Page 58 of Promise of Destruction (Destruction & Vengeance Duet #1)
fifty-four
Declan
I think she’s going to kiss the asphalt when we step off the plane.
Her legs wobble, like she’s thinking about it, but she straightens, pressing a hand flat against her stomach.
“Next time let’s take a boat, hmm?”
I laugh, because I can’t imagine she’d like being on a boat alone with me for the amount of time it would take to get back home. The flight truly wasn’t bad, but I guess if I wasn’t used to flying, the steep drops would probably startle me too.
“That could be arranged.” The man I’ve come to recognize as Dimitri lifts his hands in something like a shrug.
I’m not sure what it’s supposed to mean at first, but then when I get a look at his face, I realize it’s a gesture of helplessness.
“If you can help us, we’ll give you anything. The jet, the boat, whatever you want.”
Desperation is a pretty obvious weakness.
Usually, the people I work with pretend not to be in such dire need. A person who is desperate is easy to exploit; In this line of work, you don’t want to ever make yourself easy to manipulate.
He was intentionally vague on the phone, alluding to the fact that someone could be listening to our conversation, but whatever is going on, it’s big. At least, it’s big to them.
“Dimitri,” I nod, acknowledging his presence.
Soren looks from me to Dimitri, who’s barely even glanced at her. It’s why I’m ignoring her, not introducing her in any way. The less I act like I care about her, the less likely she is to have any issues here.
“Thank you for coming,” Dimitri gestures to the car, a large black SUV that Simon is lifting our bags into the trunk of. Poor guy doesn’t look like he’s being paid well enough to fly a plane and attend the luggage, but I don’t say anything about it as we walk to the car.
I stay in front of Soren, watching her out of the corner of my eye to be sure she stays close. It doesn’t matter, though, because Dimitri doesn’t look back at her once as he opens the car door and slides into the backseat.
I didn’t notice the driver still situated in the front, obscured by the dark tint of the windows, but as Dimitri slides directly behind him, I fix him with a good look. He isn’t familiar, and what’s weirder, he’s young—far younger than the man who paid me off for my complicity.
Dimitri makes no introductions, but I’m not sending Soren to sit next to him, so I motion her to the third row of seats. They’re cramped compared to the middle row, since most of the back is used as trunk space, but she seems grateful to not have to sit next to a stranger—or me.
“Can you tell me what’s going on now?” I ask, the minute the door is shut behind me.
I don’t know Dimitri well. We’ve talked a time or two—in the last few years, they’ve reached out a few times directly to ask about specific marks.
They’re always women, usually young ones.
I don’t know what distinguishes them from any of the rest, but I’ve made the mistake of following up after they reach out, running the same girls through the database a few days later.
Every one of them has been wiped from digital record, never seen again as if they simply never existed at all.
After the initial sale, I was kept on retainer so that I could continue to feed the algorithm, training it to better recognize people.
Updates and patches keep my bank account well-padded, but in all that time I’ve worked with these people, I’ve only once been asked to fly across the world on a moment’s notice…
until now. I can only imagine what they need from me, and my imagination is being restricted by thoughts of Soren Palmer these days.
Dimitri sighs, looking at the back of the driver’s head. “We need your help finding someone.”
“Finding someone?” I repeat, slowly and deliberately. I’m not sure I heard him right.
“Yes.” He nods, raking a hand through his dark hair. “Someone important.”
“You realize that’s what the software is for, right?” I don’t bother hiding my irritation. “You dragged me all the way over here to have me use the program that you bought from me?”
“ We didn’t buy your program.” He shakes his head emphatically, and when he stops, I see his eyes are wide, almost too wide. He’s probably high. “It has been useful to us a time or two. But it’s not working.”
“Of course, it’s working,” I sneer. I just used it on the way here. It’s absolutely functional. “You idiots just don’t know how to use it.”
He takes a breath, composing himself, and straightens his collar. “Unless you’ve restricted our access, it’s absolutely not working. You’ll see in a few minutes. It won’t take us long to get to the house.”
“The house?” I laugh. “I’ve booked my own accommodations.”
A single suite with one bed, so that Soren will be forced to sleep by my side. I intend to fuck her whether she calls my name or not, now that we won’t be in her marriage bed.
“I don’t care where you sleep, but you won’t be doing any of that until you fix this mess.”
I scowl at him, wondering who gave him any authority to act like he’s in charge.
As far as I know, Dimitri has always been an errand-boy; he isn’t a shot-caller. So where is the person who pulls his strings? Do they think they’re too good to deal with me directly?
“Where’s your boss?” I demand, eyeing him shrewdly. “Where’s Davos?”
Dimitri’s jaw clenches.
“My ‘boss’ is busy looking for the person we can’t find in your database. As far as Davos,” he spits the name with unveiled disgust. “Wherever he is, he’ll be dead soon.”