The Romanov Ransom

46

Remi watched as Felix, one of the Russian agents, received a text from Tatiana. “They’re waiting to be picked up in front of the hotel,” Felix said, putting enough money on the table to cover dinner. “I want to make sure they get off okay.”

Felix walked to the door, Sam, Remi, and Nika right behind him. They stood in front of the restaurant, the two Russian agents watching the hotel. Sam glanced that way, then looked down the street in the opposite direction. Remi followed his gaze, catching sight of a parked vehicle with its emergency flashers on, then, behind it, another car, its blinking amber lights reflecting off the windshield. Nothing too suspicious until she saw a tall man coming up behind the car on the passenger side. He turned, looking their way, his gaze sliding right past Sam and Remi to Felix and Nika.

“Sam,” Remi said. “Did you—”

“I saw it. Call Tatiana,” he told Felix as he handed Remi his backpack. “They know we’re here.”

“Of course they do,” Felix said, taking out his phone. He pressed her number, then put the phone to his ear, as the vehicle sped off toward the hotel. “You were supposed to be going to get something to eat.”

“They weren’t looking at us,” Sam said. “They were looking at you.”

“It’s going to voice mail,” Felix said.

“Text her,” Sam called out as he raced toward the hotel. “Tell her they know.”

He broke into a run. Remi threw his backpack over her shoulder and ran after him. Within seconds, the Guard’s car pulled to the curb in front of the hotel, the brake lights glowing red. Tatiana and Viktor were there, waiting. Tatiana slid her phone from her pocket, looking at the screen, as someone jumped out of the front passenger seat. He grabbed her arm, jerking her toward the car. Viktor lunged forward, trying to stop him. A gunshot cracked as Sam ran into the street, dodging cars as he crossed. Viktor fell. The man, using Tatiana as a shield, aimed at Sam.

Remi stepped off the curb, racing across, as the man fired again, pulling Tatiana into the car. The vehicle sped off, tires screeching. A smell of burnt rubber assaulted her as she searched for Sam, heart clenching when she found him on the ground, hunched over Viktor. “Sam!”

He didn’t move.

Remi’s heart constricted as she ran toward him, praying he was okay. “Sam!”

He looked up at her, his hands covered with blood. “Remi…”

“Are you—”

“I’m fine. It’s Viktor.”

“Leopold…” Viktor said, “…shot me.” Viktor was bleeding from his left shoulder, and Sam was putting pressure on the wound.

“We’re so sorry,” Sam told him. “We didn’t see them until too late.”

“Not your fault… At least she gave us a bargaining chip.”

“A what?” Nika asked, coming up behind Remi.

Viktor opened his hand, revealing the key. “She threw it at me as they sped off.”

“What does it belong to?” Nika asked.

“We’ll figure that out later,” Sam said. “First, we need to get Viktor some medical attention.”

“I’m fine.”

“Sure you are,” Sam said as he and Felix helped him to his feet. “Let’s keep you that way.”

“Tatiana’s phone,” Viktor said as he slid his own phone from his pocket. “If she still has it, we can follow her.” His hand shook as he opened the app that would locate the device. They watched as the screen lit up with a map, a small icon indicating her phone was not too far from where they were. It wasn’t moving. He and Sam both glanced that direction. Clearly, Rolfe and Leopold must have anticipated they’d be followed so they tossed it from the window. “I need to find it. There are numbers on there…” He winced in pain when he tried to move.

“Easy, there,” Sam said.

Remi heard sirens. “The police are coming.”

Viktor looked around at the gathering crowd. “Take the key,” he told Sam.

“No,” Nika said, grabbing it before Sam could. “We should keep it.”

“Nika,” Viktor said. When she failed to turn it over, he spoke to her in Russian.

Sam couldn’t understand a word, but he definitely understood the terse tone. She glanced down at the key in her hand, then closed her fingers around it, saying, “Tatiana’s our concern, not theirs.”

“Give it to him. I trust him to do the right thing.”

It was a moment before she opened her hand, allowing Sam to take it.

The sirens grew closer. “You and your wife should go,” Viktor told Sam. “We can direct the investigation to keep you out of it. Better for you to find answers to help Tatiana than spend hours being questioned.”

Sam took another look around, searching for Guardsmen lurking nearby. No one seemed out of place, the expressions he saw on the faces of bystanders a mix of curiosity and concern. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

Viktor, looking paler by the second, nodded, as Felix supported him. “I’ll be in touch. Find that phone,” he said as the first patrol car pulled up. “Get out of here.”

Sam wiped his bloody hand on his pants, took his backpack from Remi, then casually stepped with her into the crowd of onlookers. The two weaved their way through, people parting around them, then pressing together again, unaware they were even involved. As the police were stepping out of the car, they were nearly a half block away, melting into the pedestrians who either weren’t aware what was going on, or had lost interest.

When they reached the corner, Sam stopped. “Tatiana’s phone was sending out a signal from around here.”

“Aren’t those things notoriously inaccurate?”

“It gives the general vicinity. It’s a start. You take this side of the street, I’ll take the other. But keep an eye on what’s going on over there. If anyone looks like they’re coming this way, we’re out of here.”

Sam crossed over as Remi glanced back toward the crowd, grateful that no one seemed to be watching them. When she turned back, Sam was already on the other side, walking along the curb, checking the street and the sidewalk. She did the same, hoping that if they did find it, it hadn’t been run over too many times. After several minutes of searching, she was about to suggest that they call, hoping they might hear it ring. When she looked over, Sam was bending down behind a parked car, picking it up.

“Found it!” he called out. He waited for a car to pass, then crossed back over. The screen lit up when he tried to gain access. It was locked. He glanced down the street toward the hotel, seeing someone pointing their direction. “Time to get out of here,” he told Remi, leading her around the corner, stopping as they came face-to-face with two men, both armed with knives.