Page 54 of Sinner's Sacrifice

Nods all around.

“Where is Smith?” Yvgeny asked.

“He’s downtown at a meeting,” Nika said.

“How terribly inconvenient...for us,” Yvgeny said.

Benson came back into the room, and his body language had changed. Up until this point, whether he’d been sitting in his chair or standing, he’d been slightly hunched over.

His shoulders were rolled back now, and he stood with his feet braced shoulder width apart. His gaze had changed, too. More direct, confident, and certain.

Yvgeny took in the subtle changes and smiled. “Why Lieutenant Benson, it’s so nice to meet the real you.”

Bazyli snorted. “I don’t think Lieutenant Benson is a lieutenant.”

“What are you talking about,” Nika asked her man. “He’s been with the NYPD for fifteen years.”

“Look at him,” Baz said, thrusting his chin at Benson.

Nika looked at him. They all did.

She studied Benson for a few seconds. “Son of a bitch,” she muttered, then narrowed her eyes. “What the hell is going on?” she asked.

“Do you think he’s FBI?” Yvgeny asked Baz.

“Hard to say,” his cousin replied. He grinned. “But I bet he’s wired.”

“Wait a second,” Davis said. “Are we being investigated for something?”

“I’m NYPD,” Benson said. “On a special joint international task force.” He looked at Nika. “Those men who kidnapped you were part of a much larger group, with members from all over the world. We’re working with a lot of different countries to try to uncover how far the human trafficking ring goes.”

He turned his gaze on Bazyli. “Someone took out the local arm of that ring. We found a lot of bodies in an old apartment building that should have been condemned. Other players have disappeared altogether.”

“What are you looking at me for?” Baz asked. “I’m just a cab driver.”

“And a military veteran,” Benson said.

“So? There are lots of veterans living in New York. Why pick on me?”

“You got in their way at least three times that we know of, got shot—but not injured because you were wearing body armor—and surfaced with Nika two days later, battered and bruised, but alive.”

He turned back to Yvgeny. “Two of the top tier members of this ring, and their entourage, went into your hotel and have never been seen again.”

“Yuck,” Yvgeny said. “Please tell me what names they were using so I can make sure the rooms they were in get properly cleaned.”

“That would be disturbing the scene.”

“What scene? Are you claiming that a crime happened in my hotel?”

“Yeah,” Benson said. “You killed them, didn’t you?”

Yvgeny shook his head. “If I had known who they were when they were in my hotel, I would have trussed them up and delivered them to the nearest police station, much like I did earlier today.”

“You’re going to charge that guy, aren’t you?” Sam asked.

“I will make that recommendation to the DA, but...”

“But, what?” Nika asked, sounding none too happy.