Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead(Finlay Donovan #2)(68)

“I can’t let you in without ID.”

“Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to give you one. As it is, I’ll be spending all day at the DMV tomorrow having mine replaced.” I pushed the business card toward her and tapped Kat’s name. “I’m in this place almost every damn day for this man. You can look me up. I was just here yesterday.” It was a gamble, but I was willing to bet an empire as big as Feliks’s would require daily briefings at the minimum.

Officer Pyle glared at my card. With a huff, she typed something into her computer. My heart stopped as her fingers paused over the keys. She raised an eyebrow.

“Go on,” she grumbled. “But next time, bring your ID.”

I nearly melted into a puddle of relief. With a curt nod, I surrendered my messenger bag, turned on my heel, and sashayed to the metal detector, my file in hand and stilettos snapping.

I shifted uneasily as the officer inspected my file, but he was more concerned with removing the tiny staple from the papers than what was written on them. I was instructed to wait for an escort. Doors buzzed, jangling my already-spent nerves as they clanked open and I was guided into the jail. Officers gossiped loudly in the corridors and I averted my eyes, praying I didn’t know any of them. Their chatter quieted as I passed. Hopefully Vero was right and they were too busy staring at my ass to notice anything else about me.

My toes and heels were already blistering, the balls of my feet aching from the stiff leather shoes, but I was far too nervous to sit when my escort deposited me in an empty meeting room. I paced the length of it, freezing when the door opened.

“A little late for a visit, Katya.” Feliks Zhirov paused just inside the room. His coal-black eyes surveilled me through a fringe of tousled bangs, the tightening of his lips framed by a thick shadow of dark scruff. He was taller, leaner than I remembered, his coldly handsome features cut sharp. In his baggy orange jumpsuit, without his smooth-shaved face and gel-styled hair, without his fancy cuff links and tailored suit, Feliks looked far more dangerous somehow … less like the man who ordered the hits, and more like the man who killed with his own hands.

“Professional visitation ends at ten,” the officer said, oblivious to the flare of tension in the room. “Knock when you’re ready, and someone will escort you out.”

Feliks nodded once for both of us. My breath caught as the officer stepped out and closed the door. A single set of restraints bound Feliks’s wrists, connected loosely by a chain around his jumpsuit. Feliks strolled toward the table where I stood, his movements almost predatory, his dark eyes missing nothing as he took a seat. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Ms. Donovan?” His voice was silken and dangerous. I glanced up at the camera on the ceiling and Feliks’s gaze followed, a slight smile tugging at his cheek. “They do not record our conversations. Only our behavior.” I swallowed when his piercing eyes settled on my throat.

“We have a mutual problem.” I took a seat across from him, keenly aware that I couldn’t see his hands under the table. It didn’t matter that there was a camera recording every movement he made. I had no doubt Feliks would reach across the gap and strangle me if I gave him a reason to try.

“By mutual problem, you must be referring to Detective Anthony.” His lip twitched at my surprise. “Tell me, did you enjoy your meal? Vodka, piroshki, stroganoff … all outstanding, I’m sure. I understand the detective was planning to spring for dessert. He must be very fond of you. And yet, I admit, when I last inquired about your relationship with him, I was skeptical of your answer.”

“You asked why I was with him that day. I told you. It wasn’t a lie.” Not entirely.

“Does the good detective know about the young law student who’s been warming your bed?”

The breath punched out of me. Nick said Feliks had a long reach, but the only way he could have known about my relationship with Julian was if one of his goons had been tailing me. A shiver ran through me as I remembered Nick’s mention of my unlocked door.

Feliks’s leer fell over me like a hot, close breath. “I must admit to a certain … curiosity about you. Tell me, what is this mutual problem that warrants such a daring visit?”

“The police know about your website.”

His shrug was careless. “I have many websites.”

“They know about the women’s forum.” Feliks’s irises turned a violent shade of black. I wasn’t sure if I should feel terrified or victorious that I’d managed to surprise him.

“How did they come by the information?”

“One of their confidential informants found it.”

“His name?”

“I don’t know it.” Cam might be a criminal, but he was just a kid. I wouldn’t offer up a juvenile to be shredded by a monster. “All I know is that he traced the site back to one of your shell companies. A cybercrimes unit is already looking into it.”

“If you and Detective Anthony are so close, why are you telling me this?”

“Let’s just say, you and I both have good reasons to want to keep the police from finding that forum.”

Feliks arched an eyebrow. “Do tell, Ms. Donovan.”

“I’d rather not.”

His slight smile was cocky. “Perhaps I will leave the forum for Detective Anthony to find, if only to satisfy my own curiosity about you.”