Chapter 7

It was almost dawn before Stephanou came to Yuri’s home office in the penthouse. He handed him a photograph and waited while Yuri viewed it. The photo showed a young man with dark hair. As soon as he saw it, he remembered the young man. It was the same man that had bumped into him when he was going to lunch. He hadn’t thought anything about it as the man immediately apologized and moved away but now, he realized it that was when he lost his wallet. The man had been good, he hadn’t felt a thing, certainly not the man’s hand in his pocket. “So this is the face of a thief.” Yuri looked up at Stephanou.

The face was in profile and the quality wasn’t the best but the side of his face could still be seen clearly enough to identify.

Stephanou nodded. “We ran his face through our recognition files and nothing showed up. He’s either clean with no record or he’s just never been caught.”

“Be discreet but check with the police records, maybe they have something we do not.” Yuri tapped the photo. “Give this man a name and then find him. He has to be somewhere in this city.” Yuri stared hard at his man. “Then when you find him, bring him to me. I want him unharmed. I have questions for him.”

Stephanou nodded and left just as the phone rang.

When Yuri answered the call, it was his day manager. Grabbing the photo and the file on Andria Waterson, he went downstairs for his early meeting.

A few minutes later, he entered his office and saw his day manager June Harrow was already there waiting for him. He went around the corner of his desk and sat down the photo fell to the floor and June bent over to pick it up for him. When she laid it on the table, she glanced at the photo and grinned.

Yuri’s gaze sharpened as he noted her reaction. “Do you know this young man?”

June looked up and nodded. “Sure, he’s Raven’s younger brother. He doesn’t come in very often but she introduced us once. I think his name is Nicky.”

“And who is this Raven person?”

“She’s the hostess of the Tea House,” June informed him.

The Tea House was the restaurant that was part of the hotel Yuri ran as a cover for his business. As soon as she mentioned the hostess, Yuri thought of the small dark haired woman who greeted him each time he entered the restaurant. Usually, he was in too much of a hurry to pay her any mind but suddenly he wanted to know more about her. “How long as she been in this position?”

June’s smile began to fade a bit. “She’s been working for us for about three years now. She started waiting tables and advanced to hostess about a year ago. She’s been very good at her present job.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Yuri commented as he remembered the woman in question. “She always has a smile and a very easy manner about her.”

June nodded. “Everyone has nothing but good things to say about her. She remembers everyone and greets them by name.”

“When does she come to work today?”

“She works the early shift, so she should be here anytime.”

Yuri nodded then picked up his phone to speak to Stephanou. Because he didn’t want June to know what he was saying, he spoke in Russian. Finally, he hung up the call.

 June shifted in her seat and asked, “Raven isn’t in trouble is she?”

Yuri smiled. “Not at all. I just need to ask her a question.”

June nodded slowly. “Okay, well she should be here soon.”

“Is everything else going according to schedule?” Yuri asked her. He just wanted to move on and get Raven into his office.

“Yes sir.”

“That will be all.” Yuri dismissed her.

A few minutes later, Yuri got to his feet and went back upstairs. He had asked Stephanou to escort Raven to his office upstairs. He didn’t want to risk anyone bursting in on them down here.

When he settled at his desk, the door opened and Stephanou ushered in a petite dark haired woman. As Yuri observed her, he rose to his feet.

 She looked to be of small stature, her dark hair had been pulled back from her elfin face and hung to the lower part of her back. She looked back at him with clear green eyes. Her breasts were full and her waist tiny, while her work uniform strained slightly against her curves. Her dark shirt had been neatly tucked into her skirt. The buttons down the front accented her look. The skirt fell about halfway to her knees and her legs were bare under it. With her low heels, she stood at barely five feet. The Tea House crest flashed high on her shoulder. She wore a belt at her waist. The belt didn’t belong with the uniform but it looked neat and tidy with its flat long rounded buckle just above where her belly button should be. The silver color of the buckle went well with the rest of the outfit.

Yuri felt pleased at her tidy appearance.

Steadily, she watched him while he took her in. She studied him intently too while giving nothing away.

Yuri knew what this meant and he could appreciate where she was coming from. He’d seen that same look in others. Ones who’d been beaten down by the past, as if they were waiting for the other shoe to drop and didn’t know if it were going to kick them or help them. Yuri felt curious as to why this young woman would be so haunted. “Please have a seat Miss…?”

“My name is Raven.” She heard the question but didn’t give her last name.