“What, exactly, are you planning, Reuben? Why was Benny sent to Virginia? It wasn’t because I was there. You said he’s been there for a year or so. That’s long before you learned I was alive—assuming you saw my name and face on the news in December.”
He gave a slight nod.
“Why send Benny after me when you did? You could have waited until I was here and taken me out quietly.”
“What makes you think I sent Benny after you?”
“Of course he was after me. He called my name.”
His nostrils flared, and he allowed a small smile. His voice dropped to just above a whisper. “He got close, then. So. Fucking. Close.”
“Yes. I wonder what Grigory will do when I tell him you sacrificed your well-placed mole in a botched attempt to kill me?”
“He wasn’t supposed to kill you. He was supposed to grab you. Quietly. Set you up to take the fall.”
Kira’s heart pounded so hard, she felt dizzy. He’d said it. Admitted there was a plan in place. “Take the fall for what?”
“It would have been perfect. Mama’s precious girl, a traitor. A killer. Face all over the news again, but better.”
“What are you and Grigory planning?”
He leaned close and whispered. “You’ll find out. Tomorrow.”
Kira eyed the arched doorway over his shoulder.
Reuben shifted, cutting off her line of sight. “Hoping for a rescue? Laskin won’t intervene. We made a deal.”
“Rand is here.”
“He’s too busy getting a blow job from the maid.”
She no longer knew how to play this. Pretend to believe him? What would get her out of this room? “I need to go. Papa is expecting me.” She took a step to the side, the only clear path to the door.
Reuben lunged, his hands circling her throat. Before he could squeeze, she kneed him in the balls and shoved him back, then twisted toward the open archway. All she had to do was get away from Reuben. The house was huge. She could hide until Rand found her.
Hands grappled at the back of her sundress as she dodged around a pillar that held the large Murano glass vase. His fingers caught a wide shoulder strap, and he yanked her back. She grasped at the vase, failing to grab it, but succeeding in knocking it off the pedestal. The sickening sound of shattering art caused a momentary freeze, but she recovered wits and priorities in less than a heartbeat and twisted, attacking Reuben with sharp nails and kicking feet.
He tossed her down, and she landed on the shards of the antique vase. A fresh break even in old glass was as sharp as obsidian, as demonstrated by the pain that sliced along the backs of her thighs. She plucked a piece from the floor and swung it toward her brother’s face.
He slapped her arm away, the numbing blow radiated up and down her arm, and the shard fell from her fingers.
He grabbed the front of her dress, catching the pendant along with the sangria-stained bodice and pulled her up, lifting her from the floor until even her feet were dangling.
He was far stronger than she’d imagined. She kicked out, but had no leverage. She was like a cartoon character, flailing, as he held her aloft.
Her dress tore. She slipped from his hand. The pendant chain remained in his grip and went taut before it gave under her weight as she fell to the bed of broken glass.
She looked up to see Reuben clutching the pendant as he stood above her.
He shoved the necklace into his pocket, then kicked her in the ribs. She curled into a ball, no longer thinking of counter maneuvers. Instinct said to protect ribs and vital organs.
He kicked her again. “Oh, how I’ve fantasized about this, baby sister. And to think I almost cheated myself of this moment when I ordered Benny to snatch you.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
The moment Reuben smashed Kira’s phone, Rand told Vicki he was done with as much calm as he could muster. He couldn’t let on to Laskin, who was most certainly monitoring him, that he’d been listening in on Kira the entire time.
It took every ounce of self-control for him to calmly pack up the computer and organize his files. No sense of the urgency he was feeling showed in his movements.
Did Laskin know what was happening in the gallery? Freya had checked the security camera feeds on the network and didn’t find cameras in the room full of priceless art. But then, it was a private home, not a museum. Plus, it was clear Reuben believed their conversation was private. He’d certainly admitted to things he didn’t want Grigory to know.
Rand crossed to the door when he heard the sound of shattering glass through his headphones. He didn’t lose stride. Assuming Kira would be safer in Laskin’s household as opposed to Kulik’s had been an epic fuckup. But then, they hadn’t known Laskin would leave the siblings alone, or that Kira would learn enough from their conversation to make herself a clear and present danger to Reuben.
He reached for the doorknob and yanked it down. It didn’t budge.
He was locked in.
He hesitated. It was imperative that his activities of the last two hours remain secret if he and Kira were going to leave this house alive. He could save Kira, but only if he stuck to his role.
He kicked at the door and cursed. “Funny fucking joke, asshole.” He directed his voice down the hall, toward the office where Grigory’s flunky worked.
He kicked at the knob again then spotted the flunky through the window as he ran toward the conference room door. He was almost there when Rand’s fourth kick shattered the frame and the door slammed open. Splinters of wood sprayed the hall and man.
“What the fuck? Mr. Laskin will—” He ran out of words as he took in the damage.
“If you didn’t want me to break the door, you shouldn’t have locked me in.”
