Out of curiosity, she opened the envelope, and gasped aloud at the fat wad of cash.
She was standing next to aNO TRESPASSINGsign and a barbed wire fence, nothing but trees, a reservoir below her and mountains behind. Everything was just fine, though. She’d done her job.
As soon as Gabby got through the party, she was walking away from spying forever. Double agenting was over. Hell, agenting was just about over. Like her favorite robe said, Gabby Greene was just a mom.
Thursday, middle of the damn night, Greene household
At the sound of a thunk, Gabby rolled over and crammed the foam earplugs deeper down her ear canals and pulled her eye mask down farther. Could her granny possibly take one night off midnight sex? The woman was eighty freaking years old—didn’t she need some rest? Not to mention maybe Burt “Used to Be a Doctor” Jones would be more alert if he tried sleeping through the night.
“Go to slee—” she started to yell out of sheer frustration, when an arm reached out, yanked her out of bed, and covered her mouth.
“Shh!” a masculine voice hissed. “Shut up, suka.”
Gabby stifled the scream building in her chest. The better-than-nothing dart gun was out of reach under her bed, in a locked case to boot. This was bad, real bad, but it could get worse. The kidnapper was right about one thing, she did need to be quiet. The spare room she was sleeping in was tucked right between Granny and Burt and the kids, whom she didn’t want to wake. Instead of screaming, she bit the hand clasped over her mouth.
“Pizdets!” The kidnapper let go and shook his hand. He grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.
Smirnov was sitting on one of the high stools. Mr. Bubbles was at his feet, duct tape wrapped around his muzzle. Silenced and shamed, he belly-crawled to Gabby in apology with a whimper. Gabby reached down to scratch poor Bubbles, but the goon pulled her to her feet and shoved her on a stool across from Smirnov.
“Did you hurt my dog?” she said, prepared to exact vengeance, if necessary.
“No, do I look like an asshole to you? I shut him up so that I wouldn’t have to.” He reached down and scratched Bubbles. “He’s a good boy.”
Well, that was something. But why was he here?
Smirnov picked up a piece of Lucas’s leftover pizza. “Are you feeding your children this shit?”
“It’s a cauliflower crust and Daiya cheese. Why are you here, Smirnov? I gave you the codes.”
He glared at the pizza and took another bite. “I never would have hired you if I knew about this.”
“Allergies. My boy has allergies, and he’s dairy- and gluten-free. It’s really a challenge.” She stopped before she gave her usual allergy mom speech, and gathered her breath. “But I gave you the codes.”
The grizzled mobster, too big to fit in her kitchen, looked back at her. “Where is the father, Phil, I think?” Smirnov shook his head. “Girls can eat cauliflower, but boys.” He gestured to Lucas’s school picture. “Look at that boy. He needs some meat and potatoes.”
Gabby shook her head. “What is it with men and meat?”
Smirnov looked at her like she didn’t understand anything, andthen held the pizza slice high and dropped it on the counter like it had personally offended him. “Enough with the pizza.” Staring directly at her, he announced, “You fucked up, Gabby Greene.”
Chin high, she said, “I copied all the files on Kramer’s secret computer, the computer where he makes his transfers. The codes should have been on there.”
“They weren’t.”
She looked around the kitchen for anything she could use to defend herself. The roach spray Phil had brought over was almost within reach. This man was going to kill her and her family if she didn’t do something. She lunged for the spray, aimed at Smirnov’s face, and pulled the trigger, but nothing came out.
The goon who had brought her downstairs wrenched her arm behind her back and took the weapon away. He held the roach spray up and announced, “You can’t shoot with the safety on.” He twisted the nozzle to theONposition to demonstrate. He shoved her back in the chair.
Smirnov tsk-tsked her. “What can I do with you now? Did you give the EOD the codes?”
She shook her head no. “They got the same thing you did.”
“How can I trust you?” With resignation, he said, “It’s over. Mischa, bring the family down.” He pulled out a gun and set it on the counter in front of him. “We’ll see if she’s lying or not.”
Gabby’s heart rate went through the roof.
“How many kids do you have?” With a glance at a family picture he said, “Two, the one with the purple hair and the one who can’t eat real food.”
Gabby’s breathing tightened. The walls were closing in and her vision was starting to blur. She shut her eyes and focused. If she didn’t get them out of this, no one would.
