26. Natalia

26

NATALIA

We're so screwed.

The good-looking detective saunters towards me as my bodyguards close in.

"No need for the display of force here, fellas. I just want to have a little chat with you, Ms. Boone." Detective Harris gives me a friendly, knowing look like there's any chance in hell I'll be on his side. "Can you call off your henchmen?"

"What is this about?" Leif barks.

"That's between Ms. Boone and the city of New York." He points at the badge on his coat. "And this means that I'm not obligated to answer your questions, Cujo. But you are obligated to answer mine."

"Show me a warrant and I'll?—"

I step between them before the situation escalates. "It's okay, Leif. I can talk to the detective."

The detective flashes a toothy smile at Leif. "Down, boy. It's all good."

Leif doesn't look at all happy as I place a hand on his chest and force him back a few paces. He doesn't look at me, not even when I mutter in his face, "It's just a couple of questions. I'm sure it's routine. Don't stress."

"I don't like the look of that mudak ," Leif hisses under his breath.

Leonty draws in closer. "Neither do I."

Remi's on edge, too. He keeps growling at the detective and the cop.

Behind the glass wall that divides the lobby from our office, I can see Abby and the rest of the office popping over their cubicles like meerkats.

"Stop," I order. "I don't want to give them any more reason to be suspicious, okay? Let me talk to them. If I cooperate, I'm sure we can show them nothing shady is going on."

Leif and Leonty exchange a skeptical glance. Ignoring both of them, I force Remi's leash into Leonty's hand.

He tries to reject it. "Take him with you! That's what he's for."

"His job isn't to get Tased for biting detectives. Just keep him calm and keep him with you."

"Fine, but I'm informing Andrey," Leif snarls.

I don't even bother trying to dissuade him from that one. If they're telling Aunt Annie about my sleeping arrangement, there's no way I'm keeping this from Andrey.

I return to Detective Harris and his sour-faced backup muscle. "Sorry about that. I'm happy to answer whatever questions you have for me."

Harris nods. With one final, skewering glance at Leif and Leonty, we shuffle into a nearby conference room.

The door behind us swings shut with an eerie, disproportionate boom, like a judge's gavel. Inside, it reeks like dust bunnies, mildew, and stale coffee.

Harris directs me into a rickety chair while the officer lurks in the corner. Once I'm seated, the detective leans against the table, his arms folded across his chest tightly enough for the folds of fat on his neck to spill over the collar. He flashes me another megawatt smile. Instinctively, I lean as far back as my seat will allow.

"Ms. Boone, tell me why you travel with a full-on security team."

I cross my legs and shrug. "My partner gets a little paranoid about my safety. He tends to go overboard sometimes." I force a fake laugh. "You know how eccentric these rich businessmen can get."

"And the rich businessman in question is…" He makes a big show of flipping through the small yellow notepad in his hand, as if he doesn't already know exactly what he's about to say. "… Andrey Kuznetsov, is that right?"

I cling to my cherry pendant to keep my hands from fidgeting. I started wearing it after we had our big talk, and I'm grateful for it now.

"That's him."

"I'm curious, Ms. Boone: why would a woman with a man like Andrey Kuznetsov want to work in a place like this?"

I uncross my legs and then cross them in the opposite direction. "Are you here to grill me on my personal life, Detective, or do you plan on getting to Byron Wells any time soon?"

He whistles and looks over at the cop in the corner. "We have a live one, Hernandez."

"You have a busy one," I correct acidly. "I have a job to get to."

"Of course. You don't want us wasting your time," he says politely. "Let's get to the point then. When was the last time you heard from Mr. Wells?"

"It would've been the last time we were both in the office together. Months ago by now."

"And what was the nature of your contact?"

Bitter, mostly.

"Professional," I answer instead.

Harris smiles. He lets the silence drag on, long enough to make it clear he's suspicious, at the very least. "Professional, huh?" He rubs his hairy chin. "So there was nothing going on between you and Mr. Wells?"

Gritting my teeth, I shrug as nonchalantly as I can manage given the circumstances. "Mr. Wells had a very one-sided crush on me."

"Hm. And…?"

"And nothing," I snap. "He made an advance in the workplace. I shut it down. End of story."

"Except, it wasn't the end of the story, was it, Ms. Boone?"

I meet his eyes only because it would be really suspicious not to. "I'm not sure what you want me to say, Detective. As far as I'm concerned, there was nothing after that."

"According to several of your coworkers, Mr. Wells had something of an altercation with your ‘rich businessman' boyfriend, Mr. Kuznetsov. Do you confirm or deny?"

The bastard is smiling at me as though he's having the time of his life. No wonder he got Remi's hackles up. I'm this close to growling at him myself. I'd bite a chunk out of him, too, if I wasn't so sure it would taste like polyester, cigarettes, and gas station aftershave.

"He was hitting on me at work, Detective," I explain tiredly. "He was my superior; I was his subordinate. It was nothing less than sexual harassment, so of course my partner wasn't happy about it. They exchanged words and Byron left me alone after that."

"And by ‘left you alone,' you mean that he disappeared."

"By ‘left me alone,' I mean that he stopped making inappropriate sexual advances towards me."

"Seems a little convenient, don't you think?"

"That my intimidating boyfriend would tell Byron to back off and then Byron would back off? Sounds like clear cause and effect to me. Even if it wasn't, last I checked, coincidences aren't crimes."

Harris's eyes flare wide for a moment. That menacing smile is back on his face. "That remains to be seen."

"Are you accusing me of something?" I ask. "Because if you are, I'd rather you stop beating around the bush."

There are times I need to learn to shut the hell up.

This is one of those times.

"You're right, Ms. Boone. Let's not beat around the bush any longer. I'm going to need you to come down to the station with me and answer a few more questions."

My body goes cold instantly. That's all the foreboding I need to shake my head. "No."

Detective Harris pops off the desk. "No?"

"I'm not obligated to go anywhere with you. If you want to bring me in for questioning, then show up next time with an arrest warrant. Otherwise?—"

I gasp when I feel something cold and hard pressed into my side. I don't have to turn my head very far at all before I come face to face with the silent cop, who's no longer a statue in the corner. He's wearing a look of such cold detachment that I need to double-check to make sure he really is pressing a gun to my body.

"What is this?" I croak.

"This is what happens when people think they're above the law," Harris quips with a pleasant smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Now, you're going to walk out of here with us right now. Or my colleague here is gonna get real sloppy with his gun."

"Detective," my ass. They're not who they say they are.

I swallow down the sob rising in my throat. "I'm pregnant."

"And if you want to stay that way, I suggest you do exactly as I say." Harris smiles again, sending a shiver down my spine. "Is that clear?"

I can only nod.

"Excellent. Let's go. Arkady, make sure you walk behind her. If she tips off her watch dogs… shoot her."

I wipe my sweaty palms on my trousers before walking out of the conference room behind the fake detective. The police officer stays close behind me.

The fresh air of the lobby is a minor relief. The stench of the conference room was starting to feel like mud in my lungs.

But even fresh air doesn't ease the heaviness in my chest.

"I need to go down to the station for a bit," I say to Leif and Leonty as they crowd toward us.

Both men scowl immediately.

I glance nervously at Harris, who's busy adjusting the collar of his jacket as if nothing is amiss. "Yeah, it's routine apparently. Nothing to be alarmed about. They said they'll release me in an hour or so."

"The hell they will?—"

"Leif!" I raise my voice. "It's okay. I've agreed to go down to the station. Just do me a favor: cancel my appointment with Misha Remington, will you? Tell him I can't sign the contract today and send my apologies."

As far as clues go, it's pretty lame, but it's the best I can come up with in the moment. I hope to God they understand.

Leonty is surveilling Harris and Arkady through narrowed eyes while trying to hold fast to Remi's leash. The dog is straining hard, desperate to get to me.

Without waiting for them to protest, I head out of Sunshield, my heart in tatters. I'm ushered into the back of the police car and the moment I'm inside, the doors lock with an ominous click.

"Let's have your phone, baby doll." Harris twists around in the passenger seat and holds out his hand.

Helplessly, I fork over my phone.

I get a glimpse of Leif's ashen face as the fake cop steers the car away from the pavement. The fake detective is busy punching numbers into his own phone.

"Hey, boss," he greets as he puts the phone to his ear. "It's done. We've got her."