“Provoking you,” I breathe.
He runs his tongue across his teeth. Then without breaking eye contact, he drains the rest of his water in one long swallow. I watch his throat bobbing as he swallows, and fight the butterflies fluttering in my stomach and the bead of sweat trickling down the back of my neck.
Then, he hands the glass to me. “Looks like you’re going to need a different one.”
“I think I can manage to fill a glass just fine.”
I reach over and take it from his hand, and our fingers touch in the process. He refuses to let go. I step even closer into his heat and his scent.
“Please, Mr. Romanov?”
His jaw tightens, and then he releases the glass slowly, turns, and starts walking down the hallway towards his bedroom without looking back.
I watch him go, victory burning in my chest.
Not yet,I think.
Once the door closes, I turn my prize in the morning light and see exactly what I need:
Five fingerprints and one thumbprint, pressed into the glass as clear as a signature.
I tuck the glass into my bag, nestling it between my tablet and the small bottle of Elmer’s glue I brought from home. Then I straighten, smooth my skirt, and head for the office.
Ludmilla sees me when I walk past her. She takes in my outfit, and raises one eloquent eyebrow.
I smile.
Because I just fuckingwon.
19
BELLA
END OF WEEK
The glue dried fasterthan I thought.
My hands are shaking badly when I place the makeshift thumbprint on mine and press it to the scanner.
The screen comes to life, and for a moment, I get the terrible feeling that not only is this not going to work, but it’s going to trigger an alarm that will have Slava rushing in to catch me in the act.
For three long seconds, nothing happens.
Then there’s a softclick, and the safe door swings open.
Holy shit. It worked.
I don’t have time to celebrate. Slava is still in the shower, but that can change any second. I start rifling through the contents as quickly as I can.
There’s a bunch of business registration documents that I immediately set aside. Ditto with the stack of bearer bonds. Tax records for shell corporations? Ignore.
None of this stuff is what Nico is after, which means none of it is what I’m after either. Legitimate illegitimacy is meaningless because this is par for the course for people running a criminal empire.
And Nico was very specific. Whatever it is, it’s precious to him.
I keep digging, and that’s when a piece of paper slips out. It looks nothing like any of the other documents because it’s a handwritten note. The edges are ragged, like someone ripped it out in a hurry.
My heart jumps to my throat. Thishasto be it. With trembling fingers, I pick it up and start reading.
