Daddy Devastating by Delores Fossen Page B

touching them, she ran the device first over Russ. Then, Julia.
    “They aren’t wearing wires,” Sylvia said to Milo.
    “Are you?” Russ demanded of Milo.
    “No need for one,” Milo said calmly. “I can relay anything said here to my boss.”
    To Z, the real buyer behind all of this. And that meant someone from the FBI would follow Milo from this meeting. So far though, following hadn’t helped. Agents had tailed him the night before when he’d left the alley next to the bar, but the man had simply gone home.
    “Now that I’m sure we can talk in private,” Sylvia continued, “I can tell you that I’ve been dealing with the details of the possible transfer.”
    “Possible?” Russ demanded, aiming that at Milo and not his assistant.
    “Possible,” Milo repeated. “Why don’t you sit, and we’ll discuss it.”
    “I’d prefer to stand. And I’d prefer to hurry. Julia’s anxious to get back.”
    “I’m sure she is.” Milo let that hang in the air for several moments. “What, with her being a new mom and all. Hmmm. You certainly look good for a woman who just had a baby two weeks ago.”
    Julia shrugged and looked surprisingly calm. “I’ll pass that along to my personal trainer.”
    Russ nearly smiled. Nearly. But he didn’t care for the way Milo was studying Julia.
    “If we’re done with small talk,” Russ started, “can we finally get down to business?”
    It was Sylvia who answered, not Milo. “Sure. We assume your buyer is still onboard with this?”
    Russ nodded. “Absolutely.”
    “Good. Because the exchange will take place tomorrow night, right here in the park.”
    Russ was shaking his head before she finished. “Tomorrow night? Why not sooner? The buyer’s anxious to get this over with.”
    “Well, we’re anxious, too,” Sylvia insisted, “but it can’t happen before tomorrow. Logistics issues. I’m sure you understand.”
    “No. I don’t, and my buyer won’t be pleased.” Russ didn’t know how far he could push this. He wanted the deal to go down sooner than later, but he didn’t want to blow it completely by not budging on the final hour.
    “Well?” Milo questioned. “Does that mean everything is off?”
    Russ took his time answering. Even though Milo seemed beyond calm, he hoped the man was as unsettled about this as Russ was. “Everything’s on. What time?”
    “Eight p.m.,” Sylvia said. “Now, as for payment. The seller has had a change of heart.”
    Beside him, Russ felt Julia tense. “What the hell does that mean?” Russ asked.
    “He no longer wants one million. He wants two.”
    Russ cursed. “For one kid? Come on. Two million?” Even though the Richardsons had agreed to that and more, Russ didn’t want to put more of their money on the table if it wasn’t necessary. “The agreement was for one.”
    Sylvia glanced at Milo, and he was the one to continue. “The seller is aware that the baby’s parents might be willing to compensate him more than your buyer.”
    And this was something Milo would have known right from the start. “So why not just go to the parents?”
    Milo gave another of those smiles and put his cigarette out on the table. “Because it’s too risky. The parents have probably contacted the authorities, and any exchange might be…scrutinized. We’d rather deal with you and your buyer. The question is, would you rather deal with us?”
    Again, Russ hesitated, and he looked at Julia to see how she was handling all of this. She was nibbling on her bottom lip, but there were still no signs of panic.
    “I’ll contact the buyer,” Russ finally said. “But if he agrees to the substantial jump in price, then that’s it. That’s the bottom line. I don’t want you jerking us around.”
    Milo stood and stared at Russ from the other side of the picnic table. “Ditto.”
    “Am I supposed to know what that means?” Russ made sure he looked Milo straight in the eyes when he asked that.
    But Milo only shrugged. “Tomorrow. Eight