ARIA

The restaurant is exactly as I remember from the surveillance feeds. It is elegant and intimate, with warm lighting that would be romantic under different circumstances.

Tonight, it just feels like a stage set for my murder.

The hostess...one of Viktor's operatives...greets me warmly. "Mrs. Ashford. Your party is already seated in the private dining room. Right this way."

I follow her through the main restaurant, aware of Dmitri seated at a corner table, pretending to read ...