Page 89 of Savage Warrior

“Sold? But…” That was to have been my fate, if I hadn’t made a run for it in that service station car park. “But she is only fourteen. A child. How could they even…?”

There is compassion in his eyes but not a hint of denial. “This is an ugly trade, Arina. These animals have no scruples if money is to be made.”

I bury my face in my hands. “Oh God, oh God,” I sob. “Where will they take her? How can I ever find her?”

It’s Cristina who folds her arms around me. “Please, try to trust my husband. He is there, looking for her. He can be very resourceful. And Rome, Rome will not return without her, I know it.”

I wail into my hands. “They will have hidden her. I know what that’s like. She will be in a cellar somewhere, or on a ship. Where will they take her? The police in Belarus will not be able to help. There is no one…” I pause, my panic subsiding as her words register. “Rome? Did you say Rome?”

“Yes.”

“Rome has gone with him? ?tefan is also there, in Belarus?”

Cristina nods. “It was the other way round as far as I could see. Rome knew how much your family meant to you, so he wanted to make them safe. For you. He was going to get them out; he asked my husband for help, and Ethan said he would go, too. There are two more men with them, my husband’s finest.” She pauses, then, “If it is possible to find your sister, I am sure they will do it.”

I am speechless. This I never, ever expected. “I thought… I thought he had simply gone. Left me. There was no word from him, no message.”

She shakes her head. “Oh no, it’s not like that. Not at all. You were still in the hospital when they left, and my husband asked that no one be told until there was definite news. Partly for security, and partly for your sake. Rumour and speculation, you understand?”

“Can I speak to ?tefan now? On the phone?”

It’s Marius who answers. “Best if you do not. They are in dangerous enemy territory. Distractions will not help, and phone communications are not secure. We wait to hear from them. That is the way this works.”

“But what if—?”

“We wait,” he insists, his tone gentle but firm. “I have men shadowing, we will know soon enough.”

CHAPTER 21

Rome

“How far is it to Minsk?” Tony asks as we leave the outskirts of Lida behind.

We’re on the motorway heading east, and the small vehicle is cramped as fuck with all five of us squashed in.

“A couple of hours,” Ethan replies from the driving seat. “Depends on traffic.”

Tony swears under his breath and checks his watch. The auction starts at ten, and it’s just after seven now. We’re cutting it fine.

No one speaks. There’s nothing to say. Ethan cranks up the air-conditioning, such as it is, and puts his foot down.

The warehouse isn’t easy to find. I never supposed it would be, and we’re all glad of Grigor and his battered old map. He manages to navigate us through the mean backstreets of the city to a run-down industrial neighbourhood where we park up along with several more vehicles in the shadow of a dilapidated corrugated iron shed the size of an airport hangar. It’s five minutes to ten.

“Fuck. Is this the place?” Ethan breathes, peering through the windscreen at the joyless facade. “A decent wind would flatten it.”

I offer him a tight smile. “Let’s hope it keeps fine, then. Are we all going in?”

Ethan turns in the driver’s seat to issue instructions. “Aaron, Grigor, you stay with the car. Engine running, ready to go. We may be leaving in a hurry.”

Aaron nods. “Right, bro.”

The rest of us get out.

Ethan continues. “They may know me by sight but they won’t expect me to speak Russian, so you do the talking, Rome, as my interpreter. I’ll do the deal and cough up the cash when it’s needed, you concentrate on locating the girl and getting her out. Tony, you’re the hired muscle, my personal bodyguard.”

“What if they won’t let us all in?” Tony asks. “Bidders only.”

“That’s fairly likely. In which case, you stay close and be ready to come in if I issue the alarm signal. Our objective is to go in, stay under cover, a quick purchase without any fuss, and out.”

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