“Ruin isn’t the same as murder.”
“You’re right,” Hawk said. “One can be more painful than the other, which is why we need to stop him—not only for Alex’s sake but for the good of the country. This situation is starting to spiral beyond our control.”
Hawk fired up the van and headed back toward their safe house. He needed to regroup and think of a way to draw Michaels out in order to get Alex to safety.
“This might all be pointless,” Hawk said as he bumped along the pothole-laden streets of the capital.
“Pointless? What do you mean?”
“Even if we get Alex back, the damage might already be done. Even if we somehow survive this ordeal, our lives as we know them could be destroyed.”
“That doesn’t sound like you, Hawk. Sure something else isn’t bothering you?”
Hawk seethed as he drove, incessantly checking his mirrors to make sure they weren’t being followed.
“It’s Big Earv,” Hawk said. “He should’ve stopped this. And I can’t believe I haven’t heard from him by now.”
“Maybe he got hung up or didn’t know what was going on,” Samuels said.
“No, even if he was on duty, he would’ve heard over their secure channel what was happening. Two agents wouldn’t have acted on their own and just grabbed Alex.”
Samuels shrugged. “Perhaps. Or maybe the president ordered them to capture her. Don’t rush to judgment.”
Before Hawk could say another word, his phone buzzed.
“Who is it?” Samuels asked.
Hawk shot a sideways glance at Samuels and answered the phone.
“It’s about time I heard from you, Big Earv,” Hawk said.
“Hawk, I’m sorry about all this,” he said. “I was on break when he gave the order.”
“And you didn’t hear what was going on?”
“I did, but it was too late,” Big Earv said. “I couldn’t just run in there like a cowboy and snatch her away. If I’m going to avoid drawing suspicion, I have to follow protocol.”
“And what kind of protocol is it to arrest an innocent young woman?” Hawk asked.
“You’re using the wrong word. We don’t arrest anyone; we detain them. President Michaels does it all the time. It’s how he manages to keep all his affairs discreet.”
Hawk chuckled. “So, the president talks with a beautiful woman and then moments later has her detained—that doesn’t look suspicious to anyone?”
“I don’t make the rules,” Big Earv said. “And if I want to continue to be your eyes and ears here and shut this maniac down, I need to make sure I’m not creating suspicion by following orders as long as I can.”
“I understand, but you know as well as I do that we can’t let this thing drag out. The longer Alex is in custody, the longer Michaels’ minions have a chance to trump up some charges against her.”
“We better get to work then.”
Hawk’s phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number.
“I’ve got another call I need to take. An unknown number. These calls rarely have good news.”
“Call me back.”
“Roger that,” Hawk said before answering the incoming call. “This is Hawk.”
“How pleasant to hear your voice, Mr. Hawk,” said Katarina Petrov.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”
“It seems that I’ve found one of your friends—and we need to make a deal.”
Hawk drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
“Who is this friend?”
“Mr. Blunt,” she said. “I just so happened to catch him in Scotland recovering from a most unfortunate injury. And now his condition has been upgraded to critical.”
“I don’t know what kind of sick game you think you’re playing, but I can assure you that it won’t end well for you.”
“Perhaps, but I’m going to have to adjust your friend’s condition to fatal should you choose not to play. Meet me at my offices in Istanbul if you ever want to see him alive again. Be prepared for a trade—you for your friend.”
“I need proof of life before I’m going anywhere.”
“Fine. Suit yourself. Mr. Blunt, there’s someone who wants to speak with you. And no funny business.”
A few seconds later, Blunt came on the line.
“Hawk,” he said. “Don’t come. It’s a trap. Just get your old van and get out of town. She’s going to—“
“That’s enough,” Petrov said as the rest of Blunt’s words grew muffled.
“Satisfied, Mr. Hawk?”
“He better not be hurt,” Hawk said.
“You have forty-eight hours.”
The line went dead.
Hawk pounded his fist on the dashboard.
“What is it?” Samuels asked.
“I’ve got forty-eight hours to get to Istanbul and trade myself for Blunt,” he said.
“We better not waste any more time then.”
Hawk called Big Earv and told him the timeline needed to be moved up to as soon as possible. They made plans to meet in half an hour and discuss how they would break Alex out of Secret Service custody.
“Don’t worry,” Samuels said. “She’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” Hawk said. “If Michaels learns who she really is, he’ll use her as bait for me before killing all of us.”
“You’re right. I don’t know if she’ll survive—or if any of us will. But I know we’ll all give them one hell of a fight.”
“Damn right,” Hawk said.
CHAPTER 20
ALEX TWISTED HER WRISTS in an attempt to assuage the itching and the burning caused by the rope used to confine her to the chair. Her arms had almost fallen asleep and she was thirsty. While she wasn’t in the mood to give out compliments, she admired the precision that Secret Service agents worked with. They behaved like consummate professionals in whisking her away from the event. Despite being alert for the entire trip, Alex had no idea where she was.
She glanced around the room, which was stark and dimly lit. There were no windows and only one entry point. The cinder block walls were unpainted and the floor was concrete. Her best guess was that they were in the basement of a building.
After Alex
