in the mood for a delay from the locals.”
Alexa switched colors with the ease of a chameleon, and without flinching, so did her men.
As he walked down the corridor, Petrovin steeled himself for what he would see when he entered the operating room. Although organ harvesting was a means to an end for his superior Bukolov, he himself did not care for the whole distasteful mess. And despite the fact that he resented the privileged life of this blond American girl —his own life had not been so agreeable—she still stood out in his mind as someone with backbone. And he had to admit to having an inkling of respect for her.
But duty meant everything to him. Without it, he had nothing.
When he shoved open the operating room door, he looked for the carcass of the girl and expected to be repulsed by it. He hoped that seeing her dead might end the peculiar admiration he had for her. The defiant girl would fade from his recollections, replaced by images of the dead one. And corpses had always been easily dismissed from his mind, more a matter of convenience.
But instead of seeing the girl, he found the room in complete disarray and one of his men unconscious on the floor with blood pooling near his head. The girl was nowhere to be found. When he looked up, the doctor rushed to him, his face red with agitation.
“When the alarms went off, one of your guards left to save his own skin. And this one allowed the girl to get away.” The doctor pointed to the guard on the floor and went on, “She punched him in the gut with her elbow, and when he bent over, she shoved him into the wall. I think he may be dead.”
The man was speaking faster now, out of breath. Spittal came from his mouth.
“She looked like she’d taken martial arts. I couldn’t do a thing against her. Where do you think she learned that?”
“Focus, Doctor. Where did she go?”
The man pointed to his right. “She took off toward the elevator. She’s got the guard’s gun, and I think she took his keys too.”
Stas clenched his jaw, working hard to contain his anger. He had to think clearly. But no matter how hard he planned for every contingency, whenever he involved others to carry out his orders, things got fucked up. And today had been no different. In the end there was only one person he could trust. And he had to remember that.
“Why bother with her?” the doctor said, trying to downplay the incident and justify his own cowardice. “We should be going. Besides, she’ll die in the explosion anyway.”
“You make a good point, Doctor. Very sound reasoning from an educated man, such as yourself.” He waggled a finger at him. “The men are waiting at the helicopters. Perhaps you should go. I will follow shortly. Since I’m a man of duty, it falls to me.”
He turned to go, but stopped short at the door.
“You know, Doctor. In many ways, we are men cut from the same cloth.” He could tell the good doctor believed he’d been insulted, but the medical man forced a grin. When he did, Petrovin added, “That’s how I know.”
“Know what?”
“That you have no heart.” He smiled and ventured a laugh until the man relaxed. “Because if you did, I would cut it from your chest and take it with me.”
The doctor looked up, but before his eyes registered full recognition, Petrovin raised his weapon and pumped a round into the man’s heart and throat. He caught him just right, freezing the moment when the man’s expression switched from pompous to startled. Stas didn’t wait for the body to fall.
He turned and walked away, muttering, “A bullet is a sure cure for stupidity.”
He left the operating room, but once he got to the corridor, considered his options. He stood outside the room, awash in the red lights of the alarm system, and gazed down the hallway where the doctor told him the blond girl had run. Down the other way, his men waited at the helicopters. It didn’t take long for him to make up his mind.
Above all else, he trusted his instincts and made his choice accordingly. A man of duty always weighed the consequences.
“What was that? Did you hear that? Sounded like gunfire.” Gun in hand, Payton ran into the dark with his flashlight sweeping through the dusty haze. The crunch of dirt under his boots echoed down the gutted corridor. The air felt thick and muggy, making it hard for Jess to breathe.
“I think it came from over here,” he cried out to her, not caring who else overheard.
She raced after him, gripping her weapon and casting her flashlight in front of them both. She heard the shot and knew exactly what it was. But as she looked ahead, the corridor came to an abrupt end. Stone and rubble blocked the way. It didn’t look like there was a way around it. And her heart sank.
She could have sworn the sound came from this direction. Hell, it wasn’t like they had a minivan full of options.
But as she slowed, Payton picked up his pace, maybe seeing something she hadn’t. When he got to the end of the corridor, he reached to the floor and grabbed a handful of dirt. He tossed the dirt into the air, letting his flashlight pick up the particles as they drifted. To her surprise, the finer particles of dust drifted forward and got sucked through a section of the collapsed wall. Payton had found an opening large enough for them to squeeze through.
As sure as she was that the gunshot came from behind the rubble, she was game to try whatever he came up with—his Hail Mary pass at fourth and long.
“How did you see that? I would have missed it. Damn, you’re good.” She grinned.
“I used to watch
Before she could reply, Payton grabbed her hand and tried to rush her through the small opening, but she stopped him.
“We better mark this spot for anyone to follow.”
“The troopers?” he said. “Good idea.”
“Yeah, right—Frank and Gary.” She would take any help she could get, but she was hoping Alexa might still find them.
Payton fumbled through his pockets, fishing out fifty-dollar bills and a clean white handkerchief. The hankie caught her eye and she considered using it, but she had something more noticeable in mind.
“At the risk of sounding prudish, turn your back.” When he did, she fished her arms under her shirt and pulled a Houdini. “Okay, we can use this.”
With only a smile, she held up her lucky red bra and raised an eyebrow. This time she hoped for a different kind of good fortune.
“That would get
Jess wedged the lacy garment into the debris near the opening and followed Payton through the wreckage. When they got to the other side, it didn’t take long to find an elevator. Locating a working elevator in this dump had seemed like winning the lotto until they got inside and looked at the button panel. Now they had way too many options to choose and no time to do it.
Before Payton started to do the “man thing,” and hit all the buttons in a typical testosterone-driven shotgun approach, she reached out her arm and stopped him.
“Don’t touch it. Hold on.” She bent over and flashed her light onto the elevator panel. When she found what she was looking for, she smiled and said, “You may have
“And I’m with you. Punch it.” He nodded.
When she hit the button and the elevator started its descent to God knew where, Jess reminded herself that what had drawn them here was the sound of a gunshot. She clutched her Glock and took a deep breath, nudging Payton to do the same. When the elevator door opened, no telling who would be on the other side.
Nikki heard the gunshot but didn’t stop. She knew instinctively to run faster. She had no idea where she was going, relying only on her sense of direction and what she had memorized of the layout. For the first time since her abduction, she was alone. She had to take advantage of it.
The rotating beams of red—even though they flashed without sirens—made her anxious, but at least they enabled her to see in the darkened corridors. She’d taken the guard’s keys and had his gun but had no idea how to
