Chasing the Night - Iris Johansen [88]
“You told me that you were coming to get him,” Czadas said. “When?”
“Is he becoming too much for you, Mikhal? After all, he’s only a child.”
“He’s not too much. At times, it’s been amusing…and profitable.”
“And you’re wondering if the profits will continue after I take Luke away from you.” Boarding Luke with Mikhal had been expensive but safe. Mikhal was the last person that Venable would suspect Rakovac of using to hide Luke since Rakovac had betrayed Mikhal’s precious cause to the Russians when he’d left the Republic of Georgia. Supplying Mikhal and his small group of freedom fighters with weapons periodically had been worth the price.
Besides, Mikhal had the streak of sadistic cruelty he had been looking for in a guardian for Luke. It would not have been safe for Rakovac to come often to Savrin House, but he had to be sure that Catherine’s whelp had the proper upbringing.
He smiled at the term “proper.” Not the word usually applied for the way Luke had been raised in the violence and blood of Mikhal’s savage attacks on the South Ossetia villages protected by Russia. Rakovac had grown up in that war and knew how ugly it could be. He had wanted all the gentleness and humanity torn out of Luke and Mikhal had done his best. “It’s a shame to break up a partnership that’s worked so well. We may come to a new arrangement if you’re cooperative in the next few days. There may be some difficulty that I have to overcome.”
“You have only to ask.” He paused. “I killed Medvar when the boy refused. He whimpered and cried like a puking baby. Luke was braver. Our treatment has put some steel in his backbone.”
Or maybe it was Catherine who had given him that courage, Rakovac thought sourly. Even as a much smaller child, he had noticed that Luke never backed down unless he was knocked down.
Mikhal was hesitating. “I wondered if you wanted me to rid you of the bother of eliminating the boy. It would be no trouble. That is your intention?”
Rakovac didn’t answer directly. “You’ve been more than generous. I believe I can handle it from here. You may see me soon.”
“With the guns?”
Mikhal’s persistence was beginning to annoy him. “I’ll think about it.” He hung up.
It was not wise to break totally with Mikhal yet. He still might have to be a vital part of his final confrontation with Catherine.
Which was going to have to happen soon. The bombing in Lima had been a tremendous success and Ali Dabala was salivating with eagerness to turn loose his fanatic idiots on more desirable targets. Rakovac had barely been able to rein him in on the pretext that everything was not yet in place.
In fact, it was in place. It was Rakovac who wasn’t ready. He hadn’t completed his business with Catherine and Luke. He wanted to have his final revenge, then phone Ali Dabala on the way to the airport to board his flight for his island. He would give him all the details that he’d been keeping from him and fly off into the sunset.
But it was dangerous to wait any longer. He knew that Venable had an inkling of what was going on and he had been deliberately feeding him false information. The possibility that Venable might stumble onto something that would blow Ali Dabala’s plans was not to be tolerated.
He gazed at Catherine’s photo. He was going to miss looking at her beautiful witch’s face. She had become part of his life.
“I believe I’ve given you enough time for your Eve to find out that skeleton isn’t Luke,” he murmured. “Did it make you happy? Yes, I’m sure it did. Relief from agony can be very heady. But I put you through torment while she was working on it, didn’t I? I had some pleasant moments thinking of how you were being torn apart by my little deception.” He glanced at the bulletin board. He’d cleaned it up and eliminated all but the positive targets.