“And both of them have something different in mind for her.” She nods. “Kiril will want her safe. You can guarantee that and use it to secure a discussion with him that gets him back on your side.”
“By kidnapping her?”
“It’s not a kidnapping! She’s here of her own free will,” Liya snaps. “Besides, you wanted to secure her. Remember?”
I narrow my eyes. “Thisisn’twhat I had in mind.”
“No, you wanted to throw her in some abandoned building, didn’t you? Because then you’d wash your hands of her if anything happened.”
No comment.
“Or did you plan on tossing her into the basement?” She steps closer. “That disgusting place reeking of death? It’s no place for a pregnant woman.”
“You realize that by bringing her here, you’ve painted bigger targets on our heads?”
She tilts her chin up, holding her ground. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Are you?”
“With that missing person’s report out for her, the NYPD has probable cause to search this location if they have reasonable suspicion that I’m holding her captive.”
“But that’s not true.”
I smile flatly. “They can phrase it however they want for a judge to sign off on the warrant. All it takes is the right argument from Felix and—” I gesture to the suite. “This whole place will be crawling with cops.”
“I didn’t think—”
“I’m willing to bet that Felix’s loyal men in the NYPD are working on a search warrantright now.”
Liya’s confidence fades ever so slightly, but doesn’t die.
Because it’s all still very good thinking.
Her initiative and creative problem-solving impress me, as well as the lengths she’s willing to go to secure her goal. I’ve always underestimated her abilities.
And maybe it’s time I stop doing that.
In just an hour, she’s done what the NYPD couldn’t manage to do in three days.
“So,” I sidestep Liya and approach Zoya, who takes a tentative step back. I circle her like a hawk and then return to Liya, folding my hands behind my back. “What next?”
“Keep her safe. For as long as necessary.”
I cock my head to the right. “And what if she’s found?”
“She won’t be.”
“Think about every path, Liya. Look at all the strings in the web you’re weaving.”
Her eyes cloud for a second as she considers my words. That’s what I love about her—she listens to me. She doesn’t just bow her head and obey orders like Zoya. She wants to work with me. Defy me if necessary.
She wants to work together.
Even if she goes off and does her own thing from time to time.
“We move her somewhere else before she can be discovered here,” Liya states. “Willow can probably find some properties through her father’s real estate company. We could use one of those when the time comes. But for now, this place is a fortress.”
“It’s better than that, Liya.”
The lopsided grin on her face is slightly playful. “Just take the compliment already,” she says.