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“No, really. Look at this place.” She indicated the huge, beautiful kitchen. “Tuscan tile? Marble countertops? State-of-the-art appliances? This furniture?” She swept her hand at the antique dining table, the mellow blond parquet, the restored molding of the townhouse. “This isn’t housing for a foreign student, Joshie. This kitchen alone is bigger than my entire apartment. You can’t pay rent on this place with extra shifts at Eric’s Electronics Barn. There’s something else going on here. Can’t you feel it?”
“What I feel is that you’re doing your best to fuck this up for me,” Josh snarled. “And I’m not going to let you do it.”
“No. Joshie, I swear—”
“Life will kick you in the teeth every fucking chance it gets. You know that. So when something great comes along, you should grab it! Appreciate it! Not just spit on it because it’s too good to be true!”
Josh’s impassioned words did have a ring of truth to them, even if they were inspired by horndog lust. But he had to listen. “That’s not what I’m asking you to do,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry. Look, Joshie. Never mind this thing with Nadia. I’ve got big problems. I’ve got to tell you why I’m so scared. For my life.”
That got his attention. “Huh? What do you mean, your life?”
“Sit down,” Becca said wearily. “I’ll be quick. For Nadia’s sake.”
Zhoglo was enjoyingthe spectacle of Rebecca pouring out her woes to her brother, with no idea that they were all in the jaws of the tiger. Her reaction to Nadia had been wonderfully amusing.
The door opened and Nadia entered. Zhoglo shot her a critical look. He was unimpressed with the floating pink confection she wore. She was impersonating a poor student. It should be obvious to the humblest intelligence that she should avoid dressing like a costly whore.
Deliberate stupidity annoyed him terribly.
“Did you bring her purse?” he snapped.
Nadia held up the new-looking black bag, worth fifteen dollars at most, along with Rebecca’s cotton jacket. “I had her leave them in the foyer.”
“I did not ask you for tedious details.” He glanced at Mikhail, jerked his chin at the items Nadia held. “Well? Get to it.”
Her phone was the most obvious way to monitor her, but in case Rebecca was ever separated from her phone, Mikhail also inserted trackers into her purse. One he put in the lining, and the second he hid more carefully by unstitching the cloth strap, tucking it into the fold, and deftly sewing it up again. Still another he tucked into the hem of Rebecca’s jacket. Hopefully, Arkady Solokov would find one of them, but not the others. Of course, if he had a bug detector, he would eventually find them all, despite their intermittent signaling.
But no matter. This would all be over soon.
Zhoglo was not concerned about controlling Rebecca. Everything she cared about was in his grasp. She would fall right into line.
He rummaged through the woman’s purse in a desultory way, but found nothing of interest. He tucked the envelope he’d prepared for Solokov to find into the inside pocket. He held it out to Nadia. “Well?” he prompted. “Take all this back down to the foyer. And come right back here. Immediately.”
Nadia was back in the room in less than a minute. Zhoglo was deeply involved in Becca’s fascinating if somewhat disjointed account of what had really happened on Frakes Island, when that idiot prostitute had the unbelievable insolence to interrupt him.
“Are you…going to hurt him?” Her voice was very small.
Zhoglo turned his head and gave her a look calculated to stop her heart. “You are not being paid to concern yourself with that, whore.”
She was actually opening her mouth to speak to him again.
“Have you grown fond of the boy?” he asked, cutting her off. “A whore should know better. But I will promise you this much. When the time comes for his mercy blow—and it will be a long, long time in coming—I will tell him that it is from you. From the lovely Nadia. He will die screaming your name. Does that satisfy you?”
Color drained from Nadia’s face. For a moment, she was not remotely beautiful. She was a death’s head, hollow-eyed beneath her blush pink paint. The depth of the fear in her eyes stirred him.
The girl needed to be reminded of her place. A creature as excessively beautiful as she sometimes ran the risk of thinking her beauty gave her a special power. That it made her immune to discipline.
A dangerous state of affairs. He had to nip it in the bud.
He rubbed his hands together, considering possibilities. Mikhail had done well yesterday. He had succeeded in leaving without being followed, and had dispatched the Evans woman in a brisk and professional manner. He was due a reward.
Kristoff and Pavel, both out of favor, could look on and salivate.
“Nadia, my dear,” he said. “I would like a more intimate demonstration of your oral skills. Upon him.” He indicated Mikhail.
It took Nadia a moment to break her paralysis, but her faltering smile came back, and she sank down in front of the flushed and grinning Mikhail, the very image of charming submission, and got right to it.
Zhoglo immediately regretted the impulse. Mikhail was noisy. His gasps and groans were extremely annoying. In fact, it was almost impossible to hear what Rebecca and Joshua were saying to each other.
