The Mephisto Covenant Read Online Free PDF Page B

again. The number of the box and its contents will be buried with me.”
    “Why does Alex want it?”
    “He said his supervisor in the Russian Security Council found an old file of my father’s with a list of the contents of the lockbox. He wants it and sent Alex to get it.”
    “Why didn’t you give it to him, Mom? What could be in that box that’s so important, you’d risk everything?” Sasha was unaware she was crying until tears splashed against her hand.
    Her mother stood. “I wasn’t willing to hand over detailed, personal information about important people to anyone, least of all his boss, who is a bully and a criminal. Even if I’d known what would happen, that Alex would accuse me and I’d be deported, I wouldn’t have given him the box number. Some things are bigger than ourselves, Alexandra. Doing the right thing always comes with a price.”
    “I’m glad you feel so virtuous, Katya,” Tim said, sounding bitter. “Maybe if you weren’t selective about when to be noble, everything would be different.”
    Sasha wondered what he was talking about. Her mother looked like she’d just been punched, shock and pain reflected in her expression. She opened her mouth as if she would say something, but instead, she stormed away to the kitchen, cursing in Russian while she slammed cabinet doors.
    What had happened to make them hate each other this much? Sasha wanted to ask, but Tim was red in the face, his breathing very labored, and she was afraid he’d have a heart attack if she upset him further.
    She swiped at her tears and wondered what it would be like to live in Russia. Could she finish high school there? Just the thought of being a new kid in a school where she barely spoke the language made her dizzy with anxiety. “Where will we live?” she asked Tim. “Moscow? St. Petersburg?”
    It was a little while before he said in a quiet voice, “You can’t go with her, Sasha. You’re a U.S. citizen, so you have to have a visa to enter Russia.”
    Her dizziness moved closer to a full-on panic attack. “How long does it take to get a visa?” Tim looked away from her, c learly uncomfortable. “Not that long, but there won’t be a visa for you. Not yet, anyway. As much as the United States doesn’t trust Katya, the Russians are angry with her for defecting. Until she has a feel for how things are, it’s too dangerous for you to be with her. Kasamov’s boss still wants the contents of that lockbox, so he could use you as leverage to get Katya to turn it over. It’s not a risk Katya wants to take.”
    Fear nearly ate her alive. “Will he do something to Mom?”
    “It’s possible. I won’t lie, Sasha. The next few months are going to be very difficult for your mother. The best thing you can do is stay here, out of harm’s way, so at least she doesn’t have that worry on her shoulders.”
    “I guess I can stay with a friend until it’s safe for me to go.”
    “No, Sasha. That’s why I’m here. For now, you’re going home with me.”
    She blinked. That sounded just terrible. “Where do you live?”
    “In Colorado. Telluride. Your mother will get things sorted out, and in the meantime, you’ll live with us and get to know your aunt and your cousins. I have two boys, close to your age.”
    A couple of teenage boys and a stranger who had bad blood with her father wasn’t going to make being separated from her mother okay.
    Tim sighed again. Or maybe he was just sucking in deep breaths because of his size, because it was hard for him to breathe.
    One thing was sure—he didn’t look like a spy. “You work for the CIA, which is part of the State Department. Can’t you help Mom?”
    “I’m not CIA anymore.” His scowl was hard to recognize, his face was so flabby. “I quit after your dad was killed and they tried to pin it on me. They thought I was the one who ratted him out. There wasn’t a shred of evidence, because it wasn’t true.” He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to