Page 26 of Sin Wager
"Say you'll take some time off this weekend. Go shopping. Buy yourself nice things."
She looks up at me, and I see something shift in her expression. Understanding, maybe. Or anticipation.
"What kind of nice things?"
I let my gaze drop to her mouth, then back to her eyes. "The kind I'd enjoy seeing you wear. Or not wear." I lift one eyebrow and glance at her.
Color rises in her cheeks, but she doesn't look away. "That's very direct."
"I don't see the point in being subtle."
"No, I suppose you don't." Her body relaxes as she cups the card in her hand, drawing it back toward herself.
She slides the credit card into her pocket, and I take that as acceptance. Two days alone with her, away from the track and the pressure and the watching eyes of both our families. Two days to figure out exactly what she knows about Pavel Gurevich and race fixing and the Radich crew's larger plans.
"And plan to spend the weekend with me… Away from here."
"Misha," she begins, rejection coloring her tone, but I cut her off.
"I insist, Vera. Please don’t break my heart." The glance I give her makes her shoulders drop in defeat. She can't say no to me. It's exactly where I want her.
Two days to decide if she's genuinely innocent or if she's playing a game more dangerous than I realized.
I turn onto her street and pull up in front of her building. She unbuckles her seatbelt but doesn't immediately get out.
"Misha?"
"Yeah?"
"Why are you being so generous with me?"
The question catches me off guard. Not because I don't have an answer, but because the real answer is more complicated than I want to admit.
"Maybe I enjoy your company."
"Maybe?"
"Definitely."
She smiles, and for a moment the weight of everything else—the pressure from Nikolai, the race fixing, the war brewing between the families—fades into background noise.
"I'll think about the weekend."
"Think fast. Time is a luxury we might not have much of."
She gives me a questioning look, but I don't elaborate. Instead, I watch her walk to her building's entrance, noting the way she moves, the way she checks over her shoulder before disappearing inside.
Vera Kovalenko is dangerously tempting. And I can't resist any more. I'm staking a claim whether Nikolai likes it or not, and it will be trickier than ever to finish this job, but I don't intend to cut her loose as easily as my bosses want me to.
11
VERA
The room I share with Elvin is always dark. You'd think he was a vampire, never letting me open the curtains unless it's cloudy out. I set the tea tray on his nightstand and watch him struggle to sit up against the pillows. His face is thinner than it was last week, the sharp angles of his cheekbones more pronounced, but his eyes are bright today.
"You don't have to fuss," he says, but his voice carries affection rather than irritation.
"I'm not fussing. I'm being helpful." I pour tea into two cups, adding honey to his cup the way he's preferred since we were children. "There's a difference."
