Page 31 of France Face-Off
“I want to know what was so important that my parents were willing to die for it. If I’d turned it over to the CIA, they wouldn’t have told me, and they might have used the information for other than noble purposes. Bottom line is that I didn’t trust them, or anyone else.” She shrugged. “So, I kept it and stayed in hiding.”
“Until now.”
She nodded. “This was my best chance to find out who put the kill order out on my mother and father. Petrov was the next man in the food chain, and Baranovsky is just ambitious enough to have some influence and connections. They had to have been involved in some way. I only needed to get them alone to question them.” She lifted her chin. “Then someone stopped me from doing that.”
“My apologies.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The question is, what do I do with you now?”
She held out the flash drive. “If you have resources, you can help me determine what’s on this device so I know what the motivation was for killing the people I loved.”
He frowned. “You wouldn’t give this to the CIA, but you’re handing it over to me now?” Striker held up his hands. “You need to hang onto it. You don’t know me from anyone. How do you know I haven’t ingratiated myself with you to make you want to give me the information?”
“Because I’m tired. I figure you would’ve killed me if you’d wanted it that badly. Hell, you could’ve taken it off me while I slept and I’d never have known.” She gave him a brief smile. “Which tells me you didn’t know of its existence…until now.”
“Still, it’s yours. Your parents wanted you to hold onto it and keep it safe. If you want to use my computer to try to access the files, you’re more than welcome to try.”
She snorted. “I’ve tried every combination of passwords my parents could’ve used. Nothing works.”
“Maybe it’s not about looking for passwords. Sometimes, people lock files with biometrics like fingerprints, retinal scans and facial recognition software.”
“Then I’m really out of luck. My parents’ bodies burned in the housefire.”
“There has to be a backdoor to get into the file,” Striker said. “Have you worked with any hackers to see if they can get in?”
She nodded. “I’ve consulted several and followed their instructions. But I couldn’t bring myself to hand over the flash drive to anyone else. If it was that important that it was worth killing people and burning a house to the ground, it could be something bad if it lands in the wrong hands.”
Striker nodded.
Alex glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Dinner is in a few minutes. If we don’t show up, people will wonder why. And if I’m being watched, which I’m sure I am, they might come looking for me in your room since you’re missing, too.”
Striker’s gut knotted. “I don’t like the idea of you going down to dinner or even going back to the summit sessions. We don’t know who’s after you and when they’ll strike next.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t have much choice. I need to talk with Baranovsky and find out if he was the one to order the hit. I didn’t come this far to leave empty-handed.”
“He’s not going to admit to anything,” Striker said.
“He might, with incentive.” Alex pulled a knife out of her pocket and flipped it open. What had appeared to be a small pocket knife opened up into a lethal blade.
“Remind me to never make you mad,” Striker said.
She lifted one eyebrow. “Don’t kill anyone I love, and we’re good.” Alex moved past him into the room, rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a white dress. “I’ll only be a minute in the bathroom.” She took the dress and a small makeup kit into the bathroom and closed the door.
He still wasn’t sure what to do with her, but he couldn’t let her go back to her room, and he didn’t feel comfortable letting her get another one, if one was even available, because it could be broken into as easily. Hopefully, in a crowded banquet hall, she’d be all right. Then again, Anatoly Petrov had been attacked during the reception with people all around him.
Striker changed into one of the dark suits he’d purchased with the money Lucie had given him. When he was ready, he sat at the desk and brought up the computer. Alex had laid the flash drive on the desk before entering the bathroom. She really was giving him the opportunity to take it.
He wouldn’t. But he would encourage her to keep trying to decrypt the security on the file she was attempting to get into.
A moment later, Alex emerged from the bathroom, her hair drawn back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. The dress hugged her body like a second skin and flared out at her knees. With every step she took, the fabric swirled around her calves, drawing attention to her slim ankles and the silver sandals she wore. She’d applied a little makeup to her eyes, emphasizing their darkness, and the red lipstick on her full lips.
She was stunning.
Striker’s pulse ratcheted up.
She crossed the room, took the flash drive from the desk and tucked it into her bra. “Ready?”
He nodded, cursing himself for promising not to touch her.
Now that he knew who she was and some of the reasons she was in danger, he was glad she was staying with him. He’d better keep his promise and stay hands off. The woman was a skilled assassin.
