Page 167 of Cry Havoc

Go out and confirm that Gabriel is unconscious. Get dressed and get to the lobby. Then forget this ever happened.

She steadied her shaking hand on the doorknob, her other hand clutching the front of the robe at her chest. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped out into the main room.

The bright lights of the bathroom contrasted sharply with the dim glow of the bedroom, causing her to squint her eyes.

She expected to see Gabriel lying unresponsive, perhaps the glass of Mekhong next to him. Instead, he was sitting at the edge of the bed, elbows on his thighs. He was wearing the suit pants he had on earlier. His blue shirt was on but unbuttoned. He was sweating profusely and struggling to breathe. He was not alone.

A man was with him. The same security man who had accompanied him on his last trip. The imposing figure was dressed in tan slacks and a black polo shirt. He was holding two glasses up to the light, comparing them. One was the drink she had poured for Gabriel. He set them down and shook his head. A leather satchel was over his shoulder, from which he extracted an odd-looking pistol that resembled a derringer.

They knew.

Gabriel forced his head toward her. Even in the dimly lit room she could see the revulsion in his eyes.

“Why?” he asked, his voice weak and raspy.

Ella stood trembling.

“Gabriel,” she said.

“My name is Kirill Dvornikov.”

The tall man looked at his boss, who nodded.

Ella swallowed. Then she dropped her hands to her sides and straightened her shoulders, gazing defiantly into the dead, dark eyes of the tall man.

As he raised the pistol and fired, she had but one peculiar final thought.

She found it odd that the pistol did not make a sound.

CHAPTER 61

“I DON’T LIKE IT,”Tom said. “It’s getting too late. Something’s wrong.”

Serrano looked up from his cards.

“We wait. That’s all we can do.”

“No, I can kick in the fucking door, smash Dvornikov in the face, and drag him out by his neck.”

“Subtle.”

Tom opened his mouth to reply when the phone rang. He snatched it up before the first ring had hit its final note.

“Yeah.”

“We have a problem,”Trân said from the lobby phone one floor down.

“What?”

“I have eyes on our target.”

“Maybe she didn’t have a chance to slip him the powder?”

“Oh, she did all right,”Trân said.“He’s coming down the staircase now and can barely stand, only he’s not with Ella.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s with the security guy he came in with. No sign of El…”