“I’ve scheduled a courier for the computer, just to make it look official,” Jewell said just as the students bashed into the area where they’d been working. And it was a damn good thing. He’d forgotten his purpose and fallen into those green eyes. Damn, that had never happened before. What was it about this frustrating, uncooperative, driven woman that hooked him? He didn’t know, and that bothered him.
“Have her write out the list of questions and put it in the box with the computer. I’ll make sure to answer them and provide her with whatever else she needs to completely tarnish this guy’s reputation and legacy and pin Étienne’s and the private investigators’ murders on him. You’ll handle the rest.”
Yes, he’d handle taking the bastard out. He kept his expression neutral as she started to collect her notes. She’d stop every now and then and mutter to herself about not writing down what she’d found.
Fifteen minutes later, they were out of the library, and Blake caught the tail instantly. It was the same man who was in the library earlier. The man’s attempt at casual loitering with his phone in hand, shoulders slouched, was too forced.
“Wait, where are we going?” Elise glanced back toward the library. “The hotel’s this way.”
“We’re going this way,” Blake said as he took her elbow and crossed the street, dodging between vehicles. Blake didn’t waste time circling or waiting. He crossed the street in long, purposeful strides, the soles of his boots striking sharp against the uneven cobblestones.
“We could cross at the crosswalk, you know,” she said as she hurried to keep up with him.
He grunted an agreement, “Stay behind me, but keep up.”
“Why? What’s happening?” She glanced around, probably looking to see what he’d seen. “Blake? Talk to me.”
He didn’t answer. He headed straight for the son of a bitch. The stranger’s head jerked up, surprise flickering into panic as Blake came straight at him. His lips parted, a protest half-formed, but Blake was already there, shoving him back against the cold iron post of the streetlamp.
“Who sent you?” Blake’s voice was low, even, and laced with deadly intent.
The man’s eyes darted, searching the crowd for escape or rescue. His hands twitched, caught between raising them in surrender or trying to shove Blake away. “I don’t know what you mean!” His Hungarian accent molded the words, his breath already ragged.
Blake leaned in, closing the gap until he was sure the man could feel the menace radiating off him. His gaze was steady, predator’s eyes locking prey in place. “Don’t waste my time. You’ve been shadowing us since morning.”
The man’s composure cracked. “I was just told to follow! To watch! That’s all!” His voice pitched higher, chest heaving against Blake’s unyielding hand.
“By who?” Blake pressed, tone flat and lethal.
“I don’t know his name,” the man babbled, sweat collecting along his hairline. “Tall. Not Hungarian, maybe foreign. He gave me money, that’s all.”
“How much?”
The stranger swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple jerking. “Two hundred euros. For two, maybe three days. Just to tell him where she went. I swear, that’s all I know.” His words tumbled out in a rush, each more frantic than the last, desperation bleeding through every syllable.
Blake studied him in silence, eyes narrowing. Two hundred euros. Pathetic. Disposable. The man wasn’t a threat—just a pawn. But pawns still needed to be moved off the board.
Blake’s voice dropped to a deadly calm.
“Where were you supposed to meet him and when?”
“I have a phone number. I call it.”
Blake snatched the man’s phone. “Where?”
“Here,” the man pointed to the number. Blake read it off. “I got it,” Jewell said immediately. Blake took the phone and dropped it to the sidewalk. He stomped on it with the heel of his shoe and ground his heel into the broken screen. “You forget my face. You forget hers. You never speak of us. Not to him, not to anyone. Because if you do”—he let the weight of the pause hang the way he’d let his assassin’s blade hover at the man’s throat—"I will find you.”
The man nodded so fast it looked like a tremor, his breath coming in short, panicked bursts. “Yes. Yes, I understand. I won’t. I won’t say anything!”
Blake released him with sudden force, and the man stumbled, almost falling from the sudden push. After risking one terrified glance at Blake, the man turned and half-ran down the street, vanishing into the crowd. Blake stayed still, watching until the shadow disappeared, his mind already shifting back to the mission. Another piece moved on the board. Another handat work in Budapest. And somewhere out there, the real enemy waited.
“I didn’t see him watching us today.” Elise’s hand touched his back. “I … didn’t know.”
“It isn’t your job to see what I see.” Blake put his arm around her and turned them toward the new hotel.
“But I should be aware of my surroundings.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest as they walked. Her head was down, and he guided her with his hand at her elbow.
She looked up and stopped. “Where are we going?”
