“Can you freeze these accounts?” I asked.
“Yes. Yes, I can. It will take time and the right people.”
“How much time?”
“To do it carefully? Two days, maybe three. If you want it done ASAP, twenty-four hours.”
“I would take option #2 if possible. Will you tell me when it’s done?”
“Of course, Catalina.”
Catalina, even. First-name basis.
“You’ll need to prepare,” he warned me. “Arkan’s reaction will be significant.”
“That’s the plan. Also, MII is working on pulling the rest of Arkan’s moles off the street. They are planning a coordinated strike. Would you like to assist?”
“Let me make something clear: the FBI will not be assisting MII. Montgomery International Investigations will be assisting the FBI with this matter. We will take the lead on this. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
There was a tiny pause.
“Also,” Wahl said. “In the interests of trust and continued cooperation, there has been an event in Alaska.”
What did that mean?
“Take care.”
He hung up. Okay then.
Did he mean Sanders? That was the only operative Arkan had in Alaska, and we already knew that Arkan had pulled him out. Sanders was on his way here, and he had personal reasons to want Alessandro and me dead.
I dumped the chopped tomatoes into a bowl. Yellow tomatoes were next, followed by minced onion, cilantro, salt, and a bit of lime juice.
Arabella walked into the kitchen and plopped into a chair. “I came to tell you that the payment to the Office of Records has been issued.”
“That was fast.”
“It was only fourteen separate cases. I contacted everyone, wired the money, and had them sign off on it absolving us of all responsibility. The parking lot repairs will be handled by the Office of Records directly, so I issued them a lump payment.”
When the occasion called for it, my sister could be so efficient, it was scary.
“Also, imagine my surprise when I went to check on Linus and found our evil grandma passed out in the next bedroom. Trapped in an arcane circle. It was very considerate of you to give her access to the suite’s bathroom.”
It was a very elaborate arcane circle. It had taken forever to develop it, and I had tested it on both Nevada and Alessandro along the way. Everything in that suite had been designed to contain my grandmother. I even had a dumbwaiter installed two months ago during the latest round of renovations so we could feed her.
“I’m sorry. There wasn’t time to tell you about it.”
“You asked me to defend the Compound. You can’t put a dragon in the spare bedroom and not tell me about it.”
“Again, I’m sorry.”
“Are we going to be having soft tacos?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Will there be steak?”
I opened the fridge, took out the giant marinade container, opened it, and showed her several pounds of skirt steak soaking in my patented fajita marinade. It involved onion, pear, spices for a bit of heat, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, and a dash of soy sauce, all put through a blender.
Arabella’s eyes lit up. “You’re forgiven.”
“How badly did that bill hurt our budget?”
“It’s a significant unplanned expense, Catalina. Our emergency fund is wiped out. We don’t have to go on a ramen diet just yet. Maybe a baked potato diet.”
“Potatoes are cheaper than ramen.”
“Not if you factor butter, salt, cheese, and preparation time into it.”
I split my pico de gallo into two bowls and started on peeling mangos. The family was evenly split on mango pico. Half of them loved it, the other half claimed it was an abomination, and both halves would be upset if their needs were not met.
A distant explosion of barks floated to the kitchen.
Arabella groaned.
The barks got closer, then died. Konstantin strode into the kitchen and landed in the chair next to Arabella, his expression tortured. Rooster padded close to him and lay down at his feet. The prince put his hand on his face. Even exasperated, he remained shockingly handsome. If Grandma Frida was around, she would be snapping pictures left and right. For “posterity.”
“Welcome, Your Highness and Faithful Hound,” Arabella declared.
Konstantin gave her a dark look.
Rooster wiggled on her belly, scooting a little closer, her gaze fixed on Konstantin’s face.
“This infernal dog,” the prince growled.
“If you don’t change shape, she’ll stay quiet,” my sister told him. “In your place, I would be grateful. She’s the only one here who likes you.”