Chapter 92: The Russo Made Their First Move

POV: MIKE

Mike sat in his office at 2 AM, staring at reports that made his blood run cold.

He’d built an intelligence network over the years working with Dimitri., contacts in Moscow, Naples, Prague, London. People who traded information for money, favors, or survival.

And right now, three separate sources were telling him the same thing.

Someone was asking questions about Eve.

Not obvious questions. Not the kind that would trigger immediate alarms.

But careful, methodical inquiries. Her daily routines. Her favorite coffee shop. Her route to work. Phoenix Talent’s security protocols. Maya’s address. Her relationship with Dimitri, how serious, how long, any signs of trouble.

Professional surveillance. Pre-operational intelligence gathering.

The kind that came before something bad.

Mike pulled up the financial trails his people had managed to trace. Shell companies. Offshore accounts. Layers of misdirection designed to hide the source.

But one name kept appearing in the ownership chains, buried deep but there if you knew where to look.

Russo Holdings.

"Fuck," Mike breathed.

Isabella.

Or Lorenzo.

Either way, the Russos were moving on Eve quietly. They are carefully building a profile.

For what?

Kidnapping? Assassination? Leverage?

Mike grabbed his phone, dialed Dimitri.

It rang four times before his best friend answered, voice rough with sleep.

"This better be important."

"It is. I need you at your office. Now. Don’t tell Eve where you’re going, I don’t want her worried until we know what we’re dealing with."

A pause. Then Dimitri’s voice, fully alert now: "I’m on my way."

***

POV: DIMITRI

Dimitri slipped out of bed carefully, watching Eve sleep for a moment.

She looked peaceful. Safe. Beautiful in the moonlight filtering through the windows.

He wanted to keep her that way.

Which meant dealing with whatever threat Mike had discovered before it ever reached her.

He dressed quickly, black suit, no tie and left a note on his pillow: Business emergency. Be back soon. I love you.

Marco was already waiting by the elevator.

"Boss?"

"Mike called. Something about Eve." Dimitri’s voice was ice. "Get four men to the penthouse. Inside. I want her and Nonna protected until I get back."

"Already done. Called them the second Mike contacted you."

Good. This was why Marco had been with him for eight years.

The drive to Dimitri’s main office....the legitimate one, twenty floors of glass and steel in the financial district, took fifteen minutes.

Mike was waiting in the conference room, laptop open, files spread across the table.

He looked like he hadn’t slept.

"Show me," Dimitri said without preamble.

Mike pulled up a map, red dots scattered across the city.

"These are inquiries about Eve over the past two weeks. Different sources, different methods, but all asking similar questions. Her routines. Her vulnerabilities. Her relationships."

Dimitri’s jaw clenched. "Who?"

"That’s where it gets interesting." Mike pulled up financial records. "The money’s been laundered through six layers of shell companies. Professional work. Expensive work. But I traced it back." He highlighted a name. "Russo Holdings."

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

"Isabella," Dimitri said quietly.

"Or her father. The inquiries have Lorenzo’s fingerprints all over them....methodical, thorough, the kind of intel gathering that comes before a major operation."

"What kind of operation?"

"I don’t know yet. Could be surveillance only. Could be building a file for leverage. Could be..." Mike hesitated. "Could be pre-operational for a kidnapping or worse."

Dimitri’s hands clenched into fists on the table. "How long has this been going on?"

"At least two weeks. Probably longer, these are just the inquiries my people caught."

Two weeks.

While Dimitri had been thinking the threat was neutralized. While he’d been making deals and offering territories and playing fucking diplomat.

Isabella had been moving on Eve.

"There’s more," Mike said quietly. "One of the investigators is still in the city. Name’s Viktor Kozlov. Ex-FSB. Works for the highest bidder. My source says he’s staying at the Meridian Hotel under a false name, but I’ve got his real room number."

Dimitri looked up, and Mike saw something flicker in his eyes.

Something cold. Lethal. And absolutely merciless.

"Good," Dimitri said softly. "I’ll call Marco. Tell him to bring six men to the Meridian. I want this Viktor Kozlov picked up quietly and brought to the warehouse."

"Dimitri..."

"I’m going to have a conversation with Mr. Kozlov about who hired him and what exactly he was told to find out about my woman. And he’s going to tell me everything. In detail."

Mike recognized that tone, and he knows that when Dimitri gets his hands on Kozlov, it won’t end well for him.

"What about Isabella? If this is her..."

"Then I’m going to remind her why I told her to stay away from Eve in the first place." Dimitri pulled out his phone. "And if it’s Lorenzo?" His smile was sharp and terrifying. "Then the Russos are about to learn a very expensive lesson about respecting boundaries."

He dialed Marco. "Meridian Hotel. Room 847. Viktor Kozlov. I want him picked up in the next thirty minutes. Alive. No witnesses. Bring him to the warehouse."

"On it, boss."

Dimitri ended the call, looked at Mike. "You’re with me."

"Where?"

"The warehouse. I need you there as witness. Because whatever this investigator tells me, whatever I find out, the Russos are going to deny it. So I need someone they can’t call a liar to confirm what was said."

Mike stood. "You’re going to torture him."

"I’m going to ask him questions. How cooperative he is determines how unpleasant those questions become." Dimitri headed for the door. "But yes. If he doesn’t talk, I’ll make him talk. And I want you to watch. I want you to see exactly what happens to people who threaten Eve.

They took Dimitri’s car, Mike driving while Dimitri sat in the passenger seat, his phone lighting up with status updates from Marco.

Team in position. Target spotted entering hotel bar. Moving to intercept.

Target acquired. No resistance. Transporting now.

ETA to warehouse: 25 minutes.

Dimitri stared out the window, his reflection ghostly in the glass.

Mike had never seen him like this before.

"You really love her," Mike said quietly. "Eve. This isn’t just about protecting an asset or maintaining control. You actually love her."

"More than anything." Dimitri’s voice was soft but edged with steel. "Which is why whoever’s behind this is going to wish they’d never heard her name."