“I think he won’t let you leave New York. I think he’ll want to be part of the baby’s life. I think you’ll have to put your South American dream on ice for a very, very long time. At least until your kid is eighteen years old, anyway.”
Then, finally, I get a reply to the letter I sent to Lana Barrington. It was not difficult to track down such a notable woman with so many charitable causes.
What she says gladdens my heart and fills me with hope for the future. I don’t tell anybody about the letter or its contents. I just burn the letter and go about my business. At least now I know that no matter what happens to me, Maddy is safe. Her procedure can go on even without me.
A small sigh of relief escapes from my mouth. Lana Barrington has just taken care of that problem for me.
Raine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orL-w2QBiN8
The Lonely Shepherd
* * *
The trial begins. The channels and newspapers are full of it. A friend of Putin and a billionaire is savory gossip. Even I get some press. People still remember that I was the girl Konstantin Tsarnov paid a million dollars to have one dinner date with.
I don’t go to the courtroom, but religiously and obsessively watch and read everything I can lay my hands on about it. The prosecution believe Konstantin has a very strong motive. They have testimony from the hacker’s wife that he was working on something big and that he was going to meet a Russian billionaire and negotiate a price with him. Those files are now missing and have been completely erased from his computer so the prosecution have built their case around the idea that something must have gone wrong with the negotiations which caused Konstantin, in the heat of the moment, to murder him and steal the files.
But it seems to me the prosecution doesn’t have anything other than circumstantial evidence.
They have the vodka glass with Konstantin’s fingerprints. They also have his fingerprints on the knife that was used to stab him, but Konstantin’s lawyer says that Konstantin used that knife to slice a lemon to put into the still water they drank together. There are no surveillance tapes of the corridors in the hotel, but they have a video of the entrance of the hotel which shows no one entered the hotel that night that was not accounted for.
His lawyer tried to demolish that argument by saying the killer could have entered through the kitchen, but the prosecution was ready. They flew the owner of the hotel into America. He testified that no one can enter through the back entrance, because the kitchen is locked after seven pm and there is always kitchen staff hanging around the back.
I have to admit his testimony is very solid and it doesn’t sound good for Konstantin. Slowly, I begin to realize a lot now rests on my testimony. I was Konstantin’s alibi. If I could not vouch for him being in the room with me during the murder, I would basically be throwing him to the wolves.
In two days it will be my turn to testify.
Today I’m working a shift running the bar for Lois’s manager. It is a black and white tie event at a hotel. It is only when I arrive that I realize it is a Russian function. Immediately, my stomach contracts with tension. It appears all the great and good of Russian society will be here. At first I think he is not going to make an appearance. Maybe he is keeping a low profile until the trial is over. I know how he guards his privacy and I am sure that will be even more true now.
Then I realize with shock that the event is being held for him. The entire elite Russian community worldwide have come together to show solidarity at what they see as a political and Anti-Putin concocted trial. Guests are flying in from all over.
Now my heart is racing in my chest and I can barely stand still. A man comes over and sits on one of the stools.
I smile at him. “What can I get you?”
“Why don’t you surprise me?” he says, with a slow smile.
My smile dies a little. “How about Russian vodka?”
His smile widens. “Ah, beautiful and smart.”
I move away. “One Russian vodka coming up.”
I put the drink in front of him. “Hey, you’re not busy yet, why don’t you talk to me for a bit?”
I take a step back. “Yeah, sure.”
“So you live in New York, huh?”
“Yes, you?”
“I live in Monaco.”
I nod. “Nice.”
“Have you been?”
I shake my head.
“I have a yacht parked in the Riviera. Want to come spend a few days?”
I’m about to answer him, when I feel my hair stand on end. I turn my head and see Konstantin walking towards the bar. He is looking directly at me and his face is like thunder. I feel myself shrink. I know he is mad with me, but I never realized the extent of his fury. He stops at the bar and completely ignoring me he addresses the man.
“Yuri,” he says tightly.
“Ah, the man of the night,” Yuri says standing. “I was just talking to this very lovely barmaid.”
Konstantin turns to me, and there is an expression in his eyes I cannot decipher. I stand rooted to the spot.
“Hello, Raine,” he says softly.
“Ah, you know each other,” Yuri says. “I suppose this is my cue to melt away.”
“Yes, get lost,” Konstantin says rudely, not taking his eyes off me.
My eyes widen.
He stares at me hungrily. At that moment I know that he still wants me, but he won’t allow himself to be with me because of what I did to him.
“You look beautiful,” he says, his voice husky with emotion, then he strides away, his body erect and tall, without looking back. Even though I look hard, I never see him again for the rest of the night.
I will see him in court, I suppose.
Raine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk
The Gambler
* * *
“Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?”
I place my hand on the bible, please God, forgive me, and say, “I do.”
I can’t help it. My eyes move to Konstantin. He’s wearing a dark suit, his face is impassive, and his eyes are on me. My gaze slides away. I need to be calm. I have rehearsed this many times. I will pretend he is not even here.
First the attorney for the defense comes up to me. Mr. Justin Horrowitz stands, a greying tall man, shoots his cuffs, and comes forward.
“Can you tell the Court what your relationship to the defendant is, Miss Fillander?”
“I’m not in a relationship with the defendant anymore.”
“But you were in one during the time this murder was committed, were you not?”
“Yes.”
“And you were with him on the day of the murder?”
“Yes.”
“Did you notice anything unusual about the defendant on that day? Was he nervous? Angry? Upset? Worried?”
“No.”
“In the time you knew the defendant would you have ever thought he could actually stab a man to death with a knife?”
“Objection, your honor. The witness is not a psychologist capable of making a proper analysis of the defendant’s likelihood to kill in the heat of the moment.”
“Your honor, Miss Fillander is not here as a professional witness. I am allowed to establish her personal opinion of his character and state of mind that night.”
“I’ll allow it.” The judge turns to me. “You may answer the question.”
“No. I never believed him capable of such a thing, but then again I never think that about anybody,” I say quietly.
His attorney tries not to show how disappointed he is with my answer. “Did the defendant seem unhappy or stressed that night?”
“No.”
“What about in the morning?”
“No.”
“So he did not behave like a man who had just brutally and in cold blood killed a man?”
The prosecutor shoots to her feet. “Objection, your honor. He’s leading the witness again.”<
br />
“Sustained. Stop leading the witness, Counsel,” the judge cautions sternly.
Konstantin’s attorney comes closer to me. So close I can see the open pores in his skin. “Can you confirm you spent the whole night together?”
I sneak a look at Konstantin. He is staring at me with an intense expression in his eyes. “Yes, I can confirm that we spent the whole night together.”
“Thank you, Miss Fillander.” He walks away from me.
“Your witness,” he says to the prosecution’s lawyer.
The prosecutor is a sly, peroxide blonde woman. Her perfectly coiffured hair stays like a hard helmet around her face, her eyes are sharp, and her smile is as friendly as a great white shark.
She flashes me one of those.
“Can you describe the evening of the murder, Miss Fillander?”
“We went out to dinner, then we came back to our hotel. Uh… we were intimate, and then we fell asleep.” That is my first lie. I give the impression we had sex once, and then went to sleep. The truth is we had sex all night long until dawn was in the sky.
“And once you fell asleep did you wake up again?”
“No.” Second lie. I almost never slept all night.
“Are you a heavy sleeper, Miss Fillander?”
“Yes, I am.” Third lie. I’m not.
“Did you wake up at any time at all during the night?”
“No.” Fourth lie. How to wake up when I never slept all night long.
“So, if the defendant had left you in the middle of the night, let’s say between 2.00 a.m. and 3.00 a.m., which is the approximate time of death given by the coroner, would you have known?”
“No. I wouldn’t.” Fifth lie.
“Your testimony is that the defendant could have gone out of the room, committed the murder, and come back to bed, and you would never have known?”
I look at her innocently. “I suppose he could have… if he’d climbed out of the window.”
Something happens in her eyes. Suddenly, she realizes I’m not going to play ball, but she is stuck. She has no choice but to ask the next question.
“Why couldn’t he have gone out of the door?” she asks, an odd inflection in her voice.
“Well, we were staying in an old-fashioned hotel which didn’t have any surveillance so I was a bit worried about security. I locked the door and put the key inside my pillowcase.”
She swallows hard. “I see. Right. Well then, he could have climbed out of the window.”
“Yes, he could have done that if he had brought some ropes and climbing equipment.”
The packed courtroom buzzes with interest.
“Ropes and climbing equipment?” she asks bitterly.
“Yes, our room faced a sheer cliff of a hundred feet plus that dropped into the sea.”
She makes a small jerking movement with her head. She knows she’s beat. There is no more to say.
I have just given Konstantin, the perfect alibi.
Raine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOYcbod5J0w
Lost But Won
* * *
As I walk down the impressive corridor of the courthouse I see Konstantin walking towards me. We stop about six feet apart.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he mouths.
“My sister showed me a video once. It was about a dog. Its master had just returned from Iraq after two years. At first the dog put its tail between its legs and ran away. Then it came back and when it was a few feet away it did the same thing again. Eventually, it came back and jumped all over the man. You should have seen it. It went crazy. The funny thing is, my sister said the reason the dog did that is because at first it didn’t recognize the man. But I knew what she didn’t. The dog didn’t run away because it didn’t recognize its owner. It ran away because it couldn’t believe its own eyes. It couldn’t believe it’s owner had come back to it. It was too frightened that maybe it was not real. So it kept on running back. To a human that is like pinching yourself to make sure you are not dreaming.” I stop and take a deep breath. “It’s the same reason why I’m standing here.”
“Come here,” he says.
And I almost jump six feet between us into his arms. I sob like a child. “I’m yours,” I say again and again.
“I know. I know. I’m so sorry, but there was no other way,” he whispers in my hair.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Do you really think I would have held it against you when all you did was do everything in your power to save your sister?”
I look up at him, amazed. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, Raine. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life to pretend to cut you off and pretend I’m so shallow and horrible I would punish you by withholding treatment from Maddy. I had no choice. I had to let the enemy think I had walked away from you. Lull them into thinking they could use you as their pawn. Maddy was never in any danger. The letter you wrote to Lana only served to make me love you even more. No one is going to pay for her treatment. Only me.”
Tears run down my cheeks. “I didn’t know what else to do. I had to save her. It was my fault.”
He kisses my cheeks. “No, it is not your fault. Nothing is your fault. You did the best you could but you were brilliant and I’m so proud of you. You showed her the way I never could have ever imagined. You out-tricked the witch herself.”
A young man clears his throat next to us.
Both of us turn towards him.
“This is for you, Mr. Tsarnov,” he says, handing him an envelope.
Konstantin takes the envelope and I separate from him. He tears it open and there is a small card inside. The writing is in gold leaf. He looks at it, then he smiles.
“What is it?” I ask.
He shows me the card. I read it.
When the rat is bitten by a snake it keeps running because it thinks it escaped from the jaws of death. It doesn’t know the poison is already in its veins. That it is already dead.
“Is this from Helena?” I ask.
“Maybe. It is from them anyway.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because love will defeat them all. Every single time. They don’t know it yet. All they know is the power of venom. They don’t know that pure love is anti-venom.”
“Come on, let’s go home.”
“So you never meant to leave me?”
“Of course not. It is why I told you to bring your phone to our meeting. I wanted them to hear me reject you. I wanted them to think you had no value to me. That way you do not become leverage.”
“Konstantin, I have to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
“You keep fucking stealing my lines.”
I gaze at him in wonder. “Did you just…”
He catches my face. “Yes, I just.”
“Say it.”
“I love you, Miss Raine Fillander. I fucking love you. I love you so much I wanted to punch that idiot who was flirting with you.”
“What idiot?”
“Yuri.”
“Ah, the guy who lives in Monaco.”
“That bastard is just a scammer. You don’t want to know him.”
“I do believe you’re jealous.”
“Jealous? Of course, I’m fucking jealous. I’m going out of my mind with jealousy.”
I laugh, then I remember my little secret. “Konstantin, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“What?”
I spend hours playing and replaying all the different ways I could tell him, but in the end what comes out of my mouth are the words that have been uttered by women from time immemorial.
“I’m pregnant.”
Konstantin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2zeudxXjuU
Right Here Waiting
“Yes, I know,” I tell her.
“How?” she asks, her eyes popping.
“Because you told L
ois while she had a phone on her.”
“What? Were you listening to everything I said.”
“Someone on our side was. We had to know what the enemy knew.”
“Right. So are you… er… happy about it?”
“Happy? I was so fucking happy I broke down and cried when I read the transcript.”
Her big beautiful mouth stretches into the biggest grin known to mankind.
“I knew I couldn’t phone Lana Barrington so I wrote to her to plead with her to loan me some money to pay for Maddy’s procedure and start to secretly arrange it so it can be carried out right after I testify. I know it was really presumptuous of me to ask after only meeting her once, but I could tell she was kind hearted and your friend, and I was really, really desperate.”
“Yes, I know. She told me. Small change of plan with that one though,” I tell her.
She frowns. “Change of plan?”
“You can’t be the donor, Raine. You’re pregnant. I don’t want you to put your body through the stress that being a donor will bring. It is enough that you are trying to grow a child in your body.”
Her shoulders slump, but she doesn’t disagree.
“I know you really wanted to do it, but I think you’ve done enough for your sister, and everything is arranged. She will be admitted into hospital tomorrow”
“Tomorrow,” she says with a big sigh of relief.
“Yes, tomorrow,” I confirm. “Come on, let’s get out of this corridor and go home.”
“Home?” she whispers the word, as if she dare not say it out aloud. As if it is too precious an idea to even say aloud in case she hexes it.
I put my hand on the small of her back and led her towards the steps of the courthouse. “Yes, home. I’m moving you into my place.”
She shakes her head slowly, her eyes full of love. “Not yet, my darling. I can’t move in with you yet. I won’t leave Mom and Maddy to fend for themselves right now. I can’t donate bone marrow for Maddy, but I want to be there with her.”
The Russian Billionaire: A Romantic Suspense Novel Page 16
