Page 102 of Canyon of Deceit

“She’s all I have left. He deliberately put her in danger and has kept her there.”

I lowered my tone and filled my words with sincerity. “Why would he endanger the one person he loves?”

“Therese, is it okay if I call you by your first name?” I nodded, and he continued. “I’m Jurg. You think I’m the bad guy, but trust me, I’m not acting alone.”

I bit my tongue to keep from asking him who wrote his playbook.Patience.He wasn’t ready to give me answers.

“I’m patriotic and loyal to my country. I support Russia’s policies and methods of keeping our country strong. Those are good qualities.”

Until innocent lives were destroyed. “I’m listening, and yes, those are admirable traits. What has Rurik done or not done? I’ll talk to him, get this resolved.”

“There’s nothing you can do. To Rurik, Alina is second to everything in his life.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“My sister is dead. Instead of rushing her to the hospital when she suffered with unbearable pain, he asked me to check on her. Said he had an important meeting at the university and didn’t want toleave her alone. He neglected to tell me he’d overdosed her with pain medication. He claimed she took them without his knowledge, but that’s a lie. She lived for him and Alina.”

Jurg pounded the table. “I’d nearly convinced her to try experimental treatment in Switzerland. The arrangements had been made. When I checked on her, she slipped into a coma and died before help arrived. Later I’d discovered he’d met with a university colleague... a female professor—Daria. I vowed to destroy them.”

Heat rushed over me. Jurg’s reasoning was a horrible vendetta. He justified murder and kidnapping in the name of his sister.

“He chose a pretty woman over his responsibilities, and now he has neither my sister, Alina, nor Daria. Since you support Rurik, you deserve the truth about him. The sniveling coward.”

“He claims you tried to persuade him to join the ROC.”

“A tidy way to eliminate him without blood on my hands. I will protect Alina from his influence.”

The road some people traveled to ensure control sparked my anger.Listen. Be his friend.“I’m a wilderness-survival guide who attempted to help Rurik locate his daughter. Is that my crime and why I’ve been targeted? Accepting misinformation as truth?”

“I made a deal with Gardner for a Monday exchange. I assume you’re aware?”

“I am. So why hire a couple of locals to come after me? You could have contacted me through Rurik.”

“The agents overseeing Rurik’s safety would have heard the conversation or he’d have told them.” He tapped his thumb on the tabletop. “You have importance to him as the go-between in securing Alina. Gardner may be your sidekick, but Rurik trusts you more. You are valuable to me.”

“How?”

“Two things—I want you to testify that Rurik told you he’d murdered Daria.”

Destroy Rurik with a lie? “Why haven’t you killed him?”

Jurg held up a finger, his features stoic. “Public humiliation for the death of my sister and Daria.”

“All right. What else?”

“You observed things in the cave that could ruin me.”

I was learning more. “What? I’m clueless.”

A smirk played on his lips. “You saw where Chandler purchased the laser chips. Don’t lie to me, Therese. One of my specialties is reading people.”

I’d noted the manufacturer, but I hadn’t spent brain cells on it. In the cave, I concentrated on keeping Alina and myself alive. But Falin had no reason to believe I had forgotten the name on the box of laser chips. “I understand.” My executioner sat across the table from me. “Why order the hit here instead of the cave? Three locations?”

“Who said I did?”

I’d walked into a trap like Rurik had warned. “Then who?”

“Does it matter? I wanted you alive to find out who else knew about the chips. Someone higher up had a different idea. Back to my question. Where did the laser chips originate?”