My mind wanders to what she looks like in there—wet skin and steam curling around her curves. I shut that thought down hard. “How did you?—”
“I told you. I have sources. Did your meeting produce anything useful?”
“Petra confirmed an internal investigation at Christie’s six months ago. Someone was documenting irregularities in art transactions.”
“And?”
“And Sasha’s family name came up multiple times in connection to those transactions.” I watch traffic move through the London streets below. “Right around the time your operation was exposed.”
The line goes quiet for a moment. Adrian’s voice is cold when he speaks again. “She told Petra about me.”
“Petra brought you up. Mentioned that your name came up in the Christie’s investigation. The timing made Sasha suspicious. She wonders if you’re involved in what’s happening now.”
“Good. Let her wonder. Let her get closer to the truth.” Adrian sounds pleased. “The revelation will be so much more devastating when she realizes you’ve been helping me all along. I want her to feel it in her bones, Tony. The kind of betrayal that rewrites everything she thought she knew.”
My stomach turns. “About that?—”
“You’re having second thoughts.” It’s not a question. “I hear it in your voice. You’re getting attached.”
“I’m doing my job.”
“Your job is to make her fall for you and then destroy her, not to develop feelings. I’m paying you to be a weapon, Tony. Not a white knight.”
I grind my teeth. “I understand that.”
“Do you? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re compromising the mission by being too careful with her. Too protective.” He lets that hang for a moment. “Your job from this point forward is to ensure she’s emotionally invested enough that the truth will break her. I want progress reports. Daily.”
“Daily reports weren’t part of our agreement.”
“They are now. Unless you’d prefer to discuss breach of contract penalties?” Adrian pauses. “Plus whatever additional consequences I decide are appropriate for failing to deliver what I paid for. And Tony? I have people everywhere. If you’re thinking about running or warning her, I’ll know. And I’ll make sure she suffers twice as much before the end.”
The threat is clear.
“You’ll get your updates,” I reply through clenched teeth as I add Adrian to the short list of people to kill when this is over. He’s moving toward the top.
“Good. And Tony? Accelerate the timeline. Stop being so careful about her feelings. Make her need you. Make her trust you. Make her fall in love with you.” His voice drops. “I want to watch her world collapse when she learns the truth.”
The line goes dead, and I stand on the balcony for another minute, trying to calm down enough that Sasha won’t immediately sense something’s wrong. Adrian’s paranoia is getting worse. Following me to London, monitoring my movements, and demanding daily reports. The man’s obsession with destroying Sasha has made him unpredictable, which makes him dangerous.
I need an exit strategy. Need to figure out how to get out of this contract without ending up dead or broke. The problem is that I can’t see a way out that doesn’t involve either betraying Sasha or paying money I don’t have.
Or killing Adrian.
That option looks better by the minute, and unlike most of Adrian’s problems, I’m one he won’t see coming.
Running isn’t an option. Not with his eyes on us in two countries and a contract that reaches farther than any border.
The worst part is that Adrian’s right. Iamgetting attached.
I’ve been sabotaging my investigation since day one, feeding him false intelligence, and protecting Sasha instead of gathering evidence against her family. Every instinct I have says this will end badly, but I can’t stop myself.
I go back inside. Sasha has emerged from the bathroom and is staring at the kitchenette. Her hair is damp and hanging loose around her shoulders, and her thin robe is clinging to her damp skin. I see the outline of her body underneath, and I have to look away before my thoughts go somewhere I can’t come back from.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“I had a stupid idea.” She gestures at the counter, where she’s laid out ingredients. “I thought I’d make us dinner. Something Russian. I had groceries delivered, but I forgot hotel kitchenettes are useless and I haven’t cooked anything in two years.”
“What were you trying to make?”
