Fate's Edge

question was, did she know it, and if she did, how did she use it?
    “Hi!” she repeated, all sunshine and roses. “My name is Audrey. How can I help you?”
    Her voice was golden too—smooth with a light touch of the South. He should’ve gone for a different type of disguise, something warmer and more folksy, instead of Seattle grunge. But too late now. Either she was really good, and he was in trouble, or she was an airhead, and he was unbelievably lucky.
    “Hi, Audrey.” Kaldar smiled back, dropping a hint of his own South into his voice as well. “My name’s Denis Morrow.”
    “So nice to meet you, Denis.”
    “The pleasure’s all mine.”
    Audrey shook his hand, and he caught a whiff of her perfume: citrus, peaches, and sandalwood, fresh, sensual, but not overpowering.
    Her fingers squeezed his for a second and slipped out of his hand. He’d expected it, but his pulse sped up all the same. She was good.
    “Please sit down.”
    “Don’t mind if I do.”
    Kaldar sat in the wooden chair in front of her desk. She went to her desk, sashaying a little, sat, and smiled at him. It was a sweet and completely innocent smile. He half expected flowers to sprout from the carpet and small birds to spring into song.
    Audrey slid the top drawer of her desk out. Kaldar tensed. She took a small box of Altoids out and set it on the desk. “Mints?”
    Probably poisoned. “No, thank you.”
    Audrey pried the box open with her slender fingers. “Sorry, I just had coffee. My breath is . . . phew!” She waved her hand in front of her face.
    “I don’t mind. Go right ahead.”
    She plucked a mint out, put it on her pink tongue, and closed her mouth. “Mmm. I love Altoids.”
    Aaand his thoughts went off the map. Nicely done again. He wondered how often she’d used that little trick. He could picture a conference room full of men simultaneously shutting up to watch her eat Altoids. No sister of Alex Callahan could be a complete innocent, but he didn’t expect this.
    She leaned forward, her face earnest. “So, how can I help you, Denis?”
    “I’ve visited your brother,” he said, testing the waters. “Alex.”
    “Alex?” Her eyes went wide. “How is he? Is he okay? Did something happen?”
    Her face showed genuine concern, even.
    “Did he OD?”
    And that was genuine fear. If he were a little less jaded, he would’ve bought it. Callahan wouldn’t be the first addict to have a persecution complex. Maybe Audrey was Daddy’s little girl, and Alex was the family’s bitter black sheep, who was lying through his teeth.
    And maybe pigs would fly and rich men would grow a conscience.
    “Papa said he was in a nice place. The doctors were supposed to take care of him!”
    Moisture wet her eyelashes. Crying on cue. Adorable. Kaldar had to say something before she teared up, or things would get messy. He held out his hand and put on a guilty smile. “Audrey, please, you misunderstood. It would break my heart to see such a lovely woman upset. Your brother’s fine.”
    Audrey drew back. “That wasn’t nice. You scared me.”
    Now he was a mean, rotten man, yes he was. He almost clapped.
    She drew herself upright. “What is it that you would like from me, Mr. Morrow?”
    Well, it was a great performance, but all good things had to come to an end. Kaldar leaned forward, and said in an intimate, quiet voice, “I want you to cut the bullshit and tell me what your daddy has done with the device you stole from West Egypt.”
    She jerked her hand toward him, blindingly fast. A sharp jolt exploded in his chest, as if he had hit his funny bone, and the shock overwhelmed his whole body. Kaldar’s muscles locked. He willed himself to move, but he remained trapped in the chair, rigid like a board. The words gurgled in his mouth.
    A Taser! She had Tasered him! Damn it all to hell.
    Audrey slipped from behind her desk. He felt his arms yanked, then the pain was over. His body snapped back to normal, all functions restored, and he spat the first word that popped into his mouth. “Fuck.”
    Audrey slapped a piece of duct tape over his lips. He growled and lunged at her, but his arms didn’t move.
    She’d zip-tied him to his chair.
    He’d been had. She’d tricked him like he was a sucker. Like he was a child. The moment he got free, she would regret it. He would make her deeply regret it.
    Audrey bent over him, running her fingers through his clothes with practiced quickness, and pulled his knife from the inner pocket