“What exactly do you want me to do?” Dajana asked, forcing herself to sound calm.
Timothy stepped very close to her. Dajana instinctively leaned back. The man let out a slow breath, as if he wasn’t entirely sure of his next words.
“Go on,” Dajana pressed.
Timothy folded his arms. Noud would have sworn the pudgy red-haired man was enjoying this far too much. A chill ran down his spine. He almost snapped at him to stop playing with their nerves. But Dajana couldn’t know that he and Bernard were just as much in the dark about the next move as she was.
“You need to reach an agreement with Viktoria,” Timothy finally said.
“What?” Dajana snapped.
“You heard me. You need to make sure Viktoria settles for something far less satisfying. Naturally, neither she nor Ted can find out what we’re planning.”
“And what exactly are you planning?”
“That’s not for you to know. Your only concern is that you have three weeks to become Viktoria’s new best friend… and cut a deal on an amount you’ll then split.”
“Sorry, but that’s bullshit,” Dajana shot back. “She’s after Ted’s entire fortune. Why would she give that up? And why would she split it with me when she could get it all herself?”
Dajana’s eyes narrowed.
“Besides, she’s already got something on Ted… otherwise he would’ve reported her long ago for what she did to him.”
“Then you’re the one going to prison,” Bernard growled.
Timothy turned toward him with a dark look but said nothing. Dajana couldn’t know what was really happening between the three men. She had to believe they had closed ranks against her.
“Go on, Timothy,” Noud called from the dark corner of the room, as if he were the one in control.
He regretted he couldn’t see the pudgy man’s face. He would have bet the redhead was about to explode with rage at Bernard’s interruption. Timothy wanted the role of the fearsome boss all to himself.
“Be creative, Dajana… and think about your family while you’re at it. Laundering money is a far bigger challenge than outmaneuvering a revenge-hungry woman — at least in my opinion. For ten years you helped a criminal with nerves of steel, and you managed to keep it completely hidden from your family. Your husband thinks you’ve been living hand to mouth, while you’ve quietly built a very nice little fortune. Given all that, you could afford to be generous with Viktoria…”
“But I worked for that money!” Dajana cried, her voice breaking.
All three men moved toward her at once.
“Quiet,” Timothy hissed.
Dajana braced her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. Timothy paced back and forth in the moonlight. For several minutes, the room fell silent. Only the soft whisper of Timothy’s bare feet could be heard.
Then he stopped in front of Dajana again.
“I don’t give a damn. This”—he gestured around at Bernard and Noud—“isn’t a charity. We hunt down criminals… and we put them behind bars. People like you.”
He leaned forward until his face was level with Dajana’s, crouched on the kitchen step stool.
“The thing is, we need Ted right now. So if you help us, you walk away. What Viktoria did is none of our concern. If Ted reports her, that’s his business. All we care about is that she stops making trouble, pockets something, buys a place for her kids… and disappears from the scene.” He paused briefly. “You’ll make it happen. Whether money changes hands or not… that’s none of our concern.”