Page 99 of The Blonde Identity

“Why in the world are you smiling?” Alex whispered, but all Sawyer could do was shake his head. The phonedingedagain. But Sawyer already knew what it was going to say.

Go to the restricted section. The cable car will take you up.

Everyone was watching, staring. “She’s waiting for us.”

Kozlov raised an eyebrow, as if to saywaiting where?

So Sawyer pointed to the top of the mountain—to the place so high it was hidden in the clouds. “Up there.”

Chapter Sixty

Her

Technically, it wasn’t the tallest peak in the Alps—not even close—but Zoe couldn’t deny the view was gorgeous. She probably would have appreciated it more if she hadn’t started to realize that she wasdefinitelyafraid of heights. And sharp falls. And maybe a tiny bit prone to altitude sickness? But that could have been nerves doing weird things to her equilibrium. After all, this was her very first hostage exchange. At least as far as she could remember.

But even she had to admit it seemed to be going pretty well. She’d contacted Marc and Anthony and explained their situation. And, sure, maybe she hadn’t explainedeverything, but it’s amazing what people will believe if you use phrases likeNational SecurityandTop Secretand “the Romeo and Juliet of Covert Operations.” They’d been all too happy to oblige.

Then she’d simply had to send the texts and set the stage and think of all the ways this could go horribly, terribly wrong. Because that was her best chance of making it go right.

Or so Zoe told herself as she stood there, shivering, and trying very, very hard not to vomit.

Him

The cable car they found in the restricted section wasn’t so much a cable car as it was an open, metal cage, loaded with rebar and equipment and supplies, but there was still plenty of room for a notorious Russian mobster, two goons, one moron, and a hostage.

Sawyer could actually feel the air getting colder and the wind blowing harder as they rose, and by the time they made it to the top, the air was frigid and snow swirled around them like a tiny, nonstop blizzard. That had to explain why there were no workers milling about and the equipment all sat, abandoned and covered in ice.

Part of the peak had been blasted away and a huge building was growing up in its place, as if sprouting from the mountain itself. It was a marvel of stone and steel, but it was far from finished, so Sawyer wasn’t sure what to expect as they set out, searching for Zoe.

She wasn’t in the half-finished room at the top of the stairs. She wasn’t on the wide platform that overlooked the sweeping vista. As they walked across the uneven ground, Sawyer fought against the bad feeling that was growing heavy in his stomach. Because, with every step, they got closer to the railing. With every step, he remembered the look on Zoe’s face when she said,You’re just like your fatherand hurled herself into the abyss.

Surely she wasn’t going to try that again? Because, this time, they were much, much higher and Kozlov was much, much angrier, and there was no darkness now. Just a thick cover of clouds filling the air and threatening snow.

“I am out of patience.” Kozlov was giving Sergei a look that saidthis looks like a good place to dump a bodywhen a voice cut through the cold, thin air.

“Hello! Hi there! Excuse me!”

Zoe.

The clouds seemed to part as Sawyer inched closer to the railing and the voice that was saying, “Welcome to the hostage exchange!”

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There was an iPad on an easel by the railing and Zoe’s face was staring back at them. Smiling. Safe. He almost fell to his knees in relief becauseZoe was safe. And, most of all, she was far out of Kozlov’s reach. He just hoped she stayed that way.

“I hope everyone had a good trip? Didn’t get too cold on the cable car? I started to tell you to wear layers, but I didn’t want to overstep. This is my first hostage exchange. How am I doing?”

“You are out of time,” Kozlov told her. “Where is my drive?”

Sergei pointed his gun at the back of Alex’s head, then shifted a little, like he didn’t want to get brains all over him by standing downwind.

“Now, now. We’ll get to that,” Zoe said calmly. “Fun fact: Did you know they have cameras all over that construction site for people to watch the progress and for safety protocols, and, well, I won’t bore you with the details? Just... smile. You’re on camera! Now we’re not broadcastinglive, of course. But the footage is being stored on three clouds even as we speak. Which is ironic because we’re actuallyina cloud right now—how cool is that? I thought—”

“Zoe!” This time Alex was the one who snapped.

“So here’s how it’s going to work.” iPad Zoe put on herserious face. “You are currently on Mount Fratello, which, as you know, is in Switzerland. But did you know the mountain actually straddles the Italian border and there’s an almost identical peak on the other side? And, well, surprise! That’s where I am! See? Yoo-hoo! Over here!”

“Did my sister just sayyoo-hooduring a hostage exchange?” Alex sounded like she wanted to die of embarrassment—like maybe she was going to turn around and beg Sergei to pull the trigger.

But Sawyer was spinning, searching the foggy sky for the familiar figure on the other side, waving from a construction site that was a mirror image of their own.

---