“Trust me, I know,” I said. “This is not going to be a hardship on my part. At all.”
“You have a plan B, though?” Theo asked, and when I shot daggers in his direction, he held his hands up. “Not that I don’t believe you can persuade anyone, but backtracking and taking the two mil after all this would be embarrassing.”
“I—” My words cut off at the knock on the door, and I held up a finger to the guys. “You’re all about to eat your words,” I said, standing and refastening my towel so I flashed them all. Their groans were audible as I headed to the door and pulled it open, and the two bellhops on the other side took one look at my half-naked body and quickly looked down at their feet.
The top of the first one’s head flushed a bright shade of red as he held an envelope out for me. “This came for you, sir. We were told to bring it to you straight away.”
“Ah,merci.” I plucked the envelope from his hand, loving that my instincts were right.
“And also this.” The second bellhop stepped forward with a large, intricate box in his arms. The box itself was gorgeous, like an ornate vintage jewelry box, only much too big.
I bit back my smile and slipped them both a few bills from my nightstand before taking the box and heading back to the laptop.
“My oh my, will you look at this,” I said, setting my gift on the bed in full view of the camera and then sitting down behind it, fanning myself with the envelope.
“No fucking way,” Shep said, shaking his head in either disbelief or admiration. Maybe a mix of both.
Lachlan narrowed his eyes. “Okay, but what’s in the fucking box? A bomb?”
I arched a brow. “And the point of that would be?”
“That he knows you’re a spy,” Alessio said. “Don’t open it.”
“You’re ridiculous. I’m not ignoring a gift, especially one this nice.”
“You won’t think it’s so nice when what’s inside blows your face off.”
“Well then, I suppose you’d better get a good look at it now.” I turned my face to each side before sliding my finger under the envelope’s flap and ripping it open.
It wasn’t like I even needed to see what was on the card, but humoring them was too entertaining to resist.
There, in handwritten black ink, was the summons I’d expected:
I don’t take no for an answer. Tuesday. Noon.
~Your Monster
I read the card aloud for them and then flipped the latch on the box. Another note was placed on top of carefully bound hundred-dollar bills that filled the interior to the brim.
Two million now. Another two at the end of the month.
“Shit, you did it. You really fuckin’ did it,” I heard someone mutter, but I was too busy grinning like a Cheshire Cat at my victory to notice who it was.
“What did I tell ye of little faith?” I said, taking one of the bundles of crisp bills and fanning myself with it. “Got him, boys.”
5
DIMITRI
Location: A Snow-Covered castle in Prague, Czech Republic
THE WARMTH OF my breath cut through the frigid air as I stood alone on an upstairs balcony at the castle I’d commandeered in Prague. Several feet of fresh snow had fallen overnight, blanketing the grounds and giving the illusion of peace. Safety. Beauty.
All things that were unfamiliar to me, but made this the perfect hidden place for business.
“ETA two minutes,” Omar said, coming to stand beside me.
I nodded, scanning the distance before I headed back inside, Omar following after me silently. At least until we started down the grand staircase.
