“Just a little smudged. Do I look like I’ve been through hell?” The sirens wailing down the street propelled Alexei into motion again. “Let’s keep walking.”
Britt tripped and looked down at her sandal. “My sandal’s broken.”
Alexei glanced up and down the street. “Let’s go to that fast-food restaurant and clean up in the bathroom before we go back to the hotel.”
By the time Britt washed the soot and dirt from her face, arms and legs, ran her hands through her tangled, smoky hair and returned to the restaurant, Alexei was seated at a plastic table with two drinks in front of him.
He looked up from his phone, where he was texting. “I got you a diet soda, but it’s self-serve, so you can dump that and get what you want.”
“This is fine.” She collapsed into the hard chair across from him and sucked down the soda, the cold drink soothing to her scratchy throat. She tipped her drink toward his phone, as he placed it on the table. “Texting Ariel?”
“Yeah. That’s the downside to being official—I have to report everything, especially if I want the task force to take action.”
“Like covering up the owner of an exploding car?”
“Exactly.”
Britt toyed with her straw, almost afraid to ask the next logical question. She cleared her throat. “How’d they know I was at the hospital?”
“We weren’t followed. I know that for a fact. I kept watch and took a few evasive moves on our way from the diner to the hospital. There’s no way someone followed us.”
“That means...?”
“It means they put a tracker on your car.”
She squeezed her cup so hard, she popped the lid. “When and why did they do that?”
“You’re kidding, right? The Belkins have several reasons to suspect you—your so-called date with Jerome the night they offed him, your presence outside the room where they were holding a drugged waitress and your conversations with a transient who probably knows more about the Tattle-Tale than he realizes. When you showed up at the club and you didn’t even have a shift, they figured enough was enough.”
“Do you think Stepan told Sergei I was there, and they put the bug on my car then?”
“Probably. I hope so.”
“Really?” She shook the ice in her cup. “Why is that?”
“Because if they put the tracker on your car last night during the party, they know you went to a hotel in Beverly Hills instead of back to your hovel in Hollywood.”
“As it is, they know I left the club, stopped by the homeless hangout under the freeway, went to a diner down the street and then went to the hospital. That’s not incriminating.”
“The same hospital where Tatyana’s baby is currently taking up a bassinet in the nursery?”
“The same hospital where the ambulance took Calvin after his beating. Wouldn’t it make sense I’d check up on him?”
“Maybe.” Alexei shrugged and winced. “Until they realize Tatyana’s hospital band is missing. They just tried to kill you, Britt. I don’t think Belkin is buying that you were at Cedars-Sinai to check on Calvin—or at least he’s not taking any chances.”
Britt propped her forehead in her hand, and one tear leaked from the corner of her eye. “If they tried to kill me for my suspicious behavior, they must’ve killed Leanna—only she didn’t have a navy SEAL protecting her. As usual, I lead the charmed life, and she gets the short end of the stick.”
The tear rolled down her cheek and trembled on the edge of her jaw until Alexei dabbed at it with his rough fingertip. He whispered, “I would’ve helped Leanna if I could have, too.”
Tilting her head, she rested her cheek in the palm of his hand. “I know you would have, but you were here for me, not her.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for Leanna, but I thank God I was here for you.” He traced the shell of her ear. “Let’s get back to the hotel so I can put some queries into motion—we’re going to find out everything we can about Tatyana and the birth of that baby.”
When they got back to the hotel, Britt collapsed on the sofa and closed her eyes. “I suppose this means I can’t return to work at the Tattle-Tale.”
The cushion next to hers sank as Alexei sat next to her, and her body tilted toward his, her shoulder bumping his. He felt solid, and she didn’t move, resting against him.
“Now that they’ve determined you’re public enemy number one, they could do anything to you there—drug you, arrange for an accident, kidnap you. No, you’re not going back.” He held out his phone, cupped in his hand. “My sources are already expunging your name from that car, and Ariel has someone hacking the records at Cedars-Sinai to get information on Tatyana and her baby, although that’s not where she wants my focus.”
Britt opened one eye and rolled her head to the side. “She wants you back on the arms dealer.”
“That’s what’s going to bring down Belkin.” He kissed the top of her head. “You must be starving. It’s late for dinner.”
“My stomach is still in knots. I don’t know if I could eat anything.”
“You managed to wolf down a grilled cheese sandwich after that transient kicked the stuffing out of you.”
“Yeah, then things escalated a hundredfold from getting punched a few times to getting my car blown up.” Her cell phone buzzed from her purse on the floor, and she leaned over to grab it.
Alexei put his hand on her arm and asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s—” she peered at the display and bolted upright “—it’s that number from before—the woman who told me about Tatyana’s baby. Maybe she knows we were at the hospital.”
Before he could stop her, she answered the call and put it on speaker for Alexei to hear. “Hello?”
“Don’t hello me, you Russian whore.”
Britt jerked her head to the side to stare at Alexei, whose mouth had dropped open.
“Excuse me?” She tried to put on her best Russian accent.
“I’ve been trying to catch my husband, Gary, for months now, and I finally found your number on his phone.”
“Gary?”
“Don’t play dumb. I know he’s been sneaking around behind my back to see you. I even know your name—Mila.”
Britt covered her mouth with her hand. “I—I...”
“You’d better find some other sugar daddy. I’m warning you. Stay away from my husband.”
The outraged wife ended the call, and Britt dropped the phone. “It was Mila. She called me from her boyfriend’s phone to tell me about Tatyana’s baby.”
“We can’t be absolutely sure it was Mila. It could’ve been any of the women. Maybe this Gary was at a party with several of the dancers from the club. It could’ve been any one of them.”
“Maybe, but there’s one sure way to find out.”
“How are you going to get in touch with Mila? You’re not going back to the club.”
“I know she’s working tonight. It’s her last night, and the other women are having a party for her at Rage.”
“Rage? Why would they pick that place?”
“I don’t know, but I plan to be there.”
“Absolutely not. What if the Belkins are there?”
“The Belkins aren’t going to be there. This is for the women only. Stepan told me.”
“You asked Stepan about the party?” He drove two fingers against his temple and massaged.
“I just wanted to confirm it was Mila’s last night. Why would he be suspicious about that? I told him I wasn’t going.”
“Sergei is obviously suspicious about everything you say and do, and Stepan seems to be a loyal lackey.”
“I’m going, and...I want you there, too.”
“Nothing could keep me away.” He cupped her face in his hands, and his blue eyes blazed in the same way they did when he talked ab
out avenging his father’s death.
An answering flame leaped in her heart along with the hope that this time that passion burned for her.
* * *
BRITT’S TAXI PULLED up in front of the Rage nightclub at two thirty in the morning, and she didn’t even look at the spot where Jerome had been felled. Instead, she straightened her tight skirt and strutted to the door.
After 2:00 a.m., Rage turned into a private club, but that just meant an increase in the cover charge and a more exclusive clientele as the club turned away potential patrons. The bouncer didn’t turn her away, and Britt sashayed into the dark, crowded room.
High-pitched giggling led her to the corner where the women from the Tattle-Tale clustered around two or three sofas and several bottles of expensive champagne.
Britt waved to a few of the women and tried to catch Mila’s eye, but the dancer didn’t even look up when Britt joined the group. Maybe Alexei had been right and some other woman had called her from Gary’s phone.
Theanessa bumped Britt’s arm. “You didn’t work tonight, Barbie?”
“I had the night off, but I didn’t want to miss the party.”
Mila’s gaze shifted to Britt over the edge of her champagne glass and bounced away as quickly.
Britt grabbed a flute of the bubbly from the table and downed half of it. The warmth of the booze immediately seeped into her muscles.
Several men approached their group and pulled some of the women onto the dance floor. Shaking off an invitation from one of them, Britt scanned the crowd for Alexei. She thought she saw him a couple of times, but couldn’t be sure.
Would any of the women from the Tattle-Tale recognize him?
The spot on the sofa next to Mila finally cleared, and Britt parked next to her. “How was your last night?”
Mila tossed back her champagne and grabbed another glass. “Like every other night.”
“You’re going to work for the Belkins in...another capacity?”
Mila’s fingers tightened on the delicate stem of the glass. “What are you doing here, Barbie? You should go home.”
Britt took a long, shaky breath. “I spoke to your lover’s wife tonight.”
The glass jerked in Mila’s hand and the golden liquid sloshed over the edge. Mila licked her fingers. “My lover?”
“Gary. The man whose phone you used to call me.” Britt pinned her gaze on Mila and didn’t move a muscle. Had she gone too far?
“I’ve told you all I’m going to tell you...Britt.”
“I need more. There’s someone who can help us, help Tatyana.”
“Tatyana dead.”
Britt gulped. “Help her baby, then. Her baby is still at the hospital. The Belkins already know I was there. They planted an explosive device on my car.”
“Baby in danger.” Mila’s hands were shaking too much to hold the glass. “You have police? Someone to help?”
“Yes.”
The dancer’s wide eyes darted around the club. “Not here. They watch.” She tapped her arm near the tattoo. “They follow with tracker.”
“The ladies’ room?” Britt grabbed Mila’s hand. “Come with me.”
They ducked into the back hallway with three single-use bathrooms and found one empty. Once inside, Britt locked the door behind them.
“Tell me what you know about Tatyana’s baby, about my sister.”
Mila rotated her arm at the elbow to display her tattoo with a red mark next to it. “Your sister like me—tattooed for Belkins and tracker implanted under skin. Ready for trafficking.”
Britt sagged against the wall. “Where? Where is she? Where’s Jessie?”
“Warehouse in Van Nuys.”
“And the baby? What’s so important about Tatyana’s baby that the Belkins would kill to keep quiet?”
“The baby is old man’s—Olav Belkin. Old Vory v Zakone.” Mila ran a finger across her throat. “Very bad. Very dangerous.”
Britt’s stomach churned. “I still don’t understand. We both know the Belkins can work their way out of that.”
“Not this time. Tatyana seventeen. Tatyana only seventeen.” Mila grabbed Britt’s hands. “Do you understand? This underage, no agreeing—it bring Belkin down. Do you understand?”
“Even if the sex is consensual, it’s not legal.”
“Yes, not consensual. They take baby tonight. They kill baby. They destroy the evidence.”
“No! We won’t let them hurt that baby. They won’t hurt any more people.”
A zinging noise came from outside the bathroom, and the hair on the back of Britt’s neck stood up as she twisted toward the door.
Two seconds later, the door exploded inward as someone put his boot through it. In another second, the barrel of a gun followed, and Mila’s body jerked.
Mila’s hand clenched Britt’s for a moment until another shot hit her in the chest and she dropped to the floor.
Chapter Fifteen
Alexei’s pulse picked up speed when he saw Britt and the Ukrainian dancer slip into the back of the club. His pulse went into overdrive when he saw the goon at the bar push away from his beer and lumber after them.
Shoving his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket and closing his fingers around the grip of his gun, Alexei followed them. If he’d gotten his gun into this club, that other guy probably hadn’t had any difficulty either.
Alexei sidled around the corner to the dark hallway, dotted with a few restrooms and leading to the back alley. The man turned once, and Alexei dived behind a machine dispensing condoms.
As he straightened up, Alexei heard the crash of splintering wood and the distinct whizzing sound of a silencer. The blood roared in his ears as he raced down the hallway, his weapon raised and ready.
When he reached the open door, the scene before him clicked as if in a single picture—Mila dead on the floor, Britt hovering above her, the man’s gun tracking toward the back of Britt’s head.
Alexei squeezed the trigger, and the man keeled over—on top of Britt in the small space.
He took a step inside the bathroom and cranked his head over his shoulder at a woman coming their way. “Not this one. Someone’s really sick in here.”
“Ugh.” She made a U-turn and disappeared inside another restroom.
By the time he turned around, Britt had wriggled from beneath the dead man. “We have to leave—now.”
“No kidding.” Alexei stepped over the shooter and grabbed Britt’s arm, pulling her up. “Back door.”
She squeezed past him into the hallway, and Alexei shoved the man’s body farther into the bathroom, locked the door from the inside and slammed it.
When they hit the alleyway, Britt grabbed his jacket. “We have to go to the hospital and get the baby. Belkin’s going to kill her tonight.”
Alexei called up a car on his phone while he took Britt by the hand and hustled her out of the alley. “What did Mila tell you?”
“The baby is Olav Belkin’s—and Tatyana was only seventeen. It’s statutory rape, and the DNA from the baby can prove it.”
Alexei didn’t think his fury at Belkin could get any more heated—but he was wrong. “That bastard. He’s gonna pay—for everything.”
The car Alexei had called up from an online service pulled up to the curb several doors down from Rage and flashed its lights.
Alexei crowded Britt into the back seat and told the driver to take them to Cedars-Sinai. “And hurry.”
The driver joked, “She’s not pregnant, is she?”
Britt hunched forward in her seat. “No, but this is about a baby, so step on it.”
In a low voice, Britt told Alexei the rest of Mila’s story about the warehouse of women waiting to be groomed and trafficked. Alexei knew this story—if the women weren’t already addicted to drugs, they would be by the time th
ey left that warehouse.
He hoped to God Britt’s sister was still alive by the time the place was raided. If they could get their hands on that baby, Belkin’s associates and maybe even his own son would be singing like canaries...and Vlad wouldn’t be able to do business with the Belkins under so much scrutiny.
Dragging his phone from his pocket, Alexei whispered to Britt. “I’m contacting Ariel now. She’ll make it easy to get protection for that baby.”
“Can she do it now? Mila seemed to think the Belkins were coming for the baby tonight.”
“We’ll be there until Ariel can get reinforcements. We’ll protect that little baby.”
The driver squealed to a stop in front of the hospital. “Record time.”
“Thanks.” Alexei waved his phone. “I’ll add a big tip for you.”
With his hand on Britt’s back, Alexei hustled them both into the quiet lobby of the hospital. They took the elevator up to the maternity floor, but as soon as they stepped out of the car, his senses went on high alert.
The hallway and front desk were completely dark, and the nurses were murmuring among themselves.
One of them called out from the darkness. “Get Maintenance to get our backup generator going and do a check on all the patients.”
“It’s go time.” Alexei squeezed Britt’s shoulder. “They’re here.”
Her body jerked. “The baby.”
Somebody screamed at the other end of the hallway, and Alexei tensed his muscles. “Maybe they already took her. Wait here.”
Alexei spun around, following the noises through the hallway, glowing with auxiliary lights. A group of people were crowded around something on the floor, and Alexei’s gut lurched.
He shouldered his way through and let out a puff of air when he saw an orderly slumped on the floor, groaning.
“What happened?”
A nurse turned her pale face toward him, her eyes dark and wide. “We don’t know. The lights went out suddenly, and then we found Noah unconscious on the floor. Something’s not right.”
“Someone call 911. Get security up here.”
Another scream caused a cold fear to clinch the back of his neck. He ran back to the elevator where he’d left Britt, but she was gone. He lurched toward the nursery and stumbled to a stop.
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