“I swear, boss — we looked but we didn’t find it.” Righty sounds like he’s about to shit himself. “She’s lying. She’s stashed it somewhere.”
I flinch. “Lying about what?”
“You know exactly what, you manipulative bitch!” Lefty lurches at me. “Where did you stash it? Tell us!”
“Why would she lie?” Alexei asks softly. “She may not know the value of a goodpaperweight.However… the two of you do.”
“Wait… are you saying… you think my paperweight is stolen property?” I keep my brows high, as though I have no idea what’s happening. As if I don’t know precisely where his precious Egg is — somewhereveryfar from my study desk, that’s for damn sure.
“It’s possible,” Alexei says noncommittally. His gaze moves back to the brothers, growing scarier by the second. “You assured me you searched the house from top to bottom. You expect me to believe you overlooked theNécessairewhen it was sitting out on a desk in plain view?”
“No, Alexei. It wasn’t there!”
Alexei doesn’t respond. He’s looking very displeased with his minions.
Excellent.
Maybe they’ll all kill each other and you can walk out of here scot-free.
HA!
A girl can dream.
“I assure you, Alexei. If theNécessairewas there, we would’ve found it.” He pauses, his voice growing less confident. “Unless… Unless we somehow missed it… though I thought we were thorough…”
Alexei’s eyes narrow. “Or… perhaps you recognized its value and decided to keep it for yourselves.”
“No, Alexei.” Lefty falls to his knees, head bowed in subservience. His brother soon follows suit. “We would never betray you. On our honor, we are faithful to you and to the Bratva.”
Alexei lets them sweat it out on their knees for a long time, saying nothing. “Viktor, I see two possible scenarios, here. Neither is agreeable. Either you are incompetent, or you are a liar. I can afford to keep neither in my service.”
“Please. Give us another chance. Let us go back. We’ll search the house again. We’ll rip up every floorboard, if we have to.”
“And how will you do that, with the FBI watching our every move? They are monitoringeverythingin this cursed city. They’ve already discovered your hideout at the deli. They have my nephew in custody, thanks to your sloppiness!”
So Paul is safe, then.
Safe… and likely in handcuffs…
But I suppose handcuffs are still preferable to death.
“The FBI is stretched thin. They can’t cover every location at once,” Lefty says.
“And yet, they have driven us to do business out here—” Alexei gestures around at the construction site. “—like common thugs. It is an affront to the Petrov pride.”
Ah.
So that explains the creepy locale. No street cameras or surveillance.
Somewhere far overhead, I sincerely hope Evelson is watching via satellite. Like a bald guardian angel in a kevlar vest.
“Alexei, you have seen us operate in the past. We can get back into the Hunt house without detection.”
“Getting in isn’t the issue. It’s gettingoutagain that will require a magic trick. The FBI will surround you within moments.” He pauses. “I myself am worried about accessing my jet. They will be staked out at the airport, as well.”
“It’s true enough that they’ll surround the house. But all we need is a suitable distraction. Something to occupy the FBI while we grab the Egg… and something to use as leverage for our extraction.”
“A distraction,” Alexei murmurs, interest peaked. “I assume you mean something similar to the Belarus incident last spring?”