Page 113 of Just the Wrong Twin

Troll nodded and they both got back in the car. Pierce was in the lobby when they arrived at the building, dressed as a security guard. He exchanged the barest nod with them. They were all masked, the masks from Silver Fox being black and of a particularly slick design. Sonia’s mask was red and shiny.

“They’re here,” Pierce murmured through the comm and Nate nodded.

The doorman obviously mistook Sonia for her sister, because he hurried to call the elevator for her. Nate and Troll followed her, on her four and eight o’clock, then pivoted to remain at the front of the elevator as it ascended. They all watched the floors on the lit display in silence.

Nate was sure that Sonia’s gaze was boring into his back, but he wasn’t going to say one word to encourage her.

If the mood had been lighter, he might have hummed theMission Impossibletheme.

When the doors opened, Troll stepped out first, checking in both directions, then barricaded the corridor with his body as Sonia stepped out. Nate and Troll followed her down the hall to the apartment door. It was awesome knowing the layout of everything in advance—they’d reviewed floor plans with Regan the night before, though Nate had a hard time believing the apartment would be as big as it looked.

A guy with white-blond hair opened the door, the ends tipped in purple, the dark roots revealing that his hair was dyed. He looked to be about the same age as Sonia and Nate, and dressed with artistic flair. Nate assumed he was Tobias, the writer formerly known as Tommy.

He shook his head at the sight of Sonia. “It’s about time you got back,” he said in an undertone. “They’ve already finished one bottle of wine. They’ll drink me dry.”

“Not soon,” Sonia said, sounding a lot more like Katia than Nate could have believed possible.

“Who are they?” Tobias asked, gesturing to Troll and Nate.

“Insurance,” Sonia said and strode past him into the largest and weirdest apartment Nate had ever seen. It was hard to remain impassive, but at least his sunglasses hid his eyes. The place wasn’t just enormous: it was decorated like something out of Hogwarts, or maybe Jules Verne. He felt Troll’s surprise but matched pace to his partner, sticking behind Sonia as she led the way down a hallway and into a massive room that was as bit as the floor plan had indicated.

He felt like he’d entered a fantasy realm. The exterior wall was all glass, the park and the city at their feet. The room was kind of a library, filled with books, trinkets and flamboyant furniture. There were animal hides and antique furniture, brass instruments and framed promotional posters for Tobias’ books. An enormous brass cage in the far corner contained a white cockatiel, which watched with interest.

The Strongs were sitting on a black and purple striped Victorian sofa in the middle of the room. They each had a glass of wine but looked to be simmering with impatience. The bottle on the table was almost empty.

Olivia looked older in real life, and her gaze was sharp. Her lips thinned at Sonia’s arrival.

“You’re late,” she said tartly.

“I never rush to meet with people I don’t want to see,” Sonia said, throwing her purse toward a chair just as carelessly as Katia would. It was upholstered in a zebra fur that Nate hoped was fake. The purse fell short and landed on the carpet.

“Whatever convinced you to color your hair like that?” Olivia said. “And those pants! Why can’t you ever dress with any class?”

“I dress how I like,” Sonia retorted. “I’m an adult now, remember?”

Derek started to rise to his feet. “Now, Katia, you can’t be talking to your mother like that,” he chided. He smiled as if to be paternal but his skin pulled in an odd way around his eyes, indicating that he’d had some plastic surgery, too.

Nate supposed it came with the territory but remembered Sonia’s comments about appearances being tantamount in her parents’ household.

He heard the apartment door open again to the corridor and Tobias’ agitated whisper. He smiled behind his mask, knowing this was going to get interesting.

“Come here and give us a hug,” Olivia said, opening her arms.

“I’m social distancing,” Sonia said, dropping into a chair on the opposite side of the room and crossing her legs.

The Strongs exchanged a glance of disapproval. “Your tone is atrocious, Katia,” Olivia said. “But you always were the most outspoken child. You really must do something about that. It’s very unattractive. Journalists will notice it and might misinterpret.”

“It’s a good thing we decided to meet here first, before we have our reunion in front of the press,” Derek said, draining his glass and looking around expectantly, as if hoping for a waiter to fill it up. “We need to work out the details.”

“Practice our lines,” Olivia said, nodding at Sonia. “You can’t possibly realize the importance of this meeting with Thalia. We have to persuade her to abandon this ridiculous charade...”

Then she fell suddenly silent.

Nate glanced toward the door as Katia entered the room, looking very much like Sonia’s twin. She kissed her fingertips, flicking the imaginary kiss to Sonia, who made the same gesture back at her. They were like mirror images of each other and Nate began to understand the plan. Katia tossed her purse toward a chair on the opposite side of the room, her gesture almost identical to the one Sonia had made just minutes before, and dropped into a chair on the same side of the room as Sonia. She was wearing those black leather pants and a red shirt, along with red high-heeled boots. She crossed her legs as Sonia had. “Nice accessories,” she said, giving Troll an appreciative survey.

“Thanks,” Sonia said. “I chose them special.”

The twins fist-bumped, Olivia and Derek looking on with obvious confusion.

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