Nita knelt so she was face-to-face with Fabricio and grabbed his chin in her hands. “You wanted a carrot? Something to motivate you to work with me?”

“Yessss.” He dragged the sound out, but his voice was nervous.

She forced his eyes to meet hers. “Here it is, Fabricio. If you do everything in your power to make sure Kovit and I get this information, I’ll do everything in mine to make sure your father is never a problem for you again. And when the dust has settled and all the blood’s been spilt, we’ll call it even once and for all. No more blackmail. No more pain. No more threats. We just walk away. Deal?”

Fabricio looked down at his bandaged, bloodied hand before he nodded. “Deal.”

Sixteen

FABRICIO ASKED IF he could have a shower, and Nita didn’t see any reason for him not to, so he retreated into the bathroom. She suspected it was less that he wanted a shower and more that he wanted an excuse to be alone for a while. She didn’t blame him.

She also didn’t trust him. He’d seemed genuine in taking her deal, but she knew firsthand how superb an actor he was. But there was nothing she could do about it for now—she needed him, and he knew it.

Kovit leaned against the counter. “What now? How are we going to get the password out of Alberto Tácunan, of all people?”

Nita rested her chin on her hand. “If this were a movie, I’d leave you in a room with him for an hour and we’d have all the answers we wanted.”

“You know torture doesn’t actually work like that.”

“I know. He’d probably give us gibberish, make up things to get it to stop.” She sighed. “But it’s a nice fantasy. That things are so easily solved, answers so easily obtained.”

Kovit smiled dreamily. “It would be fun. Answers or no.”

Nita shivered at his expression, full of innocent delight at what she knew would be something truly terrible. “I’m sure. But we need a better plan.”

His eyes came back to this world, and he raised his eyebrows. “Do you have one?”

“Sort of.” She chewed her lip. “We lure him somewhere, we make him talk.”

“We make him talk how?”

“That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet,” she admitted.

He nodded slowly. “I see.”

She rubbed her temples. “I mean, there’s a lot of pieces I haven’t figured out yet.”

“Like?”

“Where to start?” She counted them off on her fingers. “How I’m going to get that password. How I’m going to use this information to get rid of INHUP. Backup plans. You know. Stuff.”

He considered. “Speaking of getting rid of INHUP, what’s happening with that vampire?”

Nita looked up at him. “Zebra-stripes? What about him?”