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“As for the guards, it’s unlikely they’d know us froland You think it’s even crossed Bondaruk’s o is too big for that Fortune favors the bold, Remi”

“Another Fargo-ism And what if the man himself appears?”

“We’ll avoid hiuests Given Bondaruk’s reputation, they’ll be our best early-warning system When he’s near they’ll part like a school of fish in shark-infested waters”

Rehed “How sure are you about this?”

“About what part?”

“All of it”

Saave her hand a squeeze “Relax Worst case, alk around, get the lay of the land, then come back here and plan our next step”

Chewing her lip, she thought about it for a a is my size”

The fit wasn’t perfect, but with a few safety pins Reather the black V-necked evening gown until only a fashion designer would be able to tell it hadn’t been fitted for her Re the waistband and gathering the shirt at the small of his back with a pin With their faces washed, hair coe coveralls and backpacks safely stashed inside the bookcase, they gave one another a once-over, stuffed Sam’s pockets with a few essential items, then left

Arm in arm, they started down the hall, which like the bedroos, tapestries, and landscape oil paintings They counted doors as they walked but stopped after they reached thirty; assu the room they’d just left wasn’t an aberration, it see

“One problem,” Remi muttered as they reached the end of the hall and stepped into a high-ceilinged rooranite spiral stairways The rest of the space was divided into seating areas of orn leather chairs and divans Here and there sconces cast soft pools of light on the walls Arched doorways to their right and directly ahead led to other parts of the house

“What problem?” Sam asked

“Neither of us speaks Russian or Ukrainian”

“True, but we do speak the international language,” he replied as another couple entered the room and strolled toward them

“Which is?”