the alley where he'd stopped to call his ISA partner. "Tell me about it," he muttered into the phone. He'd wanted to protect her, not take her. But obviously he'd been double-crossed. The informant who'd sold him the information about Miranda's whereabouts had obviously had more than one buyer.
The question was who?
Regardless, Sandro was stuck with a complication he couldn't afford. "I had no choice."
"We all have choices," Javier reminded.
"Yeah, you're right. I could have left her for the shooter." Just the thought had his blood running cold all over again.
"I would tell you to just leave her at the villa," Javier mused, "call someone from the embassy and let them retrieve her, but there's no telling who else is on Viktor's payroll. But you can't keep her either, amigo."
"You think I don't know that? But I can't let her go right now. She's safer with me than anywhere else."
"Do you realize how insane that sounds?"
He did. "Javi, I need you to find out what happened to the bodyguard, Hawk." If the poor bastard still lived, he might be Sandro's best chance for a quick handoff.
"Consider it done," Javier said, then lowered his voice. "But there's something else you need to know first. Viktor knows you have her."
Damn. Implications stabbed deep. In order to infiltrate his organization, Sandro had been working to win General Viktor Zhukov's trust for close to a year. Turning the general's coveted bargaining chip over to the United States government would destroy Sandro's credibility. Countless lives, including his own and Javi's, would be thrown into jeopardy.
"How the hell does he know already?"
"He's got eyes and ears everywhere. He's pleased and waiting for you to bring her in."
Sandro leaned his head against the stone wall. His shoulder burned like a son of a bitch, he had an untrained, frustrated woman on his hands, a ruthless criminal on his heels, and now years' worth of work threatened to blow up in his face. "Cristo."
A hard sound broke from Javier's throat. "I thought you might feel that way."
"Get word to Omega," Sandro said, thinking quickly. With international security on the line, arrangements needed to be made carefully. Discreetly. He could afford neither the risk to his cover nor the time of making plans himself. Calls could be traced, tapped, overheard. Any of those would be akin to signing his death warrant. There were appropriate channels and protocols, well-rehearsed methods designed to minimize risk.
Sandro's job was to keep straddling that line. If the general caught so much as a whiff that Sandro was working to turn his prize over to the United States government, he was a dead man. This time for real.
And the carefully engineered plan to avenge eight operatives and bring the general to justice would be set back immeasurably.
"Tell Omega what's going on," he instructed. "Have him notify Ambassador Carrington."
"I'll take care of it."
"And I'll await your call."
Javier muttered something under his breath. "I hope you know what the hell you're doing."
Sandro frowned. "So do I."
* * *
Javier Fernandez thumbed off his phone and threw a wad of cash on the small round table, quickly exiting the Stockholm café where he'd been grabbing a late lunch before Sandro's call. He had to get back to his hotel room, make those calls and figure out how the hell he was going to extract his comrade from a potentially explosive debacle. And he had to do it fast.
"What's the hurry, Fernandez?"
Javier glanced over his shoulder, realizing his mistake too late. Three men circled him. Three guns were trained on various parts of his body.
"I don't think you'll be taking care of anything, after all," one of them said in broken English. "The girl is ours."
* * *
"It's me. Open up."
Shuffling came from the other side of the door. "Sandro?"
"Expecting someone else?"
"How do I know you're alone?"
He heard something in her voice, a fear and uncertainty that hadn't been there before. Obviously, the time
The question was who?
Regardless, Sandro was stuck with a complication he couldn't afford. "I had no choice."
"We all have choices," Javier reminded.
"Yeah, you're right. I could have left her for the shooter." Just the thought had his blood running cold all over again.
"I would tell you to just leave her at the villa," Javier mused, "call someone from the embassy and let them retrieve her, but there's no telling who else is on Viktor's payroll. But you can't keep her either, amigo."
"You think I don't know that? But I can't let her go right now. She's safer with me than anywhere else."
"Do you realize how insane that sounds?"
He did. "Javi, I need you to find out what happened to the bodyguard, Hawk." If the poor bastard still lived, he might be Sandro's best chance for a quick handoff.
"Consider it done," Javier said, then lowered his voice. "But there's something else you need to know first. Viktor knows you have her."
Damn. Implications stabbed deep. In order to infiltrate his organization, Sandro had been working to win General Viktor Zhukov's trust for close to a year. Turning the general's coveted bargaining chip over to the United States government would destroy Sandro's credibility. Countless lives, including his own and Javi's, would be thrown into jeopardy.
"How the hell does he know already?"
"He's got eyes and ears everywhere. He's pleased and waiting for you to bring her in."
Sandro leaned his head against the stone wall. His shoulder burned like a son of a bitch, he had an untrained, frustrated woman on his hands, a ruthless criminal on his heels, and now years' worth of work threatened to blow up in his face. "Cristo."
A hard sound broke from Javier's throat. "I thought you might feel that way."
"Get word to Omega," Sandro said, thinking quickly. With international security on the line, arrangements needed to be made carefully. Discreetly. He could afford neither the risk to his cover nor the time of making plans himself. Calls could be traced, tapped, overheard. Any of those would be akin to signing his death warrant. There were appropriate channels and protocols, well-rehearsed methods designed to minimize risk.
Sandro's job was to keep straddling that line. If the general caught so much as a whiff that Sandro was working to turn his prize over to the United States government, he was a dead man. This time for real.
And the carefully engineered plan to avenge eight operatives and bring the general to justice would be set back immeasurably.
"Tell Omega what's going on," he instructed. "Have him notify Ambassador Carrington."
"I'll take care of it."
"And I'll await your call."
Javier muttered something under his breath. "I hope you know what the hell you're doing."
Sandro frowned. "So do I."
* * *
Javier Fernandez thumbed off his phone and threw a wad of cash on the small round table, quickly exiting the Stockholm café where he'd been grabbing a late lunch before Sandro's call. He had to get back to his hotel room, make those calls and figure out how the hell he was going to extract his comrade from a potentially explosive debacle. And he had to do it fast.
"What's the hurry, Fernandez?"
Javier glanced over his shoulder, realizing his mistake too late. Three men circled him. Three guns were trained on various parts of his body.
"I don't think you'll be taking care of anything, after all," one of them said in broken English. "The girl is ours."
* * *
"It's me. Open up."
Shuffling came from the other side of the door. "Sandro?"
"Expecting someone else?"
"How do I know you're alone?"
He heard something in her voice, a fear and uncertainty that hadn't been there before. Obviously, the time
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