Hell, God knew what he’d seen in his military days. I was probably small potatoes in comparison. But I would give him the fight of his motherfucking life if he spewed anymore bullshit about my wife, champion fighter or not.
“Everyone in this room is thinking it, brother,” he shot back. “I just said it.”
I didn’t give two shits what everyone thought. Lexi wouldn’t betray me like that.
“She’s not working for her father,” I snarled through gritted teeth. “She might be loyal to him, but deceit like that is not in her blood. She doesn’t have a fucking clue what’s been going on.”
Luka cocked his head to the side, looking skeptical as shit.