Page 80 of Poison Evidence

Or that might make her feel even worse.

He could drown here. Now. And she wouldn’t know he was in trouble until it was too late to help him.

She ran a hand over her belly and wondered how she’d cope if she never saw Dimitri again.

Relief washed through Dimitri when he recognized the floatplane. Ulai Umetaro’s Beaver. It could only mean one thing: Luke Sevick had arrived and had shown Ulai the card.

Dimitri had stashed a radio in the vegetation for just such an occasion, and made a beeline for it. Ulai knew what frequency Dimitri would use. He hailed the pilot, and a moment later, Ulai responded.

Dimitri told the pilot where to land, then returned the radio to its hiding place and made his way up the hillside to the cave entrance. “It’s safe, Ivy,” he shouted before entering the tunnel. “Ulai is here.” He dropped down to all fours and crawled through the entrance. “Which means we’re going to have more company in a few hours.”

He emerged into the upper chamber, blinded momentarily by sunlight that angled through the skylight. He blinked as he stood upright and realized it wasn’t the sun at all. One of the floodlights had been angled to shine on the tunnel entrance. In the darkness behind the light, he could just make out the face of a man who’d spoken with Ivy at the party in Koror. The man had one hand over Ivy’s mouth, the other hand held a gun to her temple.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“It seems your company is already here,” the man said.

“Who are you?” Dimitri asked. He didn’t look at Ivy. He couldn’t. He had to stay focused on the intruder and figure out how the hell they’d been found, and what the man intended now that he had Ivy.

“No one you know.” He ran the gun across Ivy’s temple. “I gotta admit, I was pretty pissed when you took Ivy away that night, but damn, then I did a little digging and decided I’m grateful. I was just there for the mapping equipment and the girl, and then my little Russian Bratva friend identified the Hammer.

“Well, knowing the Hammer was involved, I got curious about what Mother Russia was after. Now I get CAM and a brand-new prototype AUUV. Plus, you got rid of the Russian for me. Fucking jackpot.”

He kissed Ivy’s other temple, all while watching for Dimitri’s reaction.

Only a lifetime of training allowed him to pull off an indifferent shrug.

“You’re good, Veselov,” the man said. “One might even think you don’t care. But I was listening to you fuck like rabbits through those convenient skylights.” He released Ivy’s mouth to squeeze her breast. “So tell me, was your last ‘I love you’ a ploy? Or did you really fall for a honey trap?”

He ran his hand down her side. Ivy remained stiff and mute.

“Ivy was up to her eyeballs in her ex-husband’s business. I should know, I was Hill’s case officer. She’s playing you, man. Imagine that. The Hammer played by an Amazonian computer geek with great tits, but not much else to speak of.”

“Who. The fuck. Are you?” Dimitri asked.

The man shrugged. “You won’t be around to tell my old mentor, Ian, so no harm in introductions. Zack Barrow. Formerly CIA. Now I freelance.”

It brought bile to his throat to hear the scumbag use words so similar to what he’d said to Ivy when he revealed himself.

“I was never in Patrick’s business,” Ivy said, her voice shaking with anger.

Good, she was more angry than scared. That would help her. And Dimitri. “I know,” he said.

“Touching, but we really should get the AUUV,” Barrow said. “So I can take CAM and split before Ian gets here.”

He pushed Ivy forward, toward the computer console. “Show me where the bad man hid it, babe, and I’ll make sure the boys in Syria are sweet to you when you teach them how to use CAM.”

Ivy inched toward the sleeping console.

Dimitri felt the weight of his gun at the small of his back. He knew exactly why Barrow hadn’t taken it from him. He’d listened long enough at the skylight to know seeing a gun to Ivy’s temple would incapacitate Dimitri. Plus, he knew getting close enough to disarm him would be lethal. The Hammer’s reputation in spy and mafia circles was well-earned.

The gun at Ivy’s head was effective. He wouldn’t go for his weapon as long as there was a bullet that close to her brain.

He needed to keep the prick talking so he could find an opening. “How did you find us?”

“You tell him, love. I get tired of repeating myself.” His smug tone told Dimitri all he needed to know about the man’s ego. Barrow was so proud of himself, he wanted to hear his exploits from Ivy. But he also wouldn’t do the talking, like Dimitri wanted.

Zack Barrow wasn’t dumb, but he was narcissistic. Which could make him blind to his mistakes and faults. Dimitri could use that.

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