Around Emma, families and small groups wearing name tags from a popular tour company milled about under leafy green trees that shaded the cobblestone viewing area.
Near the reflecting pool that prevented visitors from getting too close to the wall, a tall Black man with the wide shoulders and thick muscles of an athlete took a selfie in front of the monument. He glanced at her with a self-deprecating smile, as if embarrassed to be caught. A lightweight ball cap and mirrored sunglasses obscured much of his face, but Muscles reminded her so much of Jason Chin that she blinked and turned away.
She’d spent far too much of the last week with him on her mind, while actively working to take down his brother’s boss, and it was fucking with her mind. There had been a brief moment in college that she’d thought he might be The One.
She pressed a hand to her nervous stomach. What a fool she’d been. In so many ways.
A few minutes before four-thirty, Viktor entered the square, getting jostled among the small groupings of people descending the stairs, pulling her mind back to her work. She turned and strolled toward the opposite end of the shallow pool, pausing to take pictures as she worked her way closer to her mark.
A few more steps and then he spotted her, his expression solemn as he absently rubbed at the side of his neck. His gaze skittered past her large sunglasses and straw hat as if he didn’t know her, but then he wiped his hand very deliberately across his mouth, signaling that he hadn’t spotted a tail.
Not that he was an expert, but she’d given him a few tips.
She did a casual survey of the shady square, but didn’t spot any obvious surveillance. The tourists that made it easy for the two of them to blend in also made it hard for her to pick out anyone suspicious. She’d have to trust Viktor’s skills—and her own. But really, they weren’t expecting any trouble.
What she did was more akin to corporate espionage than working for the CIA.
She and Viktor did a slow dance, working toward each other by degrees. Oh so casually, taking the time to enjoy the leaves that frolicked overhead in the summer breeze, the afternoon sun shining on her face, she inched toward where he stood pretending to read a small travel guide. Any minute now, he’d turn and walk her way and she’d—
Pop! Pop!
Viktor grabbed at his chest, his knees buckling.
Emma gasped.Oh no.Had he been…shot? Where was the shooter? Heart pounding in her ears, she glanced around, but didn’t see anyone running away or brandishing a weapon.
The woman standing beside Viktor screamed as he clutched at her arm and nearly pulled her down on his slow slide to the ground. Rather than help, the woman tore free of his grip and stumbled toward her children, sobbing loudly as she herded them away.
“Call for an ambulance!” Muscles called in English, racing past Emma, who was still sluggish in her shock.
He sprinted toward Viktor on the heels of a wiry blond man wearing a self-guided tour headset. When the blond reached Viktor’s side, he didn’t talk to the man or check for a pulse. Instead, he riffled through Viktor’s pockets, while the older man weakly pushed at his arm.
Coming out of her stupor, Emma yelled, “Get away from him!” in German, and ran toward where Viktor had collapsed, his face already a deathly gray, blotches of red stark against his pale shirt. Her breath seized.No.
Muscles beat her to the scene. “What the fuck are you doing?” he growled, yanking the blond away by the arm.
The pickpocket jerked free and raced off.
Muscles shook his head and dropped to his knees. “Sir?” He took Viktor’s wrist in his hand, holding two fingers over the pulse point. “My name’s Jason, I’m a paramedic.”
Wait,Jason?Emma halted mid stride, throat tight. Was it really him?
That voice, the baritone that had once rumbled deliciously against her bare skin, confirmed it. “Just hang in there, okay?” he pleaded, placing both hands on the older man’s chest. “Help is on the way.”
She swayed on her feet and pressed her palm to the cool stone wall beside her.
Jason looked up at Emma without recognition as she approached. “Ma’am, do you speak English?” At her nod, he said, “Can you translate? I don’t know what language he speaks.” He immediately returned his attention to Viktor, talking to him in a low soothing voice. “Can you tell me your name, sir?”
Shoving aside all the feelings that seeing Jason again had unleashed, she blinked back the tears that burned her nose and translated as sirens approached from somewhere to her right.
Viktor opened his mouth but only managed to inhale sharply.
Jason winced and shifted position on the hard ground, never releasing pressure on the older man’s wounds or ceasing his calming monologue.
Viktor’s graying brown hair ruffled in the wind, and Emma took his hand. So much for a simple exchange.Jesus.
Had the blond been a petty thief taking advantage of the situation, or was he after the files too? Her mind raced. Had Blue Bear found out that Viktor was ratting them out? The timing was too convenient for her to dismiss the possibility.
Viktor gripped the fabric at Jason’s hip, urging the younger man closer, but his gaze settled on her face, his blue eyes full of fear and sadness before turning unfocused.
