Katia
Ispent the rest of the week thinking about Elena, keeping a close watch on all of Michael’s finances and, strangely, daydreaming about Leo.
Surprisingly, Leo ranked highest on the list of things that consumed my brain, which was really intriguing to me. I’d never been one of those women who craved relationships or marriage. The thought of giving up control of my life and tying myself to one man was daunting.
But for some reason, I couldn’t get Leo out of my damn mind. He’d looked so handsome as he’d grinned and waited for me to go inside after visiting Elena, and I secretly loved his protective nature. No one had ever taken care of me, except for Michael in some ways, but even then, I’d still accomplished everything on my own.
Leo called me on Thursday afternoon, and my heart fluttered like a damn teenager heading to her first prom.
“Hello, agent,” I said into the phone, putting it on speaker as I worked at my desk at the Gilded Cage. “Are you calling to take me up on that lap dance?”
He cleared his throat, causing my smile to deepen.
“I have the DNA results. Thought you’d want to hear them first.”
Sitting up in my chair, I lifted my chin as my tone turned serious. “I do. Thank you. What did you find?”
“The kid who tossed the cigarette butt shares DNA with several of the bratva members we’ve previously arrested. He’s a distant cousin to most of them, and a third cousin to the turncoat who told us about him a few months ago.”
“So that means...?”
“He’s most likely the hacker who’s trying to implicate you and Michael. He shares a blood connection with many of the top bratva members, so it only makes sense. Our best course of action is to try and catch him when he’s alone—preferably in public—and scare him into talking to us.”
“By telling him we’re onto him?” I asked.
“Exactly. Fear is a powerful motivator. I can threaten all sorts of things: arrest, deportation if he’s not a citizen, prison...you get the drift.”
“He looks so young,” I said, trailing my finger over the desk. “Somewhere near Elena’s age. I hate that he works for those bastards. I’d love to turn him.”
“You speak Russian, right? That could go a long way toward getting him to listen.”
“I do,” I said with a nod. “And Estonian too.”
Silence stretched over the phone, and my eyebrows drew together.
“Leo?”
“I can barely speak Spanish, and it’s pretty painful to anyone listening,” he said. “I’m just admiring you. A brilliant accountant and a proficient linguist. Maybe I should recruityouto the FBI.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I’m afraid I’m too far down the morally-gray rabbit hole for them to take me, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“We could go to the hacker’s neighborhood and try to catch him on Saturday. I spoke briefly to Alexis, and she said there are a few coffee shops nearby where a young techy person might hang out to catch the free Wi-Fi. Hopefully, he’ll headsomewhere public, and we can tail him and see if there’s an opening to talk to him.”
“That would be amazing,” I said, marveling at his willingness to help me. “I feel bad taking up your Saturday though. Maybe you have plans more exciting than trailing yet another bad guy.”
“I want to help,” he said softly. “And I’m not really a social butterfly, if you haven’t noticed.”
Biting my lip, I chuckled. “I’ve noticed, but I like the wholesurly agentthing. It’s kind of hot.”
He cleared his throat again, and I felt bad for making him uncomfortable. Lord, this man really needed to learn how to tease and flirt at leastsomeof the time.
“Sorry,” I said, letting him off the hook. “We’re definitely going to work on the teasing thing. But yes, I’d love to spend Saturday with you and track him down.”
“Hopefully, it won’t take too long, and then you can have your Saturday night to do...you know, whatever you need to do...”
Pursing my lips, I inwardly chuckled at his terrible attempt to see if I had other plans. “I can give you all day and all night on Saturday if you want, Leo. This is my priority. Thank you for helping me. You’ll never understand how much it means to me.”
“Of course. Why don’t I pick you up at nine a.m. on Saturday? I know it’s early, but we don’t want to miss him if he heads out.”