"I'm staying here?" he asked in his thick Russian accent.
"This is your new home. All of it."
He went up to the pile of money on the table. "What's this for?" He picked up a wad of cash. "Do you expect me to make bed out of
this? Stack into table and couch?"
"No," I said, leaning back against the table, crossing my arms. "It's called mon-ey. M–O–N–E–Y. You exchange it for commodities on a market. I want you to go right out and furnish the place to your tastes. Use whatever you need. I want an office up here with a full security system, cameras inside and outside. Whatever you need to provide security."
George nodded and glanced around the empty space. Finally, he turned back to me.
"Where is Donny? Didn't his lawyers get him out of custody?"
I shook my head. "No luck so far."
"I am surprised you didn't spring him," George said and dropped the wad of money back on the pile.
"You're joking, right?"
"You could pull off. How many times we capture bad guys and take them to safe house? It would be great mission. Real challenge. Can you imagine? Getting into his cell and getting him out?"
"Donny'll be fine." I didn't add that I was glad he was out of the way, or that I blamed him for my brother's death.
"How is your dad?"
I shrugged, a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Not so good. His heart is bad, plus he has COPD. Losing Sean hit him hard."
George nodded and then sighed, glancing at the pile of money. He took another wad and flipped through it. "First thing I need is bed. Nice big bed fit for sultan. I have been sleeping in flea-bite motels for weeks."
"Ah," I said and put my arm around him and walked him to the door. "The sultan needs a bed fit for his station in life. Will you be requiring a harem? You know, to restore you to your former magnificent self?"
"First things first. I want to buy bed. For past two weeks, I eat nothing but chicken fry steak, tacos, and grits down in South. I want big Russian dinner. Tonight, I want to sleep for twelve hours straight. Then we talk pretty little things."
"Your wish is one of my men's commands. Speaking of pretty little things, I have myself a nice one." I licked my lips. "I'm going over to her place later today to check it out while she's at class. Wanna come and snoop with me?"
"Why you snooping? Can't you just go over?"
I shook my head. "No. This one's still wild. I'm…" I tilted my head to one side. "I have her milky white thighs, George, but I want her pink little beating heart. She's a pretty little bird, very small and very timid. She'll take some time to," I said and grinned at George, "tame to hand."
"Who is this pretty little bird?"
"Graham's little sister."
George made a face. "His little sister?" he pursed his lips. "The one that got away?"
"The very one," I said, for George had been my confessor during my time in Afghanistan.
I hadn't told him about my plans to have Celia as my personal fuck toy.
"George, she's the sweetest piece of ass I've had in years."
George shook his head. "If you were anyone else, I would say you are crazy."
"Oh, I'm probably insane, but when you see her, you'll understand." The elevator doors opened and I ushered George inside. "And now, my dear man, you go out and buy yourself a bed. I have a job to do, but when I get back, we'll get you some borscht, or whatever the hell it is you Russians eat."
Richardson, my current tech expert, came with me to Celia's dorm while George scoured the local furniture stores for an appropriate sultan’s bed. We had some fake order papers and a story about checking the cable and internet service. While I snooped, Richardson installed hidden cameras and bugs. I was worried about Celia, now that she was known to Victor.
Victor had been digging around trying to understand why I'd pay off so much of her debt—of Graham's debt. I didn’t want to give him too much reason to be interested in her, but I also wanted her to be safe. She needed protection when she wasn’t with me. The bugs and video would make sure George could watch over her when I was busy. Hell, I could connect to her feed anytime I wanted on my smartphone but George would be the one I trusted to take care of her.