Shadow Tyrants (Oregon Files 13)

“It’s been so long!” Prisha said, giving Raven a big hug. “You’re even taller than I remembered.”

Raven gestured to her feet. “It’s the heels. They’re amazing, but they’re killing my toes.”

“The price we pay for beauty. You remember my husband, don’t you?”

“Samar,” Murph said in their ears.

“Samar,” Raven said without missing a beat. “A pleasure as always.”

Prisha looked Raven up and down. “Where is that gorgeous red gown you posted on Instragram earlier?”

Raven playfully batted MacD on the arm. “Cole here spilled a drink on it while we were getting ready, so I had to resort to this, which I was planning to wear to a premiere next week. Now I have to find something else.”

“Well, I love it.” She looked at MacD with a flirty expression. “I haven’t seen this handsome man with you before . . . Prisha Naidu.” She bowed with her hands together.

MacD awkwardly followed her lead. “Cole Randle, ma’am. Kiara and Ah met on a movie set a few weeks ago in L.A. She thought Ah’d like Mumbai.”

“An American,” Prisha said. “How interesting. The U.S. really has changed you, Kiara.” She leaned in to Raven and whispered, “What happened to Gautam Puri?” Eddie could hear it in his earpiece.

“We had a big fight,” Raven whispered back. Then, with a naughty gleam in her eye, she said, “Cole will do for now.”

“I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Prisha said. Then she spotted someone else interesting and said, “I’ll be back later,” before flitting away with her husband.

Raven sighed and looked at Eddie. “This is going to be exhausting.” She drained half her champagne glass.

“I’ll do?” MacD said with a grin.

“For now.”

Several people by the elevator raised their voices, and Eddie turned to see Romir Mallik emerge, glad-handing guests that surged toward him. Asad Torkan walked behind him with the same surly look as Linc.

“They really were identical twins,” Linc said.

“And just as dangerous,” Eddie replied. “Let’s veer away from them.”

“You might need to get closer than you want,” Murph said with an exasperated tone.

“Why?” Eddie said. Linc, Raven, and MacD were all looking at him with concern. “What happened?”

“The WiFi network isn’t connected to his computer. If we want to break into his system, you’re going to have to find a terminal so we can do it manually.”

* * *

—

At the base of Mallik’s condo tower, Natalie Taylor approached the delivery bay at the rear of the building in a truck with the catering company’s logo on the side. She backed it up to the loading dock and got out, approaching the guards watching the door. Her uniform perfectly matched the ones of the caterers who’d been delivering food all day long. A short wig of red hair and thick glasses provided a disguise in case Mallik’s security team was on the lookout for her.

“What’s this?” one of the guards demanded.

“The cake,” she said matter-of-factly, opening the rear doors.

The other guard looked at a sheet he was carrying. “I don’t see anything about a cake.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it was on the list, would it?”

The guards looked at her with suspicion, especially because they wouldn’t expect to see a Caucasian delivering food. “We’re going to have to check with the catering manager.”

“Be my guest,” she said.