Page 41 of No Reason to Trust

“Where are they?” the agent said. “I want to get out of here as fast as possible.”

“May I see your ID and badge, please?” Jake asked, holding out his hand.

The agent handed Jake his ID and flashed his badge at him. Jake handed the ID back and nodded. “Don’t want to take any chances. They’re waiting in the garage two houses down. Drive down there, and I’ll bring them out.”

“Yeah. I don’t want to be in this neighborhood any longer than I need to be.”

“You grow up in the Bratva?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, and I know how vicious those animals can be,” Roman said. “Let’s get my cargo loaded so we can get out of here.”

Five minutes later, Sergei’s bags were loaded into the trunk of Petrov’s car, and Sergei and his wife were in the back seat. “Hate to break up the party, but we’re out of here,” Roman said. He handed Jake a card. “Call me so I can fill you in on how everything goes.”

“We’ll do that,” Jake said. He leaned toward the car and Sergei rolled down the window. “Good luck. You’re safe now. I hope you have a great life.”

Sergei stared at him. Blew out a breath. “Thanks to you, we will.”

The window rolled up, and the bureau car accelerated down the alley. Less than a minute later, it had disappeared.

Livvy exhaled, and her relief echoed Jake’s. “You think we’ll hear how they’re doing?” she asked.

“Diana can probably find out for us. But they’re safe now. That’s the important thing.”

“Yeah.”

They walked to the end of the alley, then emerged on the street behind Sergei’s house. Heading toward their hotel, they both glanced down the street toward Sergei’s house. There hadn’t been any lights on when they’d left, but now it looked as if every light in the house was on. Livvy stopped to stare, until Jake took her elbow and tugged her across the street. “Don’t look as though you’re watching,” he said. “Thank God we got them out in time.”

“Yeah. Ten or fifteen minutes made a huge difference.”

As a door opened in one of the houses, Jake draped an arm over Livvy’s shoulders. “We need to sell the story that we’re out on a date,” he murmured when he felt her tense beneath his arm. “Tuck yourself into me.”

His back burned as if someone stared at them, but he didn’t allow himself to look over his shoulder. His shoulders tensed, as if waiting for a bullet to hit him, but nothing happened as they walked at a slow and steady pace. Jake dropped a kiss on Livvy’s head, using it to look down the block at Sergei’s house. A man stood on the stoop, and it looked as if he was talking to someone inside the house.

Jake and Livvy continued at that same slow, casual speed, as if they were a couple returning from a date and reluctant for it to end. When they finally reached the next street and were hidden from whoever was at Sergei’s house, Jake relaxed, but he didn’t remove his arm from Livvy’s shoulders. “Gotta make it look real,” he murmured. “Coming home from a date.”

“Yeah, I got it,” she said, tucking herself into his side.

Twenty minutes later, they were back in their hotel room. As soon as the door was closed, Livvy flopped onto the couch.

Jake dropped down beside her. “Thank God we got Sergei and his wife out when we did,” he said. “Whoever was in their house wasn’t looking to throw a party for them.” He drew a shuddering breath of relief. “Now we just have to deal with the guys who want to killme.”

Chapter 16

The following morning, an hour before Jake was due in the Bratva office, he swallowed hard, picked up his phone and called Alexei. The other man answered warily. “Yes. Who is this?”

“Dunbar. I’m supposed to meet with you in an hour.”

“Yes, Mr. Dunbar,” Alexei said. “We are anxious to meet with you.”

“I’m making a few changes,” Jake said. “We won’t be meeting in your office. We’ll be meeting in the fast-food restaurant across the street from your building. At ten this morning. How many men will be in your group?”

There was dead silence on the line. Finally Alexei said, “This is not how we conduct business. We don’t meet in public.” His voice was cold.

“Sorry,” Jake said. “But it’s the wayIconduct business. It’s either meet in the restaurant at ten or the meeting is off.”

A tense silence lingered over the line. After a too-long moment, Alexei said, “Why do you not want to meet in our office?”

“I don’t like private offices. I’m surprised Nelson never told you that. I want to meet in a public space. The restaurant across the street works better. If that’s not acceptable to you, I’ll head back to Washington D.C.”

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