Page 80 of Caged in Desire
I look between the two of them as they nod. “As I was saying, Linda is behind this. I don’t knowwhy,but I know it’s her.” I pause, getting up to go grab the basket from the corner of the room before setting it on the desk in front of us. “She gave me this and told me it was a gift for Katarina. If you’ll notice, it’s identical to the one in Pavel’s office, so I’m all but certain she was behind his death as well. I don’t know what reason she would have to kill him, and I don’t know why she would target Tommy either, but I plan to find out. We have dinner this evening at seven, so Ledger, you need to find anything and everything you can on her in the meantime. Sasha, Ivan, I’m going to need your more…nefariousskills. She’s not making it out of this evening alive.”
I’ve been sitting around useless while everyone else does their jobs. I’ve decided the most poetic way to kill her is with the fruit she used for her own victims, so there’s really not much left for me to do at this point. Ledger is finding out everything he possibly can about the woman, while Ivan and Sasha arrange the logistics of the evening.
Ledger called the girls to come keep Katarina company while we worked, which is good because I’d be much more inclined to abandon the guys and go fuck my wife if my mother and sister weren't in the same room. As it stands, with my current level of angst, that’s still not entirely off the table.
I’m unraveling more with every passing hour. The Taranovs have pretty much figured out their end of things. We are going to meet at an upscale restaurant where I’m going to use every acting skill I’ve ever developed during my life and“woo her.”I’m to make herreallybelieve that I’ve always had feelings for her. Then I’m going to suggest she come home with me to a secret property of mine, a.k.a. the Taranovs’, that my wife “doesn’t know about.” Give her a drink with the toxin from the plant, and get her confession.
The problem is, Ledger hasn’t found out anything that would lead us to believe Linda to be a cold-blooded killer. Her record is crystal clean and her accomplishments exemplary. Something I knew when I hired her. In fact, she wouldn’t have been hired in the first place had those things not been true.
“Guys…” My brother’s face tells me he’s found what we’re looking for. “I think you’reallgoing to want to sit down for this.”
The three of us walk back to the desk where he’s been working and sit as suggested. A glance at my in-laws confirms they are just as confused as I am.
Ledger looks between us, his eyes wide. “Linda isn’t her real name. It’s Simona. Simona Linden. And her mother’s name, well. It’s Natalya Dmitrievna Taranova.”
“Sorry for the state of things,” I say, walking Linda,Simona,through the door to one of Taranovs’ burner houses. “I had to have some place to go since I made the mistake of letting Katarina know about my other properties, so this is a very recent purchase, and I haven’t had much time for renovation.”
“That’s fine. I’m just thrilled to finally have some time with youalone.”
“Why don’t you go get freshened up while I pour us a drink.” I’m flooded with relief when she takes the bait and leaves me to fix up her concoction. I opt for two different drinks to avoid any chance of a mix-up. After almost ten years of working so close together, I know she won’t think a thing about me pouring her a glass of wine while I nurse some scotch.
Taking a breath, I ground myself as I wait for her to get back. Having to pretend to care for the person I hate the most in this world has been grueling tonight. I barely fought the urge to slit her throat right in the middle of the restaurant. Every word outof her mouth had me ready to throw up my meal. My only saving grace was thinking of my revenge.
“Now, where were we?” I’m broken from my thoughts as Linda tries closing in on me, her hands reaching for my chest.
“Actually, I wanted to get your advice on something first,” I say, holding out her glass to block her from putting her hands on me and leading her to one of the chairs in the sitting room.
Sitting in the chair across from her, I take a sip of my scotch and breathe an internal sigh of relief when she mirrors my action with her wine. I’m not sure what all Sasha put in the vial he gave me. All I know is that it is supposedly super potent and only requires a sip or two. I know it has some of the seeds from the Cerbera odollam, but he said not to worry about it when I asked if there was more.
Hiding my smile with another drink, I continue with the rest of the plan. “This is a delicate subject, but there’s nobody I trust more than you, Linda. I need advice on how to get rid of my wife. As you know, the contract is airtight, or I wouldn’t have married her in the first place. To be frank, I need to make her disappear permanently.”
“Oh!” she says, the shock on her face is genuine as I make my request.
“The problem is her family. You see, although they hide it well, the Taranovs are averydangerous family. Their ties to the bratva make it almost impossible to get one over on them. I need a way to get rid of Kat that will look like an accident. One the Taranovs won’t dispute.”
Linda searches my eyes before gulping down the rest of her wine. “Alright, Henry, but I have a little confession of my own.”
“Let’s hear it!” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.
She stands and walks over to the bar table. “Did you give her the basket?” she asks, her back to me as she pours herself another glass of wine.
“No, I haven’t seen her. Why?”
Turning to come back, she flops down in her chair. “Have you ever heard of the plant Cerbera odollam?” she asks, pausing as I shake my head before continuing on. “It’s a tree native to Southeast Asia, also known as the suicide tree. And I know from experience that it works.”
“Oh?” I say, leaning forward in my chair as if this is brand-new information. “And what experience is that, you naughty thing?”
While I’m fighting the urge to throw up over my words, I reach for the red satin rope planted beside my chair. “Speaking of which,” I say, holding it up with a forced smirk on my face. “Well, you know my proclivities.”
“Oh course,” she says, giving what I assume to be her attempt at a seductive smile before answering my first question. “That’s the thing, I’ve also solved another one of your problems. I’ve successfully fooled the Taranovs. Well, their leader, to be exact. If I can get rid of Pavel Taranov without them being suspicious, I can surely help you get rid of his whore of a daughter.”
Luckily, I’m behind her, tying her wrists together, so she doesn’t notice the way I ball my hands into a fist to keep from knocking her out cold. “Oh?” I manage to breathe out, my actual loss of breath making it sound extremely convincing. “And how did you do that?”
“Easy.His fool of a nephew got chatty at a bar and didn’t notice the light dose of Rohypnol I slipped in his drink, making it all too easy to swipe his keys from him. From there, I was able to get into the Taranov compound. I posed as one of the maids, gave him the basket, then talked up how rare and wonderful the fruit was. He ate one immediately, of course.”
I finish securing her wrists and move to her left ankle. “And the others? I assume there were others.”
“Of course,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I wasn’t going to experiment on him. I tried it on some less important individualsin my way before moving on to Pavel. There was a lawyer who helped my uncle with contracts years ago, Burnam or something or another. An old neighbor of yours—sorry about that, by the way—but, well, let me backtrack. The tree is onyourland. I was trying to get possession of it so I wouldn’t have to keep sneaking around. It all would’ve ended up both of ours in the end anyway.”
