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AS SOON AS I ASKED the question, I wished I could take it back. I wasn’t sure why I’d brought up her former lover. It was likely some misguided attempt to let her know that I had her back, but she didn’t take it that way.
Instead, she stiffened in my arms and pulled away ever so slightly. If someone was observing us, they might not have caught the shift, but I felt it.
“Ryan is none of your business,” Clark whispered.
“He was a good agent from all accounts,” I said, giving her just the tip of the iceberg that Graham had been able to uncover for me.
“Look,” she said, diverting the conversation from one that had suddenly become too painful.
Carmini was off to one side, talking to his goons. They moved toward a back hallway, which I knew from previous reconnaissance led to the kitchen. It was the one part of the downstairs that guests were discouraged from populating. It was a fair bet that the group of criminals were attempting to have a private conversation without bothering the host and hostess.
I dropped the subject of Ryan and moved in on our target. Clark came with me, placating the three beefy guys who probably thought she couldn’t possibly be a threat. Little did they know, she was the most lethal one of the bunch.
“Mr. Carmini.” I raised my hand, making sure he saw me.
My words caused somewhat of a stir, and several dancing couples looked our way. Carmini looked uncomfortable, shaking his head as if I had offended him. I knew exactly what I was doing. The louder I made myself, the more eager he would be to get me alone where I couldn’t draw any attention.
“I was wondering if I could bend your ear for half a second,” I said, acting like a used car salesman or a kid pitching a startup to a tech giant.
“What?” Carmini demanded.
“We were going to talk about security,” I reminded him.
“Right,” he remembered. “Step into my office.” He gestured toward the kitchen with a sardonic smile. The thugs came with us, but as we pushed through the swinging door, Carmini blocked Clark from entering. “Why don’t you wait out here, sweetheart?” he asked, giving her what very well might be his last condescending grin.
Clark peeled away, giving me a look that could burn forests. I hoped Vinny hadn’t started a war, but knew that it didn’t matter. All I needed was the information about the missing agents, and then Clark could do her worst. I almost felt pity for the man. He had stepped on a rattlesnake’s tail without realizing it, and he was about to feel its sting.
“So I’m interested in security,” I said, walking around the large metal island that was designed for a team of professional chefs instead of a housewife.
“So you said,” Carmini replied. “I got to assure you, there is no security problem in our neighborhood.”
“See, that’s where you’re mistaken,” I told him, easing into the conversation as if I was trying to make a good impression. “I think there are some major security concerns. I’m not talking about the neighborhood, Mr. Carmini. I’m talking about the world.”
“What would you know about global security concerns?” Carmini asked, checking with his friends to see if I was making any sense.
“I’m talking about MI6,” I said.
He suddenly tensed, reaching for the gun that I knew was hidden beneath his fashionless jacket. I held my hands open, indicating that I was unarmed. It wasn’t true. I also had a weapon, but I didn’t need more than half a second to beat him to it, so I wasn’t worried. I affected the appearance of a man who knew his way around the sleeziest underbellies of ports flung far and wide. And in that case, it was true.
“Hear me out,” I insisted. “I happen to know that MI6 will pay top dollar for its missing agents.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carmini declared.
“I’m talking millions,” I said. “Millions that you could put to whatever cause you like, while I keep a percentage as a finder’s fee.”
Carmini chuckled. He relaxed his grip on the gun and let his jacket swing back into place. The henchmen surrounding him also took a breath, and I could tell that they bought my promise of a windfall, no matter how unlikely it seemed.
“And how would you know about the captives?” he asked.
“I know things,” I assured him, remaining vague. “I can sell them back to their agencies for double what they’re worth, but only if they’re alive.”
“They’re alive,” Carmini said easily. “But they’re no longer in Athens.”
I nodded, having expected as much. Throughout my surveillance, Carmini hadn’t been acting like the kidnapped men were anywhere in the vicinity. I didn’t want to press him too hard, or I might come off looking like I cared. At the moment, he was talking, but that was only because he assumed that I was as ruthless as he.
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll talk to my contacts. It might be best to stop messing with the merchandise, if you catch my drift.”
“I didn’t lay a finger on them,” Carmini said. “But that don’t mean they’re in perfect health.”
“As long as they survive the trip,” I said, ironing out the details. “So when can you deliver them?”
“Hold on, pal,” Carmini replied, seeming to rethink our tentative bargain. “I didn’t say yes. And even if I did, I’m not the guy you want.”
“Who is then?” I pressed. “Because frankly, I’ve wasted enough time. You make the introductions, and there’s a percentage in it for you.”
“The name’s Lukas. He’s the guy you want to talk to,” Carmini said.
“Does Lukas have a last name?” I asked.
“If he does, he’s not forthcoming with it,” Carmini replied. “You’ll have to find Southie.”
“Who’s Southie?” I pressed, committing both names to memory.
“Southie operates out of London. Lukas is wherever the hell he wants to be.”
“So which one is it?” I demanded, growing impatient. “Southie or Lukas?”
“Both,” Carmini snapped. “You didn’t think this was going to run cheap. You’d better be able to fetch top dollar ‘cause everyone wants a cut.”
“You’re not tossing me around, are you?” I accused.
“Here,” Carmini said, scribbling a phone number down on a piece of paper. “That number’s worth at least a mil.”
“I’ll transfer the money as soon as I make the deal,” I promised, folding the number away for safe keeping.
There were sounds of a struggle out in the hallway. A few grunts and some slaps against the wall. Immediately, I became concerned about Clark. Or rather, I was concerned that Clark would cause some real damage. It would have been nice to get out of this place without the cavalry on our heels.
Carmini looked at me in alarm, apparently coming to the same conclusion I had. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“Like I said,” I answered, tossing an onion at him, “I’m just a friendly neighbor.”
Carmini caught the onion, giving me a fraction of a second to lunge for the door. His goons closed in and attacked before I could duck away. There were four of them altogether, too many for my tastes. I threw some punches and received some in turn. The guys had remarkably solid fists.
It looked like I wasn’t going to be able to escape without a fight, so I focused on what I had on hand to interrupt their assault. A cooling rack for bread stood right beside me. I grabbed it and sent it reeling into the first man, knocking him off balance. The crash of metal was so loud that no one in the entire mansion was likely to have missed it.
I darted back behind the island, reaching for the knives in their wooden block. I threw one right after another, all with deadly accuracy. None of the goons even managed to draw their weapons. Carmini stormed out into the hall, escaping my deadly barrage only because he hid behind his men.
I chased after him, finding Clark waiting for us. She stood above a heap of unconscious men, a few on the bottom moaning loudly. Looking at her, I couldn’t tell that she had even chipped a nail, she was so composed.
“Did you get it?” she asked, watching as Carmini paled in reaction to her handiwork.
“I got something,” I said.
“You bastards,” Carmini swore.
“Easy,” I cautioned. “There’s a lady present.”
