The Collector
Page 111

“I told him enough,” Ash repeated. “Are we okay here, you and me?”
She poked at the sub. “You told me to be quiet.”
“Did I? It won’t be the last time. You can tell me the same when you need to.”
“You manhandled me.”
“I don’t think so.” Eyes narrowed, he angled his head. “Eat that sub, then I’ll show you what it’s like to be manhandled.”
She sniffed, deliberately, wished she didn’t want to smile. Instead she just looked into his eyes. So much there she wanted, she realized, and the more she wanted, the more it scared her.
“I don’t know if I can give you what you want, if I can be what you want.”
“You already are what I want. As long as you’re what and who you are, I’m good.”
“You were talking about lifetimes, long term and—”
“I love you.” He touched a hand to her cheek. “Why would I settle for less? You love me—it’s all over you, Lila. You love me, so why would you settle for less?”
“I don’t know whether to eat what’s on the plate in a few big bites, or just nibble away at it. And what happens when it’s gone? How can you know it’s going to just be there?”
He studied her a moment. Obviously she didn’t mean this plate, but some imaginary plate—holding love, he assumed, promises, commitments.
“I think the more you feed on it, the more there is, especially when you share it. Speaking of, I had to split the damn calzone after all. Are you going to eat all that sub?”
She stared back at him. After a moment, she took her multi-tool out of her pocket, selected the knife. With care she began to cut the sub in half.
“I knew you’d figure it out.”
“I’m going to try. If I mess it all up, you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.”
She picked up half the sub, held it out to him.
“My lawyer called while I was out.”
“What did he or she say?”
“He, in this case, said he’d found and contacted Vasin’s lawyers in New York, relayed that I’d like to meet with Vasin about mutual business.”
“But with a lot of lawyerly words.”
“No question. Vasin’s lawyer, in lawyerly words, agreed to contact his client.”
A step, she thought, to whatever happened next. “Now we wait for an answer.”
“I don’t think it’ll take long.”
“No, he wants the egg. But you used the wrong pronoun. Not I but we want to meet with Vasin.”
“There’s no need for you—”
“You really don’t want to finish that sentence.”
Reboot, he decided. “You need to consider who he is, his background. He’d be more inclined to deal with a man.”
“He has a woman doing his wet work.”
“Wet work.” Ash picked up her wine, sipped it. He shifted strategy to simple truth. “He could hurt you, Lila, a deliberate way to pressure me to turn over what he wants. That’s what it looks like the idea was with Oliver and his girlfriend.”
“I’d think a man like that wouldn’t repeat the same mistake. Of course, he could hurt you to pressure me.”
She bit into the sandwich, gave a decisive nod. “I’ll go, you stay.”
“Are you being obstinate or just trying to piss me off?”
“Neither one. You want me to sit back and wait while you go into the lion’s den alone. Are you trying to piss me off?” She took the wine from him, drank. “You can’t talk about lifetimes and commitments, then put me aside. We both go. Ash, if I commit to you, to anyone, I can’t do it without knowing it’s a full partnership.”
She hesitated a moment, then brought it back to herself. “My mother waited. No one could ever say she was anything but a good, strong military wife. But I know how hard it was for her to wait. However proud of him she was, however steadfast, it was so hard for her to wait. I’m not my mother.”
“We go together. With insurance.”
“What insurance?”
“If you’re . . . if either one of us,” he corrected, “is harmed in any way, we’ve left instructions for the egg to be destroyed.”
“Not bad—a classic for a reason, but . . . I’m wondering about the break-the-egg idea. Not that you wouldn’t be convincing. I saw the rehearsal. But spoiled children would rather see a toy broken than share it, wouldn’t they? He might have that impulse.”
“Go ahead and break it,” Ash considered. “If I can’t have it, nobody can. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“What about if either of us is harmed, we’ve left instructions for an immediate announcement to the media about the discovery. And the egg is to be immediately turned over to an undisclosed museum and its security. Details to follow.”
“Threatening to destroy it is so much more satisfying, but you’ve got a point. More than insurance,” he decided, and took the wine back, sharing it as they shared the sub. “Truth. We’ll set it up just that way.”
“We will?”
He set the wine back on the tray, took her face in his hands. “You don’t want to hear it, but I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, whether you want me to or not. If anything happens, if I think anything’s going to happen to you, I push that button.”
“I want the same option, with you.”
“Okay.”
“Whose button is it?”
He rose, wandered the room. It should have been Vinnie’s, he thought. It should have been. “Alexi’s, from my family compound. Believe me, it can be arranged there—my father can make it happen. And it’s as secure as it gets.”
“It’s a good idea. It’s a smart idea. But how do we push the button?”
“We’ll work it out.” He stopped, looked out the window. “We have to end this, Lila.”
“I know.”
“I want a life with you.” When she said nothing, he glanced back. “I’m going to get it, but we can’t really start on it until this is done. Whatever happens with Vasin, we end it.”
“What do you mean, exactly?”
“We don’t go in bluffing about Maddok. We push the button if he refuses to trade her, get the hell out. And the rest is up to the cops.”