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NINE
One small boat, four occupants, and I recognised Hallie’s blonde hair streaming in the wind.
Ilya and his men came closer…closer… I couldn’t open fire at them in the boat, not with Hallie there.There was too much movement for a clean shot.I’d need to wait until they were all on board theBalestra, the closest thing to solid ground five miles offshore.I hadn’t bothered to hide the Makarov.Ilya would be more surprised if I didn’t have a weapon strapped to my hip than if I did.
Aaaaaand here he was…
I saw the moment of recognition.Ilya’s first instinct was to grab his sidearm, just as I’d expected.
“S vozvrashcheniyem, tovarishch.”Welcome back, comrade.I spread my arms wide.“It’s been a long time.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
If you act like you belong, then you will.
“Apparently, I’m saving your sorry ass.”
I held out a hand, but Ilya didn’t make a move to pass me the painter.Suspicion clouded his gaze, and he was right to be cautious.He didn’t know it yet, but he was a dead man.Hallie was ashen under the yacht’s spotlight, and she looked as if she was about to vomit.Fear or seasickness?Or both?Whatever, the only thing that mattered was that she didn’t give my loyalties away.So far, she’d kept her mouth shut, and I had to trust that Emmy had trained her well enough for it to stay that way.
“Suit yourself.”I hated to turn my back on Ilya, but I had to do it.“Anton is waiting in the saloon.”
“He hired you?He didn’t tell me.”
“You think he tells either of us everything?”I said over my shoulder.Stepanov compartmentalised; that was what Naz had said.The left hand never knew what the right hand was doing.“All I know is that the B-team and C-team both failed, so now the A-team is required to clean up the mess.”
“And you think you’re the A-team?”
“I wasn’t the one who screwed up, was I?Are you coming aboard?Or shall I tell Anton you changed your mind about needing a ride?”When Ilya hesitated, I yelled, “Let’s go.”
The two other men on the RIB looked at each other.Followers, not leaders.Nothing but foot soldiers, hired muscle, but they were armed and therefore dangerous if I lost control of the situation.Hurry up.To assist with Ilya’s decision-making process, Ana fired up the engine, and he threw the painter at me, scowling.
“Zacharov said you were dead.”
“Do I look dead to you?”
“Where have you been for the past four years?”
If you become him, then you can destroy him.
“Doing the same thing that you are now—earning more money than Zacharov ever paid us.Why did you stay with him for so long?”
Ilya must have deemed that answer acceptable because he jumped on board.Up close, he was still as bulky as he’d ever been, a wall of muscle and bad attitude.
“My only mistake was not getting out sooner.”
“Youronlymistake?”The first minion clambered aboard with considerably less grace than Ilya had managed.“What went wrong tonight?”
I needed to keep Ilya talking.Keep him here with us.If he walked into the saloon too soon and saw the blood, we were all in trouble.The second minion pushed Hallie toward the front of the boat, and she reached for me, her expression a mix of puzzlement and sheer terror.She didn’t know what I was doing here.Couldn’t work out whether I’d switched sides and become the enemy.
Should I be pleased or disappointed by that?
Arms straining, she pulled herself out of the boat, and at that precarious moment, that instant when her balance was at its most vulnerable, I let her go, then gave her a shove for good measure so she fell clear of the propeller.
“Hey!”Ilya shouted.“Why did you do that?”
“Oh, Ilya.”My tone was mocking.“Have you finally grown a conscience?”I grabbed a life ring from its hook and tossed it after Hallie.It landed with a splash, and she grabbed for it, spluttering.“There, are you happy now?”