Read Online The Omega Team: Precious Cargo (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Brenna Zinn - Free Book Online Page A

room key under the driver’s seat. You’re checked in at the hotel Laramie suggested. All you need to do is get there and park. You’re set.”
    Ah, nothing better than a plan that comes together.
    Duke opened the passenger door and Mila slipped in. Before walking around to the driver’s side, he once again extended his hand to Dupree.
    “Thanks. I now owe you one.”
    “That’s what I like to hear.” They shook, but Dupree held on and pulled Duke close enough to speak directly in his ear. “Be careful. If Ivanov is the guy you’re dealing with, then you’ll have your hands full. He’s a real piece of work. Nobody you want to cross hairs with. Right now he’s in the middle of a territorial battle with Dmytro Kozak, the local crime boss. Kozak isn’t as big time as Ivanov, but he’s been around a good long while. He’s not gotten as old as he is because he’s a dummy, and he’s not too keen on Ivanov trying to cut into his local business. Those gentlemen are two parts to a time bomb just waiting to explode.”
    “Great. Any other sage advice?”
    Dupree shifted his gaze to where Mila sat in the car and slapped Duke on the back.
    “No advice, but a request. If your date decides to take someone else to the prom, be sure to give her my number.”
    Duke grinned, jumped in the driver’s seat and drove away.
    Lutsk wasn’t a big city. It boasted a population of over two-hundred thousand residents and had a decent enough railway station and airport, but was a far cry from Kiev and even Odessa in terms of size and prestige. Thus the hotel choices they had in town were somewhat limited, and there wasn’t much available outside of town for miles. Laramie, who had completed several missions in the area, knew the local landscape better and therefore called the shots. Had they all been in Crimea or eastern Ukraine, Duke’s playground, he would have taken over.
    Considering how much had been accomplished in the short time he and Mila had been gone, Laramie had proven his worth. But as Duke scoped out the hotel the Boy Scout had sent them to, he couldn’t help questioning the man’s taste.
    The five-story building looked like one of the original structures to the town. Old. Tired. Needing a good update, if not an entire tear-down and rebuild. Thankfully their stay was only one night. As long as the bed was soft, the sheets were clean and the shower had plenty of hot water, they would manage.
    Duke located the key under the seat. He hadn’t seen anything of the like in ages. The key wasn’t a card, like most places now used. Instead it was an actual metal key attached to a thin piece of lacquered wood, the name of the hotel painted on both sides.
    They entered the building from the back, the only way in aside from the front door. Avoiding the elevator, which would have forced them to get far too close to the front desk, they took the stairs up to the second floor. There, marble tiles covered the hallway floor. Heavy oil paintings of Lutsk and the countryside hung on walls covered in red velvet wallpaper. Compared to the outside, the interior appeared quite updated, albeit strong smelling. At least it looked as though it had been renovated within the last fifty years.
    They quietly made their way to the room and encountered a musty smell in the stuffy air that couldn’t be ignored. As they passed a canvas laundry cart outside a maid’s closet in the corridor, he discovered where the smell was emanating from. Damp towels speckled with mold were heaped into the cart. The damn mess had to have been sitting there for ages.
    “Oph! That’s disgusting.” Mila waved a hand in front of her wrinkled nose.
    “True,” he agreed, holding back a gag. “Hopefully everything else in this joint is a hell of a lot cleaner.”
    He let out a sigh of relief when he unlocked the door and checked their room. The antique furnishings were a little ornate for his liking, but they were in good enough. A settee and a simple chair sat