Page 51 of Lethal Torture

“She disables them,” Charlie says when she sees me frowning at the blank screen from the camera in Zinaida’s office. “And she won’t let you put any more in there.”

“She tells us she’s entitled to a bit of privacy,” Nadja adds. She and Charlie exchange a glance which tells me this is an old topic of conversation.

“We’ve all complained about the security risk,” Charlie goes on defensively. “Me, Enzo, Nadja. Even Anatoly has tried to make her tighten things up.”

“Da.” Anatoly scowls, nodding emphatically.

I’m starting to feel a definite sympathy for Zinaida’s staff.

“She acts like she’s invincible,” Charlie is saying, “even after all the assassination attempts. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? The attacks?”

I move my head noncommittally.

“I’m not going to lie,” she says, “she needs more security. But even with what we’ve got, we’ve managed to spot every attempt before they got close to her.”

I don’t miss the defensiveness in her voice. I understand it, too. I can’t fault their dedication.

“The last thing we need is to have to train someone new,” Nadja says, giving me a skeptical glance. “We’ve all been taking care of Zin for a long time.”

Nothing new there.Nobody wants some smart-ass telling them how to do their job.

That said, it’s clear that Mak was right:“Zin needs someone to have her back.”

And not just to have it. Toinsiston having it.

And the fastest way to get there is to get her team on my side.

I turn my chair to face them. “I’m not here to get in your way,” I say quietly. “It’s clear you’re all highly competent. But you’re also exhausted.”

Enzo thrusts his hands in his pockets. Nadja looks slightly tearful. Anatoly’s scowl deepens, and Charlie gulps her coffee in subdued silence.

“None of you have had a real day off in months. You’re mainlining coffee and running on fumes. I know I’m new to your operation, and I’ll be relying on you to pick up on any details that I might miss. But operational security is what I’m trained to do, and if you’ll allow me to, I’d like to make your jobs easier.”

I turn my laptop around so they can see the screen. “I’d like to go through my suggestions with you before I take them to Zinaida, so we’re all on the same page.”

There’s a long silence, during which I can see them all looking surreptitiously at each other. Eventually Anatoly nods curtly at me.

“Talk,” he says.

13

ZINAIDA

By the timeI’ve cleared the work on my desk, it’s late, and the vibe on the floor is picking up to the low-level debauchery for which the Quartier is famous.

I head down to the back office, where I’m mildly annoyed, though not at all surprised, to find Nadja in fits of laughter as she explains the finer details of burlesque performance to Luke, while Anatoly looks on with what is almost a fucking smile.

Anatoly? Seriously?

He’s notoriously grim enough to make a mortician look cheerful. And yet here he is, halfway charmed after only a few hours.

Luke’s effortless ability to seduce even the toughest of my staff is beginning to make me feel severely jolted.

“No,” Nadja is saying, slapping him flirtatiously on the arm, “burlesque is nothing like stripping at all. It’s an art form, you philistine.”

“Basically, we tease but don’t flash the pink,” interjects Shelby, who has clearly come in early for her shift just to get a look at Luke. She casts him a sultry look from under her lashes. “It’s the art of seduction, and I’m the best in the business. You should definitely come and watch my act one night.”

Not you, too.