Page 51 of France Face-Off
At least, she thought that was all there was between her and the exit. She didn’t know what other security measures were in place or if the occupants of the building had all vacated the premises.
“You might as well come out,” Natalya called, her voice echoing against the pipes and walls and then disappearing into the wailing noise of the alarm. “There is only one way out of this building, and my people are waiting outside.”
Alex didn’t respond. Her best bet was to move quietly and sneak up behind the woman. It was hard to do on the metal mesh of the catwalk, even with the blare of the alarm. She had no other choice. Remaining hidden behind the column indefinitely was not an option. The entire complex could explode at any time. Looking around, she found a metal ladder that led to the level below, and it was behind the column, which would provide the concealment she’d need to make the descent without Natalya shooting her before she reached the bottom. Alex swung her leg over the rail, held onto the sides of the ladder and eased her way down as quietly as she could.
When she reached the bottom, she stepped off onto a solid floor. As she turned, the barrel of a gun pressed against her throat. The scent of perfume wafted around her.
Natalya stood before her, a smirk curling the edge of her lips. “You can’t be allowed to leave this facility alive,” she said. “You were supposed to die two years ago. The men I sent were incompetent. They didn’t finish the job, but I will.”
Alex cursed beneath her breath. If she so much as flinched, the woman would pull the trigger, and that would be the end of her quest for vengeance.
“You have been the one loose thread that needed to be tied. I wasn’t sure you were a threat until Baranovsky stole you away from the conference. I figured he knew you had what your parents stole from me, and he was going to use it to cheat me out of what he owes me.”
Alex wanted to take this woman out, but Natalya had the upper hand with a gun pointed at her and her finger on the trigger. “You’re both thieves and deserve each other,” Alex said through gritted teeth.
Natalya’s eyes narrowed. “Your parents were no better. They stole from me. For that, they had to die.”
“You destroyed the flash drive. I have nothing to hold against you.”
The woman snorted. “Maybe so, but now you know who I am.”
“And who is that?” Alex said. “The person holding companies and nations hostage with ransomware? You prey on others.”
“I prey on stupid people.”
“You put people at risk of dying,” Alex said, intent on keeping the woman distracted while she figured out how to get away without catching a bullet. “Without natural gas, many will freeze to death.”
“All they have to do is pay, and it’s theirs,” Natalya said.
Alex glared at her. “It’s blackmail…extortion.”
“It’s business,” she said. “My business.”
“And illegal.”
“You do what you have to do to make a living,” Natalya said. “Now that the pirated copy is destroyed, I have no use for you.”
“Then let me go,” Alex said.
Natalya shook her head. “Can’t. You know too much.”
“And so do we,” said a deep, familiar voice from the shadows behind Natalya. “Put down the gun.”
Before Alex could react, Natalya grabbed a handful of Alex’s hair and yanked her around, using her as a shield.
Alex’s heart leaped when she looked past Natalya to see Dane with a gun in his hand.
Natalya laughed. “You have to go through her to get to me. I’ll put a bullet in her before you can pull the trigger.”
Alex had just about had more than she could stand of the Russian mafia interpreter bitch. She reached up, grabbed the woman’s hand with the gun and yanked it down.
Natalya pulled the trigger. The bullet went wide.
Alex turned and wrestled the woman for the gun. She’d be damned if she let Natalya get away with anything else. She was going down. Now. Today.
But damn, the woman had a strong grip on the gun.
Alex smashed the woman’s hand against the metal ladder. “Put. The. Gun. Down.”
