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She gives me a startled look. “Yes, of course, but why would you want to do that?”
“I want to be sure she’s looked after, no matter what.”
“A large enough donation will ensure your grandmother’s expenses and medical treatments for life.”
“How much?”
“Two million.”
“I can pay most of it now.” I have the money from Henderson’s job in my offshore account, plus the fifty percent that Yan has already deposited. “I should have the shortfall in a few weeks’ time.”
“What’s going on, Mina?” She searches my eyes. “Is there something I should know?”
“I need you to run tests.”
“Shit.” She grips my shoulder. “What are your symptoms?”
I shrug as if the answer is inconsequential, as if the signs mean nothing. “Bruises. A nosebleed. The bruises could just be rough sex. The nosebleed could be purely coincidental.”
“Shit,” she says again. “You’ve hardly recovered. How long has it been?”
“Sixteen months.”
“Why don’t you go to your regular doctor? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Yes, and you can’t ask me what it is.”
She nods. She doesn’t know the full extent of my job, but she’s aware I’ve been involved in secret government operations, and she suspects I do something besides waitressing to cover the bills here.
“All right,” she says. “Come with me.”
She leads me to the lab and takes a blood sample. While she’s handing it over for analysis with an instruction to move it to the top of the list and email the results to her immediately—a perk of running one of the most prestigious clinics in the country—I make use of a private computer booth in the visitor’s lounge to transfer whatever money I have left to the clinic.
When I’m done, I have five minutes to spare before meeting Gergo. I visit the bathroom and pinch my cheeks to make them look less pale before going outside to the gardens. He’d notice, and I don’t want Gergo to know about my situation. He may get it into his head to try to save me. And that would be a problem. Not only is my life not worth saving, but I don’t want anything to happen to Yan. Why exactly that is, I don’t know, but my chest tightens inexplicably at the mere thought of him getting hurt.
Gergo is sitting on the usual bench in a secluded corner hidden from view. Meeting at my grandmother’s has become our way of discreetly making contact. He disguises himself as some patient’s family member and signs in at the gate under a false name.
Today, he’s wearing a black wig and thick-rimmed glasses. He has more laugh lines around his eyes, as if he’s fifty years old instead of thirty-five. There’s a big mole on his left cheek, complete with a long hair growing out of it. Great disguise. The student in me can’t help but admire the teacher.
His greeting is a soft exclamation. “Mink. Thank fuck.” He pats the spot next to him and throws an arm around my shoulders when I sit down. “I was going out of my mind with worry when I saw the shootout between Sokolov and the feds on the news. That fucker, Henderson. He must’ve known the Russians would come after you.”
I pick at the skin around my nails. “He couldn’t have known Sokolov would get away.”
“If I’d known what his plans were, I would’ve never given him your name.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I should’ve trusted my instincts.”
He squeezes and puts a little distance between us when I stiffen. “I had no idea when I did the disguises that he was planning on framing the Russians.”
“That’s why I needed to see you.” I meet his gaze. “Sokolov was looking for the person who’d done the disguises.”
His eyes tighten. “How do you know?”
“The Russians sent a team. They picked me up here in Budapest.”
His face twists into an expression of hatred mixed with compassion. “Where did they take you?”
“To a place in Colombia owned by a certain Julian Esguerra.”
“Those motherfuckers.” His fingers clench on my shoulder. “How did you get away?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Sokolov was looking for you.”
“Why?”
“He was hoping he’d be able to track Henderson through you.”
Gergo visibly relaxes. “Ah. Well, Henderson is dead. It was all over the news.”
“Sokolov may still come after you. You framed his team, after all.”
He stills, his face hardening. “They tortured you and you broke? You gave up my name? Is that what you came to tell me?”
“They didn’t have to torture me. I gave them the Delta Force men’s names willingly. As you said, together with Henderson, they fucked me over. But I didn’t give up your name.”
“What did you tell him then?”
“I told him it was me.”
He stares at me. “You?”
“I said I did the disguises.”
“And he believed you?”
“Only after I demonstrated my skill.”
“Mink.” He squeezes my shoulder, his expression softening. “Why would you do that? You shouldn’t have taken the fall for me.”
