Trifecta (55 page)

She really was an innocent.  She had never drunk anything
strong before.  And she loved him.  Ivar smiled back at Eve and cut some more of
the roast. 

Ivar thought about the situation.  That stupid jerk Sergi
was out of the picture because of his leg wound, broken hand and the bite to his
neck.  But he knew the KGB would make another attempt to abduct the women.  He had
also seen the Japanese men sneaking after the women surreptitiously, constantly
taking pictures.

Ivar would try to protect Eve, but the only way he could
do that was to get as much information as possible.  He didn't want to lose Eve's
trust by asking too many questions.

Ivar suggested they eat desert and watch a movie after
dinner.  He gave Eve a choice of five videos he had rented.  She wanted to see all
of them, so Ivar chose one of his favorites, a French movie with subtitles called,
La Femme Nikita.

They ate the whole strawberry rhubarb pie while watching
the movie. 

"I want to see the movie again,"  Eve said, when
it ended.

She had been entranced by the story of a woman used by
the French intelligence as an assassin. 

"Right now?"  Ivar asked.

"Yes.  Again."

While they watched the movie, Ivar, full of food and feeling
content, fell asleep.  Eve nestled next to him.  She made the sounds of the French
voices along with the movie.

Ivar awakened, chagrined.  "Has the movie been over
for long? You should have woke me."

Eve was smiling at him again.  "Can I sleep with you?"

"Ah...sure."

"Sabrina will worry.  Can I use your phone?"

When Eve went into the bedroom she immediately started
disrobing.  She was not provocative or coy, but very matter of fact, and very fast. 
He had been surprised at her lack of inhibition before, so he decided to see if
she would mind if he just sat on the bed and watched. 

"Do you sleep in your clothes?" 

"No."

"Let me undress you.  You are very tired." 

This woman was going to spoil him.  He could see that she
was over the effects of the alcohol because of her astonishingly quick movements. 

Eve pushed him down on his pillow and then lay down beside
him, propped up on one elbow, watching him.  She did not mention turning off the
lights.

"I want to get to know you better." 

"How do you propose to do that?"  Ivar asked
smiling at her sleepily.

"I want to taste you.  Maybe a little bite on the
neck?" 

Ivar went totally rigid.  He was remembering how she had
taken a chunk out of Sergi's neck the day before.  He also thought she might be
teasing him and knew he had been there, watching from behind a tree.  He took a
deep breath and tried to relax, but he was now totally awake and on guard.  He could
feel his palms suddenly become clammy.  He didn't want to hit her, but if she really
bit him he wouldn't have a choice.

He felt a tiny nip on his neck. 

"I would never hurt you, Ivar." 

Ivar felt his heart start to slow from its sudden gallop. 
Eve lay her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat.  "Big heart." 

She didn't hurt him at all.  Quite the contrary.

Later, as Ivar was going to sleep, he realized he did not
want to lo
s
e this woman.  The surprising thought startled him awake, until
he consciously made his breathing slow down to match the rhythm of the deep, even
breaths beneath his arm.

E
ven winning a karate match couldn't put Hashimoto
in a good mood this morning.  He was wasting time in Los Angeles, accomplishing
nothing because Dr. Steinbrenner had a stroke and the Miller women were not responding
to his calls.

Sato bathed in a steaming tub of water.  His assistant
came in the vaporous bathroom and handed Sato a towel, then gave him pictures of
the Miller women.  He clicked his tongue, musing over the photograph of Eve savagely
biting a man in the neck. 

He had been searching for some kind of weakness that he
could use to his advantage.  As he shuffled through the pictures he saw several
of the women laughing together; a brunette and a redhead.  The sisters were obviously
very close.  If he could separate them he might be able to exert some control. 
The dark woman was obviously ferocious and very strong.

The pictures he contemplated that had been taken the next
day, showed both women with identical coiffures in the exact same shade of blond. 
They were obviously identical twins.  After he got them to Japan and they understood
his enormous influence and wealth, he would let the one who did not possess a computer
understand what an advantage it would be to become mistress of a powerful man such
as himself.

Sato lolled in the bathtub and bade his assistant call
Cedars Sinai hospital to inquire solicitously about Dr. Steinbrenner.  The news
was disheartening.  The doctor was in stable condition but unable to communicate,
which meant that Sato had no choice but to go to the meeting arranged by Alexander
Steinbrenner.  In the meantime he would try to use the day advantageously.  He only
had this one day to conspire behind the backs of the Steinbrenner brothers.

M
ark had noted the strain Sabrina had been feeling the
evening before and thought that Eve's call, so late, waking them practically in
the middle of the night, was very rude.  She should have called earlier.  Sabrina
had really been upset.  This morning Sabrina still seemed preoccupied and tense,
obviously waiting for Eve to come back.  He was a little irritated that Sabrina
was only picking at the cheese and onion omelette he had so carefully prepared. 
Actually, he realized he was more than a little irritated.

Eve.  Eve.  Eve.  That was all he ever heard about.  Eve
and her designs.  How worried Sabrina was about her relationship with Ivar, the
spy.  And Eve and her feat: saving them both from the Russian kidnapper. 

Mark didn't really want to believe that Eve's behavior
was slutty, because she was supposed to be an exact duplicate of Sabrina, but what
could one think of such conduct? The woman, or computer or whatever she was, seemed
to do exactly as she pleased, and Mark was irritated that Sabrina seemed utterly
entranced. 

Mark saw Sabrina's face brighten when she heard three knocks
on the door.  He watched with irritation as she ran out of the kitchen, napkin still
in hand.

Mark was a little disconcerted when the two entered the
kitchen.  Now that Eve had blond hair that matched Sabrina's, he could hardly tell
them apart himself.  He had to amend that thought, and found it frightening to realize
that he really could not tell which was which.  Even their voices and mannerisms
were identical.  He looked for the tiny wrinkles on Sabrina's face and couldn't
see any.  Eve looked exactly like Sabrina—the living image—plus a computer.  Mark
listened to Eve's voice to see if he could detect any differences in speech or intonation.

"I told Ivar he had a big heart, but I don't know
if he understood.  I meant he was warm and kind, but I think he thought I commenting
on the physical size of the organ."

"Men never understand anything,"  Sabrina said,
laughing.

"Hi Mark,"  Eve said, smiling at him in what
he thought of as a perfectly normal way.  She sat down at the table.

"Hi."

"Did you eat breakfast?"  Sabrina asked Eve.

"Yes.  I restrained myself."

"Take mine, I'm not hungry,"  Sabrina pushed
the omelette over to Eve.

Sure, Mark thought to himself, irritably.  Go ahead.  Give
Eve the breakfast I made for you.

Eve started using Sabrina's utensils as though she did
it every day.  "But I behaved very badly." 

Ah ha, Mark thought.

"What happened?"  Sabrina asked.

"Well, Ivar made this appetizer of caviar on toast. 
You eat it with peppered Russian vodka.  I knew that you're supposed to take the
vodka all in one gulp.  So I did."

"Oh, no,"  Sabrina was smiling.

"I got drunk and threw up." 

The two women were behaving hysterically, Mark thought,
watching Sabrina wipe tears of laughter out of her eyes.

"He was very nice when I wasted his special foods. 
He held my head and patted me as I regurgitated into the kitchen sink." 

Sabrina started laughing all over again, as though throwing
up in someone's sink was funny.

"But I never want to do that again,"  Eve was
saying.  "The body did not obey me.  I tried to make Ivar toast with caviar
and almost dropped it on the floor."

So much for Eve's social conduct, Mark thought.

"But I really love Ivar,"  Eve said, and Mark
saw her face light up with a radiant smile.  "He is kind and generous and very
funny.  He made me a wonderful dinner, too."

"But Eve, you have so little experience with men..." 

"Oh, I have all your memories, so I'm real experienced."

Great, Mark thought.  He was chagrined that Eve must know
about their most intimate moments together, which he regarded as sacrosanct.

"Then you don't trust men at all,"  Sabrina said,
smiling and glancing at Mark.  He smiled and winked back, but didn't like it much.

"I trust Ivar.  I'm just like you—a One-Man-Woman," 
Eve said, enunciating slowly and smiling at each of them in turn.

Sabrina got up hurriedly and started clearing the kitchen
table, banging dishes and generally making a lot of noise.  Mark wondered what Eve
meant about a one-man-woman.  Certainly Sabrina went out with other men.  She had
no compunction about letting him know about it, either.  Also, Eve thought that
Sabrina was very experienced, which meant that Sabrina had lots of lovers in the
past, didn't it?

Mark had gone out with other women too, but it was more
to be convinced of his own feelings for Sabrina than anything else.  Of course he
was attracted to other women.  Sabrina didn't understand that innocent carnal attractions,
just superficial sexual curiosity and interest, were natural for men.  He was not
interested in spending time with any other woman.  He had occasional fantasies. 
It was natural and normal.

"The thing especially nice about Ivar is that he knows
I'm different, and still likes me.  And he's wonderful in bed, like Mark is with
you." 

What! She did know everything.  But she said it was wonderful,
which must mean Sabrina thought so, or Eve wouldn't have known.  Still...

He watched Sabrina's back.  She was banging things around
again and not saying a word, splashing the kitchen floor with dishwater she was
moving so fast.

Mark watched Eve go the refrigerator and take out a bottle
of syrup, taking swigs while she dried the dishes.

"He knows I'm stronger than him, and it doesn't seem
to bother him.  I think he knows I have a computer.  He even saw me bite that Russian
agent.  "

"You bit the Russian agent?"  Mark said, feeling
his own eyes open wide at the distasteful thought. 

Mark watched the two women exchange glances like they were
having some sort of nonverbal communication.

"Yes, Mark.  I was afraid he would shoot Sabrina. 
It tasted foul."

Sabrina had lied to him to protect Eve.  And he had been
right all along.  Eve must be capable of anything if she would bite a person.  Mark
thought back to the night he had entertained fantasies that she might attack him
and Sabrina in their sleep for more raw meat.  At least now he knew Eve didn't like
the taste of human blood. 

On the other hand, to be fair, Eve had bitten a man to
protect Sabrina, and he couldn't fault her for that.  Still, he was grossly repelled.

"I didn't want to shock you,"  Sabrina said,
not quite meeting his eyes.  She sounded apologetic.

Mark nodded.  "I have to go to work."  They would
probably be happy to be alone and discuss whatever it is that women discuss.

Sabrina walked Mark to the door and kissed him good-by. 

"She said it was wonderful?"  Mark asked.  He
wanted to know the truth and looked into her eyes.

"Of course it is,"  Sabrina said, looking surprised.

At least it was something, Mark thought as he went out
the door.

Sabrina could hear Eve in the shower, so she went back
into the kitchen and finished cleaning up.  She wondered why Mark had asked about
their sex life.  Didn't he know? Or didn't he feel it was absolutely wonderful,
too? She decided she would have to ask him, but didn't really know how to go about
it.  After three whole years, if he didn't know how she felt about him and their
relationship, how could she bring up the subject?

Maybe she had been wrong to make that crack about not trusting
men, but Sabrina really didn't trust them.  Her own mother had died in childbirth,
and where was the father? He had evidently gotten her mother pregnant and then absconded. 
And then, at sixteen, Sabrina had thought she was madly in love with Tracy Rieber,
who had acted so warm and tender with her, until she had found him in a compromising
situation, his bed and unclothed, with another model.

Maybe she was being unfair with Mark, but she thought that
after three years, if he didn't want a secure relationship with her, she should
look elsewhere.  Except she didn't want anyone but Mark and she was afraid to push
him in the matter of marriage.  The man should be the one to ask, and since Mark
hadn't, Sabrina had let the relationship drift on and on.  And maybe Mark never
had any intention of getting married.  Maybe he wanted to remain a perpetual bachelor
and was just using her for the time being.  He would discard her, as in her early
experience with the foster families.  It was an awful thought because Sabrina had
always wanted a family and children so badly, but she would have to get used to
it.

Sabrina's speculations were interrupted by the telephone
and she automatically picked it up, and then almost put it down again, afraid it
might be Sato Hashimoto. 

"Hello? Hello?"  The voice was harsh and angry
sounding.  "Is anyone there?"

"Hello?"  Sabrina said.

"I want to speak to that damn fucking machine.  The
computer."

Sabrina stood still in shocked surprise, pulling the receiver
away from her ear.  "Who i
s
this?" 

"Alexander Steinbrenner, you fucking bitch.  Now get
that computer on the phone."

Sabrina was suddenly furious.  Angry that Alexander would
call her a bitch.  Furious that he had called Eve a fucking machine.  Still hurt
and angry about her thoughts of all the men in her life, and especially at Mark
for not marrying her.  She hung up.

Sabrina went into the bathroom where Eve was brushing her
hair.  Eve looked at her.  "I'm ready to go.  Should I go lie down in the back
of the car?" 

"Not yet.  Alexander Steinbrenner just called and
he's raging about something."

The phone rang.

They went into the bedroom and let the phone ring a few
times.  Sabrina told Eve not to be shocked at Alexander's language.

Sabrina picked up the phone, and after listening to the
flow of obscenities, told Alexander that Eve was a fully live human person, and
that he should watch his behavior when speaking to ladies.  She handed the phone
to Eve.

Sabrina watched Eve listening to whatever Alexander was
saying and wondered what the tirade was about.  She could hear him shouting.  Eve
had suddenly started crying.

"I'm very sorry about your father, Alexander," 
Eve said.  "But what you say is not reasonable.  I didn't cause his cerebral
vascular accident."

Ferd Steinbrenner had a stroke? Sabrina felt sudden profound
sadness for a man she hardly knew, and had at one time considered just another man
using her, in this instance, to make Eve.  She watched Eve's tears flow down her
cheeks, even as she spoke calmly to Alexander. 

"And I certainly didn't cause your brother to be shot. 
The man who shot your brother is a Russian spy.  You must get your facts straight
and use some simple logic, Alexander.  Although I understand why you are very emotional."

Sabrina heard some more shouting and then the sound of
a phone being pounded down on the other end of the telephone line.

"What did he say?"  Sabrina asked.

"He said I fucking better be at that meeting with
Hashimoto, or he wouldn't give me the goddamned identification papers.  Or the fucking
bank card for five hundred thousand dollars.  He said if I didn't agree to go to
Tokyo and work for Mr.  Hashimoto, I could piss up a rope for all the bloody help
he would ever give me again."

"You aren't going to talk like that now?" 

"I was repeating what he said."

"Five hundred thousand?" 

"Yes."

"Wow,"  Sabrina said.  "What do you think
you should do?"

"Get the money and identification and leave the country."

"If you don't go to the meeting you won't get either. 
He's threatening you.  And where would you go?"

"I don't know.  But I can't leave when you aren't
safe.  Not when Ferd is so sick.  And I don't want to leave Ivar Cousin."

What a mess, Sabrina thought.  As for not trusting men,
Alexander Steinbrenner was right at the top of her list.  He might be lying about
having identification and a bank account for Eve.  Maybe the Steinbrenner brothers
and that Japanese man would try to kidnap Eve when they had the meeting. 

Sabrina thought they should get a gun and then remembered
the one Eve had taken from the Russian agent.  They had hidden it on the top shelf
of her closet.  She would be sure to take it to the meeting.  Eve's strength couldn't
be a match for a whole bunch of men.