Page 63 of Cruel Russian Monster
My blood ran cold. Did Vera change her mind about staying, and Yegor was calling to let me know that Vera was back at the Rykov’s family mansion?
“Did something happen to Vera?” My voice was strained.
“No. Vera is at your house, safe. Zahkar and I haven't told Artyom anything.”
Somehow, I felt him refrain from adding a ‘yet’ to that sentence.
“I called to ask for a favor,” he said smoothly.
And there it was, the unspoken condition being set to ensure Artyom doesn't find out, so Vera could stay safe at my house
“What do you need?” I asked calmly.
“We need a safe opened, a Rostov 8X.”
A Rostov 8X was a top-tier Russian vault-safe. It had dual mechanisms: a biometric and mechanical dial. Lots of the older mafia leaders used it since it was rare, old-school, and hard as fuck to get into. Usually, a twelve-minute window. Just like the one sitting in my office.
“And what makes you think I can open it?”
“We did our homework, and guess whose name is on top of the list, with an impressive nine-minute window marker?”
I'd been learning to open safes since I was ten. Lev and the others could, too, but I always had the fastest time and had even entered some competitions when I was younger. Little had I known how it would come in handy.
Being an underboss was more than storming into a place and killing men. Learning how to get to the valuable information that couldn't be hacked by a computer was important.
“Where is the safe?” I asked.
Something told me I wasn't going to like the answer to this question.
When Yegor rattled off the address, I bit back the curses that ran up my throat.
Fuck.
I knew the address. It was the address of a fucking Italian mafia mob boss. And he wasn't a rookie. His family had been around long before the Safin legacy.
“What's in the safe?” I asked. I knew he probably wouldn't answer, but it was worth a shot.
“An external hard drive with existing blackmail files, wire transfers, and coded communications between rogue factions. It also has compromising photos, videos, and bribes used to control high-ranking officials and Bratva leaders.”
I was surprised that he told me, but not surprised by the intel given. Of course, they had information like that; it was the sole reason Lev had wanted to marry Vera in the first place, to infiltrate their intel system.
“When do you plan to do this?” I asked.
“Now. I'll send you a message on where to meet us, and we'll go together.”
Yegor cut the call, and my phone buzzed with a message from him with the meetup spot. I changed from my suit into tactical clothing and leather gloves. I added two extra guns and knives to my person, as well as the equipment to open the safe in the pockets of my cargo pants.
I walked out of headquarters and hopped into one of the cars. I started the engine and turned off the tracking system. I drove out of the parking lot, hopefully not to my damn death.
***
Thirty minutes later, we sat in the car, Yegor behind the wheel and Zahkar next to him on the phone. The Italian mob boss had just left.
Zahkar hung up and turned slightly. “The cameras are on a loop. All electronic gates are open. We have twenty minutes to get in and out.”
Without another word, we hopped out of the car, Yegor with a backpack slung over one shoulder, and moved towards the gate at the back of the property.
Together, we maneuvered through the mansion, ducking guards until we slipped into the master bedroom. Zahkar went straight to the shelf and pushed in the first book on the top left. The shelf did a one-eighty rotation, showing a room behind it.
