“Apparently not your new friend,” I replied. “Whoever she is, she’s better than good. Or at the least, she has friends in very high places.”
Lev set the photo down and straightened his cuffs. “We’ll have to go through the penthouse. Every inch of it. If she left anything behind, I’ll find it.”
Roman raised a brow. “You make that sound disturbingly personal.”
“I take my work seriously,” Lev said, expression flat.
“I’m sure you do.” Roman smirked. “Maybe you can give the place a full forensic sweep while you’re at it. Swab the sheets. Dust for fingerprints. Should be thrilling for you.”
“Careful,” Lev said, voice quiet but edged. “If I find anything too incriminating, I might have to file a full report complete with color photos and a detailed description of your questionable taste in women.”
“Alright,” I said sharply. “Lev’s right. We’ll search the penthouse ourselves. No outsiders. Not until we know what and who we’re dealing with.”
Roman groaned and dragged a hand through his hair. “So this is how I’m spending my day? Watching my little brother rifle through my things while you stand over me with that disappointed father face you do best?”
I folded my hands on the desk. “Yes. That’s exactly how you’re spending your day.”
Lev smiled faintly. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Roman shot him a look. “Of course you are. You probably dream about catching me in some embarrassing compromising position.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Lev replied. “I have way more interesting nightmares. Besides, you handed that to us on a silver platter before dawn.”
I exhaled slowly, leaning back in my chair. “I sometimes wonder how the two of you survived childhood without killing each other.”
Roman’s grin returned, easy and sharp. “Because I’m charming, and he’s too moody to get away with it.”
Lev’s voice was a deadpan drawl. “Keep talking, and I’ll make your charm a closed-casket virtue.”
I held up a hand before it could devolve further. “Gentlemen. We can threaten to murder each other after we’ve secured the family’s assets, not before.”
Roman sighed, stretching his legs out. “Fine. I’ll cooperate. But for the record, this mystery woman, she didn’t take anything from me.”
“You don’t know that,” Lev said.
Roman looked at him, something flickering in his eyes. “No, I don’t. But I’d like to think if I’d met someone capable of drugging and robbing me, I’d remember her.”
“Youweredrugged, idiot,” Lev said. “That’s the point.”
“Maybe,” Roman replied, thoughtful now. “Or maybe she didn’t take anything at all.”
I studied him for a long moment. “You think this was random? A coincidence?”
“I think people do strange things in Dubai,” he said. “And I think if someone wanted to hurt us, they wouldn’t start by taking off my clothes.”
Lev’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. “Unless they knew you’d hate it more that way.”
“Touché,” Roman said, lifting a hand in mock salute.
I shook my head. “You two belong in a zoo.”
“Probably,” Roman agreed easily. “But at least we’d make it a good-looking zoo.”
Lev turned toward me, all traces of humor gone. “When do we leave?”
“Now,” I said. “I want that penthouse stripped down to its studs and slabs. If she touched anything in that room, I want to know about it as soon as possible.”
Roman sighed, standing. “Fine. But if I find her first, I’m handling it my way.”
