Rising gracefully from the table, she steps away to the required distance and smiles at the man approaching her.
As soon as he is within her hearing distance, he begins to bark orders in a hushed tone of voice. “Turn around slowly.” She complies.
Pointing to the chair she just vacated, he says nothing else so she takes a seat and watches as he joins her at the table. He leaves his chair about a foot away from the table. Obviously, he doesn’t trust her. Tsk tsk.
Calmly unbuttoning his suit jacket, Ian focuses piercing eyes on his shapely adversary across the table. He’s not here to mince words, obviously. She sits patiently, waiting for his cue.
“The order for which you expressed concern yesterday afternoon was not cancelled—”
As her lips part to voice her objection, he holds up his hand to prevent it. “Allow me to speak, please, or we’ll get nothing accomplished here— I don’t have a wealth of time. The order was put on hold for twenty-four hours so…” he glances at his watch, “by my calculations, you have approximately three hours, give or take a few minutes on either side until it goes back into effect. Should you wish for me to rescind it entirely, you must follow my instructions to the letter. I should also add that the operative who accepted the assignment is already stateside. Have I made myself crystal clear?”
She nods, waiting to hear his demands. This meeting was not going as it did in her imagination.
“Fine. This is how we’ll proceed: first, before we leave this restaurant, I will administer to you a strong sedative. The medication will take about a half-hour to begin to have effect and will probably last about four hours, at which time you will be dosed again. We will leave the café, drive directly to your home and pick up your passport and a few changes of clothing. From there I’ll take you to my private plane, which you will board, along with an escort of my choosing. Your escort will ensure that you remain unconscious until the flight concludes in Moscow. Once there, you will surrender your passport to said escort and he will phone me. I will then cancel the order.”
She tried to disguise her horror at his demands. “That will take considerably longer than three hours, Ian.”
“Yes, it will. You, however, will be safe and sound on a plane in the sky. No one can reach you there. This, my dear, is my best offer. Take it or leave it.” He leans in closer to whisper his last words. “I want your answer now.”
She smirks. “You do realize that I can place a similar order upon your head, right? What makes you think you hold all the power?”
He shrugs casually. “I have my reasons.”
“I’m not leaving the U.S. This is my home, Ian.”
“Not anymore. You forfeited your right to stay here when you began your blood vendetta against my family, Yenin. Either you leave… or you take your chances.”
He sits back into his chair, his eyes traveling in a circuit, scanning the surroundings. When he directs his attention back to the woman and sees her glaring at him, without making any moves, he places his hands on the edge of the table and begins to get up. In rising, he says, “I’ll interpret your silence as a refusal then. As I said, I have no time to waste on the likes of you. Good luck.”
“Ian, wait! Please,” she whispers hurriedly, “sit back down for a moment.”
Turning back, he sits slowly, never taking his eyes from her face. “I’m waiting.”
“I’ll do it, Ian; I’ll go. But may I just tell you that I’d decided to stop all of this animosity between us while I was waiting for you?”
“How nice.” In his hand he holds out two small yellow pills. “Here you go. Bottoms up.”
Something about his breezy fucking attitude pushes her buttons—hard—and instantly her blood pressure rockets into the stratosphere. Her heart is pounding so fiercely that the swollen river of blood rushes through her ears as her anger escalates ever higher. Who the hell does he think he is? Abruptly she bolts up from the table and stands directly in front of him, swinging her hair back, battle-ready. “You know what? Fuck you, Ian. I’ll take my damn chances. But make no mistake, there will be a price on your head, too, whether I live or die. I can be just as nasty as you.”
His only reaction is a smirk and a raised brow. “Oh, you can be far nastier, trust me. The difference is I subscribe to the belief that actions speak much louder than words. And I never waste valuable time on empty threats.”
Her face now tomato-red, she glares at him with venom, spins on her heel, and flounces out of the restaurant, her high heels tapping out an angry staccato beat on the terracotta floor tile.