Chapter 6
Antonia drifted in and out of conscious as she lay in the bed. She had the very vague recollection of being in a plane. This had made her distressed but the calming handsome face of the man who had come to her rescue in the capsule on the wheel had leaned over her smiling and urged her in a whisper to be calm. Touching his fingers gently to her face he reassured her he would keep her safe. She had immediately relaxed and sunk back into the welcoming arms of sleep. But now she was beginning to stir again and voices were becoming more audible and she could see what was going on a bit more.
“They are going to put her out for another couple of hours and then they will bring her out of sedation,” Cristina Botelli the head of the Italian branch of United Global Defence was telling Gabriel as he sat next to Antonia’s bed in the safe house on Branzillo Island just outside of Venice, not far from Murano Island. “You have rarely left her side.”
“I take her protection and this assignment very seriously,” Antonia heard the Russian answer in a calm even tone.
Botelli’s dark eyes rolled over him. But there was no appreciation in her stare for his athletic physique. She didn’t look at him like most women and there was a good reason. Botelli was gay. He’d only met her three days ago but she treated him differently than other women in Global Defence and it was what made him trust her even more. There was no uncomfortable attraction to get in the way of his work.
“It was hard to keep her still despite the sedation and the feeding tube. She continuously fights it and keeps mentioning the girls she was protecting.”
“I know. I had to help the doctors hold her down while they injected her,” he confessed feeling a nasty twinge of guilt poke at him.
“She wants to find them. You will have to make her understand we need her co-operation with the name of the IS operative working in the Refugee camp. That must come first. Use it as a threat if you have to, to get the information from her. If she doesn’t give us what we want and quickly we will not help her find the girls. I am told you can be very persuasive in getting the truth from a woman when necessary,” she grinned. “I expect you to use your talents, Mr Malinov to get the information we need.”
Gabriel changed the subject and lowered his voice in case they woke Antonia. “There are marks on her arms and they look self-inflicted.”
Botelli nodded to confirm his suspicions.
“Yes. She appears to have been self-harming. There is also extensive bruising on the tops of her thighs and lower stomach. Lamberto, the head of the medical team believes she might have been raped in the camp. We will need to talk to her about it and get her to consent to an examination. I think she has gone through a lot and I don’t believe she has told the Italian police everything that happened inside the refugee camp.”
Her tone was heavy with disapproval when she spoke again. It made Malinov’s back straighten and his brow furrow into a defensive frown. He knew what was coming next.
“As I said, you haven’t left her side, have you? And you are very protective of her, more than your job demands?”
Gabriel felt uncomfortable again. He looked away and towards Antonia sleeping in the bed in the middle of the large room, in the Italian mansion on the island, thinking how beautiful and peaceful she looked. He decided keeping silent was the best option.
“Don’t get too close, Gabriel. It’s dangerous. She might be killed and leave you with a broken heart. Believe me I have been there too many times. Don’t get close to her. It isn’t good for the mission.”
Gabriel knew she was right. But there was something about Antonia King that was chiselling away at the fortress walls he had placed around his heart after the death of his girlfriend, another agent, two years ago when she was mowed down by a car when she was working on a mission. It unnerved him. He nodded at the woman giving himself a mental note to try harder to heed her warning even though he knew he would probably ignore it.
“Get some food and rest yourself while she’s out. I will have two men posted inside the room.”
“No. Thanks. I will stay here with her.”
She shook her head leaving Gabriel frustrated.
“I am not letting her out of my sight. She is a valuable witness. We can’t take any risks,” he said abruptly.
Botelli put her hand up to check if her dark chestnut hair was still confined in its neat pinned prison. “Fair enough. Have it your way. I’ll have some coffee and food sent in. Don’t forget what I said. I wouldn’t want to have to replace you on this mission.”
Malinov’s eyes narrowed but he said nothing as she turned and he watched her black Louboutin heels click across the marble floor and out of the room.
He pulled up a large white and gold gilt chair from the corner of the room. This part had been furnished as a living area with a long white sofa and dining table. He positioned it next to the hospital bed Antonia had been transferred to. Determined to keep guard he removed his jacket and draped it neatly around the back of the chair. Loosening his tie, he sat down and leaned back watching Antonia’s chest rise and fall with each breath just as she closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep.
Chapter 7
A soft female moan woke him
