The idiot hadn’t even bothered to remove his badge. I watched the footage myself as he stepped through the door, then suddenly noticed it clipped to his belt, hastily shoving it into his back pocket.
That was all I needed.
One vice always leads to another.
My beta hooker told me he’d taken a liking to her. So I had her encourage it. She drowned him in alcohol, offering him discounted rates to make sure he kept coming back.
Then she mentioned the poker matches. Casual gossip about another client who had just happened to win big one night. With his life already falling apart and alcoholism tightening its grip, Yuri needed money.
It didn’t take long after that.
One game turned into two, two into four. Yuri's losses piled up and his debts mounted. And before he realized what had happened, he owed me more than he would make in a lifetime working at AIED.
I’d known it would only be a matter of time before he camecrawling to my doorstep.
What I hadn’t expected… was that my careful foresight would deliver him to me with information about Lena.
“Thirty thousand,” I said coolly, “and your debts cleared. That’s what I’m offering. But you only get it if you deliver the omega. No delivery, and I double what you owe me, Yuri.”
I fixed him with a hard look, waiting until he nodded.
“What’s your plan?”
“I’ll wait until my bosses leave her with me again,” he said quickly. “The moment they do, I’ll bring her straight to you.”
“And if they don’t?”
“They can’t stay with her twenty-four seven,” he said, forcing confidence into his voice. “Eventually they’ll leave her alone with me again. And if they don’t… I’ll figure something else out.”
“You have one week,” I said flatly. “I’m not a patient man. One fucking week.”
He swallowed, then nodded in agreement.
I tucked the gun back into my waistband and turned, walking toward my car without another glance at him.
Fucking rat.
Helpful for now, sure. But men like Yuri didn’t have loyalty. Not really.
And as soon as he stopped being useful, I would kill him.
Whoever his superiors were, they were idiots to trust him. I could smell weakness like that miles away, and exploit it to my benefit.
As we drove through the underbelly of Falcon City, I suddenly realized I had clenched my fist so tightly that the veins inmy forearm were raised and angry beneath my skin.
Slowly, I loosened my grip, letting the tension drain from my hand.
I knew where she was.
I knew who had her.
My Lena. My obsession.
I had been so foolish to think time would make her bend. That eventually she would willingly take what I offered her. She would never accept that she belonged to me.
The moment I had her back, I was done waiting.
Done negotiating.
