Page 49

On bare feet, she paces across the narrow apartment, clenching and unclenching her fists. “So, let me see here, Pavel. You suddenly care if I live after you shot me in a third world country? I don’t buy it.”
She stops and pivots. I can see the wheels turning in her head as she pushes her now dark brown hair back. “And the really troubling part is that you were searching for me before you saw me in San Miguel.”
My hackles stand up instantly. What the hell? “Did you know she was going to be in San Miguel?”
A bead of sweat runs down Pavel’s forehead and into his eye.
“Did you?” I yell right in his face.
“No. No! I didn’t. It was a coincidence.”
I grab the man and yank him up to his knees even though his hands and feet are still tied behind him. I growl, my anger barely restrained. “You need to start talking now.”
Simona paces past us. “Why would you be looking for me? I’m not in the business anymore, so I know it’s not for the reasons our paths crossed in the past. So, what is it?”
Pavel looks far too comfortable for my taste. “You’ve got five seconds to answer. Five. Four… Did you know that the human eyeball can be removed with the flick of one finger?”
His throat works nervously. That’s better.
“Three. Did you know that a human trachea can be crushed with two fingers? Two.”
Pavel croaks, “Who is this crazy person?”
Simona glances my way, “Oh, just the surgeon that wants to chop you up with a cleaver and dump you down the trash chute.”
The man whimpers and nearly topples over. I take the opportunity to lift the gigantic cleaver off the floor. Just to drive home how much trouble he’s in.
“Okay! Okay, alright. I’ll tell you.”
Simona drops onto the nearby chair and crosses one leg over the other. “All of it. Get on with it.”
With his lip quivering, Pavel says, “Make him put the cleaver away. P-please.”
Simona shakes her head. “Nah. But get on with it. I don’t have all night. I have somewhere to be.”
Keeping an eye on me, the man clears his throat. “There’s a bounty for you.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “I’m not surprised. I did, after all, ruin many people’s day when I was working.”
“No. It’s not that at all. This is a very big bounty. And not for your murder. For your return to someone. Your owner.”
She stiffens, her jaw hardening, and she snaps, “Make yourself clear.”
“There is a man looking for you. And others. Apparently, you are very important to him. The reward is far more than any job I’ve ever taken.”
I step in his line of sight, “Who’s looking for her?”
“A man, his name has been protected. And he didn’t even know her name. But when I learned about the birthmark, I remembered you have it. I always thought that mark was strange. I knew it was you. The age, the home country, and the complexion match the description the man has given. That mark is confirmation of your identity. Apparently, your birthmark proves you are his.”
As soon as the word ‘birthmark’ leaves his mouth, I know exactly the thing he’s talking about. The crescent moon shaped mark on her cheek. A most unusual mark. Almost like a mole, cocoa in color, but perfectly shaped.
Simona’s as still as a stone column. Her eyes laser focused on the man, but I can feel her growing distant. She’s retracting into some deep hollow space.
Her fingers rise to her cheek and touch the place where that odd moon sits.
I grab Pavel’s hair and yank his face up. “How much money is being offered?”
“T-Two million.”