“Tell me what you’re going to say.”
“I blackmail him. We need to know which spies your government watch. What secrets get leaked.”
He dropped cash on the bar and rose, but waited for Evangeline and Sanchez before storing his Glock.
“Who are these women?” Rava asked as Sanchez took her by the arm.
“Protection, so I don’t kill you.”
Rava yanked her arm away. “Don’t touch me.”
They entered the small salon where Alexandra and Gavin waited. The room had been lit, the camera was set up in front of one of two chairs.
“Pat her down,” he said to Sanchez. “Check her purse,” he said, tossing it to Evangeline.
Evangeline lifted out a small handgun and handed it to him. “You won’t be needing this,” he said to Rava.
“She’s clean,” Sanchez replied, after checking her for weapons.
When Sin placed handcuffs around her wrist, she tried pulling away. “What the hell are these for?”
He locked them into place and glared at her. “Sit.”
Alexandra clipped a mic on Rava and sat in the chair across from her. The interview began with basic questions.
“What is your name? Where are you from? And how long have you been in the U.S.?”
Rava answered matter-of-factly.
Then, Alexandra asked, “Why did you come to the United States?”
Rava closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she said, “I am sent here for information from Birdwell Caraway. We had sex in my hotel room three different days. Then, I tell him we get kinky. He like that, so I invite him to private club. I record our sex and blackmail him. I need FBI’s knowledge of Russian spies in America.”
“What happened after you blackmailed him?” Alexandra asked.
“He gave me names of three Russian agents being…how do you say? Um…tracked. I knew he is holding out. I push for more, but he refuse me. I put out video to scare him, but he didn’t tell me more.”
“Do you regret what you did?”
Rava glared at Sin, standing off camera. “No. I love my country.”
After closing out the interview, Alexandra approached Sin. “When can we air this?”
“Forward me the uncut version ASAP. I’ll get it to the right people. Then, you can run it first thing tomorrow.”
“That’ll work. Thank you for contacting me.” She peered over her shoulder at Evangeline, leaning against the wall. “How’s she holding up?”
“Like a pro.”
Sanchez pulled Rava to her feet. “Time to go.”
“Where you take me?” Rava asked.
* * *
As Evangeline approached Rava, adrenaline pounded through her. While she was nowhere near being cleared to return to work, the case had shifted in her favor. Regardless of the agency’s internal investigation, she hoped Rava’s confession would restore her reputation.
For that, she was indebted to Sin. In a matter of weeks, he had saved her job. Rava would have disappeared—and taken the truth with her—long before the FBI could have located her. And Evangeline’s career would have been destroyed.
