Lap of Luxury (Love Don't Cost a Thing)

She backs around Mikhail’s desk, and I follow her. The crunching of glass underfoot reminds me of the day I held her, bloodied and quivering, in my arms. As much as I’d enjoy a filthy little scene with Bethany right now, I need answers. I need to know what she knows about Mikhail and Ciara.

I move toward her slowly, until she reaches Mikhail’s chair. Then I put a heavy hand on her shoulder and force her into it. Her wide eyes stare up at me and her lips are parted. As frightened as Bethany is, there’s something else lurking at the edges of her expression. Fascination. Desire. I can feel it thrumming through her, adding a delicious edge to her hyper-awareness.

I lean down to her, my gaze filled with mock-sympathy. “I guess he didn’t want you after all.”

I’ll rub salt into that wound all fucking day. He didn’t want you. See how stupid you were to put your trust in my brother? Why did you love him, Bethany? Why?

“Don’t worry, baby. I want you. Girls like you…” My lips whisper across her cheek and I speak into her ear. “You’re my favorite.”

I bury my nose in her hair and inhale deeply, my delicate orchid amid the carnage. When my teeth find her earlobe, she whimpers.

I draw back and study her. I like that she’s afraid of me, but this is not like it was before. She’s too fearful, trembling in her seat, her knuckles white as she grips the arms of the chair.

If she’s going to cower before me, then I’ll be frightening. From one of my pockets, I draw a slender length of nylon rope.

Bethany says in a strangled, hurried voice, “I don’t know where they are. Mr. Ravnikar called me in the middle of the night and said he was lea

ving the country and that I should meet him at the private airport north of London, but I missed the call.”

I run the rope through my fingers, doing nothing but watching her. So, Mikhail did try to take her away with him. Greedy bastard. And she would have gone. How does he do it? How does he make our mother, Ciara, and now Bethany trust him implicitly?

She swallows hard, seeming to rally a little, and says in a more defiant tone, “That’s all I know. You can listen to the voicemails yourself. Just let me go and I’ll never bother you again. I’ll leave the country and forget everything that happened here.”

I perch on the edge of the desk and just gaze at her, the brave princesa standing up to her villain. Frightened, but determined to the last.

“Please let me go,” Bethany whispers. “I don’t know anything else, I swear. Mr. Ravnikar didn’t tell me where they were going, or even why.”

Curiosity kindles in her eyes for a moment, and I can see she’s considering asking me. I watch her moistening her lips, formulating the question. Go on, ask me. I’ll tell you exactly what that bastard has done.

But she thinks better of it and sits back, silent and tense.

My phone rings, and I answer it without looking away from Bethany. “Yes?”

I listen to the financial director gabbling, as frantic as a turkey at Christmas, and what I hear makes my blood run cold. I let him talk until he starts repeating himself and demanding to know what he should do, what any of us are going to do, and what he should tell the police. I hang up and switch my phone off.

Bethany eyes me curiously, not saying anything. I turn my phone over and over in my hand, trying not to betray what I feel.

Shock.

Mikhail didn’t just flee. He’s burned the whole fucking place down behind him. He’s turned the tables on me and now I might lose everything. Not just my money, but my freedom. I set out to destroy one small, blonde woman, and now she and my brother are going to topple me.

I breathe in sharply. No. Not going to happen.

“They’re coming for me, baby,” I say softly, looking at her, but seeing Mikhail working at his laptop in the air and handing everything he knows about Ravnikar Enterprises over to the police. The emails and meetings that connect me to several unsolved deaths and criminal activities.

“Who are?” she asks.

“Everyone. It’s over.” I cast my eyes around this office, and then out the window and at Ravnikar Enterprises. The work of nearly twenty years, and Mikhail has torn it apart in a single night. I can’t even feel angry right now. It’s as if shock has fried my nerve endings.

I stand up and walk away. I can practically hear Bethany’s body unclenching. She thinks I’m going to let her go unpunished after what her boss has done to me. In the doorway I pause, enjoying the drama of the moment.

“There’s been a change of plan,” I say slowly.

I turn back to her, throwing away the rope and digging in my pocket for something else. Her face is very pale against her black hair. I stride around the desk. She tries to get up, but I put a heavy hand on her shoulder, pinning her in place. I hold a little bottle before her eyes.

“What’s that?” she whispers.

“I took it from my desk earlier. The same drawer where I keep my knife. It’s a nasal spray.”