“I want to go to the bank, talk to my contact in person, see if he knows where the money went. Follow the money, right?” I check with Finn and Jay for confirmation. “The money won’t lie.”
Chapter Fifteen
Finn
Carys goes into the office at the bank by herself. The building is shiny windows, gleaming metal, and polished floors. I’m not sure what I expected of a Russian bank, but not this modern. Jay and I are outside the door in case there’s any trouble. He’s glued to his phone, trying to chase up leads on Valeriya or the warehouse or any of the other fucking things going wrong. I miss having a device. Standing here with nothing to do gives me too much time to think.
Part of me is annoyed Carys didn’t see Valeriya for the lying bitch she’s turned out to be. Carys has always been that way—loves hard, finds the best in people, even when she shouldn’t.
The office door swings open, and she hitches her purse onto her shoulder. Jay and I flank her.
“And?” I ask.
She takes a deep breath. “She didn’t move the money.”
“That’s a good sign.” Jay stops fiddling with his phone and tucks it into his pocket.
“She cleaned out her accounts. There’s no way to trace her.”
“At least you were right about one thing.” If she’s gone, we have even less time before the scent fades. We’re wasting our energy here, so I head for the exit.
“And what was that?” Carys trails behind me.
“Nobody in Russia wants to be poor.” At the exit, I scan outside and check my gun in my waistband. “Also means we’re at a dead end to find her unless Jay can pull a rabbit out of a hat.”
“Lots of hats,” he says. “No rabbits yet.”
The car is parked close to the curb. We’re careful to keep Carys between us, searching for any signs of danger. I hate not knowing who shot at us earlier. If they were after Ricardo, we might be in the clear. Until we know for sure, I’m not taking any chances.
“I bet you really want a drink,” I tease her as I open the door to the back seat. My head stays raised, my focus on sweeping the buildings and other cars.
“My life for a glass of wine.” She climbs in and scoots over so I can follow behind her.
“Shame you won’t get one tonight.”
“She could have taken the money out through coercion.”
Look at her trying to wiggle out of our deal. “Did the manager mention someone else?” I settle into my seat and give her a mild look.
Her lips twist, and she takes in the view out the window. “No.”
Jay slams his door and starts the engine. We leave the curb and ease onto the busy streets.
“I get it. No one wants to admit they misread a situation. Happened to me recently. It was a killer.” I offer her a sly smile, and she shakes her head. I muffle my amusement with a splayed hand before continuing, “She’s fucked you over. We don’t understand why, but it’s safe to say it’s happened.”
“She must be involved in the warehouse theft.” The scenery whizzes past us as we head back to the hotel. “Why else would she run?”
“Maybe,” I concede.
“You’re not convinced? You believe she’s screwed me over, but the most logical answer doesn’t make sense to you.”
“You’ve got all this shit swirling. Your business is a toilet bowl right now. The warehouse. The threats. Valeriya missing. FBI dickhead dead. Charles interfering with the cash transfer. Could everything be connected? Possibly. Coincidences this great don’t exist.”
“Even still, Valeriya’s piece of the puzzle has to be the warehouse.”
I stare at her for a moment. “You ask the bank manager for the video footage of Valeriya taking out her money?”
“I did. Jay always likes to check.”