Page 114 of Close Pursuit

He cut her off sharply. “Not over the phone.” His voice went so quiet she could barely hear him. “Listen carefully to me. Natasha is hooked up with the Russian mob, which is hooked up with the FSB. You need to get away from her the second we finish this call. You need to slip out without arousing any suspicions. Smile for me. Look natural. Are you doing that?”

“Yes.”

“Keep doing it. In about two minutes, Natasha’s thugs are going to be under orders to kill you and Dawn.”

It was a good thing he’d already instructed her to look happy, otherwise she would have gaped in shock at Natasha, who was watching her closely. Instead, she smiled a little at the woman.

“Get to the Cartwheel Casino. Ask for Dominic DeMecci. Tell him I’ll give him whatever he wants if he’ll protect you from the Russians and Chechens until I get there. Got that?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me aloud that you’ll check in to the hotel you’re at and you’ll see me tomorrow,” Alex instructed.

“Okay.” She replied. “I’ll grab a room here, tonight. I’ll see you when you get here, tomorrow.” She couldn’t resist adding, “I love you, too.”

Shocked silence echoed in her ear. “Bye!” she said brightly and hung up.

Smirking, Katie handed the phone back to Natasha. Crap. Mobsters were going to try to kill her. Terror washed over her all at once. She felt ice cold, then hot, then back to cold. She could do this. Dawn was depending on her.

“You’re a lifesaver, Natasha. Thank yousomuch for your help. Alex says he’ll come by and say hello to you tomorrow.”

The Russian woman nodded pleasantly. “I would love to hear more about Alex doing humanitarian work. Have dinner with me.”

“Gosh, I’d love to. But the baby’s about due for a feeding, and she gets colicky after she eats. Screams her head off until she burps. I think I’d better just see if I can get a room and get her out of your hair. The hotel security guys were pretty unhappy that I brought her in here in the first place. I’m surprised they haven’t already come looking for me to chase me out,” she confessed.

Natasha looked equal parts chagrined at Katie leaving and alarmed at the idea of her staying with a screaming baby.God bless Dawn.

Clearly, the woman was trying to stall Katie while her mob bosses reacted to the news of Alexei Koronov’s girlfriend being in the house. Although Alex had said they would try to kill Dawn, too. What wasthatall about?

“I’ll have one of my boys go with you. Make sure the hotel takes care of you.”

Crap. How was she going to slip away from one of those giant thugs?

“That would be great,” Katie said lightly. “That’s so nice of you.”

Katie followed the massive guy out of the private gambling area and into the main casino. Alex said two minutes. She needed to get away from this guyfast.

Thinking frantically, she searched for a hotel security person and, of course, couldn’t see a single dark-suited type with the signature earpiece anywhere on the expansive casino floor. She was on her own.

I can do this. I have to do this. Dawn needs me.

The lobby loomed. At its far end, the front door beckoned, taunting her with the promise of safe escape. Katie looked around and spotted a crowd of retirees heading toward the exit. Timing it carefully and with a mental apology to Dawn, she reached under the cloth sling and pinched the baby’s thigh. Hard.

Dawn jerked awake and let out a squawk that rapidly became a howl as Katie continued pinching her. She felt terrible about doing it, but figured that was better than Dawn being killed. She looked up at the Russian strongman in feigned panic. “Is there a changing room around here?”

“How should I know?” he muttered.

“Can you ask somebody? She won’t shut up until I take care of her. And she gets so mad she vomits on whoever’s in range. Curdled milk makes the worst stain, and the smell?—“

The guy hustled over toward the front desk and Katie ducked behind the crowd of tourists heading out toward a big bus parked out front. Soothing the angry baby frantically with a finger in Dawn’s mouth, she ran half-crouched for the open front doors. Whether the thug was behind her or not, she had no idea. She just ran.

She sprinted for the line of cabs and dived into the first one, lying flat in the back seat.

“What the hell?” the cabbie exclaimed.

“The Cartwheel Casino as fast as you can. My ex-husband is trying to kill me and he’s here and he’s drunk.Hurry. Please.”

Sweet man that he was, the driver pulled out of the hotel like the place was on fire. She had no idea how long a regular cab ride to the Cartwheel Casino took, but tonight it took under three minutes.

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