Her eyes widen, and she grabs the phone, staring at it like it’s betrayed her. She powers it off and then, after a moment, lowers her window and throws it out onto the street.
My brows rise. I’ve never seen anyone part with a phone so easily.
She frowns, banging her fist on the dashboard. Then she curses and shakes her head. “Now I am needing another phone. Three hundred American dollars. I would like to kill Egorov!” She presses her lips together. “This time I will not borrow your money. Instead, you will loan me a gun. I will make Polasky give me my money to pay for a new phone.”
As she says this, she’s so beautiful and fierce that she looks like every man’s fantasy of a female spy.
“Do you know how to fire a gun?”
“You will show me. It is easier, I think, than some things I must learn.”
I can’t argue with that. Still, I’m not sure an assault rifle is something I should put in her hands.
* * *
Natalia
It isn’t easy to convince Alexei to take me to Polasky’s house. We sit in a dark parking lot, arguing.
“If we go to a luxury hotel with top-notch security, Egorov won’t be able to send a team in while I put together a plan to deal with him. There are some allegiances I may need—”
“Alexei, what are you saying? I will not let you join a criminal gang to help me with this. It would ruin your life. The best thing for me is to force Polasky to give me my passport and money and then disappear. Egorov can find me in New York, but he will not find me if I live in Arizona or Indiana.”
He frowns and looks at me skeptically. “It’s Arizona. And who do you know in Arizona and Indiana?”
“No one. This is my point.”
“You’ll go alone? You can’t even read enough English to fill out a job application.”
“I will learn. Strangers will help. I always find help when I need it. And I will be good friend in return to my neighbors. People like this feeling of family.”
“Your time with me isn’t finished.”
“People are shooting guns at you, Alexei! Surely you must know that no sex game is worth being killed.”
“What’s between us isn’t just sex. You know that. And if you run, Egorov wins.”
“No. Egorov only wins if he gets what he wants. Me. And yes, this relationship means to me very much. This is why I must not see you be killed.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Let’s see Polasky first. Because no matter where I stay for next few days, I want my money and passport now. Do not shake your head, Alexei. This makes sense. You can die trying to stop Egorov. If I have passport and money, I can leave without going back to New York to see Egorov’s friend, Polasky. For me, this is only safe way.”
“Fair enough, but I don’t know where Polasky lives.”
“I do.”
Alexei scowls, but starts the car. “What’s the address?”
* * *
Alexei
The lights are on inside, but Polasky doesn’t come to the door. I reach over the top of the gate and let us into his yard. We find the back door is unlocked and open. That doesn’t bode well, but Natalia starts right in.
“Wait!” I whisper sharply.
The gun in my hand keeps me from being free to grab her before she hurries inside.
