“You onlythinkyou will,” I assure her. “Decide now what you’re willing to sacrifice. And ask yourself if he’s worth it.”
“He’s my brother,” she says simply. “Do you have siblings?”
“Yes. An older brother,” I answer.
“Then you get it. Haven’t you done things for him that you wouldn’t do for anyone else?” she asks.
I don’t answer. She already sees it in my face.
So, I give her a truth she’s not ready for. “ThePakhanthreatened to make you pay off your brother’s debt with him. Do you understand what that means?”
“He’d put me in his cage,” she states, clearly remembering our conversation from yesterday.
“Yes. And once you’re in there, he’ll break you, mentally and physically. That’s what he does. Is that what you’re willing to endure for your brother?”
Alina swallows hard. “If it keeps him alive.”
Too brave. Too loyal. Too innocent. Archer doesn’t deserve a sister like her.
I reach into my pocket and toss her a small brass key. It’s a small, stupid piece of metal, but it’s the first thing I’ve given her that isn’t a threat.
She catches it, confused. “What’s this?”
“The key to your room. It’s not as fancy as your other keys, but it’s the only one for that door. No one enters without your permission. Including me.”
Alina doesn’t thank me out loud. She just closes her fingers around it like it’s a lifeline.
“Let me know if Archer responds,” she repeats as she gets up to leave.
“When,” I correct her. “I’ll let you know when he responds.”
With a nod, she stands up to leave. “I’ll have Petrov return your tote bag to you too.”
“You have it?” she asks.
“Yes. And your phone. You may have it back…after. And you’ve officially resigned from your job at the hotel, effective immediately. Renat delivered the letter this morning.”
She opens her mouth as if to argue but then nods and leaves silently.
I don’t like what I just heard from her.
She’s growing way too desperate. Desperate people bargain with the devil. Desperate women bargain with Gavriil, and I’m not sure which is worse.
That’s why, once I hear her bedroom door shut, I call out, “Petrov.” He appears instantly. “Double the roof guard and all the exits. Switch rotation to fifteen-minute. Stairwell below us stays doubled as well. Then return her bag.”
“Understood.”
“And Petrov.” He pauses, waiting. “No one looks at her. If you see it, remove them before I’m able to get my hands on them.”
“Yes, sir.”
After he’s gone, I pull my laptop close. The desktop loads. Names, faces, debts, addresses. Popeye’s biker crew, the ones who bought what Archer didn’t have a right to sell, sit in their own folder: There are addresses next to three of the four. The fourth has a city, and a known girlfriend’s name. I make a note to change “known” to “ex” before the weekend.
My phone buzzes again, breaking my concentration.
Archer.
It took the son of a bitch two hours to finally grow a pair of balls.
