“Hey,” Wolf replied. “You okay?”
“I need your help.”
“Let me call you back from a secure line.” The line went dead.
She stared out the window seeing nothing. Seconds passed. She eyed her phone, willing it to ring. When it did, she jumped. She answered but said nothing.
Silence on the other end.
“Okay, the line is clear,” Wolf said.
“I’mnoton a secure line,” Halston replied.
“We’ll keep it short.”
“I need to get into a laptop, grab info, and get out.”
“Fingerprint accessible?”
“Yes.”
“You know what to do,” her brother said. “When can I pick it up?”
“Tonight, six-thirty. Hotel Dillinger, suite 1119.”
Without a goodbye, Wolf hung up.
She slid her gaze back out the window. The climate had shifted. She could feel the change coming. While it was a big responsibility to find out what was about to go down, she couldhandle it. Before returning her phone to the hotel safe, she saw she had texts from Gabriel.
Thinking of you
Forty-five minutes later another message.
Surprise for tonight
Your SUV is parked in reserved spot in loading dock. Miss you baby
A sliver of joy curled around her heart. Just enough to make her happy, but not so much that she was delusional. This was playboy Gabriel Santini after all.
Had to return to hotel. Going back to work. Can’t wait for tonight!
She shelved the phone in the safe, shut the door, and confirmed it was locked.
Twenty-minutes later, she was back in her office. Her staff had a scheduling emergency, so she shuffled around some events, booked herself for the overflow, then beelined to her boss’ office.
He was on the phone, but waved her in.
“I look forward to that too. Thank you.” Bulgrov hung up. “Bob Smith is ecstatic. That made Dmitri Petrov happy. Good work, Minka.”
“Of course.” She opened his cabinet, removed two lowball glasses, then a finger’s worth of top-shelf Russian vodka. “We celebrate the power of Minka.” She forced a smile. “I make people happy. That is my job. If ambassador is pleased with my work, I am proud.”
Though she didn’t want to get her prints on his glass, she had no choice. She handed him one, raised hers.
“Za vashee zda-ró-vye, Gospodin Posol!”To your health, Mr. Ambassador!
His phone started ringing as he tossed back the crystal clear liquid, set down his glass.
“Hello,” he answered.
