Page 35 of Leo

“Help you? You’ll be hunted, Gemma, or Lenora, or whatever your name is.”

“Lenora. My name is Lenora,” she said. It was freeing to say her real name to someone for a change. They wouldn’t find out who she was just by a first name. Whoever these people were, they couldn’t possibly have the resources to unravel the story she’d created.

“It suits you better than Gemma. Lenora. There are a lot of people after what you have. We can help.”

“Help?” she laughed. “You mean you’ll take what I worked so hard for and give it to some fucking museum?”

“It belongs in a museum,” said Tillie. “The eggs should be on display, and the amber should be given back to Russia. It could be the start of a wonderful olive branch between countries.”

“In case you missed it, Tillie, I don’t give a shit about olive branches. I need the money that I’m going to receive for these items.”

“You missed it, Lenora. The men who are searching for those items will kill you, not caring if you die or not. Echo is looking for you as well. She’s been offered a lot of money to bring you and the artifacts to a man.”

“Yes, well, I knew I couldn’t trust her, so it’s not really a surprise for me at all.”

“Why are you doing this? Did you plan to kidnap Fred?” asked Tillie, watching as the others signaled for her to keep talking.

“No. I had no idea who he was initially. I didn’t give a shit. The kidnapping was supposed to be a distraction. Then you come in acting like 007 and got us all out of there. I needed to stay in Botswana, and you ruined that for me.”

“Why Botswana? The items were found in Laos and don’t belong in Botswana.”

“No, but I had a buyer there, and you ruined that for me. He got scared, left, and now I’m trying to find another buyer.”

“You won’t find one,” said Tillie.

“Oh, Tillie, you really are naïve,” said Lenora. “There will be another buyer. There will be many. I will get into a bidding war with them, and I’ll damn sure take the highest bidder.”

“What’s your game, Lenora? What is it that you’re trying to achieve?”

“I want what belongs to me.”

“But the eggs and amber don’t belong to you, which means the money you receive from them won’t belong to you.”

“What the hell are you? Some goody-two-shoes nun?”

“Not hardly.”

“Did you fuck, Fred?”

“Don’t be stupid, Lenora. I didn’t sleep with anyone. Echo certainly slept her way through the population, and she’s paying for it now. But you called me. So. What do you want?”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter now,” she laughed. “I thought I might convince you to help me, but since you know what I’ve got and what I’m trying to do, I’m not sure we can forge that kind of relationship.”

“Turn yourself in, Lenora. At the very least, give me the items, and I’ll return them. No questions asked.”

“I can’t do that. You’re no longer useful to me, Tillie.”

“I was never useful to you, Lenora.”

“Of course you were,” she laughed. “You got me back to the states on an airplane without anyone questioning my documents. For that, I thank you. Take care, Tillie. You never know when someone might try to end your life.”

“Come and get me, Lenora. Happy to allow you one opportunity.”

The call ended, and the men stared at Tillie, arms folded across their chests. Posturing like a group of lions in charge of the last female in the pride, she smirked at them and shrugged.

“What? I’ve thrown the gauntlet. Bet she’ll take it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

---