Page 100 of Extreme Danger

“Oh,” she said, more subdued. “That’s true. I’m sorry if I worried you. I haven’t had a chance to charge up my phone—”

“Where are you?” he bellowed.

Becca made an irritated chuffing sound. “Don’t yell, and stop interrupting me. My nerves are shot to hell already. I’m on the highway. I was in Kimble. I saw Mathes at the banquet, and got fired from my job—”

“Fired from your job? What the hell—you saw who? Who the fuck is this Mathes?” He felt like he was about to hyperventilate.

“Richard Mathes. The guy who came to see Zhoglo on the island. He’s a famous surgeon, apparently, and he was there, at the banquet. That I organized. And I—”

“Holy Jesus. And you didn’t call me?” His voice crackled with outrage. “Did he see you?”

“I don’t think so. And I would have, except that I overheard this weird conversation he had with his mistress, and then I ended up following her car. It all happened really fast, and by the time I thought to call you, my cell had died, but I couldn’t stop—”

“Wait a minute. Let me make sure I’ve got this straight. You saw Zhoglo’s dinner guest at your banquet. You chose not to call me. Then, you spied on his conversation with his mistress. You chose not to call me once again. Then you followed her goddamncar?”

The other men in the room exchanged glances. Seth thudded to the ground and whistled.

“That’s about the size of it,” she said, sounding sheepish. “I lost her for a while when this black Mercedes SUV came to pick her up, and I couldn’t get out of the parking lot fast enough to see where they—”

“Are you out of your fuckingmind?” He was on his feet now, yelling into the phone. Seth grimaced, made a cut-it-out slicing gesture with his finger. Davy waved his arms, mouthingcool it, cool it.

She paused for a moment. “Not at all,” she said, in her haughtiest voice. “I’m making an effort to help. That’s quite a different thing.”

“Like hell it is!” he shouted.

“I was heading for that hotel where I was supposed to meet you, but if you’re just going to scream and carry on, I’ll pass, and go home.”

“No!” He sucked in a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, and struggled to get a grip on himself. It was like grappling with a gigantic, muscular, greased octopus. “It’s not safe. Go to the hotel. I’ll meet you there.”

“What for? To scream at me some more?”

He spoke slowly and carefully through clenched teeth. “Please, go to the hotel,” he said. “You scared the living shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” she murmured, finally sounding a little contrite. “OK, then. I’ll tell you the whole story at the hotel. Till then. Bye.”

The connection broke, and the force that had been holding the phone up to his ear deserted him. His arm flopped to his side and his knees gave way, dumping him into his chair.

So. She hadn’t been abducted, tortured, murdered. And she was not running away from him. She was not lying to him, either. No, she was just off her rocker.

Whole different problem.

He breathed down the bizarre urge to burst into tears. Not in front of these guys, who were giving him assorted funny looks.

“Chick’s got nerve,” Davy observed, his voice dry.

“Bug-fuck crazy,” was Aaro’s comment.

“Those are the fun ones,” Seth said with relish. “So she tailed this bad guy’s mistress, huh? Hot damn. I can’t wait to meet this girl. She sounds like a real firecracker. I’ll tell Margot to put her at our table.”

Nick barely heard them. “I’ve got to go,” he said, distractedly.

“Yeah, you do,” Seth said. “We’ve got things under control. We’ll analyze the video at Pavel’s house and get something cobbled up tonight. Aaro’s on the Ludmilla monitors. So go on, have some fun. Go get ’em, tiger. Show that chick who’s boss.”

Nick didn’t have any extra mental energy to bother with Seth’s bullshit. He turned to Davy. “Can you check out that guy she saw at the banquet? Richard Mathes is the name. Famous surgeon.”

“Will do,” Davy said. “Yo. Nick?”

He jerked around on his dash to the door. “What?” he snapped.

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