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Javier frowned. “If not Bekker, then who the hell does she work for?”
I turned my stare to Rozina, knowing exactly who this woman was and why she’d come. “She’s a detective for NYPD and she’s on leave because she was recruited for a job that would pay her the bonus of a lifetime.”
“Oh, fuck.” Javier cursed some more. “You mean—?”
“Yes.” It made total sense. “She works for my father.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Javier
“Holy fucking shit.” I stared at Missy, having just witnessed her mind’s brilliance in action, then returned my gaze to Rozina. “You do work for Richard Astor, don’t you?”
She kept her lips tightly pressed and her glower on Missy.
“Fuck Richard Astor,” I muttered. “He’s the dick that keeps on giving.”
“This is what happened.” Missy engaged the Glock’s safety and slumped down on an upholstered chair. Her thoughtful expression as she considered the other woman told me she was processing and fast. “My father recruited you. He offered you lots of money to find me and drag me back to him. He chose you because you’re good at your job.”
“So Mousy Missy has a brain.” Rozina mocked her with the smirk I wanted to rip off her face. “I’ll admit to being fucking amazing at my job.”
“I have news for you.” Missy looked the woman straight in the eye. “My father’s dead.”
“What?”For the first time since we’d caught her, Rozina flinched. Her lips slacked and her eyes went as wide as they could go.
“He’s dead,” Missy reiterated, her tone stern and sure. “As in gone, buried, extinct.”
“No.” Rozina shook her head, frowning. “I would’ve known.”
Her denial was an admission in itself.
Missy leaned back on the chair. I could almost hear the well-oiled cogwheels of her mind working. “How long have you been on leave from your job?”
“Six months,” Rozina said. “Why do you ask?”
“You’ve been in Central America all that time,” Missy guessed. “You must’ve missed the news. My father’s death got little coverage over here. I didn’t hear about it and neither did you. I’m going to guess Father asked you to contact himonlyif you found me. He wired you a generous allowance on a quarterly basis.”
The confusion on Rozina’s face told me that Missy was right. She knew her father’s MO. She’d guessed correctly on all counts. She crossed one leg over the other, and sat straight on her chair, wearing only my T-shirt, and yet exuding the same confidence I’d witnessed in her sister Thena when she dealt with pricks and assholes.
“Have you received your latest allowance?” Missy asked. “I bet it’s late, isn’t it?”
The color drained from Rozina’s cheeks, but she didn’t break.
“The man’s dead,” I built on Missy’s argument. “He’s not looking for Missy anymore. You’re fucked. You might as well come clean. How did you find Missy?”
Rozina dropped her head and cursed under her breath.
“Please,” Missy said. “Just tell us.”
“Really, Mousy?” The woman scorned. “What’s in it for me?”
Missy looked at me.
“You get to live,” I snarled. “I won’t put a round on your fucking head right now. Which Iwilldo if you insult Missy again and don’t answer her questions.”
Rozina’s throat rippled. “I’ve got a kid.”
Missy’s face instantly softened. I scoffed. Rozina was trying to tug on our heartstrings, Missy’s mostly. My heartstrings were short and unavailable to criminals and kidnappers. I didn’t have any mercy for a woman who’d planned to kidnap Missy and tried to play me to get to her. It infuriatedme that Rozina had believed she could neutralize me so easily. Even though we’d proven her wrong, it pissed me off that she’d made it this far.
