Page 9

L ivvy’s shoulders tensed as they drove past Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, and she swallowed hard when she glimpsed the dark bricks of the building she’d had her meeting in. Jake glanced over at her, and she finally took a breath. “That building over there? The one with the dark bricks and the dirty windows? That’s where I had my meeting with the Bratva.”

Jake glanced toward where she was pointing, and she saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Thank God we’re not going to Brighton Beach.”

“Yeah,” she said, sliding her suddenly cold hands beneath her thighs. “I do not want to revisit the scene of that almost-crime. Or worse, run into any of the men from that meeting.”

“Hell, no,” Jake said. “I don’t want even the slightest chance of you running into any of those guys.”

“Me neither,” she said with a shiver. She felt Jake’s gaze on her, so she glanced over at him.

He grimaced when he caught her eye. “If someone else had taken that meeting? They’d be dead right now.”

Livvy nodded slowly. “I was lucky,” she said.

“I suspect it was more than just luck,” he said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. “You were smart and aware of your surroundings. I also suspect you’re very good at reading people.”

“Yeah,” she said. “And what I saw in the eyes of those men? My death.” She swiveled on the seat. “You know that Nelson’s not going to give you a name or a phone number for the agent who’s supposed to back you up.”

“I’m sure he won’t,” Jake said. His jaw tightened. “It would serve Nelson right if I refused to take the meeting without a backup.”

“It would,” Livvy agreed. “But you already know he’s not going to hook you up with an agent from New York. He might give you a name and phone number, but there won’t be an actual person on the other end of the line. Or if there is, it’ll be some random person who’s not connected to the FBI.” She grimaced. “Or worse, it’ll be one of the guys he’s sending you to meet with.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” Jake said, and his mouth curled into a smile. “Not sure Nelson’s smart enough to think of that, either.”

“Do not underestimate him,” Livvy said, leaning toward him. “He wanted me dead, and for some reason he wants you dead, too. If he is a Russian asset, he’s flown beneath the radar at the FBI for a while.”

“Yeah, I’ve already figured that out. The question is, why does he want both of us dead?” He glanced over at Livvy. “Do we know something we don’t know we know? Have we both seen something we’re not aware of? Overheard someone talking about something dangerous to Nelson’s cover?”

“God only knows. And we could speculate for days and not be able to figure it out. Do you remember all the random conversations you’ve overheard?”

“Of course not,” Jake said. “Bet you can’t, either.”

“No, I don’t. But there has to be some reason that he sent me to talk to the Bratva, and he’s now sending you to talk to them, as well. Just two different groups in different places.”

Jake shot a quick glance at her. “The possibilities are endless,” he said. “Maybe we saw him with someone he shouldn’t have been meeting with -- like someone from the Russian embassy. Or maybe he thought we overheard an incriminating conversation he was having.”

“Yeah,” Livvy said. “Way too many things that might have spooked Nelson. Which is why we need to get those cameras installed in that office tonight. The guys you’re meeting with might know what Nelson’s been up to.”

“Good thing we got here early,” Jake said. “Our meeting is far enough away that no one would think we’d even be in Brooklyn yet. So they’d probably feel free to talk about their plans without worrying about being overheard.”

Livvy frowned. “Yeah, that’s all true.” She glanced over at him. “But what if they’re speaking Russian?”

“Damn it!” Jake clenched his teeth. “I never thought of that. It’s possible.” Jake slapped his hand on the center of the steering wheel. “You speak Russian?”

“Of course not,” Livvy replied. “If I did, Nelson wouldn’t have tried to get me killed by Russians. He’d know I would understand everything they were saying. He’d send me to a different group that spoke a different language.”

Jake glanced over at her, and she saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “If we need to, we can play the recordings for someone who speaks Russian.” he said, biting out the words. “Have then translate for us.”

“Yeah, good plan so far. But where do we get a translator?” Livvy asked.

“Nowhere in Brighton Beach,” he said immediately. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Maybe a college. Find a professor who teaches Russian. Ask him or her to translate it for us.”

Livvy shook her head. “We can’t do that. Because what if the person we choose has ties to the Bratva? And how would we even know?”

“We wouldn’t,” Jake said, clenching his teeth. “Got any other ideas?”

Livvy drummed her fingers on the armrest. “I can call Mel at Blackhawk Security. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t speak Russian, but I bet she knows someone who does. She spent time in Afghanistan, and there were a lot of Russians skulking around that country. She might know someone who picked up the language.”

“Okay, I like that idea. And Mel would know if the person was trustworthy.”

“Yeah. She would.” She swiveled in her seat to face him. “We may not need a translator, anyway. Maybe they’ll speak English.”

“When they talk to me? Yeah, they’ll speak English.” Jake shook his head. “But talking to each other? I’d be shocked if they didn’t speak Russian. As far as they’re concerned, you never know who might be listening. Best to speak Russian when you can.”

“Okay,” Livvy said, slumping in her seat, beginning to feel overwhelmed by the logistics of this job. “When we get to our hotel, I’ll call Mel. Let her know what we’re doing and see if she knows anyone who’s even semi-fluent in Russian.”

Jake’s mouth thinned. “The closer we get to Brooklyn, the more complicated this assignment is getting.”

“Yeah,” Livvy said. “It is.” Her heart thundered in her chest, and she slid her hands beneath her thighs to keep them from trembling. “But we’re thinking ahead to any problems that could come up and planning how to handle them.” She grinned at him. “We’re gonna kick Nelson’s ass because we’ll be so much more prepared than he expects us to be. He probably figured that he could send you out to talk to the Russians, neglect to find you a backup, and arrange for them to kill you. Easy, peasy, another problem solved.”

“Yeah, that’s probably his exact plan. But we’re going to be two steps ahead of him the whole time,” Jake said, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “We need to figure out why we’re a problem. And when we hear what the Russians have to say, find out what they want, I hope we’ll be a few more steps closer to taking Nelson and all his Russian buddies down.”

Just ahead of them was the hotel where they had a reservation. When they checked in, Livvy leaned across the counter and smiled at the young man who was accessing their reservation. “Is there any way we could get a room that has a southern exposure?” she asked with a smile. “We stayed here on our honeymoon, and that was the view we had. We want to recreate that stay.”

The young man grinned at them. “Sure, but the rooms on that side of the building all have two queen beds. None of the beds are kings.”

Livvy smiled at him. Leaned a little closer, as if preparing to tell him a secret. “That’s fine. We like to be close together when we’re in bed.”

The young man’s face turned beet red. “Ah, sure.” He looked down at his screen and typed fast. “I’ve got a room with a great view.” He typed for a few more moments, then said, “Do you have a credit card I can use for the account?”

“Of course,” Livvy said, pulling Diana’s card out of her wallet. “Here you go.”

When the kid passed her a form to sign, Livvy scribbled her signature so fast that it was illegible. The kid pushed a packet with two keys across the counter to her.

“Thank you so much,” Livvy said, leaning against Jake. “We really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” said the kid, carefully not meeting Livvy’s gaze. “Have a nice stay.”

“Oh, we certainly will,” Livvy said with a smile.

The kid blushed again and nodded at her. Jake curled his arm around her waist and led her toward the elevator. Livvy leaned into him, feeling the strength of his muscles against her body. She didn’t look back, but was pretty sure the kid was watching them.

When they stepped into the elevator, they were the only occupants. As soon as the door closed, Jake let her go and moved a few steps away. He smiled at her. “Nicely done,” he said. “And I like that you used Diana’s credit card. If Nelson’s looking for me, he won’t find me registered in any of the hotels.”

“That’s why I was so quick to pull it out,” Livvy said. “I didn’t want you to use a card issued in your name, because I wouldn’t be shocked if Nelson tried to find you, so he could tell his buddies in Sheepshead Bay where you’re staying.”

Jake stared down at her, and she saw concern in his eyes. Wariness. “Yeah,” she said. “Since I got away last time, he doesn’t want to take that chance with you. If you somehow manage to avoid getting killed at your meeting, he’d want his Russian buddies to know where to find you.”

When they reached the room, they found a generic hotel room with two queen-sized beds and a small sitting area. The view from the window looked out at Brooklyn, and Jake pulled a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Studied the mapping app on his phone, then lifted the binoculars to his eyes. “I’ve found the building, I think,” he said after a moment. “Good view from here.” He turned and handed her the binoculars. “Take a look. It’s that tallish building about three blocks away. Abuts a slightly smaller building. Depending on where the room is, that other building might have possibilities as an escape route.”

“Yeah,” she said, studying the two buildings. “We’ll check it out when we plant those bugs tonight.”

Jake lifted her suitcase onto the luggage rack, then put his own on one of the small tables in the seating area. “You want to go get something to eat and check out the neighborhood?”

“Sounds good,” Livvy said.

Jake had changed out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and a sweater before they left his apartment. Livvy was dressed casually as well, in jeans and a shirt, covered by a jacket, so they wouldn’t stand out among the sea of residents and tourists moving along the street.

They walked three blocks to the heart of Sheepshead Bay and noticed that the streets were lined with small businesses, many of them sporting signs in Russian. They found a fast-food outlet almost directly across the street from the building where Jake’s meeting would be held, and stopped for lunch. Grabbing a table by the window, they watched the stream of people coming and going from their target building while they ate. They didn’t say much, because neither wanted to be overheard.

Finally they dumped their trash and walked out the door. Livvy curled her arm through Jake’s elbow, and his only response was a tightening of his muscles. They relaxed after a moment, but she glanced over at him, wondering why Jake was acting so squirrelly around her.

She wasn’t about to ask him, though. They both needed to focus on this job and nothing else. And the last thing she wanted to do was distract him before his meeting.

When they got back to the hotel, neither of them spoke until they were back in their room. Finally Livvy pulled her arm away from Jake’s and took a few steps back.

“So,” she said. “What did you think?”

“Of the building?” He frowned. “We’re going to have to be focused on this job,” he finally said. “It’s a tall building, and my meeting’s on the third floor. No way out other than the street level entrance, as far as I could tell. We’ll head over there tonight, late enough that most, if not all the people will be gone from the building. Less foot traffic on the streets. Pretty sure we can get into the building with a lock pick. Then we’ll find the room and plant the cameras. Scope out the exits and hiding places for you. Prepare as best we can for that meeting.” His jaw twitched. “Then we pray that everything goes smoothly two days from now.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Livvy asked Jake, who was now pacing the floor.

“Then we wing it.” He slowed. Glanced over at her. “But by then, we should have a good idea of what this group has planned for me. I’m not going into that meeting blind.”

“No. Only an idiot would do that. And you’re far from an idiot,” Livvy said.

Jake raised one eyebrow. “Wow, Liv. You sound like you almost like me.”

She shrugged, but a faint red tinged her face. “You’re bearable,” she finally said.

“High praise, coming from the woman who hated the very sight of me back in Helena.”

“That was before we talked,” she said. “I’ve revised my opinion.”

“Good to know,” he said. He wasn’t going to push his luck and ask her what her new opinion was. Time to change the subject. “You mind waiting until we’re back to eat something?”

“No, let’s wait,” she said immediately. “I want to be able to move quickly. React quickly. Hard to do with a full stomach.”

“My thoughts exactly. But I wanted to give you a choice.”

“Let’s keep an eye on that building for a while. You have a second pair of binoculars?”

“I do,” he said, opening his luggage and pulling out another pair. “I want to see what the traffic is like in and out of the building.”

“Yeah, me too.” They pulled two chairs over to the window and lifted the binoculars.