Page 80 of Take the Sub and Run

To hear the words made it all seem more real…and her plan to somehow steal everything back and then disappear, foolish and best, and stupid at worst.

“Yes.” Sofie nodded, because foolish or not, Andrei was right about her plan and her reasons. “All I have is my art, and I want it back.”

Andrei tuned out what Rolf was saying in favor of studying Sofie’s profile.

It felt as if he were seeing all of her for the first time. She'd been many things over the course of their short acquaintance. He thought that the last piece of the Sofie puzzle was understanding that she’d been groomed and trafficked to be exactly what she was—the best forger in the world.

But even after that revelation, he’d had a niggling sense that there was more.

Though Andrei understood better than most how being a victim of any kind could fuck with one's mindset, he had trouble reconciling the bold woman who dove headfirst into a BDSM scene with him despite never even having been kissed, with the woman who seemingly had been content to stay in her home, leaving only to go the market and church, for years.

She had resources of money and skills, and while he was sure the fact that she’d been conditioned to think of her home as the only safe place played a part, it was the desire to get back what had been stolen that kept Sofie in her cage.

“No.”

Sofie’s vehement denial jerked his attention back to the moment at hand. Fuck. He hadn’t been paying attention. Andrei leaned back to look at Landon behind Sofie’s back as she argued with Rolf.

“Rolf wants to open a case against Visser for human trafficking,” the other man murmured.

“Ms. Vermeer?—”

“No.” Sofie cut off Rolf. “You can’t.”

“I assure you, I can. Of the two crimes—art fraud and human trafficking—the latter is more serious.”

“Don’t do either. Leave him alone.”

“Leave him alone so that you can perpetuate a crime you insisted on planning while in Interpol custody?” Rolf asked archly.

Sofie nodded, but there was a hesitancy to it. She most likely loved her father, despite it all, and he knew how dark and heavy that love was.

“I’m afraid I can’t agree to that, Ms. Vermeer.”

Sofie flinched at Rolf’s negative statement, and Andrei’s jaw muscle flexed. He turned to face the monitor.

“We can’t prosecute human trafficking without willing participation from the victim.”

Rolf’s eyebrow twitched at Andrei’s challenge, but the resolve on his features didn’t waver. “Then we’ll pursue a forgery and cultural fraud case.”

“About what?” Andrei asked. “What piece specifically?”

“In your report?—”

“I made no mention of a specific piece of art we could examine and assess to build our case.”

Now Rolf’s expression cracked, showing his frustration. “Andrei, what are you doing?”

Andrei lounged back in his chair, knowing it made the straitlaced Rolf nuts. “I’m not doing anything.”

There was a heavy silence.

“Come on.” Landon patted Colette’s ass. “I’m just a consultant and we’re way outside the scope of my contract.”

Rolf didn’t speak again until the door had closed behind Colette and Landon.

“What’s the endgame here?” Rolf said. “If there’s no case, then this isn’t an Interpol matter.”

Andrei tensed. “What are you saying?”

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