Page 26 of The Kingpin's Call Girl

“Luka himself sat down.”

“You’re sure they weren’t just talkingaboutLuka?”

“I’m sure. They called him Luka. Tall—maybe six-two. Brown eyes. Dark hair. I thought he was going to kill Dardan right in front of me.”

“Jesus Christ,” Bender says.

I go back to the list I’m making. “He had a man named Orton with him. Orton is six feet tall with a shaved bald head and a big,bushy beard. And then there was a silent man who looked like a battle-hardened Nordic type.”

“Storm,” Bender whispers.

“So you know these guys?”

“Know of them. Did Luka say anything about his brother, Alteo, or what happened between them?”

“Actually, a little, yes.”

Bender sits up, riveted. “He talked about it? What did he say?”

“This guy named Ghost asked him what his beef with his brother was, and Luka was like, ‘If you guys are loyal to me, I’ll make you princes. But if you’re disloyal, you’ll see how dark a man can go.’ He didn’t specifically speak to what happened with his brother.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. The men were all very concerned, though.”

“I bet,” Bender whispers.

I continue jotting.

“So, nothing about being out on the boat with Alteo? Anything about a boat?”

“Nothing about a boat.” I jot the rest down and slide the paper to Bender. “This is every name, place, caper, and more that was mentioned.”

He reads it over. “Looks like Luka asked a lot of questions. Did you get a sense of what he was driving at?”

I shake my head. “Right there I gave you every name that was mentioned, every date and place that was mentioned, all of it. Unless you want, like, stuff about the Knicks.”

He squints at the paper. “What was Luka’s beef with Dardan?”

I swallow.

“You can’t leave anything out, or our deal’s off.”

Bender’s a cop... what if he had people there at the bar? What if his surprise is an act, and he had cameras there and saw me disappear upstairs with Luka? If I don’t tell everything, he might notuphold his end of the bargain. My sister’s whereabouts and my future career are on the line.

“Luka wanted… to be alone with me.”

He looks at me strangely. “He wanted to hire you?”

My face flares red. “He did hire me.”

He looks shocked. “You and Luka...”

I look him right in the eye. “In a hotel room, yes. So, I more than completed this assignment, I’d say. You told me I only had to sit there, and I ended up in a lot of danger. You put me in a dangerous, illegal situation that went way further than I agreed to.”

He looks mystified.

“So...” I shrug.

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