Kazimir rolled his eyes. “Apparently, there’s a Blue one and a Lemon one that should take top priority.”
Really, you’re judging our nicknames, Mr. Lion? I mean really?
Kazimir turned to me. “Zahkar wants to know if she’s the one with the blue hair?”
“Yes. That’s Blue. See? I keep it simple.”
Kazimir spoke into the phone. “Yeah, that’s the one. The one you find annoying. Send her and the orange.”
“Lemon,” I corrected.
“Sorry. Lemon. And any of the other ones. But keep it down to ten. I don’t want another visit from the perfumed pansies until it’s time to kill them.” He shut off the phone and put it away. “Why’s the other one named Lemon?”
“Her name is Lemonotsky.”
“Where is she from?”
“Siberia.”
“Then that’s not her real name.”
“It was the name she gave me.”
“Pavel will need to look into all of them.”
I left my seat and got to his side. “I expected no less from you.”
“Good.” He gathered me in his arms. “Then, let’s enjoy the eclipse.”
As we gazed at the sky without telescopes, Kazimir continued to ask me questions about my crew.
“The blue-haired one.” Kazimir stepped to his telescope and toyed with it. “Was she the one that had the thick envelope delivered to you last night?”
“Yes.”
“What was in it?”
I adjusted the lenses on the telescope and decided to mess around with mine too. “She’s my computer whiz. It was all information on the Butcher and his cousins.”
He rose from the telescope and glared at me. “Why are you looking into them again?”
“Because they were following us on our date, and then of course later, they went into your steam room—”
“But I’m sure you didn’t know that prior to you asking for the information.”
“I didn’t, but I was still curious.” I looked through the telescope.
“And your thoughts?”
“Blue found some images of the men Jean-Pierre has killed. I get why they call him the Butcher.”
“Tell me more.”
“From first glance at the victims, one would think he was hacking away at the bodies.” I rose from the telescope and slowly sliced the air. “But there’s a sort of sing-song way he cuts them.”
“One can tell a lot from a person’s kill. What did you get from his victims?”
“Looking at the way he kills, I would say Jean-Pierre is probably meticulous, inventive, and definitely a perfectionist.”
Kazimir held humor on his face. “Fascinating. More, mysh.”
“I didn’t know why, until I looked further into his past. Jean-Pierre used to be a popular violinist.”
Kazimir laughed.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Nothing.” He laughed again. “Tell me more about the Butcher and his musical talent.”
“Well, he can’t play anymore. His hands were damaged. I went through the medical records.”
“Your Blue is good.”
“A great electric thief. Good on getting data fast.”
“She should meet Misha, if he ever decides to show his face.” Kazimir frowned. “What else did you learn?”
I pretended to play the violin. “This is how Jean-Pierre kills. Some of his weapons are tricked out bows. They have blades on them.”
“Hmmm. This makes me like him a little more. He’s not just perfume and frilly clothes. There’s some edge.”
“You’re so wrong.” I chuckled.
“And what about the cousins?”
“Oh yes.” I turned the knob, sure I had the best view now for the moon. “His cousins are Rafael, Giorgio, and Louis.”
“You remember their names?”
“What else did I have to remember on our vacation? I read their file by the pool this morning. It was as fascinating as reading a good book.”
“I still can’t remember their names.”
“Because you have a lot of enemies.”
“And they die so fast. I’ve stopped trying to remember them.”
Pride hit me with those words. There was something awesome about being with such a powerful and dangerous man.
“Which one do they call the funny one?” Kazimir asked.
“Oh yeah. So I think that must be Rafael. He seems the funniest out of them all. And you said one of them took their clothes off in the steam room. That seems like a very Rafael thing to do.”
“Rafael.” Kazimir repeated it back to himself. “Next time I see him, he better be wearing pants. Which one is the Butler?”
“The Butler is Giorgio, and my understanding is that no one really calls him that to his face.”
“Good. It’ll be the first thing I say to him.”
I laughed. “And the last cousin is Louis. Blue couldn’t find out much about him because he had firewalls or whatever the technical thing it is that blocked Blue from getting his data.”
Kazimir nodded. “Yes. One of them is supposed to be good at security on all levels.”
“That’s all I have for now. It’s a thick file. I’m just looking at old police reports in this city called Belladonna.”
“Jean-Pierre mentioned the city in the steam room. He said people were dying there.”
“Should I have Blue look into it?”
“We don’t work for Jean-Pierre. Whatever it is, doesn’t concern me.”
“These four could be a good group to—”
“To what, mysh, align with?” Kazimir shook his head. “The brotherhood doesn’t need any friends.”
“Fair point.”
Who was I to tell Kazimir how to run the Bratva when I’d just been happily invited for the ride?
However, I wouldn’t disregard the Corsican. The four men may have been impeccably dressed and, according to Kazimir, sweet-smelling, but they were definitely killers. Photos of their victims packed my file. The deaths were nothing pretty.
The four moved like a professional crew. Like Kazimir, they grew up in this world and had become very good at what they did.
I planned to keep a close eye on them.
He came over to my telescope and checked the view. “Good.”
I winked. “I’m not bad at this astronomy thing.”
“You’re not.” He hit me with an intense gaze. “I think I like this Blue. She’ll be a good resource for you.”
“I hope so.”
“And I think I’m lucky to have met you, Emily.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then, you ready?”
I swallowed. “For?”
“More.”
“There’s more that can happen with us?”
“Lots more.”
I thought he would bring up marriage or even the possibility of my being pregnant—something my mind was not ready to consider this trip.
Holding the doctor’s appointment off for Moscow was the only way my brain could wrap around it.