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“By breaking into my room in the middle of the night?”
The arms dealer shrugs. “He didn’t want to knock and risk waking your colleagues in the neighboring rooms.”
“I see.” I give him an icy smile. “Very thoughtful of Victor.”
Novak’s answering smile matches mine. “I’m sure you weren’t too discomfited, given your profession. Now, why don’t we set aside the manner of my invitation and focus on the matter at hand?”
“By all means.” I lean back, stretching out my legs to cross them at the ankles. “Go right ahead.”
Novak studies me for a few long moments, then says bluntly, “I don’t trust your men. I know you have a history with Esguerra, but they have no reason to cross him.”
“Other than a hundred million euros, you mean?”
“It is a lot of money,” he allows. “But your team is not hurting for cash, from what I hear. What was it that you said? A few extra gigs, and you’ll have your hundred?” His lizard eyes gleam in the light of the street lamp.
I keep a poker face, showing neither surprise nor dismay. It’s easy, because I feel neither. I knew there was a solid chance we’d be overheard at that restaurant, and I played the odds, my every word calculated to bring about this precise outcome.
“Why am I here then?” I ask when Novak just continues to stare at me. “If you don’t trust us or our motivations, why come to us… and why drag me out here tonight?”
“I didn’t say I don’t trust your motivations.” His thin lips curve. “I know the full story of your employment with Esguerra. You did your job well—saved his life, in fact—and for that, you ended up on his shit list. Can’t feel good, I’m sure. And now you have a chance to balance out the scales and make a little money in the process.”
I allow my shoulders to relax slightly, as if relieved. “That’s very insightful of you.”
Novak’s expression doesn’t change, but I feel his satisfaction. He undoubtedly prides himself on being a good judge of people, and right now, he’s congratulating himself on doing his due diligence and reaching the right conclusions. He might even know about my break with Kent after the incident with Sara, possibly by bribing someone at the clinic to eavesdrop on my team while we stayed there. That would explain the auspicious timing of his offer.
He acted as soon as he found out my last remaining link to Esguerra’s organization was severed.
Of course, if his due diligence is that thorough, he knows about Sara, too. That worries me, but I’m hoping he buys the story Sara is telling the FBI: that I got tired of her, that the scar on her forehead somehow made her less attractive to me. Certainly, what I did—letting her go and risking not being able to retrieve her—is not something a man in our world would do when he’s still interested in the woman he abducted.
My forced relationship with Sara is not that unusual in Novak’s circles, but letting her go when I still want her is. This is why it’s safer for her back home.
If Novak knew how I truly felt about Sara, he’d use her as leverage, and I can’t allow that.
“So,” he says when the silence stretches into an uncomfortable minute. “I take it you do want the job.”
I incline my head. “I do—but it doesn’t matter what I want. I’m still not going in blind. That’s not how I operate, and as much I want Esguerra dead, I’m not willing to commit suicide to make it happen.”
Novak studies me for another long minute, then says, “All right. Here’s what I’m willing to tell you at this point. The asset that I have in place can’t be activated yet. It will take about eight months for me to make the appropriate arrangements. A few things have to fall into place first.”
“Eight months?” Only my training enables me to keep my expression unchanged as my guts twist at the shock of his words.
Eight months until I can resolve this.
Eight agonizing months without Sara.
Novak nods. “It might be a little sooner, but there’s no guarantee of that. In any case, that gives you and your team plenty of time to figure out your plan of action.”
I swallow the rage bubbling up in my throat. “There’s no plan if we don’t know the specifics of what we’re planning for,” I say evenly. “Where is your asset? On Esguerra’s compound or elsewhere? What is it exactly that you’re expecting us to do that your asset can’t do himself? If it’s someone on the inside, why don’t you have him carry out the job? I assume he has access to Esguerra.”
“Not yet, but she will.” Novak registers my involuntary blink of surprise with evident pleasure. “Yes, that’s another thing I’m willing to tell you: that my asset is a woman. She will have access to Esguerra, but neither the skills nor the inclination to carry out the task. However, she can be at the right place at a specific time, providing a distraction, disabling certain security measures, et cetera. The particulars of the help will have to wait until she’s in place and can assess the situation, but rest assured, you will have someone on the inside.”
