“Maxim made it.” Roman shrugged. “Not enough to kill him. Probably.”
I looked over at Maxim, who was watching the show with an empty expression. “Max, love your work, but I have some notes. It needs a dial so we can play with the?—”
A low vibration cut me off, rattling the metal table shoved against the wall. Maxim moved first, plucking the handset from the pile of Cedric’s belongings. Without a word, he passed it to Roman, who hit the speaker when he answered.
“Hello,” I chimed before anyone else could speak. “You have reached the phone of?—”
“Mr Finn,”a familiar voice cut through, clipped and precise.“Where’s Mr Abby?”
“Your assassin can’t come to the phone right now. He’s currently pissing all over himself.” I glanced at Cedric, who was still convulsing beautifully. Pretty sure he was foaming at the mouth. “Not cool to double cross me, Jürgen. I’m offended.”
“I can only apologise.”
“Apology not accepted.” I looked over at Roman, and he nodded at me to continue.
It would be a somewhat political statement if he voiced his presence, because while he was his own person, he unfortunately represented the Bratva. So until I figured out what the fuck was going on, and who this Mr C was, I didn’t really want to start a war.
Probably. Not unless Ireallywanted to fuck shit up.
“Now, do you want to explain why you hired me to find a USB drive, while Cedric here was paid totrack down Geraldine? Oh, and minor detail, there’s no USB. She lost it.”
“No USB just means the job has got easier for you,”Jürgen replied, calm as ever.“Mr C wants the girl.”
“They want the girl, huh?” I mused. “I steal things, not people.” I’d had a few offers, but the last job I’d taken that involved someone breathing nearly ended with the Beast separating my head from my shoulders. Since then, I turned them all down without a second thought.
“We’re aware, which is why you were hired for the USB.”
“You were always after Geraldine?” I clicked my tongue. “Smart.”
“The USB was her leverage against us,”Jürgenconfirmed.“But yes, our priority has always been Geraldine.”
“Then why send me? You gave me the details to track her, so why not send someone more competent than Cedric?”
A pause hummed through the line, one he didn’t bother to fill with lies.“Our reasons are our own,”he said finally.“The discovery of the daughter has been… unexpected. Mr C is willing to offer you double to retrieve her.”
“Double?” I snorted. “Double’s not what you gave your boy here.” I reached over and killed the power to the battery. Cedric slumped in his chains, limp and pale. “You’re asking me to kidnap someone. Someone you didn’t even know existed. Someone Cedric here couldn’t even get close to.”
“We’ll match Cedric’s offer,”came the smooth reply.“Quarter of a million euros.”
“Euros?” I barked out a laugh. “I’m not getting screwed on the exchange rate. Quarter of a millionpounds, or I’m hanging up and you can say goodbye to?—”
“Deal.”
I frowned, pissed off for not asking for more even as my stomach tightened. They must be fucking desperate. “What about the hit on my head?”
“That’ll be removed as soon as the package is delivered. She is to remain unharmed, or money will be deducted.”
I clicked my tongue. “And Geraldine?”
“The daughter is the priority,”he replied.“If you also retrieve Geraldine, we’ll add an extra fifty. Alive is preferable, but dead is also acceptable.”
Jesus Christ.
“All this drama for this one girl? Did she piss in your boss’s cereal or something?”
“You have thirty-six hours.”With that, the line clicked dead.
I stared at the screen a moment longer before tossing it back to Maxim. “Well, that’s a plot twist.”
