In For the Kill (McClouds & Friends #11)(111)

The guy shifted his stance and shot the door at a sharp angle.

Boom. The sound hit Sveti’s body like the mallet of a gong. The heavy door swung inward, a jagged hole where the lock had been.

The dark room was empty.

They stared into the space, silent. Everything was so clear. Every leaf, every thorn sharply outlined. The bird calls were crystalline and shrill. The orange-yellow of the prickly pear fruit glowed in the half-light of dusk, hanging voluptuously out of the leathery, scarred cactus.

Sveti flexed her hands to see if she could touch Liv’s ring, and Josef’s grip tightened inexorably, until the bones ground.

She somehow managed not to scream. After Yuri, she knew that reacting to pain only excited such monsters. Made them want more.

Sasha’s face, beneath the flow of blood from his nose, was a mask of blank bewilderment.

“You dare to make a fool of me?” Pavel asked softly. “Still?”

“No,” Sasha said. His mouth shook. “It . . . it was here.”

Pavel grunted. “Then the sneaky bitch moved it. She trusted you as much as I do. Good judge of character, ey? Even at betrayal, you are a failure.” He looked at Sveti. “Can you tell me where my property is?”

Sveti shook her head.

Pavel gestured at Sam. He was jolted forward by the gun between his shoulder blades. “You,” he said in English. “Petrie, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know where the generators are,” Sam said flatly.

“Very well. Since no more business can be conducted, we will move on to the entertainment of the evening,” he said in English. “Josef, take Svetlana into that room and teach my son the price of betrayal.”

“No!” Sasha yelled hoarsely, lurching to his feet. “Tato, no!”

Josef made a thick, snarling sound in his throat and picked Sveti up. He hauled her toward the door.

“Wait,” Sam said sharply.

All eyes swiveled to Sam. “I wouldn’t do that,” Sam said to Pavel. “She’s the only one who could find your property for you.”

“Could she?” Pavel said. “She could tell us nothing in Portland. Granted, you showed up before Josef could show his skill, but still.”

“Sonia sent her a letter.” Sam’s gaze darted to her, full of urgency. “Full of clues. She’s been working them out. It hasn’t quite jelled yet. But she’s the only one who could put it together.”

Pavel turned to Sveti. “Do you have this letter?”

“It’s at the hotel,” she said. “With my things. In my suitcase.”

“You are lying.” Pavel gestured at Josef. “Go on. Begin.”

“It’s The Sword of Cain, right?” Sam said. “It’s all in the letter. Numbers, directions. She just has to crack the code. Don’t be so quick to kill the golden goose, like you did with Sonia. Sveti’s the key.”

Sveti’s body clenched with dread. Shut up, shut up, please. Do not draw that man’s lethal attention upon yourself any sooner than you have to. But it was too late. Pavel had turned his snakelike gaze on Sam.

He was considering Sam now. Evaluating how much pain he could inflict. With him, upon him. How best to inflict it.

“You are smart boy, hmm?” Pavel said. “Her father thought he was smart, too. You know what I think? I think you’re a lying prick. You’re trying to buy time. There’s no time for sale. You are of no use to us, except as incentive. It appears she likes you. We studied you, after Portland. Spoiled rich boy, playing at being cop, no?”

“If you say so,” Sam said evenly.

“What a stupid game to play.” Pavel walked around him, appraising him. “I was there, the day Sergei Ardov’s guts were ripped out and piled onto his chest. I’m sure she told you the story.”

Sveti made a barely human sound. The realization was so sharp, like a knife stabbing. The reason she was so terrified of loving Sam. The reason she panicked and always held herself back.

It was because of this. It was her worst, depths-of-hell nightmare, and she had made it come true. With her own hands.

A muscle twitched in Sam’s jaw. “I heard about that, yes.”

“I will slice you open right here. Pull your bowels out while you watch,” Pavel mused. “Just like her father. It seems appropriate. The cunt can watch us begin and then hurry back to her hotel with one of my men to fetch her letter. We will see how long it takes her to solve this puzzle while we unravel your guts. She’ll have a time margin, you see. Sergei lasted, oh, the better part of a day, but he was a tough old bastard, with Cossack blood. You Americans are soft. I give you three hours, maybe less. You’ll die of shock, and fear.” He smiled. “And surprise,” he taunted, “that it’s actually happening.”

He looked at Sveti, enjoying her panic. “We’ll cut him carefully,” he said. “He won’t bleed out. He’ll lie here with his abdominal cavity wide open, intestines spread out for the flies to sample. Are you motivated?” He chuckled. “Yevgeni, show them the knife you’ll use.”

“Tato,” Sasha begged. “Don’t. Please.”

“And you!” Pavel backhanded his son, sending him reeling. “I will think of something special for you, too. You thought you were so clever, hiding here? You think you are smarter than me? We just followed her!”