A pair of heels clacked down the stairs, and Savannah’s voice called out. “Vlad, baby? Is that you?”
A second later, Savannah sashayed into the room, followed by her guard. Vlad turned around and gaped. Georgia did too. It was the first time she’d laid eyes on her sister, and her appearance left little to the imagination. She was wearing next to nothing: tiny glittery pasties on her nipples, a pair of slinky black panties, fishnet stockings, and four-inch stiletto heels. Her long blond hair shone in the light, and her makeup had been carefully applied. Her skin, and there was a lot of it on display, was rosy, taut, and smooth.
She was drawn to her sister’s face. It was a young face, a face that needed to mature. Still, she was a knockout. Big brown eyes, a tiny nose, a perfect complexion, and full lips that were bowed in just the right way. Despite what she’d gone through, she still wore an eager, hopeful expression, and when she broke into a smile, as she did now, she couldn’t have looked more alluring. Georgia understood why Vlad kept coming back to her.
Savannah hurried over and threw her arms around Vlad. “I’m so happy to see you. Where have you been? I’ve missed you!” She flashed him a brilliant smile. Too much, Georgia thought. Tone it down. But Savannah pressed her cheek against his, nuzzled his neck, and dropped kisses on him. The second guard, who had come back in the room with a bottle of water, stood by helplessly, apparently unsure what to do.
Vlad shoved her away. “Stop! You pregnant!”
Undeterred, Savannah continued to flash him a dazzling smile. “Yes, and it’s your baby! We made it together.”
Georgia frowned. It didn’t sound like she was faking.
“I do not fuck woman with child. Go. I talk with sister.” He took the bottle of water and waved it dismissively in her direction.
“But, Vlad, I want you to come upstairs and make love to me. Just us.” Her voice was pleading now. Almost begging. “You love me. I know you do.”
“Love? Who can love a whore?”
“That’s not true.” Savannah stiffened, and her voice grew shrill. “I know you love me. The earrings.”
Vlad’s expression was steely. “I take them off dead girl.”
Savannah’s lips tightened into a thin, grim line.
Vlad motioned to the guard, but before he could grab Savannah, she spun around to Georgia. Bitter hostility spread across her face. ”It’s your fault he doesn’t want me,” she cried. “Why did you come here? I don’t want you. No one does.” She raised her hand and slapped Georgia across the face.
She’d expected it, but the force of the blow brought tears to Georgia’s eyes. She reeled back, her cheek stinging.
Savannah slapped her again. “Get rid of her, Vlad. Now!”
Georgia swayed unsteadily. She would have collapsed, but the guard hurried over to break her fall.
“Take her away.” Vlad pointed toward Savannah.
Savannah’s guard grabbed her and tried to drag her out of the room, but in a surprising show of force, Savannah struggled.
“No! I hate her. She’s the reason you don’t want to be with me!”
Vlad set the unopened water bottle on the table and rubbed the back of his neck, as if he wasn’t sure what to do. Savannah kept ranting, sounding hysterical now. There was a thin line between acting and real life. Had Savannah crossed it? Finally, Vlad spat out something in Russian, and the guard dragged her sister across the room. Vlad motioned to the stairs.
Georgia’s spirits sank. Their chances had been slim to begin with, but she’d hoped the ploy of having Savannah attack Georgia would force him to remove her from the room. Then Savannah would have the chance to find a gun. But the strategy had failed. Georgia’s stomach churned. But she had to try.
“You’ve had a good run, haven’t you, Vlad? Women falling all over you, a lucrative operation, lots of money, whores, and drugs. And, of course, babies.”
Although Savannah was no longer in the room, they could hear her crying. It sounded like she was in the kitchen. Definitely not upstairs. How had she managed that? Georgia felt a flicker of hope.
Vlad ran one hand up his other arm, stroking himself in a self-conscious way. Only athletes did that, she thought. And narcissists. But the action helped him regain his equilibrium, because when he turned back to Georgia, he smiled. “It is good business.”
He was back in control.
She kept going. “Business? Is that what you call a baby-breeding ring where the babies and their mother’s organs go to the highest bidder?”
His tongue snaked over his lips. His smile broadened. “You know nothing about my business. People are happy. They get baby. Other people live because of me. I run—how you say—unselfish business. For others.”
Georgia wanted to spit. “Sure it is. And I guess that absolves you for killing their mothers and selling their body parts?”
His smile vanished.
Good. She was getting to him. “Well, Vlad? What do you say to that?”
He was quiet. Then, “I lose ten years because of you.”
Keep him talking. Something would happen. “You’re about to lose a lot more. I know about Chad Coe. And Dr. Lotwin. And the woman at the hospital who scouts transplant organs. They’re all being picked up as we speak. How long do you think you have before the cops get here?”
“I let you find out.” He shrugged. “And if cops come, my people know what to do. So do I.” He shot her a smug look.
Savannah was weeping in earnest now, loud, wracking sobs that knifed through Georgia’s heart. Vlad gazed at Georgia with a curious look. It wasn’t desire or lust or even hate; it was more like satisfaction—satisfaction that he held the ultimate power. That he could get people to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He was so absorbed in his self-importance that he failed to notice a distant whine whispering through Savannah’s cries.