Following along, I do as she says and read the screen. “Bloody hell. It needs a pin.”
“Shit. Give me a moment to run our password-cracker.”Sixty seconds later, she sends me a list of digits.
After four tries, I’m in. “Remind me to give you a raise.”
“Who says I haven’t given myself one?” As she snorts out a laugh, the adrenaline hits me, and the euphoria I associate with stealing kicks in.
We’re so close, I can taste the win.“What now?”
She snaps out her response. “Press enter and we’re done.”
The small device gives no indication we’ve transferred almost a billion dollars to an offshore account. “Isn’t the cloud supposed to make this shit impossible to hack?”
The Star Wars nerd chuckles, “Explain later, I will, young Skywalker. Now, go.”
Imagining a happy celebration, I return to reality when Slate hisses in my ear. “Move. Egonov is heading for the bedroom door.”
Bloody hell.Landy can’t run in that outfit. Before she can argue, I scoop her up and throw her off the balcony.
The surprised pilot yelps, the door crashes open with a bang, and Egonov holds out his hand. “Where’s my money?”
“Right here, comrade.” I pass him the credit card gadget and fib. “By the by, we haven’t had time to crack the device.”
He slips the gadget in his front shirt pocket and shouts out the door. While not fluent in Russian, I understand enough to know the crazy wanker’s called for backup.
As boots thunder down the hall, the terrorist draws his pistol, and aims it at me. “Which way did the pilot go?”
My face morphs into a broad grin. “Long gone, and if you don’t want me telling the general’s men you have his wallet, you should go, too.”
As he races out of the bedroom, I pull my gun from my waistband, take aim at the door, and hold my breath until Suds and Slate enter the room.
“Where’s Lanita?” The Patten commander swivels his head.
Lowering my weapon, I thumb toward the balcony. “Taking a swim.”
“Good idea.” Running, he springs off, and performs an Olympic-worthy swan dive.
Sebastian copies his form, but I take the more traditional route and leap feet first. Free-falling, my mind races.Egonov will be furious when he finds the wiped e-wallet. Will his technicians be savvy enough to explain the heart monitor? If so, he can take the blame for botching the mission. Otherwise, Manhattan may endure another 9/11.
When I hit the water, I hyper-focus on swimming away from the bullets and the floodlamps. The whole area bright, the two Yanks submerge. No doubt, they’ll pop up for air far from the yacht. Me? I’m not so sure. Taking a deep breath, I sink low, kick off my shoes, and snap my limbs until my ears burn from lack of oxygen.Finally, I gasp above the dark surface andtread water. As I try not to drown, a far-off oar swishes in the water and I breaststroke blindly toward the sound. The half-moon slides from under a cloud in the overcast sky, creating enough light for me to discern the outline of a rubber craft.
Exhausted, I crawl over the edge and flop to the bottom. After I catch my breath, brain cells fire, and I realize there’s only three of us in the boat.
“Landy?”What the actual fuck?
“Still looking.” Slate frowns at the gunfire and shouting, coming from the direction of the yacht fading into the distance.
Bloody hell.“I’m going back for her.”Compelled to jump in against all odds, I stand at the ready, but Sutcliff snatches my waistband.
“Can’t let you go off by your lonesome, buddy.”The sorrow in his eyes speak volumes but I refuse to accept his conclusion.
“She’s alive. I know it.” Wondering if one of those bullets lodged itself in her beautiful body, my voice cracks.
“Your dad says she’s not on the ship. She’s smart and will swim toward land.” Shaking his head, the SEAL starts the motor while I fight the urge to dive in.
“What are we, a bleedin’ bunch of sissies? Let’s start looking for her, mate.”
“Dash, we’re on it, but we need eyes in the sky.” The rambler points out at the vast ocean between us and the port, and my eyes sting.
