The urgent voice of Ethan O’Connell came over the intercom in Petrovin’s private quarters. The Russian reached to press the button to respond, heat rising to his cheeks.
“I will come…five minutes,” he panted.
Naked, he lay spread-eagle on his bed, gazing at the frightened young girl ministering to his need. She crouched between his legs, her soft pale body completely exposed to his ways. Her head bobbed up and down, her lips warm and moist. For an instant after he’d gotten O’Connell’s message, the girl had looked up with tears glistening in her eyes, still holding him in her mouth. Perhaps she had hoped he’d ask her to stop, saying he had to leave.
That never happened.
“Five minutes…plenty of time.” He reached for the whimpering girl, gripping tufts of her hair in both hands. She would need his help to finish.
By the time Petrovin got to the control room, O’Connell did not look pleased with his delay.
“You said you’d come in five minutes.”
“Yes, I am a man of my word.” The Russian smiled. “What is so urgent, Ethan?”
“Baker’s laptop. One of my men inspected it and found it had been tampered with. Keystroke-tracking software had been installed, the kind identity thieves use. That bounty hunter must have done it.”
Before he had a chance to explain more, Petrovin asked, “Did your man access sensitive areas that could be detected with such software? Are we exposed?”
“No, thank God.”
The Russian almost laughed aloud at O’Connell’s reference to a higher power. With the storm outside, perhaps lightning would strike the man.
“You better hope there is no God, Ethan. For your sake…and mine.” He smirked. “I do not understand your urgency. Simply destroy the computer and be done with it. Very soon, this bounty hunter will no longer be a problem.”
“Not soon enough, I’m afraid.” O’Connell waved him over to the computer in question, lying on top of a desk. “Doing a thorough job, my analyst also found this.”
When O’Connell tore back an inside corner of the computer bag, Petrovin knew why the man had been concerned. The Russian recognized a transmitter when he saw it. Anger flushed through his system like a deadly toxin. If Lucas Baker were not already dead, he would do the honors again in a much more painful way. But since this would not be possible, he focused his anger where he could.
The bounty hunter had planted the transmitter, placing his entire organization at risk. And worse, the life he had cultivated in this country would come to an abrupt end at the order of his superior if this debacle compromised Bukulov’s grand design. Failure was not acceptable.
He clenched his jaw, seething with anger.
“I haven’t destroyed the transmitter yet, but I’m using a frequency counter to block it.” O’Connell said. “At a minimum, we need to get the word out to our key people. We’re in lock-down mode until further notice.”
“Yes, I agree. Do it now. But on my order, be prepared to evacuate. We can’t take chances. You know what to do.”
When Petrovin reached for the computer bag, O’Connell asked, “What are you doing with that?”
“Perhaps with the right bait, I learn to fish, no?”
With the computer bag in hand, Petrovin headed for the control room door. If the bounty hunter came looking for the computer, he would make sure she found it—and more.
“I need five of your best men. Now. Have them meet me…the weapons room.”
At the exit, the Russian looked over his shoulder at O’Connell.
“Tell your men…we are hunting.”
CHAPTER 15
Lightning split the night sky in frenzy. And with every crack of thunder, Jess tensed with her heart in her throat. Rain pelted her windshield, hard. She’d been tempted to pull under an overpass to wait the storm out, but that felt like a waste of time. With visibility poor, she had to lower her speed to a crawl.
She drove until the signal became faint. She turned around at an overpass and headed south again, but before too many miles realized it was time to divert off the interstate and head east. Rather than arbitrarily picking a route, she decided to drive the frontage road that paralleled I-57 to see where the signal was strongest. Soon it became clear that a farm road heading east, a route meant for local traffic, was the most promising. And she couldn’t see any lights in that direction, not even a farmhouse. Had they lost power in the area?
“Damn it.”
Any other time, she might have followed the road without hesitating, but she’d made a promise to Seth…and to Sam. She pulled into an abandoned gas station situated next to the turn off, with the interstate clearly in sight. Harper would see her headlights from the highway if he knew where to look. And the station’s overhang gave her a break from the steady rain. A good spot to wait. She took a deep breath, thankful for the relief.
“Okay, Seth. Let’s find out where you are.”
She tried his cell phone. With the bad weather, service was marginal. After a couple of tries she got his voice mail and left a message. In a few minutes she tried again and got through. When he answered, she didn’t bother with formalities.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Where are you?”
She gave him her location, using exit numbers and estimated mileage. Although the old gas station wasn’t much, it made for a decent landmark.
“I’ll keep my car running and the headlights on. As you’re heading south, I’ll be on the frontage road to your left, the east side of the road. This place looks like one of those old funky gas stations from the fifties.”
“Looking at the mile markers, I’m only a few minutes away. That’s great.”
“Can you read the signal, Seth? You should pick it up, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it. You did good, Jessie.” He sounded relieved. “Stay put. I’m almost there.”
She ended the call, but had to admit it felt wonderful to hear his voice, and knowing he was minutes away felt good too. She kept her eyes on the interstate, looking for that damned blue van. The rain blurred everything, but she kept watch anyway. When he got there, she’d get them both suited up in Kevlar. No sense taking any risk. She had a couple of vests in the trunk.
But when the transmitter signal suddenly got stronger—out of the blue—it caught her by surprise. She shifted in her seat, focusing all her attention on the tracking gear.
“What the hell?”
Now the signal was steady and clear. If she didn’t know any better, she could swear she was right on top of the thing. Seth said that once they found the location, they’d know it, without a doubt.
But this? She was in the middle of nowhere. It made no sense.
“What’s happening?” Her hands groped the control panel in the dim light off her dashboard.
But a sharp tap on glass jolted her heart.
“Shit!”
She turned and the glare of a flashlight blinded her. She shielded her eyes. What was Harper doing? How did he…? It dawned on her too late. No way Seth could have gotten there so fast. A motion across the headlights caught her eye. And to her right, another flashlight invaded the darkness. A group of men surrounded her car. She couldn’t see how many.
They were dressed in black like a paramilitary unit, and their faces were covered. But one man approached from the shadows near her front door. In his hand he held something she recognized.
The black computer bag.
“Oh…my…God.” It was all she had time to say.
Jess reached for her Colt Python, but the man with the bag beat her to the punch. She stared down the barrel of his weapon, knowing she couldn’t beat the odds. For a heartbeat, she left her hand on the butt of her gun, but soon raised her hands. She swallowed, unsure she could even breathe. The man gestured for her to open the
