Crossing the Line (8 page)

“I’m superstitious.”

“What superstition is that?”

“My grandmother always said you should move the table before you sit down to eat with a stranger and then you’d have…a happy meal.”

“Sure you’re not thinking of McDonalds?”

“No.” Katya almost laughed.

“I’m intrigued by the way you supported Park.”

“Oh yes?”

“But don’t ever lie to me again.”

She tensed. “I—”

“Don’t.” He stared at her for a long moment and then opened the containers. “Do you have any family here?”

“No.”

“Do they live in Moscow?”

“They’re dead.”

The smell of the food made her feel faint with hunger. She scooped rice and beef in black bean sauce onto her plate, her mouth watering.

“Do you want chopsticks?” he asked.

“Too slow.”

“What did your father do?”

“Bank manager.” She helped herself to coconut chicken.

“Your mother?”

“Lecturer at Moscow State.” It was hard not to shovel it down.

“Brothers and sisters?”

She chewed and swallowed. “A sister who died.”

“Aunts, uncles, grandparents?”

“All dead. Sorry. No one left for you to threaten.”

“Why would I want to threaten your relatives?”

She looked up. “Can’t you let me eat?” She looked at her half-empty plate and Aleksei’s full one and sighed. “You threaten my relatives to persuade me to do whatever it is you want me to do. And when I carry drugs or money, or do…something,” and she wasn’t prepared to name the something, “you threaten to tell them what I’ve done. Isn’t that how it works? Come to think of it, maybe your wife would like to know of your interest in me, the trouble you’ve taken to get me here and that you and I have had a meal together in this apartment. Alone.”

Aleksei sat back and stared at her. “I think the scythe just ran into the stone.”

“You don’t believe that. You’re far too conceited.”

She was eating too quickly. When she felt his gaze on her, she forced herself to slow.

“I seem to have found the way to make you talk. When did you last have a proper meal?”

“Can’t remember. Do you miss Russia?” She tried to deflect him.

“Life’s much better here.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a businessman.”

Katya looked up. “I was so sure you were going to say lifeguard.”

He smiled. “To many of my clients I am a lifesaver. I’m an investment consultant, turning their money into more money for both of us.”

“Should I risk letting you invest my money? Maybe ten dollars?”

He sighed. “You’d be better buying a lottery ticket. Are you enjoying the food? I wasn’t sure what you’d like. I wanted to make certain you had something you’d enjoy.”

She paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. “That’s unexpectedly sweet.”

Aleksei clapped his hand over his heart. “Once you know me you’ll find I’m extremely sweet. I’ll try not to rot your teeth.”

She laughed, saw desire flare in his eyes and clamped her mouth shut.

“I might be a much better person than you think,” he said.

“That’s a pity because I always fall for bastards.”

He leaned back in his chair. “You’re very pretty when you smile, but I can’t figure you out at all.”

“Good. Do you want me to wrap up what’s left? You could eat it tomorrow.”

“Leave it. It can be thrown away and yes, I know it’s wasteful but I can afford it. Someone will be in tomorrow to clean. Come and sit down. I want to talk to you.”

He sat at one end of the couch and patted the cushion beside him. Katya sat on the same couch, but at the other end.

“So,” he said, looking at her intently, “who was it that you killed?”

Aleksei might just as well have seized her by the throat. She opened her mouth and no words came out so she shut it again.

He handed her the note she’d hidden in her violin case. “Who did you kill?”

The truth simmered and spat inside her, ready to boil over even though she knew he was the wrong man to confide in. But her reaction had already told him there was truth in this. Revealing the rest might make him think she trusted him. Every second that slipped by made it harder to lie.

“Accident,” she said.

“Okay. Who did you accidentally kill?” He leaned back and stared at her.

She swallowed hard but the obstruction remained in her throat. “Uncle.”

“I thought you didn’t have any relations?”

“Don’t now.”

Aleksei snorted. “Katya, I’m shocked. And did you dispose of the rest of your family in the same way?”

A whimper escaped before she could block it.

“I didn’t mean to kill him.”
I think I did.

“This isn’t Moscow. Why didn’t you go to the police?”

She pressed her lips together.

“Who sent the note?” he asked.

She shrugged.

“Have you told anyone what happened?”

“No.”

“When was this?”

“A few days ago.”

He moved closer. When she tried to get up he took her hand and tugged her down. “What happened?” he asked in a quiet, kind voice.

She looked into his eyes. She felt desperate to tell someone. Why not him? Would he call the police, throw her out or feel sorry for her?

“My uncle raped me.”

“Oh fuck,” he groaned.

“When he tried to do it again I stabbed him.” The words emerged cold and toneless as if it hadn’t happened to her.

She tried to pull free and he tightened his hold. “Tell me all of it.”

No way could she look at him. “I’d just arrived. He picked me up at the airport. I was going to stay with him and my aunt while they helped me find a place to live. She said they had a big house with a pool but it was a shack in a wood. He stole all my money. Four thousand dollars. I’d sold everything, my best violin, and now it’s all gone.”

She tried to bring moisture to her mouth. “He invited four of his buddies to play cards and I…knew. I knew what they planned. I hid in the woods.” Her heart raced as it had that night. “They hunted me down, carried me back like a trophy.” She shuddered and her voice dropped. “My uncle and two of the men tied me to the bed and took turns.”

She was surprised to feel relief at having said it. She hadn’t collapsed in a blubbering heap and although her heart hurt, it hadn’t stopped beating.

“Shit. The fucking bastards.” Aleksei held her hand tighter. “Your uncle’s name?”

Katya knew she shouldn’t tell, but the words flew from her mouth like bullets. “Vasily Novikov.”

“The others?”

“I only know their first names. Edgar and Setter. Dave and Jance didn’t rape me.”

“They did nothing to help you?”

She shook her head.

“Where was your aunt?”

“In her room. Sick. But…she came in. I think my uncle killed her.” She choked back a sob. “He came back after the others had gone, told me my aunt was dead and tried to rape me again. Only I wasn’t tied up anymore and I grabbed one of the knives I’d hidden. We struggled. I stabbed him in the neck. He tried to strangle me. He didn’t know I had another knife. That one killed him.”

She looked at him then, saw the right reaction in his eyes. Anger, sympathy.

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

“I didn’t think they’d believe me. He’d taken my money, my passport, everything. Who’d believe a Russian against four Americans, especially with my aunt dead? I drove his truck to Miami and dumped it. I found my papers in the glove compartment, but not my money. He told me he owed…a guy…a Russian man. I think he’d already given my money to him.”

“How did you get this note?”

“It was in my mailbox at the university.”

“Did anyone else see you at your uncle’s place?”

“No.”

She’d given him a hold over her now. She’d planted a seed about her uncle owing money. Not such a leap to say he owed Petrenko. But not yet.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you, Katya.” Aleksei let her hand go, ran his fingers along the edge of her jaw and touched the fading bruises on her neck. She held herself rigid. “And now I let you get hurt too. I’m truly sorry. Your opinion of men will be very low but not all are bastards.” He stood up. “You need to rest. Pick any bedroom you like. I’ll be back in the morning. You’re safe here.”

Only after the door closed did she accept he’d gone. He’d surprised her for the second time. Did he really feel sorry for her? More likely he didn’t want her now he knew what had happened. Soiled goods. But then why hadn’t he called her a cab and pushed her out the door with a few dollars in her pocket? Sympathy was hard to take and so was kindness when she hadn’t expected it. A shaky sob escaped. Tears welled in her eyes and she rubbed them away.

I should have kept quiet.
He didn’t want her now. He was just being kind, giving her a bed for the night.
Oh fuck, I’ve messed everything up, including myself.

After ten minutes she tried to leave. The door wouldn’t open. She pulled, kicked and banged it with her fists, but she was trapped. She checked every drawer and cupboard. No key and not much belonging to Aleksei either, only some men’s clothing in a bedroom closet and a selection of toiletries in the adjoining bathroom. She found a wall safe, but that was locked too. Katya played around with the dial, listening for clicks, but clearly safe-cracking needed to be added to the long list of things she couldn’t do.

Once she calmed down, she realized he’d probably recorded her tantrum, the search and the pathetic attempt to open the safe. Flushed with guilt, she cleaned up the remains of the meal. She took her dirty clothes out of her backpack and while they washed, she played her violin. The acoustics in the apartment were so good she lost herself in the music and banished from her head the fact that she was a prisoner.

* * * * *

The further Aleksei drove from the apartment, the worse his temper became. He’d been ordered to Viktor’s and ignoring him was not an option but he knew where he’d rather be.
Fucking raped?
He’d not guessed that. He’d have preferred to be comforting her yet he was aware what a bad move that would have been if he’d pushed too hard. He did have some scruples along with common sense. Taking advantage of someone who’d been hurt was not the way he played. There was something different about Katya, something that made her worth waiting for.

It hadn’t escaped Aleksei’s attention that since Viktor and Kirill had arrived in Miami, life was no longer pleasant, or straightforward. He couldn’t afford to sit back and let the situation get out of hand. He might owe Viktor, but the idiot was going to go down and bring him down with him.

There had to be a way of handling the upcoming conversation without pissing Viktor off, though he couldn’t think of one. He’d been reluctant to involve Viktor in his business. He was a liability. Aleksei trusted no one which kept him safe. Viktor didn’t need money; he had far more than Aleksei, but he did need status. In Moscow, he’d been important, a gang leader, part of the
Derzhimordovskaya
but in Miami, he’d had to start again, another player looking for a way to make his name.

One of the first things Viktor had done was buy a declining nightclub and the place was already a success. The start of his empire building plans. Aleksei thought the lower his profile the better, and Viktor thought the opposite. The knowledge of how little they had in common made him smile briefly.

When Bruno, Viktor’s bodyguard, opened the door of the house in Bal Harbor, Aleksei could hear Viktor arguing with Beth, his latest bimbo. He looked around while he waited. Viktor had been buying more crap. The place was over-decorated to the point of decadence: gold plated handles, elaborate crystal chandeliers, too many paintings. Viktor assumed if something was expensive, it was worth having. He had no taste. If Aleksei could have trusted him not to do something stupid, he might have sold him that bag of coins. As it was, they had to sit in the bank while he considered what to do with them.

The voices grew louder and he decided not to wait. He walked in to see Viktor slap Beth’s face.

“Never fucking contradict me,” Viktor yelled.

Beth stormed off in tears. She knew better than appeal to Aleksei to arbitrate. She slammed the door so hard a chandelier rattled.

“She wants to use some fucking shit-eater as a party planner. I can’t stand the little prick.” Viktor picked up a bottle of Stolichnaya and poured two glasses. “You’re late.”

“Something came up.”

“Drink?” He offered him a glass.

Aleksei shook his head.

Viktor downed one and picked up the other. “You eaten?”

“Yes.”

“Ready to go ahead?”

Aleksei took a deep breath. “It’s not something I want to be associated with.”

Viktor’s mouth tightened. “I’m not asking you to handle the fucking stuff. I need you to act as intermediary. You look right. You’re smart and I can trust you.”

“I don’t want to do it.”

“Aleksei.” Viktor’s voice changed to a more moderate tone and he slung his arm over his shoulder. Aleksei trusted him as much as a boa constrictor. “You owe me. After all I’ve done for you, it’s not much to ask.”

Yes it fucking is.
“It’s too risky.”

Viktor laughed. “Everything we do is risky. I haven’t asked you to get involved with the Mexicans or the Colombians, have I? I understand you want to protect what you have, but this is my chance to regain what I’ve lost and I need your help. I’m meeting a couple of guys the day after tomorrow. I want you there. You don’t need to say anything if you don’t want to. Just…look intelligent.”

“I’ve already agreed to go to Phoenix to deliver Max Hastings’s gift.”

“Shit, I’d forgotten about that. Who are you taking?”

He chewed his cheeks. “I’m running out of choices since you arrived.”

“Don’t tell me you’re having difficulty getting women. I’d offer Beth but her mouth’s too big. Good for fucking but she won’t shut up.”

“No, I’m not having difficulty.”

Viktor smiled like a cartoon cat. “That’s why you’re late.”

Aleksei sighed. “She’s had a…rough time. I’m not sure about her yet.”

“What sort of rough time?”

“She arrived here a few days ago from Moscow and was raped by her uncle and his buddies. She killed her uncle in self-defense and now someone’s trying to blackmail her into keeping quiet.”

Viktor raised his eyebrows. “And you’re not fucking sure about her? Dump her.”

“I don’t want to. I like her. She’s different. A fantastic violinist.”

“And blonde?”

“Yes,” Aleksei admitted.

“Let me guess. Long hair, long legs, blue eyes.” Viktor laughed. “Mr. Predictable.”

“Anna doesn’t have blonde hair.”

“But you told me she’s dynamite in bed. What about this new one?”

“I don’t know. She flinches every time I go near her.”

“You haven’t fucked her yet? You must be losing your touch.”

“I was trying to be sensitive.”

He thought Viktor was going to choke to death laughing. But because he thought this was something they could have a conversation about without arguing, Aleksei told him what he knew about Katya and as he talked he realized he was even more interested in her than he’d thought. Despite everything, she wasn’t broken. She’d made him laugh. She wasn’t like the others. She was real.

“I’ll have to meet her,” Viktor said.

Now Aleksei wished he’d not mentioned her at all.