Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Shit. We need her seen immediately, but I can’t send her away with people I can’t trust. None of us are capable of helping her though. We don’t have the right tools or the right skills. My belly aches.
"Nikko," Mikhail says quietly. "Why don’t you go back over the security footage of the ambulance arriving here?"
He turns to Ollie. "Ollie, why don’t you go investigate that ambulance."
"We need to get her seen immediately," Lev insists, his voice tense. “What the fuck? You guys are overreacting."
But I meet Ollie’s eyes across the room and shake my head again. We aren’t overreacting. They’re lying.
"What’s happening?" Isabella asks, her voice trembling. "What’s going on?"
“We just want to make sure you’re safe," I say placidly, trying to keep my voice steady." Just trust me."
Maybe Ollie isn’t always overreacting. Maybe we really are in grave danger.
I give Isabella a curious look. "What have you eaten or had to drink in the past couple of days?" I ask her.
She lists off a few normal things. "Why?" she asks, fear creeping into her voice. "Do you think I was poisoned?"
"I don’t know if I trust anything right now, Isabella," I say quietly. Yes, someone could’ve given her something that caused cramping and bleeding; it’s definitely possible…
Maybe Carlos has found the damn drone and knows he’s been fooled.
Maybe this was Carlos’s plan all along—make someone sick, call paramedics, infiltrate. How else would they get in here? They can’t get into this fortress.
"Everything checks out," Lev says a few minutes later. "There’s nothing suspicious out here."
But I don’t know… He wants his wife safe, but is he overlooking the obvious? I look at Ollie again.
"Wait until Nikko gets back from checking everything.”
“I heard the sirens. Then, for a few seconds, nothing else happened. They didn’t come any closer. There was a pause before the paramedics got here," I say softly. "Something could’ve happened then."
I beckon the paramedics back into the room. I turn to the paramedic standing in front of me, a tall, thin woman with blonde hair in a severe bun. "Is there anything you need to tell us?" I ask, watching her closely.
"No," she says too quickly, her voice strained. “We need to get her to the hospital, ma’am.”
Hmm. I can’t quite read her. She’s iffy.
I turn to the next paramedic, a young man who looks like he’s barely holding it together.
“Is something wrong with you?”
His eyes widen. "No, not at all," he stammers.
He’s lying. I know the signs immediately. I stand up, feeling as if I’m throwing him under the bus, but I can’t ignore what I see. "He’s lying," I say softly to Ollie.
Ollie moves like a shadow, silent and deadly, gripping the paramedic’s neck with a vice-like force that says more than words ever could. Isabella screams, and Lev rushes to hold her.
Ollie pulls out his knife, and for a moment, I think he’s going to slice the man’s throat right here. Nobody breathes as Ollie slashes at the man’s clothes, tearing off his shirt to reveal a tattoo I recognize all too well.
"Cartel,” I say, shaking my head. “Oh my God. How?"
Ollie turns to the rest of the paramedics, still holding the one in his grip. "He can’t hurt you now. Tell us what’s going on."
One of the women nods, her face pale. "You’ll find our associate in the passenger seat," she begins in a quiet voice just as Nikko bursts back in. “They have a hostage in the ambulance.”
"Can we trust the rest?" Lev asks, his voice tight.
Ollie grips the traitor by the neck. "I have him." He gives him a shake. "Is there anyone else with you?"
"No!" the man cries out, but I can tell he’s lying. I feel sick to my stomach as I turn to Ollie. "He’s lying."
"Who can we trust here, Renata?" Lev says, his wide eyes locked on me.
"The two women. They’re the real paramedics. Go with them, Lev. One of you—Mikhail? Nikko? Somebody go with them."
Ollie is going to interrogate this man, and I need to be here to help him.
I feel like I’m going to be sick.
I can do this. I have to. For Isabella. For Ollie.
For me.
They gather up Isabella, placing her on a stretcher. They take her out to the ambulance, and the cold reality of the danger we’re in sends a shiver down my spine.
We can’t even call an ambulance and be safe. What are we going to do? How are we going to navigate this?
The ambulance leaves, and the fragmented remains of the Romanov family stand in front of us. Mikhail jerks his chin toward everyone but Ollie. "Get your weapons and come with me," he says, the tone of his voice chilling me to the bone. "Renata, leave us.”
The man screams, begging for mercy. I remember the video Ollie played in the hotel room—the tone of the man's voice sounds familiar. It’s the desperate pleas of a man who knows he’s going to die, and painfully.