Fear for her safety stabbed him hard. If those were the girls then Aalam El Hashem was on the ship. What if they were bait to lead her to him? He stood on the stairs and rang Vikktor.
“Start looking for her now. He has to be here,” Malinov roared down his mobile at Vikktor.
He took his earpiece out of his pocket and inserted it so he could keep in touch with Vikktor and the others. One of the team spoke to him straight away.
“I have her on CCTV. Go up two flights from where you are and I will direct you to her,” an excited female voice he recognised as Janice told him on the other end of the line.
He moved quickly.
“Go through the restaurant in front of you. This is a short cut. There is an exit at the bottom of the room. Take it.”
Gabriel put his manners away and pushed past every person who got in his way.
“Travel up one flight on the next set of stairs. I’ve lost her.”
Gabriel stopped dead.
“Find her,” he shouted.
“Got her,” the voice was filled with relief. “Get off the stairs here. She’s on the second floor in the lobby. She’s just entered the Gallery.”
“Can she still see the girls?”
“I can’t get a visual on them. Get in there now. A man has just stepped in front of her and is trying to drag her away.”
Gabriel ran out onto the second floor of the elaborate lobby area with a waterfall cascading down between the three marble-covered open plan floors. He made his way past the mall area filled with expensive jewellery, cosmetic and clothes shops other people were idly milling around and into the gallery.
“Keep going. The paintings are displayed along the walls of three corridors linking together. She is in the end one and putting up a fight. The girls and the woman are nowhere to be seen.”
Gabriel finally reached Antonia just as the assailant pushed her to the floor. He lunged at the man banging him back against the wall tilting one of the paintings violently to the left. He raised his fist and punched him hard. Antonia’s attacker tried to come back at him. Malinov blocked his aim with his arm deflecting it to the side and expertly twisted his leg around the back of the assailant’s bringing him down to the ground. Gabriel bent to wind his arm around the young man’s throat and forced his arm behind his back. He made him stand.
Vikktor and two agents dressed as bar staff with a uniformed ship’s security officer appeared. They took charge of the man from Gabriel leaving him to check on Antonia. He caught her arm and brought her close to him.
“We’ll take him downstairs in the storage deck to a nice little area we have set aside for operation co-ordination and interrogations. We will find out what he knows,” Vikktor told them. “We’ve also just been informed by MI5 that four people are travelling on false passports. At least we have the right ship.”
Gabriel nodded. “See what you can get out of that man.”
“What about Nazila and Qaifa? We need to look for them. If they are here then Aalam is here somewhere as well,” Antonia urged.
“Vikktor, organize a ship wide search while I get Antonia back to the cabin. Aalam has used the girls to draw her out. He will be coming for her now since he knows she is on the ship. Keep me informed.”
Gabriel was already directing Antonia back to the lobby with a firm grip on her arm. He barely spoke to her as he marched her all the way back to their suite. He was furious with her for running away from him and leaving his protection.
When they reached the suite and he inserted the key card in the door she struggled to get away from him. He slammed her back against the outside wall of the cabin and placed his hands either side of her body to trap her there.
“Where do you think you are going?” he asked moving closer to her.
Gabriel was angry. He’d nearly lost her to Aalam.
She pushed her hands against his muscled chest in a futile effort to make him move away. He wasn’t going anywhere. Antonia’s face darkened with frustration and anger.
“Let me go. You can’t keep me here.”
“Yes, I can.”
Malinov moved even closer. He wanted to kiss her and tame that temper of hers in his bed.
“You promised to stay by my side. Aalam nearly took you from me. I told you, I am in charge.”
“I can’t just wait for you to find Nazila and Qaifa. I won’t. That woman has them and I won’t rest until I find her with or without your help,” her voice was raised and filled with hate.
She tried to move from the wall again prompting her protector to grab hold of her wrists and bang them back against the wall above her head to pin her there.
“Let me go. I have to find them. I am responsible for them. I let them down.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. They will be found but not by you,” he hissed. “I won’t let you put yourself in danger again. The rules have changed, Antonia. No more risking your life. It is time you considered yourself. If you won’t then I will force you to,” he said menacingly.
Antonia’s eyes narrowed to sharp jagged points and a small, dark, crooked smile appeared on her lips. Gabriel looked at her with surprise. At last she was showing him the part of her that drove her to be reckless with her life, the part of her soul that was furious and disgusted with herself for failing in protecting the girls and preventing the rape. Ms Hyde had come out to play.
She kicked him hard making him grimace.
“Let me go right now or I am going to make you regret holding me here,”
