Page 43 of Broken Empire
“I swear, I’m telling you the truth,” she said. “Please… if you just tell me this girl’s name, I can try to figure out what you’re talking about.Please.”
“Her name is Shay Sinclair,” Leah said sharply. “You bought her for Nikolai on the 26thof November for $2.6 million.”
“At a gallery on Spring Street,” I added. “Do you remember her?”
“Yes. The actress. Right?”
I steeled my jaw and nodded. “Yes.”
“She was taken directly to Kingsford Tower after the auction. That’s where they keep the New York girls.”
My pulse quickened. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. She may have been taken to DC for a short period, but she’s definitely back in New York now. I know because the room shown in her red room tapes is at the Kingsford.”
My mind was spinning. This whole time, Shay had been right under my nose in New York, not DC. In a place I could easily access, no less.
“Give me the room number,” I said, hands tightening at my sides.
“You won’t be able to get there. It’s on a secret floor.”
“I know all about the secret floor, and I have a key to get up there,” I said. “Now tell me which room she’s in.”
“I think it’s room B6. But…” Davina trailed off, and her brows furrowed. “She won’t be there now.”
“Why? Because they’re about to kill her?” Leah asked, eyes wide.
“Yes. Nikolai likes the black tapes to be filmed in a house that belongs to one of the men in the Schöneberg Group.”
“Why? And where is it?”
“It’s an older place somewhere upstate. It looks just like one of those old-fashioned Victorian dollhouses. That’s why Nikolai likes it,” Davina said. “The only reason he doesn’t keep his girls there permanently is because it’s not his house, and the owner only allows black tapes to be made there every few weeks. He doesn’t want people there all the time.”
“Give us the address.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know it.” Before I could open my mouth or lift a finger to threaten her, Davina went on. “I swear. I honestly don’t know where it is. I’ve only seen photos of it.”
I tapped the pliers on her lips, making her flinch. “You’re going to need to call Nikolai and ask him about it, or else that front tooth is coming out.”
“I can’t do that,” she said, eyes flashing with fear. “He’ll know something is up.”
“Then you better figure out another way to get us that address.”
She swallowed thickly and looked past me, focusing on the opposite wall. “The place has a name,” she said, brows pulled low with concentration. “It has the word ‘black’ in it. I remember that because I heard Nikolai discussing it with an associate once, and it stuck out to me because it was such a coincidence.”
Leah arched a brow. “Coincidence?”
“You know… black tapes, black name.”
“Right.” I stared at her through narrowed eyes. “You better hurry up and remember the full name, Davina.”
“I… I can’t,” she said, chin wobbling. “I’m trying, but that’s all I can remember.”
Leah pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed something into it. “I’m looking up properties in New York with the word ‘black’ added to the search string,” she said, glancing up at me a few seconds later. “Most named mansions and estates have some sort of internet presence because of their historical value.” She turned her attention to Davina. “You did say it’s old, right?”
“Yes. Very.”
Leah went silent for a moment as she scrolled through her phone. Then she looked up again. “There’s a place near Scarsdale called Blackwood Manor. Could that be it?”
