Page 109 of Lethal Torture

“Didn’t say that, exactly.” Paddy holds up a finger as he sucks spaghetti in, flicking sauce all over the counter. “The girls leave, but not with Kozlov. They leave one by one, in limousines with a party guest or in chauffeur-driven cars. I’d have needed a whole team to track where they go after that.”

“So you’re saying that these so-called parties are what—a point of sale?”

“Looks that way.” He nods. “And like I said, Kozlov is a clever fucker. He’s not storing girls for long, and if he’s keeping them in the Reading warehouse, he must have a secret compartment, because by day, Minos is one-hundred-percent legitimate. Unless he’s trusting a staff of dozens with his illegal side hustle, none of the day workers know a thing about it. His night crew are another matter altogether. They’re the ugliest pack of wife-beater-wearing, bad-haircut thugs I’ve ever seen—and I come from feckin’Belfast.” He dumps the empty pasta bowl in the sink. “Good to see you can still cook up a decent feed, cock.”

“Glad you enjoyed it,” I say absently, still turning over what he’s said. “Did you get any pictures of Kozlov?”

Paddy shoots me a derisive stare. “It’s what you’re paying me for, no?” He throws a hard drive onto the counter. “It’s all there. Photos of Kozlov and his crew, of the vans, the girls and the private houses. I’ve included the addresses and a schematic of the warehouse.”

“Good man.” I tap the hard drive thoughtfully. “I’ll get one of Mak’s cyber experts to hack into their systems, see what we can find.”

“Pity you didn’t have it when you met up on your little jaunt down to Spain.” He gives me a sly look.

“It is.” I ignore the bait. “Are you planning on drinking out my entire fridge, or do you have a home to go to?”

Paddy’s eyebrows rise. “Trying to get rid of me, cock?”

Yes, you prick.

“Well,” he says, standing up and shooting me another shit-stirring grin, “since you’re clearly not going to spill the beans, I’m going to head to the Quartier.”

“After days of running surveillance?” I give him a rather surprised look. “I thought you’d be heading straight to bed.”

“Not when that tough bitch Charlie is waiting for me to come in and make her life hell.” Paddy’s grin is positively evil.

Not yet, she isn’t.I’m beginning to regret not making my own way to Zinaida’s. If I’m honest, I didn’t want to give her the chance to back out, and I’m certainly not changing plans now. I try not to look at my phone.

“Anyway,” Paddy is saying, “it’s your fault I’m chasing thrills.” He shoots me a baleful look. “You promised this job would be dangerous. So far I haven’t even had a chance to blow shit up, which leaves me looking for a different kind of action. Not that I’m getting any,” he goes on gloomily. “Bloody Charlie won’t even let me screw any of the hostesses, and believe me, there’s a smorgasbord on offer.”

“Good for Charlie. And I already told you to keep your grubby hands off my staff. The last thing Zin needs is a harassment suit.”

“Oh, comeon,man.” He gives me an indignant look. “It’s me fighting them off, not the other way around.”

“The sad thing is,” I say, shaking my head, “I know you’re telling the truth, even if I’ll never understand what the hell they see in you. Although I would like to know what magic Charlie is working to make you behave.”

“You know, I wish I could work that out meself.” Paddy looks genuinely confused. “She’s just got a way with her, you know?She says no, and for some reason, I do what I’m bloody told. Me mam would never believe it, I tell you.”

My phone lights up with a message from Zin:We’re almost at your place.

I slide the phone surreptitiously beneath the counter and type one-handed:Paddy still here. Cut a lap.

Paddy looks between my phone and me, his eyes narrowing. “Speaking of behaving,” he says slyly, “did the lovely Miss Melikov ever make it home after Spain? Nobody saw hide nor hair of either of you after you got off the plane.”

Because our hides were butt naked in my bed, and Zin’s hair was tangled on my pillow.

And despite all that is happening, the only thing I can think about right now is doing it again, as soon as possible.

My phone lights up again, this time with a message from Charlie:Why am I doing laps, McTasty?

I tap out my one-word response:Security.

“Well, a man can take a hint.” Paddy raises his eyebrows suggestively as he grabs his jacket and heads for the door. “I’d say have fun, cock, but my guess is you already have, so I’ll just say keep it up instead.”

He scarpers out the door before I can kick his arse through it. “By the way,” he calls as he goes, “get my leathers dry-cleaned, would you?”

26

ZINAIDA