Extreme Danger (McClouds & Friends #5)(93)

It rang, seconds later. She checked the display. Mr. Big.

Hah. Why was she not surprised?



Ringing, thank God. Three rings, and she finally picked up.

“Hello? Nick?” She sounded wary.

“Becca. Where are you?” He tried to keep his voice expressionless.

All activity in the workroom abruptly froze. Davy swiveled his head from the computer screen. Seth, who was overhand chinning on the exercise bar, stopped in midpull and just hung there, muscles locked, eyes slitted. Alex Aaro, the ex-Ranger from Brighton Beach whom they had just briefed, crossed his thickly muscled arms over his broad chest and listened, his broad Slavic face impassive.

“Uh. Well, it’s a long, complicated story,” she began. “I—”

“Where the f*ck are you?” This time, anger and fear punched through, undisguised.

Becca was unnerved by its force. “Calm down. I’m fine. And I—”

“You told me you were working at the club until midnight!”

“And what makes you think I wasn’t?” Her voice was tart.

He was ready for that one. “Because your phone was out of area. I know Bothell’s covered. We were messaging the entire goddamn day. So don’t even try to jerk me around.”

Desperate subtext. Please do not lie to me. Do not lie. Do not.

“Oh,” she said, more subdued. “That’s true. I’m sorry if I worried you. I haven’t had a chance to stop and call from a land line—”

“Where are you?” he bellowed.

Becca made an irritated chuffing sound. “Don’t yell, and stop interrupting me. My nerves are shot to hell already. I’m on the highway. I was in Kimble. I saw Mathes at the banquet, and got fired from my job—”

“Fired from your job? What the hell—You saw who? Who the f*ck is this Mathes?” He felt like he was about to hyperventilate.

“Richard Mathes. The guy who came to see Zhoglo on the island. He’s a famous surgeon, apparently, and he was there, at the banquet. That I organized. And I—”

“Holy Jesus. And you didn’t call me?” His voice crackled with outrage. “Did he see you?”

“I don’t think so. And I would have, except that I overheard this weird conversation he had with his mistress, and then I ended up following her car. It all happened really fast, and by the time I thought to call you, my cell was out of area, but I couldn’t stop—”

“Wait a minute,” he said. “Let me make sure I’ve got this straight. You saw Zhoglo’s dinner guest at your banquet. You chose not to call me. Then, you spied on his conversation with his mistress. You chose not to call me once again. Then you followed her goddamn car?”

The other men in the room exchanged glances. Seth thudded to the ground and whistled.

“That’s about the size of it,” she said, sounding sheepish. “I lost her for a while when this black Mercedes SUV came to pick her up, and I couldn’t get out of the parking lot fast enough to see where they—”

“Are you out of your f*cking mind?” He was on his feet now, yelling into the phone. Seth grimaced, made a cut-it-out slicing gesture with his finger. Davy waved his arms, mouthing cool it, cool it.

She paused for a moment. “Not at all,” she said, in her haughtiest voice. “I’m making an effort to help. That’s quite a different thing.”

“Like hell it is!” he shouted.

“I was heading for that hotel where I was supposed to meet you, but if you’re just going to scream and carry on, I’ll pass, and go home.”

“No!” He sucked in a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, and struggled to get a grip on himself. It was like grappling with a gigantic, muscular, greased octopus. “It’s not safe. Go to the hotel. I’ll meet you there.”

“What for? To scream at me some more?”

He spoke slowly and carefully through clenched teeth. “Please, go to the hotel,” he said. “You scared the living shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” she murmured, finally sounding a little contrite. “OK, then. I’ll tell you the whole story at the hotel. Till then. Bye.”

The connection broke, and the force that had been holding the phone up to his ear deserted him. His arm flopped to his side and his knees gave way, dumping him into his chair.

So. She hadn’t been abducted, tortured, murdered. And she was not running away from him. She was not lying to him, either. No, she was just off her rocker. Which was a whole different problem.

He breathed down the bizarre urge to burst into tears. Not in front of these guys, who were giving him assorted funny looks.

“Chick’s got nerve,” Davy observed, his voice dry.

“Bug-f*ck crazy,” was Aaro’s comment.

“Those are the fun ones,” Seth said with relish. “So she tailed this bad guy’s mistress, huh? Hot damn. I can’t wait to meet this girl. She sounds like a real firecracker. I’ll tell Margot to put her at our table.”

Nick barely heard them. “I’ve got to go,” he said, distractedly.

“Yeah, you do,” Seth said. “We’ve got things under control. We’ll analyze the vid at Pavel’s house and get something cobbled up tonight. Aaro’s on the Ludmilla monitors. So go on, have some fun. Go get ’em, tiger. Show that chick who’s boss.”