Page 114 of Emerald Vices

“How did he manage to bring Nikolai to the table?”

She shrugs. “I have no idea. I wasn’t privy to the meetings. I just heard snippets of what happened afterwards. Even then, it wasn’t much.”

Silence falls between us. I push myself to my feet and saunter over to the tinted window. The street below is quiet. Apart from a few New Yorkers walking their dogs, there’s nothing amiss. No sign of my enemies.

But they’re out there.

They’re always out there.

“So did I deliver?” Ola asks, unable to hide the tremor in her voice.

I glance at her over my shoulder. She’s my age, no older than thirty-four or thirty-five, but she looks so much older. Wearier.

“Go back to your room and wait there. I’ll have Shura bring you what you need.”

“How do I know he won’t just bust in and slit my throat?”

“You don’t. I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

Realizing she doesn’t have another option, she turns and leaves. For once, she does so without a parting quip.

As soon as she’s gone, Shura slips through the door. “She could be lying.”

I’m not surprised he was listening in. I’d be more shocked if he wasn’t. “Maybe,” I agree. “But it doesn’t change anything.”

Nikolai and Slavik. Slavik and Nikolai. At the end of the day, they both need to go.

It doesn’t matter to me which one dies first.

48

ANDREY

The door to my office flies open and Katya hurtles inside. She’s teetering on her heels, a leopard-print dress and thick fur coat drowning out her small frame.

Shura reaches to steady her, but she barrels past him and dives into my bathroom. The sound of her retching answers the questions neither of us have had the time to ask.

Shura rushes to the door, but before he can knock or go in, I stop him. “Natalia never wanted me around when she was throwing up. I doubt Kat will be any different.”

Shura sighs and retraces his steps back to my desk. “If he’s touched her, so help me God, I’m going to end the fucker’s life today.”

“Let’s wait for Katya to tell us what’s going on, shall we?”

A few minutes later, Katya emerges, pink in the face as she dabs her lips with a paper towel. “Sorry about that, boys. I’m feeling a little rundown.” Sinking into a seat, she lets out an exhausted sigh. “So, anyway. Info. Nikolai is working with Slavik.”

“There’s the corroboration you wanted,” Shura mumbles.

Katya spins to me. “You already knew?”

“We found out a few hours ago.”

Her eyes are wide and curious. “How?”

“Ola, Slavik’s former mistress. I flew her down from Russia and she sang like a canary.”

“Well, she wasn’t lying,” Kat confirms. “Apparently, Slavik’s been planning this takeover for years. He got Nikolai on board and it accelerated everything.”

“Viktor told you all this?”

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