Page 28 of Explosive Vengeance

Looking at her old friend, taking in the earnestness in her face and the hidden plea in her voice, Chloe considered it. But she wasn’t going to lie and say yes. “Maybe.” It was the most she could offer for now.

Megan sighed. “I guess that’s the best I can hope for at this point. But just know I’m not giving up until I turn that maybe into a yes.”

Chloe grinned at her. “If anyone can bring me in, Itch, it’s you.”

Although the magnetic man across the room might have a shot at influencing her as well. The thought caused an internal burst of disquiet.

Heath put her off-balance. In her carefully orchestrated and guarded existence, that was never a good thing.

In her world, that kind of thing could get her killed.

Chapter Nine

Guillaume held his phone to his ear as he stepped into his home office and shut the door. It was the middle of the night. He’d been waiting up for this call and didn’t want to disturb his sleeping family upstairs. “What do you mean, she’s not there?” he demanded.

“The target house was empty and there’s no sign she’s ever been here. The signal couldn’t have come from this place,” the cop in charge of the Strasbourg raid said.

Guillaume punched in the code to his computer with angry stabs and brought up the satellite map showing the signal they’d traced. “You read the same map I did. If the phone signal didn’t come from that house, then it had to be from one damn close.”

“We checked the surrounding houses too. One across the street is a rental. Someone had been in it recently, but we can’t be sure if it was tonight. Forensics is working on it now. If they find any good prints, we might get a match in the database.”

Guillaume doubted it. This woman was too fucking smart for that.

“According to the owner, the renter only paid for one night. Whoever it was might have changed their mind.”

Cursing under his breath, he exploded from his chair, anger pulsing hot through his veins. “It was her. You know it was.”

“We had a secure perimeter set up around the entire block,” the cop said in a hard tone. “If it was her, no one saw her come and go.”

“That’s because she’s trained to be a ghost,” he snapped.Dieu, now he had no idea where she was, or the man with her. “I assume you’re checking all surveillance cameras in the area?”

“I know how to do my job. But this is a small village. We’ll be lucky if we find more than one or two.”

He paced around the room, thinking fast. “So where’s she gone now? Germany?” If he was on the run, he would move to another country to try and evade law enforcement. And Germany was the closest border from Strasbourg. Somewhere else in France, or maybe Switzerland?

“Your guess is as good as mine,” the man replied, irritation clear in his voice.

Guillaume ended the call, his mind racing. The funeral he’d hurriedly put together was tomorrow; he wouldn’t be able to get much work done. The next shipment of girls Dominic had purchased was still due to arrive on schedule in Marseille. If this Gabrielle woman was a Valkyrie and knew about the shipment, she might try to stop it. She’d be stupid to come in person, but he had a feeling she might. There might be an opportunity for him to strike.

He dialed the local inspector. “Sorry to wake you.”

“Not at all, my friend. What can I do for you?”

For some reason thefriendcomment irritated him more than it should have. They weren’t friends. The inspector pretended to be because of Guillaume’s money and influence, and that was all. He was just as likely to turn on Guillaume as the others if a better offer or the right pressure came along. “The tactical team in Strasbourg didn’t find the woman.”

“I verified that signal myself before talking to the commander,” the inspector said, his voice shocked. “She had to have been there.”

“If she was, she slipped past them without notice.”

“I’ll contact my source and see if he can get another lead.”

“Don’t bother. She’ll have ditched the phone by now.”

“What if—”

“Leave it alone for now,” Guillaume snapped, exhausted and heartsick. His brother would be laid to rest tomorrow but his killer was still free. It was so wrong.

“All right. I’ll see you at the service tomorrow.”

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