Page 26 of Unbridled Fire
Dmitry scoffed. “For real. Are you with him? I like you, but he’s a tool.”
Katia grinned. “He’s not so bad. He grows on you like a good fungus.”
“I’m right here,” I muttered. “As I was saying, we have your DNA, Dima. It’s only a matter of time before we have enough proof to prosecute you. Not only will you go to jail, but you’ll be deported if you’re not a citizen. I have a pretty big hunch you’re not.”
Dmitry crossed his arms. “So? I help Oskar because he pays me and we’re distant cousins. I don’t care about his stupid organization. Believe me, if you get close to catching me, I have ways of creating a new identity, booking a ticket, and getting the hell out of here.”
“What if I could pay you more than Oskar?” I asked, leaning forward. “Alotmore.”
The kid seemed to actually show some interest for the first time since we started talking.
“How much more?”
“I’m negotiable.”
He gnawed his inner lip as he looked back and forth between me and Katia.
“Oskar will kill me if I defect.”
“Not if I protect you. I have ways of keeping you extremely safe.”
“I don’t want to hide,” he murmured.
“Dima,” Katia said, her face filled with compassion. “You already are. You’re hiding in a sinister world as long as you work for Oskar. It doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a whole world of possibility out there for someone as talented as you.”
“Says the woman who works for Michael Caruso,” Dmitry said.
Sighing, she nodded. “Yes, but I’m not forced to hurt people, and I don’t want you to be either.”
Dmitry slammed his laptop shut and rose, stuffing it into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry you’re involved in this, lady, but it’s not my problem. Turn against Michael and you won’t go to jail. Oskar and Marco want him in prison, and they’re going to make it happen, with or without me. See ya.”
He skulked toward the entrance, and Katia rose to follow him.
“No,” I said, gripping her wrist. “He got the message. We need to let him sit with it for a while. We want his indecision to fester until it starts to create some serious doubt about his activities. He likes you, and that’s a good first step.”
“What if he tells Oskar we confronted him?”
“Oskar already knows Michael is surveilling him and wants to cripple his organization. I doubt he’ll be surprised we finally found his hacker.”
Katia lowered to her seat and sighed. “I wanted to convert him today. I guess that was wishful thinking.”
“You did a great job. Now, we wait. Michael’s guys are tailing him; Alexis is tracking his digital profile. It’s possible he’ll make a mistake, and that could be telling. We need to give it a few days.”
“And if another fraudulent transaction happens? Or something else I haven’t thought of?” she asked.
“We’ll deal with that if it happens.”
She nodded and gazed out the window. “So, what the hell do we do now?”
“We wait. I can drive you home. Come on.”
We walked back to the car, Katia solemn as I walked beside her. I knew she wanted more from the encounter, but sometimes things developed slowly, and we needed to have patience.
When I pulled up to her apartment, she slid her hand over my wrist. “Come inside and have a drink with me.”
Grinning, I checked the clock on the dashboard. “It’s not even noon yet.”
