Page 40 of No Reason to Trust

She froze, staring at Jake. He nodded at her. “Go ahead and answer it. And stay calm. They don’t need to hear you losing your shit.”

Livvy nodded, then took a deep breath. After the phone rang twice more, she connected the call. “Hello?”

“Is this the, uh, woman who gave me her phone number?” Sergei’s voice.

“Yes, it is. Who is this?”

“This is Sergei. From this morning.”

“I remember who you are, Sergei. Do you want us to help you?”

“Yes. Me and my wife want to leave our house and find a safe refuge. You said you could provide that.”

“Yes,” Livvy said, businesslike and brisk. “I’ll call my local contact with the FBI in Brooklyn. He will pick you up.”

“You and your partner will be here, right?”

She shot her gaze to Jake. “Do you want us to be there?”

“Yes,” Sergei said. “So we can be sure that the person picking us up is the person it’s supposed to be.”

“I’ve never met him, but I have his name and I’ll ask for his ID. My partner and I will meet you.” She glanced at Jake, and he nodded. “Do you have all your things packed and ready to go?” she asked.

“We do. Should we wait in the living room?”

“No way,” Livvy said. “They’ll go to your house first. I’d like you to go out the back door and into the alley. Don’t go into your garage. Walk down a few houses and go into a garage several houses away from your house. Be very quiet so the homeowners don’t notice. Tell me your address, and we’ll find you in the alley.”

Sergei hesitated for a long moment, then rattled off his address.

“Okay, good. I’ll call the agent who’s going to assist you, then my partner and I will walk over to your address. We won’t approach the front door, in case anyone’s watching. We’ll walk into the alley and find you. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so.”

“Okay. My wife and I will see you then.”

Sergei cut the connection, and Jake was already reaching for a jacket. He put his gun into a holster beneath his left arm, and Livvy did the same. Less than five minutes later, they left their room and headed down the elevator.

It took about fifteen minutes to walk to Sergei’s address. The agent who’d be assisting Sergei had said he’d arrive in about a half-hour. When they reached Sergei’s house, they continued past it and turned down the side street. Then, checking to make sure there wasn’t anyone around, Livvy and Jake ducked into the alley. They knew which garage belonged to Sergei, and they kept walking past it. The side door of the garage three houses down was ajar.

Livvy looked at Jake, who nodded as he pulled out his gun. Livvy did the same, then they approached the door. Standing on one side of the door, Jake murmured, “Sergei, are you in this garage?”

The door swung open and Sergei stuck his head out. Nodded when he spotted them. “Come into the garage to wait with us.”

“Why don’t you and your wife come out here?” Jake countered. “We’ll wait in the alley.”

Sergei frowned. “What if members of my gang show up?”

“They’re going to go to your house first. They’ll pound on the door. Ring the doorbell. We’ll hear them from here. If we hear your back door open, we’ll retreat into the garage. Your ride should be here soon,” Jake said. He touched Sergei’s shoulder. “What time would you expect members of your group to show up?”

“Not until later. Eleven or twelve tonight.”

Sergei stood with them in the dark alley. His wife’s pale face appeared in the doorway, then she stepped back so she was out of sight. A cat dashed through the yard, startling them, and Sergei flinched as the cat disappeared into the blackness at the side of the house.

In the darkness, a night bird called above them. The sound mournful. Somber, as if he knew what Sergei faced.

The bright headlights of a car turned into the alley. “Back in the garage,” Jake ordered. “Liv and I will see who this is.” He hoped to God it was Roman Peters, come to retrieve Sergei and his wife.

The car rolled to a stop at Sergei’s garage. After waiting a few moments, Jake began walking toward the car, holding his FBi badge in front of him. The driver’s side door opened and a tall, thin man stepped out. “You Sergei?” he asked quietly when Jake and Livvy got close.

“No,” Jake said. “Jake Dunbar, FBI agent from D.C. This is Olivia Williams, former FBI agent. We’re the ones who approached Sergei.”

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