Page 53 of Deadly Protector
CHAPTERTWENTY
Dimitri resisted the urge to pace in the large open warehouse. He’d been dumped in it hours ago along with one woman and two men. Everyone for the job later tonight.
Irene’s people had moved fast, bringing everyone here around the same time so it had been coordinated. He vaguely recognized the woman and one of the men. But the man with the blond hair who was around five foot ten he’d never seen before.
No one was using their real names—he was Joe, the blond was Don, the woman was Ava and the other man was Eli. All short and easy to say over their comms if necessary.
At least the place they’d been ordered to wait was furnished and had a small kitchen with food and drinks.
Eli was currently watching a soccer game on the television in one corner while Don was doing sit-ups. Ava had done yoga for a while, then she’d started pacing. Though it didn’t look like nervous pacing, more like the kind you did when you were practicing counting the number of steps you took.
From the very short dialogue he’d had with the others, Eli was the getaway driver, Don was the lookout who would be monitoring the neighborhood and the cameras in the house. He would also act as a distraction in case law enforcement was called.
Dimitri would be breaking into the house—Gareth had already provided the type of security system installed, and while high-end, he had the tools and tech to crack it.
As soon as he was inside, Ava had orders to grab the painting. Dimitri also had orders to do a quick sweep looking for anything else of high value.
A decade ago he’d have loved the thrill of this job, though he’d have never worked for Irene. No, he’d worked for himself and Viktor. No one else.
Right now he didn’t feel that rush, not like he once had. He wasn’t afraid either. This was…unease. Worry for Zamira. He hadn’t had a chance to call her yet and he needed to try before they got hauled out of here. He hadn’t been able to contact Isa and Graysen either, but that ship had sailed. He would have liked to use them for backup, but that wasn’t happening now.
He finished another water bottle, set it noisily on the counter of the small kitchen area. He’d finished a few bottles in a row so it would be obvious why he was going to the small bathroom in the far end of the warehouse.
Not that he needed an excuse, but he had no clue if they were being watched. Probably were. And he wanted all his actions to be as normal as possible.
Once he was inside the eight-by-eight space, he glanced around, gave it as good a look for cameras as possible. Paint was peeling off the walls and there was a rusty color ringing the interior of the toilet. Dust covered the back of the tank. There were no exterior windows, no way to escape. Not that he was thinking of it. Not yet anyway.
After he was as sure as he’d ever be, he texted Zamira. He thought about calling but it was too risky his voice would carry. The warehouse beyond was mainly open space with the exception of the bits of furniture and the kitchen area.
I’m safe,he texted.
Thank God!She responded immediately. Then, This is Lyosha now immediately followed her text. We know where you are. Keep your phone on you if possible. If not, ditch it and be safe. As soon as the job is over, we’ll pick you up.
He sent back a thumbs-up emoji, then take care of Zamira, going dark. He hated that he couldn’t talk to her, couldn’t hear her voice, but it was probably better this way.
He had to keep his head in the game. Had to stay alive.
As he started washing his hands, two sharp pounds sounded on the door. “Come on!”
He swung it open, found Gareth standing there, his expression unreadable. “Time to go.”
Dimitri kept his expression just as neutral and grabbed a paper towel, started drying his hands. “I’m ready.”
Dimitri crouchedin front of the keypad by the glass back door. The entire house was dark, with just the pool area slightly lit up. From his intel, the owner had decent security, but leaving lights on was always a good idea.
He and Ava had already taken out the sensor lights, and the two men were waiting back in the SUV.
“Clear on our end,” Don said through the comm line.
“I’m almost in.” Dimitri was holding his small device up to the keypad, waiting for it to cycle through possible codes.
Click.
The lock snicked open. If there’d been biometrics it would have been a different story and he’d have likely just gotten in through a window. A hell of a lot easier.
He and Ava stepped through the back door, both whisper quiet as he now stood in front of the alarm keypad.
A little beep beep beep had started, letting him know his time was limited. He pulled out another device, clicked it right over the panel, then started working on his tablet.
