Page 106 of Lethal Abduction

Shame mingles with confusion and a cold sense of loneliness.I don’t understand this strange alliance between Dimitry and my father, any more than I do how Dad wound up in a Bangkok bar drawing the attention of triads.

But I know one thing.

He can’t stay here.

Somehow, I have to convince him to go home without me.

“Dad.” I put my hand on his arm. “Please listen to me. Embassies and governments don’t matter to the people chasing me, and they can’t help me outrun them. Dimitry can. And he can keep you and Mum safe.” I squeeze his arm. “I wish it was different,” I say quietly. “I wish, more than anything, that I hadn’t messed up so badly, years ago. But I can’t undo it now, any more than I can stop these people from looking for me.”

I brace myself to deliver thecoup de grâce.

“Dimitry is my only chance to survive this, Dad. I trust him. I need you to trust him, too.”

That much, at least, is the truth.

What I don’t know is what happens afterwards.

Because the other truth is that whilst I trust Dimitry to face whatever is coming for us, I’m pretty damned sure that hisafterwardsdoesn’t include taking me back.

I can read it in every taut muscle in his body, in the way he won’t so much as look at me. Dimitry might have come for me, but whatever his reason for doing so, I’m damned sure it isn’t because he wants me back.

And that doesn’t matter now,I think dully. What matters is keeping my parents alive. Getting the deal with Rodrigo done. And then getting as far away from everyone as fast as I can, until and unless Rodrigo somehow manages to do what his father couldn’t.

“We’re here.” Paddy pulls the car to a halt at the end of a dark alley, where a local longboat with a canopy over it is moored to a small wooden dock. “I’ll do the deal,” he says as hegets out. I notice no overhead light turns on as he does. “Dimitry, you and Abby keep your heads down until it’s done. Luke, come with me.”

The two men close their doors, leaving the three of us alone in the darkness and awkward silence.

“At least tell me what your plan is.” My father isn’t looking at me. He’s looking at Dimitry.

“I can’t. Not yet.” Dimitry answers him calmly, not flinching at the harsh tone in Dad’s voice. “I need to get the full picture first.”

“How do you know they haven’t tracked you here?” My father looks around warily.

“I don’t.” Dimitry’s fingers drum his leg, a surefire indication of just how tense he is. “Which is why I need to get Abby out of here as quickly as possible. And why I need you to do exactly as Luke and Paddy say.”

“For Chrissakes.” Dad rubs his hand over his face. His exhaustion and worry break my heart. “What a fucking mess.”

He glances at me. “I promised your mum I’d bring you home, love,” he says quietly. “How am I supposed to face her now?”

Oh, God. Please don’t.Guilt crushes the breath from me.

To my relief, Dimitry speaks when I can’t. “Tell Susan the same thing I told you, Pete. That I’m going to bring her daughter home safely.”

My father gives him a cynical look. “You clearly don’t know my wife, mate.”

“Maybe not.” For the first time, the trace of a smile ghosts Dimitry’s mouth. “If she’s anything like her daughter, she might throw a few things at your head, but she’ll also respect Abby’s decision. I need you to do that as well.”

My father shakes his head slowly, looking between us. His eyes settle on my bruises, and his face darkens. “Promise me one thing,” he says, giving Dimitry a flinty stare. “Promiseyou’ll cut the balls off the bastard that did this to my daughter.”

The look that crosses Dimitry’s face is cold enough to freeze lava. “Oh,” he says softly. “That, I can fucking promise, Mr. Chalmers.”

Dad nods at him curtly.

Luke opens the door and throws a bundle of clothes at Dimitry and me. “Something a bit less conspicuous,” he says, smiling. He holds up a sarong to shield me as I wriggle into the loose fisherman’s trousers, T-shirt, and sandals, aware of Dimitry changing on the other side of the car.

On the dock, Paddy turns and gives a low whistle to signal the all clear.

“Time to go,” Luke says.

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