Page 60 of Canyon of Deceit

FIFTY-NINE

Seated in a corner booth at McDonald’s, I waited for my meetup with Jurg Falin.

My emotions caused me to shiver as though I’d stepped into a walk-in freezer and couldn’t move.

Thoughts of leaving tapped me on the shoulder, then Falin walked in alone at the precise time, dressed in jeans and a pullover. He slid into the booth across from me.

“Your face looks like you lost a fight,” he said.

“But it’s not over.” I smiled and folded my hands on the table. Blane had instructed me to listen, to learn what motivated the other person.

“Your phone, please.”

“It’s in my backpack.” He said nothing, and I reached inside and handed it to him.

He examined my phone and powered it off, then slipped it inside a sealed Faraday bag, preventing my phone from being traced.

“Satisfied?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Chandler said you were a worthy opponent, and while he didn’t deserve to live, I respected his opinion about you.

I figured sooner or later you’d discover the tracker.

It’s been a few places, but currently at a hotel with FBI agents who think they can trap me.

” Falin’s narrow eyes, bald head, and rectangular face were by no means appealing, but he had a manner of confidence that some women admired.

Me, I respected his intellect and took nothing for granted.

“I’m tired of this game and needless situation, and I’ve drawn one conclusion. I’ll do anything to have Alina returned. How can I help you to make this happen?”

Falin regarded me as though I planned to trick him. “You care about her. I watched you with Alina in the cave.”

“Yes.” I need help, Lord. “She has a strong spirit, intelligence, and is very lovable.”

He lifted a brow. “Like her mother, Alina has many of the same mannerisms.”

“Her courage comes naturally.”

He leaned back in the booth. “Rurik doesn’t deserve her.”

Odd response. “Why?”

“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 to leave 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?”

“How does my answer equate to releasing Alina and stopping the bloodshed?”

“Answer my question first.”

“A US source, and I assume the same seller supplies other things you need too. I assume the seller is open to anyone who has the cash. From your concern, my guess it’s one of your major sources.

” I paused for him to contemplate my words.

“If I reveal the seller, it’s merely my word against a huge US company.

They have attorneys on call to handle muddy issues like dealing with illegal weaponry.

Or kill me and no one is the wiser.” I shrugged while my instincts shouted at me to get out of the restaurant.

“You haven’t said how my awareness of your supplier affects Alina’s release. ”

“You and I will make our own deal. She believes Rurik is dead, and if I take you to her, keep her pacified and your mouth shut.”