SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) (11 page)

There was nothing else she could do. She took his hand and trudged up the steep riverbank, her shoeless foot slipping on the icy parts. She concentrated on each step, trying to ignore the bite of the cold. She shivered involuntarily.

It took all her strength to climb the steep bank. They finally reached the street level and stood in the semidarkness. There was no sign of the other car.

“There’s my car. The blue one. Hang on a moment.” Reed looked around. “We’ll have to hurry over to it. Just in case.”

She understood his unspoken warning. Someone might be out there lying in wait for them. For her, she corrected. She had to keep her wits about her. Someone was after her. She nodded, then, looking at the vehicle he’d indicated, she took in a deep breath as she gathered up all her remaining strength.

“I’m ready,” she said.

They ran—she hobbled, really—toward the car. He opened the passenger door and she tumbled inside. He was beside her in seconds. Moments later, they were out on the road, with the heater on full blast.

“Where were you shot?” he asked after a few minutes.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but my shoulder hurts like hell. It can’t be serious, since I’m still talking.”

“You’re shivering and your teeth are clattering. Your body’s concentrating on getting your body temperature back to normal right now.”

“I can’t. My shoulder hurts.” It was throbbing really hard now. She couldn’t think straight, couldn’t focus on anything at all. Wet coat. She played with the zipper. Cold. She moved closer to the heater. She kept tugging at the zipper, but it was stuck. Her foot…she could feel her foot again. “Where are you taking me, by the way?”

“Somewhere safe. Lie back, close your eyes, Ambrosia. I’ll get you out of your clothes myself.”

Lily leaned back into the seat. It actually felt good to be told what to do. She released a sigh and gave in to the pain and exhaustion.

“Call me Lily,” she muttered, closing her eyes. She thought she heard him say her name aloud before she drifted off into welcome nothingness.

* * *

Greta had forgotten how easy it was to curse in German. Just add the word shit in front of everything. The person on the other end of the cell phone wasn’t happy with her report. She wasn’t too happy herself, but she had better control of her vocabulary than he did.

Finally, she snapped the cell phone shut. She would deal with that later.

She coldly looked at the scrawny idiot who was being held up by her two men. According to reports, he was the powerful owner of this club. He didn’t look that powerful. He was so skinny she could break him in half. “Talk,” she ordered.

“I don’t know anything.”

“They tell me you broker deals. This,” she said, giving the office a sweeping glance, “club’s just a front. So, tell me what you arranged between the two of them.”

Johnny Chic studied her for a moment. He didn’t appear to be afraid of her or her men. “I do broker deals. You must be new around here if you don’t know who I am. How did you get into my club? And how dare you cause trouble? My backers won’t appreciate the police sniffing around here tonight. A woman who’s trying to break into our kind of business should be more careful who she’s threatening.”

Greta had half a mind to kill him. But she’d been warned that Johnny Chic had many friends in the weapons business and that killing him off would anger a few important people whose deals might be underway. Damn that Scheisskerl, Gunther. He had given her just enough information but not enough. She realized now, a little belatedly, that he wanted to get her into trouble. Men and their little power games

She’d noticed everyone here with that strange blond wig. The loud booming music outside gave her a headache, and this man was wearing her patience thin. “I’m talking about the one who came into your office. Lily Noretski.”

He shrugged. “I talked to nobody by that name.” He looked up again. “That name sounds familiar, though. I’ve heard it somewhere before. Perhaps you could tell me a bit more about your situation and I might help you out, but, first, you have to get these goons off me. I don’t like being manhandled.”

Greta met his direct gaze, trying to gauge how much trouble this man was going to cause her. Since right now she needed information from him, she would let him have the advantage. She nodded at her men to let him go. Johnny brushed imaginary dust off his shirt, then went to sit on his couch, crossing his legs and reposing back, with his arms stretched across the back of the sofa. She didn’t like the satisfied glimmer that had entered his eyes.

“It’s been a particularly rough night,” he said, a strange smile on his face. “I have a feeling I know who you’re talking about, but you’re dealing with Johnny Chic and you’ve insulted me by coming to my club without dyeing your hair or wearing a wig. For that, any information is now going to cost you double. Your causing trouble at my club will add another twenty percent surcharge. And, for roughing my new clothes up, there’ll be another ten percent fine.”

Greta narrowed her eyes, taking a few steps toward the man sitting in front of her. “Don’t threaten me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t threaten anyone. This is my business. You’re in my world, so you’ve got to do things my way. Kill me and you won’t get out of here alive. And even if you do, whoever hired you won’t be happy because my backers will come after all of you.”

“You don’t know who I am,” Greta said softly.

He shrugged. “The cameras in this place will identify you to my handlers. Kill me and they’ll know everything about you within a few hours.” He smiled again. “But I really don’t use threats in my business. Treat me with respect and I’ll broker a deal for you.”

Greta walked around the office while she decided on her next steps. She didn’t want to, but she had to compromise. The police were out there looking around. It wouldn’t be long before they found the body in the alley. Fortunately, she’d gotten there before Lily and her companion had gotten a name. She didn’t want anyone to know about her just yet.

The fact that the police weren’t swarming into this club right now hinted at how much pull Johnny Chic had with the local law departments. Maybe she hadn’t lost everything yet; maybe Gunther had been lying about Lily selling the device. These new covert games were the absolute
Scheissdreck
. A sense of frustration edged her temper. Ten years ago, no one would’ve dared to play with her like this.

She turned back to Johnny Chic, plastering a smile on her face. “I apologize,” she said pleasantly. “I’ve been rude, but I didn’t understand. I don’t need you to broker a deal, just answer a few questions. Would it soothe your ruffled feelings if I told you that my agency will pay you what you ask and double, if the information you give me is correct?”

Johnny smiled back. “My information’s always correct. And yes, the terms are accepted. If you’ll make the necessary calls and wire the cash right now to the account number I’m going to give you, as soon as I have confirmation, I’ll answer all your questions.”

Of course she wasn’t going to call headquarters and ask for money. Gunther would be waiting for that piece of news. No, she wouldn’t give him that kind of fun. She’d just have to use some of the money her poor dead nephew had left behind in their joint account.

“Of course. Just write down your price and account number,” she said.

She looked at the note he passed to her. It was an exorbitant amount, but it’d taken her this long to catch up with Llallana, and she wasn’t going to walk away empty-handed now.

Greta made her call, knowing very well that she was on the losing end of the deal here. However, she felt that she deserved this loss for not being prepared. She hadn’t wanted Lily to be killed off yet, and these people Gunther had sent were obviously not following her orders. He’d wanted her to fail, wanted her comeback to be tinged with failure.

No fucking way, as an American would say. She’d spent ten years in the States observing how Americans messed up their lives when it came to preparation for the future. She’d always had a future goal in mind and she would get it.

She finished the transaction over the phone. One quick transmittal and all that money gone. Sometimes she hated modern technology. She gave Johnny a brilliant smile.

“All done. Now, shall we talk?”

She would take care of Gunther later.

* * *

Reed pulled into the underground garage and headed to the back. He wondered briefly whether he had done the right thing; then, glancing at the woman beside him, decided that it was the best option until he could contact T and headquarters. That was, if T was all right. The last time he’d been able to communicate with Nikki, she’d said T was going into the alley to investigate. When someone had shot at him and Lily, he hadn’t stayed long enough to warn his handlers.

The mic button on his jacket had disappeared in the river somewhere and Nikki’s end had been silent since that jump off the bridge. The receiver must not have liked water.

No phone, no sign of T, no communication, and possibly two snipers hunting them down. Not to mention the vehicle that had gone after them. If he’d been alone—he glanced at Lily beside him—he could have gone into hiding and waited, even with his drenched clothing. But he didn’t want to risk Lily’s catching pneumonia. Besides, he still didn’t know how serious her injury was.

Without a phone and with an injured woman, this was the first place that had come to mind; he knew he could enter without any questions asked.

She’d remained unconscious through the drive. Damn. Not only had she been immersed in icy water but she’d also almost drowned. Her body was still in shock from the experience, as well as the loss of heat.

“Lily?” he called out, but she didn’t even stir.

He stopped at the executive parking spots and parked right in front of the private elevator. No one was around.

Leaving the car on, he pulled at the door release, looking over at Lily again. She was out like a light. He frowned at the red stain mixed with the muddy streaks on her clothes. Damn it, how seriously hurt was she? Leaning over, he touched her cheek. Despite the heat being on, she felt like a block of ice.

He cursed and got out of the car quickly. There was a security box by the elevator, and he punched the required code, then the password. It asked for him to swipe his special ID card through the slot, but of course, he didn’t have it on him. So he punched the No button. A moment later a voice came through the speaker.

Out of habit, he checked the area while he waited, although he’d made sure no one had followed him here. This particular part of the garage would usually be quiet.

“Mr. Vincenzio?”

“Yes, it’s me, Petr, and I don’t have an ID card to get into the elevator,” Reed said. “Can you come down and accompany me up, please?”

“Of course. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m sorry, we didn’t know you were coming.”

“It was a last-minute thing,” Reed said dryly. “By the way, Petr, bring down a blanket, and I’ll need someone you can trust to move the vehicle I came in.”

“Yes, sir.”

Reed went back to the car and waited, keeping a worried eye on Lily. She hadn’t stirred. He thought of her struggling out in the water, almost drowning out there. He understood the fear. Being in water in pitch darkness took a lot out of one, especially after a jump like that. She hadn’t been afraid of the height—she had made that jump without any hesitation.

He’d gone into the ocean at the darkest hours before, so the unexpected late-night swimming hadn’t been a shock to his system at all. Training came like second nature. In the ocean, he’d had to rely on his underwater compass to tell him whether he was going up or down, but tonight, he’d just kicked and allowed himself to float to the surface. He was just glad that it hadn’t been shallow water, or they’d have been dead meat already.

After his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he’d quickly realized that Lily was in trouble. Everything had been a blur as he’d gone into search mode, looking for telltale signs of splashing. He’d turned one way and then the other, feeling the freezing water more and more, trying to figure out the most likely place she’d have landed. For one sickening moment, when he’d thought she was gone, something very unusual had happened—a strange but familiar tightness had squeezed his insides.

If he hadn’t been so focused on finding Lily, Reed would’ve stopped to register and analyze it. He hadn’t felt this way since the first time, when he’d been assigned to a child hostage situation and he’d had to take out the target before the hostile killed the hostage. He had failed.

When he’d spotted those hands above the water…he couldn’t describe the sense of fierce relief that had engulfed his whole being as he’d swum hard toward them. Nothing else had mattered. He’d just wanted to get her out of danger.