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“Look, if I tell you this, I need to know I’m going to be safe. I have a dog at home waiting for me … if something happens to me, how will I know he’s okay?”
Rocco balks, “A dog?”
She glances at him. “Please, I’m begging you …. he’s all I have …”
I shake my head. “Sloane, you seem like a smart girl, smart enough to realize you really don’t have a way out of this. If we wanted to hurt you, we certainly could be a lot more brutal in our interrogations, and we’re not going to do that. I give you my word that you’re safe.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “So, what are you going to do with me?”
I sigh, “I have a hotel on the waterfront. You can have around-the-clock security there until we get to the bottom of this.”
She swallows hard. “And, I will need to bring my dog.”
Enzo actually stifles a laugh. I glance at him sharply as Rocco shakes his head.
“If you spit out the rest of this Inspector Clouseau shit, then yes, you can bring your dog.” This is exasperating. I’ve no idea what the fuck I’m agreeing to here, but we need this information and none of us are quite willing to torture a bookworm to get it out of her.She has some valuable skills I know Angelo will be interested in.
“Alright, good, so I’ll take your word for it since there’s no other way…”
I give her a look to hurry up and get the fucking words out. My patience only goes so far.
“The part I remember was something was going down at an apartment building, like 501 near Charlestown Pier. I remember the place because my dog’s name is Charl ….” Her eyes flick up at me, and she clears her throat. “... Anyway. The person on the other end kept saying the Russian girl was not to be harmed. It went back and forth for a few moments…”
We’re all poised, waiting for the cliffhanger because I think we all sense it coming.
“Then my contact said, ‘Vladimir, you know as well as I do that nothing in life is guaranteed.”
“Vladimir?” I spit, comprehending that name for a second. “Are you sure?”
I mean, I know there are a lot of Russian Vlad’s around, but still… it seems a little bit too coincidental.
“Yes, that’s what was said. I swear it.”
“I fucking knew it,” I say out loud.
Rocco raises an eyebrow. “You did?”
“No,” I admit. “But the guy is shady as fuck, it makes total sense now. Vlad is Katiya’s future husband through a fucked up arranged marriage, but she can’t stand his fucking guts…”
I’m reeling as a hot burst of anger travels through me.
Holy fucking shit.Vlad?It has to be him. This isn't a mistake.
I glance at Enzo, who is looking more perplexed than ever. Yes, this isn’t usually how our interrogations go.
Rocco is already looking trigger-happy upon hearing this latest news. He will want to get his hands on that fucker for sure. He better get behind me because I’ll be first in line to cut this asshole.
“And you just remembered this?” Rocco quizzes, still not done with her.
She avoids looking at him and tries to keep her back straight and her head up like he’s not affecting or intimidating her. Her eyes rest on Enzo instead, the safe bet.Very smart.
“When you said that thing about no guarantees, it jolted my memory,” she says, nodding towards me. “I guess I must have blanked it out.”
“Pity your memory didn’t jolt a lot sooner. It’s pretty fucking important.” I’m seething at the mention of Vlad’s name. It all falls into place—the missing piece to the puzzle.
“I’m sorry. It was a little bit hard to think, being interrogated by men who kidnapped me and tied me to a chair,” she fumes.
I finally stand, satisfied with her answers. “As I said, you’re a little too valuable to us, Sloane. Angelo will be pleased to learn what I now know. After all, his ‘death’ was a major part of all of this.” She pales ever so slightly. “Nevertheless, we have to leave now. Time is of the essence to get you to safety and find Vladimir.”
