Hard to Kill: a Hard Targets novel Page 21

  "What about Lennard? Are they still thinking he's Trinity?" The crowd seemed to be getting rowdier as the seconds ticked by, and she found it increasingly difficult to have a conversation.

  "They've found some porn on the hard drive on his computer that connects with sheltered accounts, but nothing solid yet. They're not keen on digging too far into Ambassador Quarto, but they were willing to pursue the safe deposit box for now."

  Her teeth seemed to rattle when she clenched her jaw. "I suppose you're coming with us to Ambassador Quarto's ball?"

  While she let the question hang in the air, a swell of people moved her along the crowd. A man in a jester's costume grabbed her arm and tried to dance with her. She smiled but refused, and allowed the crowd to move her along toward her destination. All four of them were headed in the same direction. They'd meet up there.

  The classic Renaissance-style building, with ornate columns and arched windows and doorways, was on the right. She struggled to make her way through the crowd toward it, knowing her brothers and Kane couldn't be far behind.

  Sabrina smiled at the jester, despite the circumstances. Or maybe because of the circumstances. This was her day. Her day of reckoning. She would bring Trinity and his whole organization down. Maybe it was the similarity of him to Petrovich that set her teeth on edge. Maybe she was finally going to be able to feel free of the bonds of the past that haunted her.

  She would expose him. The heady sense of victory brought about a smidgen of calm to her otherwise erratic pulse. Everyone would know the man for the scum he was. He no longer could hide behind the veil of nobility and fool everyone, as Petrovich had done.

  Her pulse rate doubled, then tripled as she surveyed the crowd, looking for signs of her brothers. As for Kane, even though she'd be loath to admit it, she had to fight to ward off the warm feelings simmering beneath the surface he brought about.

  Her inner cynic rationalized that with him here, at least she'd know what he was up to. The relief she'd felt seeing him and knowing he was okay must have been her imagination. He was a big boy. No doubt he could take care of himself. If she was unattached, as she'd professed to be, why did the idea that he could have been hurt in Paris make her chest constrict? Now was not the time.

  She drew in a breath and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. With Lennard and Ponci both dead, that meant Trinity had no reason to worry about being discovered. No doubt he didn't know about the evidence Ponci had stored in a safe deposit box. She could only hope that part of the information was correct as well.

  She brushed back the futility of worrying and soldiered on. Sabrina attempted to relax as she tried to break through the swell of people toward the building. The familiar feel of the strap of leather against the skin of her thigh brought a measure of comfort, even if she could never get to it, considering the crush of people surrounding her.

  Unable to find the ambassador in his costume amongst the crowd, she bit back at the hint of anxiety. Probably nothing. More than likely, he was already in the building getting things ready for his gala event.

  As she struggled to make her way through the crowd to the steps, the man in the jester's costume came alongside her once again. He smiled with his painted lips and offered his hand, as if he somehow knew where she was headed.

  When his gaze slid from her hand to her eyes, a slight twitch in his right eye forced her heart to beat faster. "Are you going to the ambassador's ball?" he whispered.

  She nodded as thoughts swirled around her head, too confusing to separate truth from paranoia. "I can't seem to break through the crowd."

  "Grab my hand. We'll try to go along the side."

  She glanced into his eyes, partially hidden by the mask he wore. The same red and black checked pattern surrounded them, giving the illusion of something she couldn't yet identify. "That's okay. I'm meeting some people. I'll try to make it alone."

  He smiled. "Good luck." When he waved her off and forced his way through the crowd toward the side, she felt a sense of relief.

  Nerves were playing havoc with her common sense. Focus was the key to making this job a success. But worrying about where her brothers and Kane were set her teeth on edge. They had anticipated the craziness surrounding the Carnivale but had underestimated the impact it might have on their plan.

  Max and Jake came up next to her, on either side, each grabbing an arm. It was more than enough to send her nerves into a tailspin.

  "Easy, there, Saby. It's us." Jake laughed as he spoke into her ear. "For a minute there I thought you were going to yank out your knife."

  She attempted a tight smile, but when Kane appeared in her peripheral vision waiting on the steps, nerves took over for some odd reason. It always had been the three of them, and now Kane slid effortlessly into their group. The idea unsettled her.

  "Everybody have their invitation?"

  Her brothers nodded and linked arms with her as they fought their way through toward the palace. "Let's do this thing," Jake said.

  They met up with Kane at the entryway and handed off their invitation to the guards at the door. Compared to outside, the interior was comfortably crowded. Still, she couldn't help but look around, anxious to spot the ambassador in his harlequin costume. If nothing else, her goal was to keep him in her sight.

  They each took a glass and helped themselves to champagne. "Any sign yet?" Max asked.

  Kane spoke up. "Nothing. It's his party, and I understand he arrives late in order to make a grand entrance. It's part of his shtick."

  Something foreign and uncomfortable oozed between her and Kane. She couldn't quite decipher what it was, but she knew it went much deeper than irritation at him showing up at the behest of her brothers.

  Her brothers must have felt the discomfort, as they begged off seconds later with the excuse of doing reconnaissance. That worked for her. She had a thing or two to say to Kane, and now was as good a time as any.

  He touched her elbow. "You're pissed."

  She rolled her eyes. "Gee, ya think?" Frustration rolled through her, gaining momentum. "I didn't invite you here."

  She spotted a hint of disappointment in his downward glance. "Nope, but your brothers did."

  Traitors. "They had no right."

  "Why? Because they had the foresight to think that it might be best to work at this from two angles versus one?"

  "So now you're saying I'm incompetent, is that it?"

  "You're letting your fears get in the way of thinking straight. What are you so afraid of, Sabrina? Do you think you might actually let your guard down and begin to care?"

  A shiver whipped around inside her. "You are so wrong. I'm all about myself and nothing about anybody else. I risk nothing for nobody. As far as I'm concerned, you take your chances hooking up with me. I'm a son of a bitch. If things get dicey, and it's a choice between me getting out of here alive or rescuing you, I'll save my own skin. That's how I roll."

  She saw the hurt in his eyes but somehow couldn't back down. He needed to understand how it was with her. From all accounts, she would have figured he'd know this by now. Clearly, he didn't. She'd have to spell it out.

  "That's how it's going to be?" He forced her to look at him by tilting up her chin.

  The look on his face told her he didn't believe anything she said. That was a good old bout of self-preservation on his part. But why was that hint of doubt taking up residence in her spine, saying she might not be right this time?

  "Believe me, to save my skin, I'd leave you in a heartbeat and not lose any sleep over it. I left you with a sprained ankle to fend for yourself, didn't I?" She brushed back the unwanted bout of emotion brought about by her words. She was telling the truth, wasn't she? She was, and always would be, a solitary kind of person. Meeting Kane Travis and spending time with him would never change that.

  He brought his hand up to his chest to the area by his heart. "Wow, you don't pull any punches."

  "That's the way it is with me, Kane. Take it or leave it."
>
  He forced her eyes to meet his. "You try to play this hardass role, Sabrina, but I'm not buying it."

  "Then you're the fool, Kane," she responded, fighting down the urge to do anything else. The parameters of their relationship needed to be clear. And if she had to be the bad guy in that scenario, so be it.

  Sabrina felt a wash of unidentifiable emotion. The whole time she'd told him she wanted to go at this alone. Now when the prospect hit her in the face, why did she feel so lonely and disappointed? How did Kane get her to feel that way?

  Never in her life had she been dependent on another person. The last thing she needed right now was to have that ugly dependency thing rear its ugly head.

  Being a loner had been advantageous for her. She made her own luck. She enjoyed the solitude. She didn't need others to make her feel worthwhile or important. She certainly didn't need the extraneous and mundane conversation.

  So why, at this moment, did everything feel so strange? Why, never having experienced loneliness in her life, did a bout of it come at her and grab her by the throat?

  Why then did she suddenly feel so alone and vulnerable? More so than she'd ever felt in her life. The urge to flee overtook her in a rush. "I'm going to use the ladies' room." Without another word, she walked away, uncertain where she was headed. But getting away from Kane right now seemed to be the best option.

  She pushed through the door of the ladies' room and leaned against the sink as she willed the constriction in her chest to ease. Her eyes closed as she fought through the demons that continually nipped at her heels.

  "So we meet again." A strong hand surrounded her bicep from behind. Goosebumps broke along her arms, and the hair stood up at the back of her neck as a gun poked her in the spine. The man in the jester costume reappeared at her side. This time she wasn't fooled. No mistaking the sixth sense. It was Trinity.

  "Not a word. I have my men trained on your brothers. One word, and they're dead. Now go where I tell you," the hoarse voice whispered into her ear.

  She gulped down the wad of fear lodged in her throat. A heavy-duty case of nerves made her legs quiver, and the itch crawl up her back.

  She sucked in a breath. Caution. Don't overreact. Think, above all else, even if impulsive seemed to be her middle name at times.

  His touch was tight, circling her arm in a vise-like grip. Breath tinged with champagne and cigarettes oozed like slime across her cheek as he muscled her through the partiers.

  "I know all about you," he whispered softly, as if saying the words was enough to convey his message.

  Sabrina fought with impulses, deeply embedded within her, to react. She struggled for control and a twinge of reality. This was a public place. Regardless of what he knew or thought he knew, he couldn't do anything to her right here. Right now.

  She forced out a "Hmmm?" and hoped to God her voice didn't shake too much. Where were her brothers? Kane? They couldn't be far away. Unless what he'd said was true.

  "You've done something…with your hair…but you're Sabrina Shaw. You and I share a mentor. In fact, I was one of his earliest students. Along with your parents."

  The words bounced around her head until they finally settled. How dare he tell lies about her parents.

  She wouldn't let his mention of Petrovich, her parents, or anything else register on her face. Any telltale sign of fear, shock…any kind of emotion would allow him to go for the kill. "Congratulations. You're able to do a good internet search." She gulped back the bile sticking to her throat and ignored his earlier claim.

  "I remember you and your brothers when you were children. In fact, I sat in on some of your training. I'm shocked you don't remember me. Then again, I was pretty young myself."

  Her skin started to itch, but she fought off the sensation. Part of her wanted to look him in the eye; the other part couldn't stand the idea of confronting her past. "Why doesn't that surprise me that you and Petrovich are connected?"

  "Don't want to think about your parents being assassins as well, I see." He chuckled before continuing. "I was barely out of my teens at the time, but I still knew Petrovich was missing an idea for expansion. Using you only for trained assassins seemed rather shortsighted when he could have expanded his repertoire to all sorts of other enterprises, like I did. Foolish man in the end." He tsked. "Unlike Petrovich, I'll never allow a lightweight like your brother Max to get the goods on me."

  "I wouldn't be too sure about that." Information bombarded her from all sides. Her brother, her parents…what was he saying?

  She couldn't think of that now. Concentration was the key to not only getting out of this alive but being successful as well.

  She hadn't been prepared for any of his revelations. Maybe that would come to bite her in the end. Still, the security of the knife strapped to her thigh made her believe there was hope. "The FBI is tracking down proof of your identity hidden in a safe deposit box as we speak." She enjoyed the hint of surprise that briefly passed across his face.

  "You're lying. Those imbeciles still believe Trinity is Pierre Lennard. There's enough evidence planted at that guy's place to put him away for over a hundred years." He let loose a chuckle, as if she'd told him an amusing story for anyone looking in their direction. "Too bad he was the target of an assassination. Hmmm…where were you and your brothers yesterday afternoon?" He laughed again, and this time any touch of merriment was replaced by pure evil.

  Past mistakes threatened to overtake her future as everything she'd done rose to the surface. Things she'd done out of fear, commitment, and misguided loyalty mishmashed within her head, making it impossible to think. She needed to fight through it. Right now, he had the upper hand. Someway she needed to flip that.

  "Cat got your tongue, Ms. Shaw?" He sneered at her beneath the mask he wore. "Truth is, I've always admired your family's chosen occupation. It's a shame you and Jake decided to get all righteous." He lowered his voice and whispered against her ear, "That evilness never leaves you, does it?"

  Even though she knew he was playing mind games with her, she couldn't seem to avoid getting sucked down the rabbit hole anyway. It took every ounce of energy to fight through his words and recognize her strength. She wanted to glance around and see if her brothers had spotted her but didn't dare. No doubt he would take that as a sign of weakness.

  Responding to his bait would only give him leverage. If she denied his claim about her parents, her brothers, herself, she'd come off as defensive, only leading him to believe he was right.

  She sucked in a breath, steadied her spine, and cleared her mind. Eye on the prize, Saby.

  Chess.

  Channeling conversations during her heated chess matches with Petrovich helped clear her thoughts. For once she didn't detest the game.

  "This is a game of chess we're playing. The problem is you think you're a positional player, which gives you a false sense of security. You mistakenly believe you can keep taking all of my good moves away from me." She faked a sad face. "But in the end, it won't work out for you."

  He forced a cheesy smile for someone passing by, pretending they weren't discussing life and death, good and evil. "Very astute observation." He touched her hand, and the flesh crawled up her arm. Instinctively, she yanked it away. "If I'm a positional player that makes you a tactical player. And, as we both know, that type of player depends on forcing me into making an error. I'm afraid that will never happen."

  "You know the old saying that tactical players do it to you. Positional players make you do it to yourself—or at least try, in your case." She refused to drop her stare. "You are at a stalemate with me."

  He laughed, the sound sharp and nerve-rattling. Realization that she was in the presence of the devil in human form became a palpable fear gripping at her chest. She and her brothers were so different from this monster that Petrovich had created, they weren't even of the same species.

  "You sound as if you don't believe me, Ms. Shaw." With a sudden move, he brought her in close. She felt the pressu
re of a gun barrel to her ribs. "This is what is called check and mate."

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Kane didn't bother to knock before barging into the ladies' room. But as he'd guessed, it was empty. Panic began to rise as he spotted a door left ajar. Maybe she went out the back way to avoid him? But Sabrina wasn't the type to avoid confrontation. Something had happened. He phoned Max and Jake.

  He went through the first hallway, opening every room along the way before they caught up with him. Kane glanced around the ballroom filled with people and knew he'd been outsmarted. "Any sign of Trinity?"

  Jake shook his head. "Unless he deviated from the costume we were told he'd chosen." Jake worked his jaw as he glanced around the room. "Sabrina knows better than to go it alone. She wouldn't have left without a fight. Let's not panic yet."

  Kane wanted to believe in the mundane excuses, but after the fiasco in Paris, he knew they were dealing with somebody who was one step ahead of them. Somehow the guy seemed to be able to read their movements before they happened. He hated to think of the guy as a genius, but that was the only explanation he had. Unless someone had been tipping him off?

  His heart squeezed inside his chest. Trinity was playing a cat-and-mouse game, and all three of them knew it. They'd all underestimated the man's reach and power.

  "You take the first five rooms on the left. I'll take the first five on the right. Kane, you focus on the ones further down the hall. We'll join you when we're finished," Max said.

  Kane ran toward the end of the hallway and saw it split off into yet another hallway with a set of stairs. He spotted a small sequin lying on the marble floor. He rushed up the stairs, only to be confronted with yet another cavern of spaces. He updated Jake and Max via text and continued the search.

  She could be anywhere.

  * * *

  Trinity urged Sabrina into a roped-off hallway, up a flight of stairs, and pushed her inside one of the rooms. Being isolated was not a great scenario, but she remained confident she could figure a way out.