Time.
Dimitri accepted Margareta’s hand and bent to press a kiss to her knuckles. He murmured something, but it was Russian or maybe Czech. Either way, it wasn’t a language I spoke.
As he straightened, he turned those cool eyes on Lainey. I half-expected some smarmy comment, but the man merely inclined his head. “Dimitri Solohub, Miss Benedict.”
“Mr. Solohub,” Lainey replied. “Thank you for inviting us this evening.”
Margareta’s eyes narrowed but her lips twitched. Amusement filtered through me. The invitation was clearly from Margareta. Lainey was just tweaking her. Still, I enjoyed it.
“It is my great honor. Margareta is a dear friend.”
“Family,” she reminded him almost primly and he snapped his heels together with a light bow of his head.
“Of course,” he said, acquiescing like a good soldier. Then he glanced at Lainey once more before focusing on Margareta. “Did you want to go through to dinner or…”
“Somehow, I don’t think a meal is really in the cards tonight.” Margareta finished her wine, then rose. Lainey followed her to feet. “If you’ll call a car, Dimitri, we’re going to need a few men as well.”
“I’ll make arrangements immediately. Destination?” He already had his phone in hand.
“Vedriš Dance Academy.” That wasn’t the same name Lainey got from Katerina. Maybe that was why we hadn’t been able to identify it.
“Juraj Vedriš?” Lainey questioned, not bothering to contain her reaction. She was angry.
“You’ve met him?” The snap in Margareta’s voice hadn’t been there earlier.
“Yes, just a couple of days ago.”
“Then you can give us a description, because that man has proven quite difficult to pin.” She transferred her attention to Dimitri. “I want him alive. He has questions to answer.”
“You have my word,” Dimitri said as pressed numbers on the phone before retreating a few steps.
“You won’t ride with us, will you?” Margareta was focusing on Lainey again.
“No, we have our own car and a driver.”
The older woman nodded. “Do you have a change of clothes?”
“No,” Lainey said.
“Pick one of your gentlemen to escort you and come with me. We will get you changed. I’d rather you could move more easily than in those heels.”
I was already moving, and waved Ezra back. I had a few questions for Margareta. She moved briskly, not glancing back to see if we followed. Lainey was right behind her, and I trailed Lainey by two steps.
At the top of the stairs, Margareta turned to a room and pushed open the doors. “This is a guest room. I keep new clothes for any guests we have that might need them. Multiple sizes.”
She strode in ahead of us and pulled open a walk-in closet then three drawers on the dresser.
“These should all do. As for shoes…” She glanced down at Lainey’s feet. “I have a pair of boots that will fit you.”
Not waiting for our response, she retreated from the room.
“Margareta,” Lainey said before she could vanish fully. The woman in question paused in the open doors and met Lainey’s gaze evenly. “Thank you.”
Whatever she’d expected from Lainey it wasn’t that. “You’re very welcome. While this isn’t the time or the place. I would very much enjoy getting to know you and hopefully teaching you that you can trust me.”
“Definitely not the time,” Lainey said. “But I’m more than willing to consider it later—after Andrea is home.”
Very safe, with new bodyguards and whoever took her carved up into a thousand pieces and buried. Not that I thought we needed to state that aloud.
“I’d like that,” Margareta said and then she turned to go.
I glanced at Lainey. “Are you fine to change? I’ll be in the hall.”
She shot me a look then flicked a glance to the retreating Margareta. I nodded once. Yes, I wanted to talk to her.
“I’ll be fine.”
I pulled the doors closed as I stepped into the hallway. Margareta hadn’t gone far, she stood a half-dozen steps away, clearly waiting.
“I thought you might want a word,” she said. “Though we should probably not take too long.”
“We won’t,” I said, sliding my hands into my pockets. It was rude, but I kept experiencing the urge to throttle her until she told us everything. Better to curb that for the moment. “I just wanted to know how much of all of this has been about Lainey since the beginning?”
“More than you suspect, less than you fear.” While that vague answer was as clear as mud, at least she wasn’t denying it. “Adam, you and I had a deal. As far as I’m concerned, that deal is done. Paid in full. No debts owed.”
Good cause I had no intentions of paying anything more.
“This conversation will have to wait until Lainey and I have time to truly talk.”
