Page 39 of Final Installment

“The amount of business you’re offering isn’t enough to interest large companies.The headache of dealing with the government in Albania isn’t worth the small amount of profit I’d assume.”

“Harsh.”He frowned at me.“But not untrue.”

“What were you trying to get imported?Electronics?”

“We figured those would be the easiest to sell and move in large quantities.”

“We?You and Luka?”

Kristo nodded.“Why?What’s wrong with our plan?”

I snorted indelicately.“Where should I begin?”

“Ouch.”

“You asked.”

“Well, you could be a little more diplomatic about calling us idiots.”

“Why?”

He made a choking sound.“I see why you got under Luka’s skin.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”I bristled at his remark.

“He hasn’t stopped talking about you since he came back to Tirana,” Kristo explained.“Elona this and Elona that.You really unsettled him.”

That was the last thing I wanted to hear.Luka thinking about me?Talking about me?

But it was bit hypocritical of me to be mad at him for having my name in his mouth when I had been dreaming of having his mouth between my legs, serving me, apologizing to me.

“If anyone should be complaining, it’s me about him,” I shot back a bit dramatically.“He called me a pig in my mother’s house.”

Kristo stiffened in shock.“He didwhat?”

“You heard me.”

Kristo was still trying process what I’d told him as the car pulled up to a busy curb.After I paid for the ride and thanked the driver, I stepped out of the car with Kristo’s help.By now, the storm had caught up with us, and a light drizzle had started to fall.We hurried toward the awning of the rundown launderette with bad lighting and foggy windows.

“This is it?”I asked skeptically.

“It’s a secret club.”

“What?Like a speakeasy?”I asked with a nervous laugh.

“Sort of,” Kristo said.

“It’s not illegal, right?”

“Not exactly.”

“Oh, well, in that case,” I said a bit sarcastically.The last thing I needed was to get into legal trouble in China of all places.

“It will be fine,” Kristo insisted.“Relax.”

Kristo took my arm and guided me into the laundromat.Bells jangled and chimed as we entered the muggy, hot space, and a few older women in aprons glanced up at us before returning to their phone screens.Kristo led the way across the laundromat to a hallway with overhead lights that flickered like something out of a horror movie.

When he pushed open the door to the men’s bathroom, I wasn’t very keen on following.Considering how sticky the floors had been in the laundry area, I shuddered to imagine what state the tile in the bathroom was in.I held my breath as we entered, terrified of inhaling anything gross.