AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Actually, we need you to tell us who you let in,” Nikita says hurriedly. “Have you seen anyone strange coming and going?”
“Strange? No, no one strange. Though, the director and that dancer Kseniya have been here after hours often.”
“The director and Kseniya?” Nikita echoes. “That doesn’t mean much. They both work here.”
“You misunderstand me,” Pavel says. “I mean they've been showing uptogether.”
I place my hand on the small of Nikita’s back. “Let’s get inside before someone spots us. Tell me, are there security cameras in this place?”
“Of course.”
“Do they feed in through a central system? Or is the feed outsourced?”
Pavel squishes up his face like I just asked him to calculate the speed of light. “How should I know?”
“Do you genuinely not know the answer to my question, or are you being dense on purpose?”
He glances down at the imaginary dirt beneath his fingernails. “I don’t know. How much is that information worth to you?”
I clench my fists. I can’t remember the last time I had to deal with someone so insufferable. Roman, perhaps, but he’s my little brother so that doesn’t really count. Pavel is really starting to push my buttons. I’m half-tempted to grab him up by the collar and give him a good shake—maybe that’ll knock some sense into that thick skull of his—but not with Nikita here. I don’t want her to see that side of me. Especially not now that she has given me the chance. I can solve this without the need for violence. I can toe the line of criminality without crossing it.
“How much do you want?” I ask him.
“How much you got?”
“Don’t push it.” With no other option, I reach for my checkbook. It’s not under my name, but the taxi company’s. I’m going to have to write this off as a networking expense. Thankfully, as the Bratva’s accountant, I’m in the position to do just that. I write what I consider a reasonable amount and sign my name. “Merry Christmas. Now, tell me what we want to know.”
Pavel folds the check neatly in half and tucks it away into his pocket. “It’s a closed circuit. Everything records internally. The only way to access the footage is by logging into the director’s computer.”
Nikita tugs on my sleeve. “Come on. I have a feeling all our answers are in there.”
“You’re going to need a key,” Pavel points out, not so casually gesturing to the ring of keys hooked through one of his belt loops.
“Let me guess,” Nikita grumbles. “It’s going to cost us, isn’t it?”
He shrugs. “Maybe.”
I fight the urge to punch him in the face. At the rate things are going, this son of a bitch is going to bleed me dry. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up leveraging just as much as the night shift has stolen from us. But I have to deal with one problem at a time, and right now, I’m willing to throw every ruble I have at him if it means getting Nikita some well-deserved answers.
I write him another check. “Lead the way, and don’t try anything funny.”
* * *
We’re forced to work in the dark, feeling around the office space with an air of unease. It may be late, but there’s no telling if the director might feel the need to pop in for an unexpected visit.
A series of posters decorates one wall, all of them framed in mahogany and covered in polished glass. The posters are of ballets past, used in city-wide advertisements. I can tell which ones are newer, because the older ones have faded in color from years of exposure to the sun. To the far right, the newest addition. It’s a poster for this season’s production ofThe Nutcracker. A handful of the dancers have been photographed in position, an ensemble brought together by magic and whimsy. In the back of the composition, a picture of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
It’s not Nikita.
She stares at the poster, her obvious irritation manifesting in the form of tight shoulders and heavy breathing. “That’s supposed to be me,” she says weakly. I can hear the hurt in her voice by the way her words come out a bitter croak.
I give her shoulder a light squeeze. “We’ll make everything right. I promise.”
“I don’t know. This whole thing has really dashed my spirits.” Her smile is small and fragile. “All I’ve ever wanted to do is dance, but I don’t know if I have the heart to keep going if this is the environment I find myself in. I’m going to have to give my future some serious thought, that’s all.”
I nod reassuringly. “I’ll admit that I love watching you dance, but I want whatever you want.”
“What I want right now is to figure out who the real saboteur is.”
