The Golden Chalice by Sienna Mynx Page A

Yes. I’m handling the arrangements. Your identity, Sasha’s, it will all be taken care of.”
    “And?” Michelle asked.
    “The second day of your stay, you and your sister will do some sightseeing before it’s time for you to part ways. There’s a tourist attraction called the Charles Bridge. Excellent views of Prague’s castles; it’s where the Moldau River and many other riverside spots are. That is where you will meet your contact.”
    “I’ll need money. Cash. American bills.”
    “A million.”
    “It’s a start. It’s enough.”
    “Done.” Abahti nodded.
    Michelle smiled. “He’ll kill you if he finds out you helped me. How can you explain my disappearance?” She regarded him with suspicion. “Lee’s not stupid. Love has him temporarily blind but I’m sure it will wear off when he discovers I’m gone, and so is the Chalice. He’ll smell the setup.”
    “That’s the beauty of this. It’s your betrayal, Chocolat, not mine. You’re right, he’s blind, but when you disappear with the Chalice, he will see you for what you are. If there is to be blood, it will be your blood.”
    “Is that right?” She paced in front of him, thinking over his smugness. Abahti knew Lee but she knew him better. There was only one way to keep Lee from hunting her down and seeking revenge. That minor detail was one she’d never share with the Nigerian.
    “To ensure it, I will be taking extra measures,” Abahti added, silencing her thoughts.
    “Such as?”
    “Monk Eastman is working with us. He’s financing your disappearing act. Your contact is through him. Lee will never suspect me.”
    “So it’s Monk you’ve sold the Chalice to?” Michelle asked.
    Abahti remained stone-faced.
    The Cumminskey add-in was quite useful, but adding Monk Eastman to the mix was a risk she hadn’t counted on. Michelle remembered Pops’ warning. How Abahti served some unnamed organization. She suspected Abahti planned to set them all up. Make Lee believe she and Monk slipped away with the Chalice for Cumminskey, while he delivered it to the Africans he worked for. It was quite genius. Too bad for Abahti she wasn’t that stupid. “I guess we have a deal.”
    Abahti turned up his nose in disgust. “As I always said, you never cared for him. You just used him.”
    “Right. Well, you can keep him company while I’m gone.”
    She headed for the hall. Abahti put his hand to the door to stop her from opening it. He leaned over her shoulder and spoke into her ear. “And that’s the deal, Chocolat. You stay gone. Understood?”
    The question rang in her ears and echoed in her skull. She clenched her jaw to restrain herself. Even now, her instinct to protect Lee from the vipers around him was strong. But things had to go down as she planned. If not, she’d never have the future she so desperately wanted. “Understood,” she managed.
    Satisfied with her response, he withdrew. Michelle walked out of the room and swallowed the sob in her throat. She blinked away the tears stinging the corners of her eyes and straightened her spine. Soon it would be over. For all of them.
     
    ***
     
    Lee sat in the limo, his mind a seething mass of conflicting emotions. He stared out the tinted passenger window at the countryside they traveled past as they drove toward the main highway. He had never been in such a personal tangle. The Dixon sisters were supposed to be a means to a profitable end, a plan he’d set in motion the day Pops died and the Chalice was lost. That was before. Now he was in love with a woman he couldn’t trust and surrounded by men who wanted him dead, or worse. His operation had never been so sloppy, and like Pops had warned, when you invested in anything outside of the hustle, it crippled a man. Someone like Eddie Cumminskey should have never gotten as far as he had. That was on him. Monk Eastman should not be even tempted to betray him after years of loyalty within The Order. That was on him. And as for Abahti? He had