“I want to ask you some questions about your contract with Sergei,” I began gently. She glanced at the hairbrush and back at me. I cleared my throat and continued.
“If you answer my questions truthfully, then I will return the hairbrush to my bathroom. If by the end of our discussion I feel like you’re being dishonest with me, then I will take you over my knee and paddle you with it until your ass is bright red and you are sobbing and begging to tell me the truth,” I declared boldly, and she swallowed hard.
She nodded once. “I understand,” she replied, biting her lip.
“No matter what you tell me, I will protect you and keep you safe. I won’t hesitate to punish you in order to do that,” I warned her.
“I know that, sir,” she said quietly, squirming a little in her seat. I sat back and cut off a piece of omelet, popping it into my mouth and chewing it thoughtfully. The flavors were just as delicious as I thought they would be, but I was distracted and didn’t really focus on them.
“All that being said, though, I’m pretty proud of you for getting through all of our systems and hardly leaving a trace,” I exclaimed, and her entire face lit up. She smiled back at me, looking a bit confused at first.
“Really?” she squeaked.
“I can see why you have a name on the market. It’s impressive work,” I continued.
Fuck. She blushed again and my cock throbbed with desire. This girl was making me lose the control I was famous for. I struggled to stay in my seat, sitting back and crossing my legs and trying to ignore the pulsing need surging through my dick.
“It’s always been something I’m good at, coming up with ways to avoid detection, to get in and out quickly and efficiently,” she replied, a bit more at ease.
“How do people get in contact with you?”
“I have a handler that I use sometimes to deal with people I don’t know, or I haven’t dealt with before. Some others insist on being more direct. Sergei was one of those people,” she offered, glancing up at me nervously when she said it.
“Have you worked with him before?” I cocked my head, chewing another bite while keeping my full attention on her.
She nodded, finally digging into her own plate. Adorably, she covered her mouth as she swallowed before speaking.
“Only once before, but it was a more traditional job. He wanted me to rob a bank here in the Bronx. It wasn’t too difficult because there was an abandoned sewer beneath it that I drilled through to get in. That time, it was just money he wanted,” she explained.
“Bank robbery?” I lifted an eyebrow.
She squirmed like a naughty little girl, and I wanted to throw her over that table and sink into her more than anything. I resisted though, for now, but it was a struggle.
“Tell me about the contract for my vault,” I pressed.
“Sergei wanted your cache of diamonds,” she replied.
“That’s not all you took though.” I narrowed my gaze and she looked down at her plate sheepishly.
“No. The rest was supposed to be for me,” she admitted guiltily.
“If I hadn’t already belted you yesterday for it, you’d be getting it right now,” I replied, and she covered her face with her hands for a moment before she peeked back at me. I smirked and her cheeks turned scarlet. She fidgeted with her hands before deciding to take another bite.
“Where did he have you take the diamonds after you successfully stole them? Do you have them hidden somewhere or have you already completed the meet-up with him?”
“I delivered them a few days ago in a safety deposit box,” she explained. “I don’t typically meet with my contracts in person. It’s safer for me that way and if they insist on it, then I either send Ricky or just don’t take the work on. I’ve pissed a few people off in the past that way, but I know how to hide my tracks.”
Even though what she did was dangerous, I was relieved to hear that she at least took precautions.
“Sergei wasn’t one of those men that pushed for in-person contact. When I asked to arrange a drop-off point, he suggested a safety deposit box. He sent a number and a key to an address I provided several weeks ago when I started readying for the job,” she explained quickly.
I drummed my fingers on the table. It would be much harder to get the diamonds back now that I knew they might already be in the possession of the Russians.
“If I still had them, I’d give them back to you,” she said anxiously, glancing back and forth from the hairbrush to me. “I really didn’t know the house belonged to you and your family.”
“I believe you, Mila,” I replied quickly, and a look of relief crossed over her face at once.
“Good,” she breathed.