“No, never,” Natasha said as brother and sister shared a smile.
“Mr. Petrov, your coffee will be waiting in the ambassador’s office.” With the tray in hand, Halston left.
As she made her way down the hall, Petrov caught up with her.
In addition to being tall, he was a sizably overweight man, his belabored breathing a reminder that he was out of shape.
“Minka, you are family at embassy,” Petrov said.
“I have no family. That means a great deal to me.”
They returned to the ambassador’s office where she set the tray on the small conference table.
“Sir, I need to check in with my team,” Halston said, “unless you want me to stay.”
“Let the chef know Dmitri will be lunching with me,” Bulgrov replied.
On a tight nod, she left.
After informing the chef of the ambassador’s lunch guest, she made her way upstairs to speak with her team. As she strode down the hallway, she wondered what projects brother and sister worked on together in Russia that had continued in the States.
Her gut said it couldn’t be good… and her gut was rarely wrong.
GABRIEL
At 7:20 PM,local DC time, Gabriel arrived at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. He breezed through Customs, strode toward the parking lot. Once outside, he swept the area, his sights settling on the black limo waiting at the curb.
The driver exited, walked around as the back door opened.
Sin emerged. Gabriel shook his hand.
“How was your visit?” Sin asked.
“Bloody,” Gabriel replied.
To his surprise, a sinister smile brightened Sin’s face. “Sounds fun. Did you take back what’s yours?”
“Of course.”
“I heard Monroe is being tailed by Riccobene’s son, Marco,” Sin said as the cold wind whipped around them.
Gabriel tamed his windblown hair with a stroke of his hand. “She’s fucking with him.”
“Like only she can,” Sin said. “Riccobene is dangerous.”
“She’s also working with someone named Wolf.”
“That’s a dangerous combination.” Sin gestured toward the open door.
Gabriel slipped into the limo.
Halston—disguised as Barbi—and Evangeline sat huddled together talking in hushed tones. Both women turned, but only one of the women made his heart pound harder. Her lips tugged up in a brief smile that touched her eyes.
“Hello, Gabriel,” she said, her fiery gaze eating him alive.
“Barbi.” Sparks flew between them before he dragged his attention to Evangeline. “Good to see you, Evangeline.”
“You too, G,” Evangeline replied.
