“You want to make a murderer out of her?”
“She is a murderer.”
Valentin shrugged. “One doesn’t make a pattern. Doesn’t make a committed criminal.”
“She wants to learn the craft.”
“You want to keep her with you.”
I gritted my teeth. “Is there a place for her, or not? I want you to give Elizabeth a shot.”
“You’re serious?” Valentin was staring at me like I’d gone crazy and I could see the irritation building in his features. “She’s the stepdaughter of the man you were supposed to prevent from exposing our financial entanglements. She doesn’t get to join the team because you’ve decided to fuck her.”
I growled. “Good luck getting anyone to finish this off without her. You give her a trial, or you don’t get this done.”
“You’re threatening me now?” Valentin laughed, and I nearly put my fist through the screen of the laptop. “Toropov the Torpedo has finally fallen for someone. My God, the world is ending. This isn’t some kind of sports club, Maxim. We don’t do trial periods.”
“I’ll be accountable. If it’s a mistake, I’ll take care of it.”
“You’ll take care of it? You’re telling me you’ll tidy her up if it doesn’t work out?”
“That’s what I’m saying.” I had complete faith in her. Our connection was more powerful than anything I’d felt in my life and she wasn’t going to walk away from it. The Bratva was my life, so the Bratva was going to be hers. I knew she already embraced that. “She needs a passport, a new name. To get out of here without any questions asked. You need her to get what we’re after. It’s a simple business exchange mate, don’t make it more complicated than it is.”
Valentin shook his head, showing me his teeth in an animal glare. “You don’t push me about Maxim. That’s not how this relationship works.”
“Then don’t make me. You know how loyal I am. This is what I’m asking for.”
He shook his head again, but I watched Valentin pull out his phone and put a call through. When they picked up, he rattled off something in quick-fire Russian that I was too rusty to pick out. He ended the call just as abruptly as it had started.
Valentin let out a sigh. “I don’t understand you, my friend. You want to bring her into this like that, then it’s on your head. When she has a track record, we can talk. I won’t object to you bringing her to work with you, as long as she doesn’t cause problems.”
“She won’t.”
“I hope not, for her sake.”
“The training allowance?”
Valentin shrugged. “What of it? You know our assets are at your disposal, as long as you get done what we require. It’s always been this way, no?”
I nodded. It was true. I was allowed free rein, without having to justify my expenses. The accommodation I needed were always there, as long as I specified my requirements. No questions were asked, receipts were not required.
“I wanted to be clear, so there would be no question of me taking what isn’t mine.”
“Maxim, we appreciate your honesty. As always, the money we deposit is yours to use however you see fit. Employ her, if that’s what you want to do. Personally, I’d marry her instead. But that’s just me.”
I gritted my teeth to stop the growl from rising in my throat. There was nothing I wanted more. I didn’t need him suggesting it like it hadn’t occurred to me. She deserved everything, and I planned to give it to her. “It needs to be right. She has to make the choice.”
Valentin frowned as though the idea was a slightly foreign concept. That didn’t surprise me. Not many people argued with Valentin Rozhkov if they knew what was good for them. “She already did, didn’t she? Otherwise she wouldn’t be with you, she’d be a hundred miles away, trying to disappear.”
That was something I hadn’t dared put into words. But maybe Valentin was right.
“She needs new papers,” I said, instead of letting myself get drawn in.
“Russian citizenship?”
“Of course. She’s with us. There is no other way.”
Valentin tilted his head on a smile I couldn’t read. “As you wish. I am looking forward to meeting this Ms Harrington. Leave the paperwork to me. Of course I’d like to know exactly who we’re welcoming into the fold. Timoshenko will expect that.”
“Of course.”
Valentin nodded, short and unimpressed. “Then, I will set up another call. We will see how it goes.”
“Thank you Valentin.”
“You have balls Maxim, to ask this. I’ll give you that.”
CHAPTER 23
Maxim
The offices of Charlton and Taylor were down a little back street in Soho. It was very London chic, wedged in between brightly coloured shopfronts and other boutique media agencies that the run of the mill tourist would never expect to find here, and only a handful of Londoners would ever think contained serious office space.