Katarina sat in the back of the town car, drumming her fingers on her knee. Solo's voice was urgent in her earpiece.
"Kat, you need to be careful. Dimitri Shaffer has put out a global bounty on 'Dr. Anti'. He's offering fifty million for a name. He's tearing apart the dark web looking for you."
Katarina rolled her eyes. She checked her manicure-flawless black tips. "Let him look. Shaffer is a capitalist vulture. He probably wants me to cure his hangnail so he can sign more eviction notices. I don't treat monsters, Solo."
"He's dangerous, Kat. He has resources we don't."
"I have resources he can't imagine," she countered. "We're not moving. I'm getting out."
"Here? It's chaos."
"I have to pick up the earrings for tonight. The driver can circle."
Katarina opened the door and stepped out into the noise of the city. She grabbed Kaylee's hand. "Stick close, bug."
"Roger that," Kaylee said, adjusting her backpack.
They walked toward the jewelry store, a high-end boutique with a doorman who looked like he wrestled bears. Just as they approached the revolving door, a bright red Ferrari screeched to a halt at the curb.
The door opened, and a man stepped out. He wore a white linen suit and sunglasses that cost more than the average mortgage. A young woman, barely twenty, hung off his arm, giggling.
Auston Mcmahon.
Katarina felt a cold spike in her gut. It wasn't love. It wasn't even hate anymore. It was disgust.
They reached the door at the same time. Auston paused, his eyes landing on Katarina.
He stopped. He physically stopped moving. His mouth opened slightly.
He didn't recognize her.
Five years ago, he had called her a "bloated whale" to his friends while she cried in the bathroom. Now, he looked at her like she was the last glass of water in a desert.
"After you," Auston said, his voice dropping an octave, trying to be smooth.
Katarina stared at him behind her sunglasses. She didn't move.
"Do I know you?" Auston asked, stepping closer. He ignored the girl on his arm. "I feel like we've met. I never forget a face like yours."
Katarina smirked. She deliberately pitched her voice lower, adding a raspy, smoky quality that hadn't been there when she was twenty. Back then, her voice had been high and anxious, always apologizing for taking up space.
"Your pickup lines haven't improved in five years, Mr. Mcmahon," she drawled.
Auston blinked, stunned. "You know my name?"
"Everyone knows the name of the man who bankrupts his own subsidiaries," Katarina said coolly. She reached up and slid her sunglasses down her nose, looking him dead in the eye.
Auston searched her face. Confusion warred with lust. He stared into her eyes, but there was no spark of recognition. It made sense; in all the years they were engaged, Auston had never actually looked her in the eye. He had looked at her trust fund, her father's connections, or over her shoulder at thinner women. To him, she was a stranger.
"You smell like bug spray," a small voice said.
Auston looked down. Kaylee was looking up at him, her nose wrinkled. "It's really strong. Like the stuff we use to kill roaches."
The model on Auston's arm gasped. "Excuse me?"
Katarina's gaze snapped to the model. Her eyes were cold, predatory. "She said what she said."
The model took a step back, intimidated by the sheer force radiating from Katarina.
"Have a nice day, Auston," Katarina said. She pushed past him into the store, the revolving door spinning between them.
Auston stood on the sidewalk, staring at her retreating back. He pushed the model away when she tried to grab his arm. He pulled out his phone.
"Vance," he barked into the receiver. "I'm at the Cartier on Fifth. A woman just walked in. Black hair, red coat, lethal. Find out who she is. I want her."
Inside the store, Katarina wiped her hand with a sanitizing wipe.
"He was gross," Kaylee noted.
"Men like him usually are," Katarina said.
Her phone pinged. Solo again. Dimitri Shaffer is at the St. Regis. He just checked in. Penthouse floor.
Katarina froze. "You have to be kidding me."
"No joke. He's on the same floor as you, Kat. Keep your head down. If he connects Katarina Acosta to Dr. Anti, the game is over before it starts."
They finished their errand quickly and headed back to the hotel. The lobby was tense. The air felt heavy, charged with static.
"Clear the way, please," a head of security was saying to a group of tourists.
Katarina grabbed Kaylee and ducked behind a massive arrangement of white lilies near the elevators.
"Why are we hiding?" Kaylee whispered.
"We aren't hiding," Katarina whispered back. "We are... observing."
The elevator doors opened.
Dimitri Shaffer walked out.
He was taller than he looked in photos. He wore a dark grey suit, perfectly tailored to a body that clearly spent time in a gym, not just a boardroom. His face was hard, handsome in a brutal, geometric way. His jaw was set tight. He looked like a man who hadn't smiled in a decade.
He walked with a purpose that made the air around him seem to vibrate.
Katarina felt a strange sensation in her chest. A pull. A warning.
Dimitri stopped in the middle of the lobby. He turned his head, his eyes scanning the room like a radar. His gaze swept over the tourists, the staff, and then settled on the lilies.
Katarina held her breath. She pressed her back against the marble pillar.
Achoo.
Kaylee sneezed. It was a tiny, mouse-like sound.
Dimitri's eyes narrowed. He took a step toward the flowers.
"Mr. Shaffer," an assistant ran up to him, holding a tablet. "The merger documents for the Japanese deal."
Dimitri paused. He looked at the flowers one last time, then turned to the assistant. "Fine. In the car."
He walked away, the tension in the room dissipating in his wake.
Katarina let out a long exhale. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She didn't know why. She had faced drug lords and warlords as Dr. Anti. But Dimitri Shaffer?
He terrified her.
---
