Megan groaned. “Never going to live that down,” she mumbled.
“We’re on it,” Callum told Ryan. “We’re interviewing. We’ll get the team members we need.” That seemed to appease Ryan. “Now, to the Abramovich case. Joe, an update.” Callum sat back down.
Joe leaned forward, elbows on the table. “We got word this morning that an operation is tabled for this weekend. Authorities in eleven countries will close in on all of the Abramovich-owned brothels.”
“So soon.” Megan sat up straight. “The Met police said it would be months.”
Joe cocked his head at her. “Apparently Rudi is in no condition to warn off his empire. He’s currently undergoing extensive plastic surgery. The joint teams think that striking sooner rather than later is a better scenario.”
Megan’s whole face lit up. The sight made Dimitri’s heart swell. “I helped,” she said with awe.
“Yes, you did.” Dimitri wished he was sitting beside her. He’d pull her into his lap and damn the business meeting.
“The names and addresses of every woman Rudi sold are in the hands of the authorities. Raids will be happening over the next few days. Those women will be going home.”
Katrina let out a gentle sob. Ryan moved towards her, but a swift shake of the head from Dimitri made him sit down again. The younger man’s jaw was clenched tight. Julia quietly sneaked out from behind her plant to sit beside Katrina, with a box of tissues in her hand. Katrina’s smile when she saw them lit up Dimitri’s heart. His sister was healing. He knew it would be a slow process and a painful one, but she was home and it would happen.
“There are still a lot of threads to unravel,” Joe said. “But the core of the operation will be gone by the end of next week. Rudi’s money has already been confiscated and the Met expect arrests to number in the hundreds.” He smiled at Elle. “The data storage unit in Switzerland was corrupted, so no one can access it. The only comprehensive records of the Abramovich empire are in the hands of the police and Rudi will be locked up for the rest of his life.” He sat back in his chair. “It’s over, people.”
Katrina hiccupped and Julia rubbed her back.
Megan leaned forwards, mischief in her eyes. “I think we should have a party to celebrate. A ‘so long you bastard’ party. And Rachel should pay, because she’s totally minted and needs the goodwill she’ll earn from the gesture.” She grinned widely as laughter broke out.
As everyone started to shout out suggestions for a party, Megan sat back and smiled at Dimitri. It was a smile that went straight to that secret place inside of him. The place she owned.
He cocked an eyebrow and mouthed the word, “So?” A challenge. His woman couldn’t resist a challenge.
Eyes gleaming, she mouthed one word back to him.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
Julia’s phone rang as the meeting degenerated into gleeful chaos. She heard Megan demand that someone go fetch champagne and watched as Dimitri grinned at her with pride. Megan was coping remarkably well with her injuries. The bullet wound in her leg was healing nicely, her dislocated shoulder was still a little sensitive and her bruises had almost faded. It would take a whole lot more than a psycho on her tail to keep that woman down.
Slipping out of the room, Julia answered her phone as she walked to her office. She didn’t recognise the number, but expected it to be one of the companies she’d contracted to finish the building. She was wrong.
“Julia darling?” her grandmother bellowed down the line, making Julia smile.
“Hey Gran, what’s up? Are you home?” The last email Julia received had informed her that her grandmother was off sightseeing in Peru.
“Not quite.” The hesitation in her tone made Julia stop dead in the corridor.
“What do you mean ‘not quite’?” Oh, she had a bad feeling about this call. She placed a hand on the wall beside her, steadying herself for whatever her grandmother was about to tell her.
“I’m still in Peru, darling,” her gran said. “I need you to come and get me.” There was a pause. “And you can’t tell your mother.”
Yep. It was bad. Julia leaned her shoulder against the cool wall. “Why do I need to come and get you? And why can’t I tell Mum?”
“I’ve been arrested, darling.”
“Arrested?” It came out as a high pitched squeak.
“Yes. I’m in Lima. You’ll need to b
ring someone you can trust who’s fluent in Spanish. I need you to find a decent lawyer to represent me once you’re here.”
Julia’s head was spinning so fast it was hard to think straight. “Start at the beginning. What have you been arrested for? And where’s your friend Alice?”