Love and Let Die (Masters and Mercenaries #5)(75)

Zhukov held his up with clasped hands. “Yes, I think we could both use wishes for health.”

They clinked glasses and downed the entire shot.

“It’s eight in the morning. How can you drink vodka at this time of day?” Liam asked with a little shudder.

Zhukov shrugged. “Any time is time for vodka.”

Ian poured out another couple of shots. “So you were talking about a group.”

“Was I? Maybe there is group. Maybe there is not.”

“That’s interesting because just a moment ago, you sounded very sure.”

He downed another shot. “I am not on inside of syndicate.”

Bullshit. “You’re their top assassin.”

“I was favorite of old guard.”

“Of Vladimir Denisovitch?” Charlie’s father had run the syndicate for many years.

“He was like father to me. When his brother take over, he has his own favorite.”

Yeah, Ian had probably killed his “favorite” the night before, but he wasn’t going to tell Zhukov that. “So the new guard came in and you were on the outs.”

“You Americans have colorful way of saying things. Yes. I was no longer favorite.”

“Yet, he trusted you to come after his number one target.” There was no doubt in his head that Mikhail Denisovitch was obsessed with killing his niece.

“He did not send me alone.” Something about the man’s smile was off. Ian didn’t need Eve to tell him he was hiding something.

“Yes, he sent at least three of you. Do you care to give me an actual number of how many he put under contract for this job?”

There was a slow shrug of the assassin’s shoulder before he answered. “More than three.”

Great. That told him a lot. “Why does your boss want to kill his niece while he’s perfectly capable of doing business with the man who killed his brother?”

That seemed to flummox the man. His eyes tightened slightly, and he glanced back down at the photograph. “No. Charlotte killed her father.”

Ian shook his head, tapping at the image of Nelson. “This is the man who killed Vladimir Denisovitch. He exchanged his services as an assassin for Charlotte’s misdirection of an operative. He then used Denisovitch to cover his own criminal activities with the Agency.”

“Charlotte tried to hire assassin to kill her father, but she could not find a man to take job. We discovered who killed the boss because of this man. He come to Mikhail with documents Charlotte sent him proving she was trying to hire him.”

“And no one ever lied?” Why was Mikhail so ready to believe Nelson? “I happen to know that Charlotte was with me the morning Denisovitch was killed.”

She’d been at their flat in London and then she’d been dead.

“It is not long flight. It is four hours from Sheremetyevo to Heathrow. Easy flight to make when one wants to kill a man. This one has helped us in many ways since then. I think I believe man who helps over whore any day.”

A hand came on his shoulder. Liam. A silent reminder to stay calm. He needed it because he really didn’t like this tattooed motherf*cker calling his wife a whore. He was the only one allowed to make that mistake. But he needed information from this man. He calmed himself and Liam’s hand disappeared, reaching out to refill the shot glasses.

“What kind of work does he do for you?” Ian asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Yes, I would, and the Agency would like to know as well. Have you ever been waterboarded? They say it’s like drowning over and over again. Just when you think it’s going to be over and death will be pleasant, that’s when they let you breathe again. Only for a few minutes. Just to get you ready for another round.”

Liam chuckled a little. “I’ve heard some stories about the Agency frying a man’s balls off. If they’re not careful enough with the torch, the damn things go up in flames. Tell me something. How’s your grooming routine, boyo?”

The man’s jaw tightened and his hands suddenly threaded together as though he was finally understanding that this wouldn’t be some simple stint in a comfy US jail. “He helps us with pipeline work.”

What the f*ck? “Are you talking about what’s happening in the Samara Oblast?”

“You do not know. I thought you would know.” He suddenly looked like a man who might keep his balls on his body.

“Tell me what Nelson is doing in Russia.” Ian tried to come up with something. The mob tended to rule Russia. The last thing Ian heard was that Nelson was setting himself up as an arms dealer. Was he buying old weapons from the mob and selling them in Africa and the Middle East? What did that have to do with a pipeline?

“I think not. I think I keep this information for Agency or whoever shows up for me. I give this information to you and I have nothing to bargain with.” He smiled a little, showing uneven teeth. “I am surprised you do not know this. I would think the whore would tell her lover.”

“Ian,” Li began.

But Ian was a little sick of listening to this f*cker and he was pretty sure their discussion was over. If he was in the man’s place, he wouldn’t give up the intel to anyone except a person in power either. Ian leaned forward, trying to keep his hands on the table instead of wrapped around the man’s throat. “You want to explain to me who you’re talking about?”