“So he told you about Lidiya.”
“Briefly.” I don’t flinch back from his stare, however unwavering. “Enough for me to understand.”
“Levin has always had a soft spot for all women.” Adrian tosses back his drink, setting the blue glass back on the table, where it catches the dying light as he turns back to the edge of the patio overlooking the water. “But particularly for her. He would have left the syndicate for her. Some of his associates thought that was inexcusable. Levin thought their actions were inexcusable. There was a great deal of blood shed.”
“We’re not here to dredge up the past,” Levin says tightly. “It’s long done and over with. Vladimir traded me a favor for me to walk away with no more lives lost. Yesterday, I traded that favor in for a name. Vladimir and I are even. And you have the information that I purchased with that coin.”
“You purchased a name.Myname. Whether I share information is up to me.” Adrian turns back towards us, leaning against a pillar. “Who is this woman?”
“A former ballerina.” I’m hesitant to tell him her name yet, though I will in an instant if I think he’ll truly help us. “Kidnapped from Viktor Andreyev’s safe house and sold by his traitorous brigadier to a Frenchman.”
“Ah, so the plot thickens. TheUssurilost his women, and you are chasing one of them down.” Adrian smirks. “He always was good at sending others to clean up his messes.”
“The woman means something to me,” I say curtly. “I’ve come after her of my own volition.”
“A romance!” Adrian’s eyes narrow, and he grins. “Ah, there’s not much of that in my world these days. Blood, yes, a great deal, and sex? Plenty of it. But a man who believes in love, there’s a rare find in our world.” He pauses, considering as he looks at the three of us. “You say a Frenchman bought her?”
“Yes.” Against my better judgment, I feel a flare of hope in my chest. If there’s a chance, even a small one, that this Adrian Drakos might know of the man who has Ana, I can’t help but cling to it. It’s the best shot we’ve had thus far.
He frowns, clearly thinking. The silence that follows is agonizing, broken only by the ripple of the warm breeze over the water below and through the gauzy curtains on the patio.
“I haven’t encountered any Frenchmen,” Adrian says finally. “Though I am glad to hear that Viktor Andreyev has given up his flesh trade. I wondered if the day would come that I’d be permitted to go after him. The man that kidnapped them, is he dead?”
“Very,” Max confirms, his expression terse. “I helped see to it myself.”
“All three of us did, along with Viktor, who did most of the honors.” Levin’s face is equally tense as he faces down Adrian. “I know you have no lost love for me now since I’ve worked for the Andreyevs and that you don’t understand how I could, given my past. But things have changed in the Andreyev household now, and our search for this woman is a part of that. If you’re withholding information from us on account of theUssuri’s sins, I hope you’ll reconsider.”
“I’m not,” Adrian says calmly. “Though I had considered it, if I’d had more information to give. I haven’t encountered any Frenchmen buying or selling women through any channel.” He frowns. “Is it possible that he might take pains to conceal his nationality? Or that he might have been faking it?”
Levin considers, but I shake my head. “The other women who were there said if anything, he was very flamboyant about it. He made no efforts to blend in with the other party guests. If anything, he seemed to enjoy making a scene. And I was told his French seemed very authentic, from someone whose mother was particularly fond of France and Paris and spoke the language.”
“Hmm. A French accentisdifficult to put on without approaching mimicry.” Adrian considers. “Is there anything else beyond his nationality or appearance that might be a clue? Perhaps I could use that to steer you in the right direction.” He presses his lips together, thinning them as his jaw clenches momentarily. “However I might feel about theUssuri’s past, if he truly has turned over a new leaf, I commend him. And if this Frenchman is what you say, I would do all I could to help you find and put an end to him.”
I glance at Max, who looks as frustrated as I feel. “I—” I stop suddenly, remembering what Viktor had told me in his office. “He spent an obscene amount of money.”
“Oh?” Adrian looks at me with renewed interest. “What do you mean byobscene?”
Levin makes a noise next to me that might suggest I should be careful, but I can’t hold back now. If there’s a chance in hell that Adrian can even point us in the right direction, I have to pursue it, for Ana’s sake.
“A hundred million dollars,” I say flatly, and I see Max’s stunned expression out of the corner of my eye. “For a girl that was physically damaged. She likely wouldn’t have been expected to fetch a high price.”
Adrian’s eyebrow rises, and I can see that something has resonated with him. It’s on the tip of my tongue to beg him to spill whatever he’s just thought of, but I force myself to stay silent. Whatever it is, he’ll tell us in his time, or not at all, and I’ll only prolong it by trying to drag it out of him. It’s clear that he’s enjoying the back and forth.
“I haven’t heard of a trade specifically in women, though it may have been before at some point,” Adrian says slowly. “But I have heard, through the grapevine, so to speak, of a man who searches out damaged valuables. Art, artifacts, old books, the like.”
“And you’ve heard his name?” This time it’s Levin who presses forward.
“No.” Adrian shakes his head, and I feel my heart sink again. “Not his name. Not even that he’s French, so I can’t ensure that it’s the same man. But I have heard that he’s willing to pay more than these items are worth to collect them. He’s become something of a joke among the crime lords, that all they need to do is find some damaged good that might once have been worth something, and they can make a profit off of nothing.”
“That sounds like our man,” Max mutters, and I shoot him a look. I don’t like to think of Ana asnothingor damaged goods. But it’s true that it sounds like it could be the man we’re looking for, if he thought of Ana that way.
“A man who purchases flawed art above the asking price,” Levin says thoughtfully. “It does fit. But without a name—”
“Last I heard, he was in Tokyo, meeting with Noboru Nakamura,oyabunof the Yakuza.” Adrian shrugs. “It would have been before this party when you say this Frenchman bought the woman you are looking for. I don’t know what he was looking to purchase. If I’d heard then that it was a woman, I would have looked into it further. But the rumor was that it was another of his flawed purchases.”
Levin’s mouth tightens. “The Yakuza. You’re sure of this? Nakamura, specifically?”
Adrian nods. “I’m quite certain. I didn’t think it was anything worth my time. Just an urban legend, so to speak. But it’s possible this could be the man you’re searching for. In that case, Nomura or one of hiskobunmight be able to help you. They might even have a name for you. It could also be a dead end. But that’s the best information I have, for the price you paid, Volkov.”