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As Sola Morte stood in her "boss&039;s" office, her body was poised for a fight Then again, that was her SOP, and not anything specific to the environ

The latter certainly didn&039;t improve her mood, however

"I&039;m sorry, what?" she demanded

Ricardo Benloise snment is completed Thank you for your time"

"I haven&039;t even told you what I found out there"

The man eased back in his chair "You may collect your fee froet this" When he&039;d called her no o, it had been a priority "You said - "

"Your services are no longer required for that particular purpose Thank you"

Was he working with sos she did?

"You don&039;t even want to knohat I found out"

"Your assignain in such a professional e Not a lawbreaker on a global scale "I&039;ain in the future"

One of the bodyguards in the back took a couple steps forward, as if he were getting ready to take the trash out

"There&039;s so on in that house," she said as she turned away "Whoever it is, is hiding - "

"I don&039;t want you going back there"

Sola stopped and looked over her shoulder Benloise&039;s voice was as mild as ever, but his eyes were dead on

Well, this was interesting

And the only possible explanation that held any logic was that Mr Mysterious in that big glass house had warned Benloise off Had her little visit been discovered? Or was this the result of the kind of hardball that routinely went down in the drug trade?

"Getting sentimental on me?" she said softly After all, she and Benloise went back quite a ways

"You are a very useful co out of the words "Now go and be safe, nina"

Oh, for fuck&039;s sakethere was no reason to bicker with the et paid - so what the hell did she care?

She gave him a wave, strode to the door, and proceeded down the stairwell Out in the gallery space, she headed into the back of the house, where the legitiiti the file cabinets and the desks, which looked Barbie-size thanks to the industrial ceiling fifty feet overhead, she went into a narrow corridor that wason the door was pointless, but she did it anyway, the stout fireproof panels absorbing the sound of her knuckles like they were hungry To help Benloise&039;s brother out - not that Eduardo needed it - she turned to the nearest lens so her full face showed

The locks released aas she was, even she had to put her shoulder into opening the way in

Talk about another world Ricardo&039;s office waseven Donald Truold fetish, would feel suffocated by

Any more marble and lame in here and you&039;d be in a whorehouse

As Eduardo smiled, his fake teeth were the shape and color of piano keys, and his tan was so deep and uniforic Marker As always, he was dressed in a three-piece suit - a uniform, kind of like Mr Roarke&039;s from Fantasy Island, except black instead of white

"And how are you tonight?" His eyes took a travel down her body "You&039;re looking very well"

"Ricardo said to come see you for my money"

Instantly, Eduardo went stone-cold serious - and she was reminded of why Ricardo kept hiether were a powerful combination

"Yes, he told me to expect you" Eduardo opened up a desk drawer and took out an envelope "Here it is"

He extended his ar it immediately

"This is half" She looked up "This is twenty-five hundred"

Eduardo smiled exactly like his brother did: facially, but not in the eyes "The assignment was not completed"

"Your brother called it off Not me"

Eduardo put his palms up "That is what you will be paid Or you can leave the money here"

Sola narrowed her stare

Slowly closing the flap of the envelope, she turned the thing over in her hand, reached forward, and put it faceup on the desk Keeping her forefinger on it, she nodded once "As you wish"

Turning away, she went to the door and waited for the unlock

"Nina, don&039;t be like this," Eduardo said When she didn&039;t reply, the creak of his chair suggested he was getting up and coht into her nose and his hands landed on her shoulders

"Listen to me," he said "You are very iranted - mucho respect, yes?"

Sola looked over her shoulder "Let ht now"

"Take the hed "You do not need to be this way"

Sola enjoyed the guilt that threaded through the man&039;s voice - the reaction was, in fact, precisely what she was after Like a lot of men from their culture, Eduardo and Ricardo Benloise had been reared by a traditional uilt was a reflex