Page 89 of The Devil's Ransom

It came back to Mali Ston. I said, “That’s impossible. Do it again.”

They did and got the same result.

I called Knuckles and said, “Go to the restaurant. Is his phone there?”

Eight minutes later, he said, “Yeah. It’s here. They left it here.”

Chapter51

Nikita saw the man looking at the menu and recognized him for what he was. He was with an attractive woman, but there was no hiding his skill no matter how he tried to act like a tourist. A little over six feet, with close-cropped hair, he had ice-blue eyes and a scar on his cheek that radiated controlled violence. He most certainly wasn’t a tourist.

Nikita said, “Put your fork down and get ready to leave.”

Branko said, “What?”

“They’re here.”

Branko looked around and only saw a couple staring at the menu. He said, “What are you talking about?”

Nikita purposely avoided looking at the couple a second time. He said, “Get the waiter and pay the bill. Leave your phone here, on the table, underneath a menu.”

Branko started to say something else but saw Nikita’s visage and thought better of it. He waved at the waiter, then slid his phone under a menu, saying, “Why am I leaving my cell?”

“Because we broke from the men chasing you in Korcula, and yet here they are. They’re tracking your phone.”

Now a little scared, Branko said, “How are we going to get away from them? If they’re here, they’ll just follow our car.”

“The car is probably already bugged with a GPS. We’re notgoing back to it. I chose this location for a reason. We’re going to get them to follow us, then leave from the other side, in Ston.”

The waiter brought the bill and Branko said, “Am I paying?”

Nikita stood, saying, “No, Andrei is. Doesn’t he fund your credit card?”

Branko handed the card to the waiter without another word. When he was done, Nikita said, “Follow me.”

They walked up a narrow stairwell, following a sign proclaiming “Entrance to the old city walls.” Nikita stopped at a ticket booth, purchased passage, then gave each of them a ticket. Branko said, “Where are we going?”

“To the other side. Let’s move.”

Thirty minutes later, they reached the top of the ridge where the junction of the wall offered a path to the right, going higher to a small fortress, or straight, heading into the town. Branko wiped the sweat off his brow, panting from the climb. Nikita and his other man showed no apparent effects.

Branko said, “What now?”

Nikita glanced back the way they’d come, then pointed down the hill, making Branko smile.Thank heavens.Nikita said, “We reach the bottom and go straight out the portal to the city. Let’s move. Our car is waiting.”

“What about the other car?”

Nikita started walking, saying, “What about it? Let the people chasing you keep an eye on it.”

Branko glanced back, seeing a family of four, and beyond them, a man and woman walking the same way as every other tourist on this wall. He said, “Who is chasing us? That family?”

Nikita said, “Just get down the hill.”

Within ten minutes, they were through the modern-day ticketoffice and on the streets of Ston, heading toward the bridge and stone arch that marked the entrance to the village. They crossed it, with Nikita on the phone. Seconds later, a car appeared, and Nikita said, “Get in.”

Branko did, and the vehicle returned to the main highway, heading to the mainland. Nikita said, “So we’re now clean. Where can we go? Where is a safehouse?”

“Outside Dubrovnik is the closest.” They reached the main coastal highway and the driver took a right, heading south. Nikita said, “Call them. Tell them we’ll be there in an hour.”

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