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“Hm.”
Feisty Freya. Audacious Freya. Never listened to warnings. She’d managed to fool me, alright. Just when I thought threatening her family was enough to shake her up, she’d beenpretending to submit and just had to go ahead and do the one thing I told her not to, like a sly vixen.
Her courage left me feeling both amused and irritated.
After a moment of processing, I chuckled, and even Niko heard the darkness in it.
“Shit. You’re going to kill her, aren’t you?”
I ignored his question and snatched the car keys and my gun from the desk, marching to my car. “Do you have any idea how she got that phone?”
“Yeah. I got my mole to trace the call. Proved difficult but was finally able to break through. Stolen from one Martha Quinlan.”
I thought hard; there was only one way that could have happened: the fundraiser.
“And the rescue leader, John?”
“Oh, him. I called in reinforcements to deliver a welcome package. I’ll send you pictures soon. I think he received it quite well.”
“Good job, Niko.”
The call disconnected, and, like my brother, I floored the gas like a maniac, launching the pins over the speed limit.
When I got home, she was seated in the living room, her face contorted in worry, her elbows on her knees, and her fingers interlocked underneath her chin. She looked like someone who was really waiting for help.
Our eyes met, and she sprung on her feet, professionally sliding into her role of a good girl. In my hand, my phone screen lit up—messages from my brother.
Tucking her long hair behind her ears, she rubbed her palms on her shorts and greeted breathlessly with a half-worn smile, “Hey.”
I caught her gaze fleet over my shoulders, probably still in high hopes of the cavalry bursting in.
I looked around. “Where is Anatoly?”
Freya bounced on her feet and came up to me, looking even prettier up close.
“Out.” She shrugged. “The last time I checked, he was my babysitter, not the other way around.”
I was quiet, and she sobered up to appear less like the villain and more like the victim.
She slanted a tempted look at my lips and dragged it back up to my face. “You’ve been away.”
“On business within the country. Don’t worry; I know there are bad people after me who desire nothing more than to see me serving time behind bars. I’ve been careful.” I mirrored her smile. “Did you miss me?”
“Maybe?”
She truly deserved an Oscar for her acting skills. If Niko hadn’t revealed her plans, I would not have suspected a thing.
“I doubt it.” I stepped up even closer, enough to pick up her scent and see the creases lining her forehead. “Does the nameMilaring a bell?”
Freya’s smile faltered. She cleared her throat, and her brows made the slightest twitch. “Um, yeah? She was my colleague back in the department. Why?”
“Hm. Interesting.” I lifted my phone, clicked on Niko’s messages, and flipped the screen to her face. “How about John?”
“You bastard!”
Her smile was gone now, and unshed tears filled her eyes. It was like watching a broken faucet burst and spray water everywhere. She was shaking with quivering lips, both in anger and pure, unveiled fear. For the first time, I felt nothing watching her.
A cold, dark fury coursed through my very being, and seething resentment settled in the place that had once held an attraction for her.
