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“What’s wrong?” There’s always a handful of men at his place. If something’s gone wrong, they’d handle it.
There’s a long pause.
“Mandy is here.”
She’s supposed to be at her apartment, not halfway across town with Anya.
“And she’s brought a gun. Into my home, Maxim.”
“What?” I’m already jogging to my car as the image of Mandy standing in Arman’s living room with a gun materializes in my mind. “What the fuck is happening?”
“She’s safe, but you need to come get her. Now.”
“I’ll be there.” I finish the call as I get to my car.
“What’s happening? You need me?” Viktor is on my tail.
“No. I have it.” I open my car door. “Nothing I can’t deal with.”
And deal with her I will. What the fuck was she thinking bringing a gun to Arman Romanov’s house? She’s supposed to be safely tucked in her fucking apartment. Why does she even own a gun?
I maneuver through the Saturday afternoon traffic heading straight to Arman’s condo. By the time I get there, there’s one thing I know for sure.
Mandy is seriously going to regret disobeying me.
* * *
Arman’s waitingfor me when I enter his condo.
“Where is she?” I demand.
His eyes are hard, his jaw set. If she was really so naive to bring a gun to this place, he would have been well within his rights to protect himself and his wife.
That doesn’t change what I will do if he’s harmed her in any way.
Arman unfolds his arms. “She’s in my office.” He blocks me when I take one step in that direction. “Come with me first.”
I glance down the hall toward his office, unmoving.
“She’s not hurt,” he says when I hesitate. “Alexi is with her, to be sure she stays that way.”
With one more glance, I follow him into the living room. Alexi won’t hurt her, even if she tries to escape. He’ll keep her from getting away, but he won’t harm her.
“Is Anya here? Is she all right?” The condo feels empty, the way it felt before Arman was smart enough to bring Anya into his life.
“She’s not here.” He slides his hands into his trouser pockets as he stands in front of the fireplace. “She’ll be back soon, though, and I want this resolved before she is. Mandy used their friendship to get up here.”
“What happened? Why would she come here with a gun?”
“After I allowed her in, she started asking me questions about some guy named Percy or Gunner, she used both names. I didn’t know what she was talking about. Then she pulled that out of her purse.” He points at a small pistol sitting on the coffee table. I pick it up to get a closer look.
“It’s an airsoft gun.” I look up at him then back to the end of the barrel. “She painted over the orange tip. It’s a toy.”
He nods. “I realized that after we got it away from her.”
“Exactly how did you get it away from her?” I open the chamber to check if there are any pellets loaded. None. She came into Arman Romanov’s home with an unloadedweaponand pulled it out on him? If she didn’t have a tie to his wife, if she hadn’t been working with her until a short time ago, Arman would have pulled his own weapon on her.
At the very least.
