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“Roger. I’ll be in touch.”
Something in his voice makes me unsure. “You know I’m one of the good guys, right?”
His breathing is steady on the other end. “You come highly regarded by people I trust.”
“I don’t know what’s happening with her right now, but there’s a lot of unanswered questions with the shooting. That worries the hell out of me. Does she have anyone she’d turn to?”
“Look, Simona’s, shall we say, locked up tight as a vault. We met on a plane and somehow got into talking about spy craft. I was reading one of those fiction paperbacks for entertainment. I told her about my new company. She wanted some work. I hired her as a bodyguard. She’s obviously a lot more than that. But not once has she told me a single personal thing about her life. I’ll ask the team to see if anyone else has a clue. Sit tight. She might come back.”
Feeling hot anger in my chest, I clench the steering wheel. “I can’t see that happening.”
“I’ll send someone to watch her apartment.”
“She’s not going there.”
Marshall holds his hand over his phone and says something to someone else. When he returns, he says, “I put eyes on the airports too.”
“Thanks, man. Did you find out anything about Pavel?”
“He wasn’t the original kidnapper, as you know. I think he was there to get the girl so he could ransom her for even more. He’s got a reputation for doing whatever pays the most.”
“Bastard.”
“Yep, from everything I can see, you’re right.”
“Where’s his home base?”
“Rumors say Paris.”
“That’s not good.” Paris is one of those cities where you can disappear in the blink of an eye.
“She’s going after him.” Alone.
“Not yet,” he says, “She’s going to need to recover first.”
“That’s not going to take long.” If she climbed out of a window and jumped off the roof, she’s probably not too averse to chasing after fuckface.
Marshall says, “Maybe she lays low long enough for us to help.”
“If we find them.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The clerk’s smile is as plastic as the bag she hands me. I lift it with a muttered thanks and step out into the dark street as I shove the new burner phone in my pocket.
As I walk through the darkened park, I pull the phone out of the wrapper and power it up.
After four rings, the line clicks open. I say, “Moon over still waters.”
A soft laugh comes over the line. My heart squeezes at the familiar sound.
“It’s been a while, my child. I was starting to wonder.”
The voice of Josef Novotny, my beloved rescuer, mentor, and friend, instantly soothes me.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long, dear friend. How are you?”
“Old, crickety. Happy enough.”