Page 7 of Forever My Saint
“Yes,” I repeat, staring her straight in the eye.
“Oscar will probably kill you,” she says without feeling.
But I shake my head. “No, he won’t.”
Zoey doesn’t hide her surprise at my confidence. “If that’s true, then I won’t need to tell you the rest of my plan.”
That piques my interest.
“Enough, Zoey.”
Our attention turns to the imposing man standing in the doorway. Alek is at his back scowling, so it’s safe to assume he was once a loyal subject who has now turned rogue.
“I’m Pavel,” he states with a sharp nod. That explains Alek’s rage. “Saint is a good friend of mine. We both want the same thing.”
I like that Pavel doesn’t have time for small talk because neither do I.
“Good. So when do we do this?”
“We have to be smart about this. I have tried to devise a way to break in without getting caught, but thanks to ??????? ?????? going kaboom, security everywhere has been amped up tenfold.”
Zoey grins at the fact her former prison no longer stands while Alek grits his teeth.
“We wouldn’t get in, even if I were to plant explosives and cause a distraction. It’s too dangerous as I need to have eyes on Saint. Which is where you come in.”
I wait for him to continue.
“From what I can tell, Saint hasn’t spilled who Aleksei’s new supplier is. He knows this is the one and only leverage he has. So my plan is for you to get into Oscar’s home by using your knowledge of Aleksei’s empire.”
“I don’t know much,” I confess, hating to be the bearer of bad news.
But Pavel, it seems, is two steps ahead. “You know enough, more than they do, which means we have the upper hand.”
“How?”
Pavel walks forward slowly. He towers over us, but even if he didn’t, his commanding presence would have most cowering in his shadow. “Once you’re in, you will tell Oscar you know who the supplier is and will hand over the information on the proviso that he lets Saint go.”
His plan may work, but I know Oscar; Saint is far more valuable to him than knowing the supplier’s identity. He’s clearly obsessed with Saint and won’t let him go that easily.
“He values Saint more. It won’t work.”
It appears Pavel is well aware of the fact. “You’re right. But he values his life more.” I arch a brow, utterly confused, so Pavel clarifies. “You reveal that you know Astra is alive and will tell her everything. He knows that Astra would doanythingto get her hands on that piece of information. He will agree to the terms, trust me.”
It seems like a long shot, but when I hear the final piece to the puzzle, I soon change my mind.
“You request a meeting with Astra. If he says he won’t arrange it, then you tell him you’ll do it yourself, ensuring Astra is made aware of Oscar’s reluctance to cooperate. He fears her and her wrath, so in the end, he knows Saint won’t be worth the hassle. As I said, he values himself more.”
“Do you know where Astra is hiding? If this doesn’t work, do we have a backup plan? If Oscar won’t give Saint up, maybe we could use Astra? She could force his hand.”
Pavel sighs, clearly frustrated. “IthinkI know where she is, but I can’t be certain. So you cannot fail. You must convince Oscar that you know where she is.”
In other words, we don’t have any other choice. We need Oscar to set Saint free because if we knew where Astra was, we could go straight to the source. She would no doubt force Oscar to hand over Saint in return for the information we have.
Alek decides now is the time to intervene as the once ruler doesn’t appreciate being spoken about like he doesn’t matter. “Aren’t you forgetting the fact that none of this will be possible without my assistance?”
Pavel’s dark eyes turn murderous when he hears him speak.
Alek enjoys seeing him squirm as he walks over to where we stand. “My contact won’t talk. No matter the circumstances, he won’t deal with Astra and Oscar after everything that’s happened. However, if I were to talk to him—”