“Let’s take a walk, guys.”
The seriousness in Oleg’s voice put everyone on edge. The news from home couldn’t be anything good. They walked deep enough into the jungle to assure they had the privacy they needed. “Shit’s gone south. It turns out that this Amicus guy is obsessed with the woman he’s holding. He’s handed off the canary diamond to an associate who’s supposed to sell it. The guy is here in our camp, Lucca.”
“So, the diamond’s here. In this camp,” Kodiak said.
“It would appear so.”
“That’s why he was so preoccupied with that backpack earlier tonight. Holy shit,” Logan gasped and grabbed Kodiak’s arm.
“Could be,” Oleg acknowledged with a nod. “Lucca’s sidekick, Marco, is also involved but he’s not considered a threat, just does what he’s told. But here’s the kicker: Ricardo has received Intel that there’s a shitload of cocaine hidden in the emeralds, compliments of our friend Lucca.”
Roksana weighed in first. “So, if the emeralds were intercepted by the wrong people, we’d be taking the fall. Son of a bitch!”
“That’s right. Key players in the Glazov and Ramirez families would be doing time. Hard time. Kodiak, your father wants you and Logan to take the lead on securing the diamond.”
Kodiak’s expression remained stoic as he visualized exactly what needed to be done. Time had changed Kodiak, and he was becoming more like his father with each passing day. His wife had changed too. Logan had become deeply entrenched in the Bratva way of life where the women were strong, capable, and every bit as lethal as their male counterparts. He knew he could count on her to help him do whatever needed to be done.
Oleg continued to lay out the situation. “Glazov says to expect troops to arrive sooner rather than later to deal with the rest of it. It seems that Amata, the girl Amicus abducted, is half-Sinaloan. Aurora may be involved in the resolution of all this ugliness, but that’s on Ramirez.”
This time it was Logan who interrupted. “Aurora, La Reina del Sur—the Queen of the South. She’s Escondido’s rival, right? Wonder how he’ll feel about Aurora possibly being involved.”
“Word is that Escondido is quite taken with his arch nemesis.”
“Someone else is obsessed with a woman?” Roksana commented skeptically. “What is this, The Love Boat?”
“What the fuck is a Love Boat?” Kodiak asked, his face screwing up like something smelled bad.
“Awesome show. Perpetual drama on a cruise ship in the 1970’s. Celebrity guest stars, lots of insta-lust. You know, ‘if my stateroom’s a’rockin’, don’t come a’knockin’.”
“Anyway, sounds like he’s obsessed with the girl.” Oleg’s lip curved up in a sadistic smile at the thought of the push-pull dynamic he himself was so familiar with, the sexually charged perpetual battle for the upper hand that he still enjoyed with his wife. Okay, back to the business at hand, Oleg.
“The information must be solid if word’s already gotten back to Father,” Kodiak commented.
“How the hell are reinforcements getting here so fast?” Logan asked, looking up from where she was standing against a tree, frowning as she took in the bad news. “We’ll have to take care of this, like, now.”
“Aurora is flying them in, that’s how.”
“But wait, I thought Amata and Aurora could be in cahoots,” Roksana said with a frown.
“Aurora’s no fool,” Oleg said. “She could decide to just seize an opportunity to make some serious money while forging ties with the Colombians and Glazov…and getting one over on Escondido is probably an attractive proposition all by itself. She’s a smart woman. She’ll take custody of the drugs since she deals cocaine. It makes sense. In fact, that’s why her rivalry with Escondido continues to burn so hot. That…and their ongoing battle for Sinaloan territory.”
Roksana scoffed bitterly, “So you have the one side going straight and the other side still slinging dope in the streets. Great. Do you suppose Amata knows Aurora’s only in it for herself?”
“Who the fuck cares? If things work out, it may be the only way Amata gets out of the situation alive,” Oleg replied.
“Fine, let them deal with the logistics of the drug trade. Our concern is making sure we get the fuck out of here with that diamond before something gets pinned on us and before the fucking cavalry arrives. I thought all was quiet down here; I’m sure Father thought so,” Kodiak bit out. “I bet he’s pissed.”
“I bet you’re right, brother. These people are crazy. They won’t think twice about wiping us off the face of the earth. And they don’t give a single fuck about any peace treaties we have stateside.”
“True,” Roksana said. “They live by their own rules and until we get out of here, we’ll be living by them too.” She shook her head slowly and muttered, “I just want to get home to my dog. Honestly.”
“Let’s get this done and cut out of here, then.” It was simple to Logan—get the hell out while the getting was good.
“Not so fast,” Oleg replied, his voice grim. “Glazov wants Roksana and I to stick around to confirm that Aurora picks up those drugs. We also need to confirm that the emeralds get home. If anyone else comes in and takes them before the drugs are dealt with, then we could still be looking at taking the fall for this shit.”
Kodiak spoke the words that everyone else was thinking. “Then this has to go down tonight. I have no reason to think this shit won’t continue to get worse, so I’m going to at least make sure that diamond makes it back to my parents.”
“He’s calling it the Canary Chaos diamond,” Oleg said with a slight smile.
Kodiak’s eyes twinkled. “Of course, he is. That’s perfect.” He turned to Logan. “We came here to do a job, baby, so let’s do it.”
Logan understood why the diamond meant so much to her husband. After all, money was one thing, but that canary diamond would be the Bratva crown jewel. As the centerpiece in the intricately designed brooch for Kathleen, the piece was destined to go on to be an heirloom symbolizing the Bratva legacy that Glazov had spent a lifetime building.
That explained why Kodiak and Logan had been so determined to be the ones to bring the jewel home. His parents had rescued him from life as an orphan. He finally had a way to show them how much they meant to him. Every time his mother looked at that Firebird brooch, she would think of her husband and of her son. That meant something to him—hell, it meant everything to him.
Kodiak clenched his fists, willing down the rage he felt toward the two men who had no problem falsely implicating his family in their drug trade. How could something so simple get so royally fucked up? Only in the Bratva world, that was for sure. He would make the fuckers pay. Nobody got in the way of Kodiak and his family and no way in hell were they going to get in the way of the Pakhan.