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While I’m weighing my options for escape, an SUV with dark-tinted windows pulls up to the curb and the door flies open. The moment I spin around to run, the two thugs on either side of me grab hold of my arms. One of them manages to snatch my gun from the holster under my shirt, and I twist and buck, trying to break loose, but they’re too strong.
They toss me into the back seat then slip inside, one on my left, the other on my right, caging me in. A moment later, the doors slam shut and the locks click.
Well, no better moment than now for a whispered curse.
“Fuck,” I hiss and reach back, dragging my ponytail over my shoulder to conceal the mini camera attached to my collar. I twist the blonde strands around my hand and wonder where we’re headed as the vehicle starts forward.I still have my comms,I reassure myself. Even though it’s acting up, I can still contact Kane. And the first chance I get, I will.
“Where are we going?” I ask my unwanted bookends, but neither Frick nor Frack responds.Lovely.
We drive for about 20 minutes and then pull into another parking garage. Kane is probably going crazy trying to contact me. I want to pull out my earpiece and alert him, but there’s nothing I can do with these guards hovering over me.
After the SUV parks and the engine turns off, Frick and Frack get out and order me to do the same. With a frown, I slip out of the SUV and see Atkins pull up in another vehicle.
“What’s going on?” I ask him. I try to sound concerned and curious, but I think I come off as more petulant than I intended. It’s hard to hide sometimes. Especially when I’m pissed off and frustrated at an unseen and unwanted turn of events.
“Why don’t you tell me, Ava? Or is that even your name?”
I press my lips together, refusing to comment. I’m trying to figure out how our cover got blown as we all head toward an elevator and then up to a suite on the tenth floor.
“I have something to show you,” Atkins says and motions for me to follow him.
Scoping out potential exits, I wander closer and look over his shoulder at the laptop screen.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I don’t think there has ever been a better time to swear than right now. There’s an image of me on the screen, fighting the guard at the lab. Ryan said he scrubbed the security footage, but somehow, Atkins has gotten hold of it. A minute later, I watch as Kane and I usher DeLazzer out of the building.
“So who are you?” Atkins asks.
“Just security,” I answer vaguely. “We were hired to protect Dr. DeLazzer, that’s all.”
His dark eyes narrow. “You really should’ve minded your business. But since you seem so determined to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, you’re going to help me.”
“No, thanks,” I respond.
I’m not sure where this conversation is going but when Atkins walks over to a closet, opens it and removes a vest, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. There’s a timer on it and several small vials sewn to it. I also see a tangle of colored wires and a couple sticks of C-4.
It’s the bomb he forced DeLazzer to make.
“You’re going to play a very important role in spreading the Black Widow virus tonight,Ava.”
Oh, hell no!
I turn, attempting to make a run for it, but the two thugs are ready and grab me. They’ve got me in an iron-clad hold and drag me back over to Bartholomew Atkins.
“Put the vest on,” he orders, holding it open.
The thugs release me and instead of reaching for the vest of death, I spit in Atkins’s face. “Why don’t you put it on, asshole?” I retort.
He slaps me across the face and my head snaps hard to the side.Ow.That’s going to leave a mark.I see small black dots swimming at the edge of my vision as they force me into the vest, zipping it up. They also click a small lock on it so I can’t unzip it.
When I struggle to pull away, Atkins holds up a cell phone and waves it in front of my face. It must be the detonator.
“Just a few things you should be aware of,” he says. “I’ll be with you, watching you, right up until the end. If you try to take the vest off, I will blow it. If you try to talk to anyone or warn anyone of what is happening, I will not hesitate to hit this button here.”
A shiver runs down my spine.
“We’re going to drive over to a very busy destination full of tourists and locals. It’s a popular marketplace and we’re going to walk through it, do a little sightseeing. When you reach the middle, we’re going to part ways, the timer will reach its end and then boom!”
