From Manhattan with Revenge (The Fourth Book in the Fifth Avenue Series) Read Free Page A

associate,
Jean-Georges Laurent, who I hear is dead now. Bullets to the face at the Four
Seasons in a room filled with people that included the likes of my old friend,
Leana Redman.” He let a beat pass. “Firing a gun into that crowd must have been
quite a sight.”
    “It was.”
    “Nice job on that, by the way.”
    “I didn’t do it alone.”
    “So, I hear.”
    “You hear a lot.”
    “I think I’m becoming something of a
guru,” he said. “People tell me things. That was just one conversation out of
many that day. I can’t remember who told me, so there’s no use in asking.”
    She knew better. But she appreciated his
discretion even if it meant she wouldn’t learn who told him and why.
    “So, what’s going on?” he said. “How are
you in trouble?”
    She told him.
    The syndicate she and Alex worked for
targeted them for death. She wasn’t sure why, but Jean-Georges Laurent nearly
tricked her and Alex into killing each other. Did Laurent do it because he felt
she and Alex knew too much about the organization? Impossible. She only knew
what he and Katzev told her, which was minimal.  
    In an effort to send a message that
threatening them wasn’t an option, they retaliated by killing Laurent. Then,
weeks later, Alex was murdered and she barely escaped death.
    Now she was back in Manhattan to seek her
revenge.
    “The people who killed Alex,” Spocatti
said. “Why are you convinced it had anything to do with the syndicate?”
    “Because we killed Laurent.”
    “So? You and Alex have taken down dozens
of people over the course of your careers. It could have been anyone. Why
them?”
    “Because for whatever reason, Laurent
wanted us dead. I’m sure there are others who’d like to see that happen, but
I’m not directly aware of them.”
    “Just because you’re not aware of them
doesn’t mean someone else isn’t targeting you.”
    “Do you know something I don’t?”
    “I usually do,” Spocatti said. “But not
this time. Just keep your options open. Anyone could have it in for you. In
fact, plenty do. But for now, let’s go with the obvious and say it is Katzev
and the rest of the syndicate. They’re hell-bent on revenge because you killed
Laurent. You’re hell-bent on revenge because they killed Alex and almost got
you. How can I help?”
    “I need to know where Katzev lives.”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Best guess?”
    “Probably Manhattan. Maybe Milan. Could be
Paris. Hell, it could be Russia, since he obviously loves the motherland enough
to associate himself with it. Or Scotland, since he is, after all, Scottish.
What I’m saying is that he could be anywhere. Whenever I’ve dealt with him,
it’s been through a secure line. I was offered the job, we negotiated the
price, I received half the money the next day, and the rest of money was wired
to me when the job was done. I assume it’s been the same for you.”
    “It has. But you have connections,
Vincent. Everywhere. You must know someone who knows where he lives.”
    “I know a few people who might know, but I
can’t give you their names, Carmen. That’s not how I work. You know that.”
    “Then leave it up to them,” she said.
“Would you call them and give them my number? If they choose to help me, that’s
their decision. This way, you haven’t compromised anyone. It’ll be on them to
call and decide if they wish to get involved. You know I won’t say anything if
they agree to help me. That’s not how I work.”
    “I know it isn’t.”
    “Will you make the calls?”
    “I’ll make the calls.”
    “I appreciate it, Vincent.”
    “It might not be Katzev or the syndicate,
Carmen. You need to consider every job you’ve ever done. I know that’s a
daunting task, but you need to do it and you need to think who else might be
targeting you. You have to figure out how someone suddenly found you in Bora
Bora, of all places, when you’ve had a place there for years. After all this
time, how did they find you now?