Chapter 4
ALEXEI
After watching Isabella sneak back over the mansion’s wall, I steer the SUV toward the safe house.
What the fuck did I witness tonight?
It’s rare for something to catch me by surprise. Isabella freed a shipment of girls. I was prepared for anything but that.
It’s also rare for anything to impress me.
And fuck, did Isabella Terrero impress me tonight.
She was nothing like the socialite everyone thought her to be. Far from it. She was badass and expertly trained, in and out of that junkyard in less than an hour.
Holy fuck.
Parking the SUV in front of the house, I get out. Still stunned, I walk toward Demitri, where he’s standing by the front door.
He looks pissed as fuck as he snaps, “Two hours?”
Stopping in front of him, I lock eyes with him. “You will not believe what I saw tonight.”
A frown forms on Demitri’s forehead as he moves to the side so I can enter the house. “What?” he asks while following me to the security room.
I drop my backpack next to the chair, and sitting down, I shake my head as I lift my eyes to Demitri’s. “Isabella Terrero freed slaves.”
Demitri takes a seat on the other chair. “Was that her sneaking into the mansion?” He gestures at the screens, where he must’ve seen it.
“Yes.” I let out a deep breath, then shake my head again. “I wish you were there to see her in action. She was fucking badass.”
“So…? Are you telling me she’s working against her own mother?” Demitri asks with a skeptical expression.
“Yes, but we’ll watch her for a while to make sure,” I reply, needing to make sure this wasn’t just a once-off thing for Isabella.
I doubt that’s what it was. Isabella was too comfortable… as if she’s done it a hundred times.
“Then what?”
Relaxing back in the chair, I shrug. “Then we can use Isabella to get to Sonia.”
“Or…” Worry flickers in Demitri’s gaze.
“Or what?”
“They know we’re here, and Isabella’s a distraction to get you out in the open.”
Resting my elbow on the armrest, I stare at Demitri for a while before I say, “I don’t think that’s the case.”
“How do you know?”
“The same way I know everything. I’m God, remember,” I chuckle at Demitri before I grow serious again. “Gut instinct.”
“Okay.” Demitri glances back at the screens showing all the cameras. “You’re not tailing Isabella alone again. Just in case.”
“I planted a tracking device on her motorcycle,” I mention as I take my phone out of my pocket. “I’ll get an alert if Isabella’s on the move.” I bring up the phone number for St. Monarch’s, then look at Demitri. “Time to find out everything we can about the Princess of Terror.” I press dial, and a couple of seconds later, Madame Keller answers her private line.
“Mr. Koslov, to what do I owe the honor?”
Madame Keller is the architect behind St. Monarch’s, where most of us received our training. It’s also neutral ground where people like me can hide if we need to.
“I need everything you have on Isabella Terrero.”
Madame Keller lets out a chuckle. “Miss Terrero is high-value. It will cost you fifteen million.”
Information is one of the most expensive things in my world.
I glance at Demitri. “Make a transfer of fifteen million euros to St. Monarch’s.”
I watch as he carries out my order, and when he nods at me, I say, “Payment made.”
“I assume you know the basics for Miss Terrero?” Madame Keller asks.
“Tell me about her training.”
“Sonia Terrero sent her daughter to learn the fine art of sex slavery and drug smuggling, but Isabella wasn’t interested in any of that. Instead, she requested to be privately trained as a custodian. We were ordered to not inform Sonia of the change in training.”
“Did she mention why?”
“No. Isabella kept to herself while she was visiting with us. But, I will say this… she was exceptionally good at her training.”
“Exceptionally good?”
Madame Keller hesitates for a moment, then she admits, “Same level as the Vetrovs.”
Fuck.
My eyes dart to Demitri’s. If Isabella is on the same level as him, we’re in for a rough time unless we can get her to join us.
“Thank you,” I murmur absentmindedly as I cut the call.
“What did she say?” Demitri asks, worry etched on his features.
“Isabella’s apparently as good as you.”
Demitri’s right eyebrow lifts. “She trained as a custodian?”
I nod, processing what I just learned. “Sonia doesn’t know her daughter trained as a custodian.” I consider the important fact. “Adding that she freed slaves earlier, I’m certain Isabella is trying to take Sonia down from the inside.”
“If that’s the case, do you think we can get Isabella to side with us?”
I shake my head. “It depends on her reason for sabotaging Sonia. If she’s attacking Sonia so she can take over the cartel, we’re still her enemy.”
“How do you want to handle this?” Demitri asks as he glances over all the screens.
“Let’s watch them for a while and see what the queen and princess are up to. With a little luck, we might not have to do anything, and they take each other out.”
My thoughts turn to earlier when I watched Isabella free the girls. There’s something familiar about the way she moves, but I still can’t figure out what it is.
She showed no fear and took out the two guards without any hesitation. It was well planned and executed.
If Isabella tries to overthrow Sonia to take over the cartel, she will be a bigger threat than her mother. But… if she’s destroying the cartel from the inside out… she might just be the alliance of a lifetime.
Fearless. Dangerous. Beautiful. Isabella will make the perfect partner.
That’s if we can get her to work with us.
“What are you thinking?” Demitri asks.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, and then the corner of my mouth lifts. “How everything went from boring as fuck to fun in a matter of an hour.”