“I’m so sorry, luv.”
Landy’s hand covers mine and as her brown eyes lift, she purses her lips. “We’re going to get this motherfucker. No one messes with my family.”
“You mean Moishe?” My brows raise and when she kisses me, the tightness in my chest loosens.
“Exactly.” The grin on her battered face makes me return one of my own.
Egonov may think he has the upper hand, but he has no idea how bloody awful his life is about to become.
We talk some more, insert listening devices in our ears, and not long after, the phone rings. As instructed, Landy counts to ten, glances around the room, and swipes the screen.
“Hello?” Nibbling her lower lip, she eyes me, and I shoot her a nod of encouragement.
Clearly not Egonov, the voice speaks the queen’s English. “Put Montclair on the line.”
Frowning, my woman steps behind me and upon receiving a go-ahead wave from Caleb, I slide past her curvy frame and lean over the phone. “Who am I speaking to?”
“None of your business.” The man’s veneer slips, revealing a slight Slavic accent. “I need your father to steal something.”
My brows raise at Caleb who circles his finger, an indication I should move him along. “What makes you think he can do that?”
“Come now, Mr. Montclair. Don’t play games. I know full well what your father is capable of. He will do me this small favor and in return, I don’t set off the next bomb.” The evil laugh emanating from the speaker churns up my stomach acids.
“How about you disable it first, and then we talk?” Picturing more innocent blood on my hands, my fists clench at my side.
“Do you need another demonstration? Five, four… Don’t take too long. Three…” I glance over at the FBI man.
Now he signals for me to agree, and I choke back sour bile. “Stop. Fine. Just tell me what you need.”
“I want him to steal a hard wallet. This is easy enough for a man like your father, no?”
“Sorry, can you explain what that is?”
He scoffs at my attempt to play dumb. “It’s a device worth millions, perhaps billions of dollars. You will steal the contents of the drive and transfer the money to an account number, I am about to read off.”
I write down the digits, Caleb sounds in my earpiece, and I repeat his question to the terrorist. “If I do this, what assurances do I have you won’t want more?”
“You have none.” At his laugh, the G-man indicates I should hang up.
The line disconnects, and we all hold our breaths, waiting for news of another bomb. Time ticks by, Landy watches her phone and General Young keeps his eyes glued to a screen on the back wall.
We all jump when the phone sounds. “General Alexei Balabanov’s yacht is moored in Catania. He has the wallet. That is all I know. You have seven days.Udachi.”
Good Luck?Bloody hell, we’ll need more than chance to pull this off. After a quick discussion with the team, my dad joins our call, and we fill him in.
“So, can you do it?” My heart thumps because despite my involvement in his work for years, he tells no one his secrets.
“How the fuck do I know? You haven’t given me anything to go on.” His exasperated tone makes me want to blow my stack, but I bite my tongue and keep my temper in check.
“Let’s start simple. Can a hard wallet be stolen?” Because I was his assistant for years, I know how to hook him.
His voice cheers, a bit livelier. “The most advanced models listen for the owner’s heartbeat. Uncouple the two and say toodle-loo to the contents.”
“We have seven days.” I dangle the challenging heist in front of his nose, but he doesn’t bite.
“Not possible.” Cagey, he always circles before taking the bait, so I push on.
“Well obviously, if we don’t try, Egonov is going to set off a bomb and kill hundreds, or possibly thousands of people.”
