Dangerous Surrender(48)

“We’re moving to a secure location now. Escobar and Garza are coming with us. They’re the only two completely vetted by Christiansen’s security check.”

“Wait, what?”

“Wyatt did a check on all of Powers Group security employees and most are cleared but Escobar and Garza are the only ones he says he trusts completely to come with us. And I agree with him.”

Escobar just grunted from the front as he looked at her cell phone.

Roman continued. “We’re heading to another safe house with only the four of us in this vehicle privy to its location.”

She decided not to point out that she actually didn’t know its location yet.

“Wyatt’s sending in a small team, including my brother, to stay with us for the next few days. They’ll be here in a couple hours.”

“He can’t want to hire me that badly.” Because what Mr. Christiansen was doing seemed excessively generous.

“You found Neal Lynch before the police. Or at least his boat. You’re clearly good at what you do so don’t be surprised by how badly he wants to hire you. But…this has more to do with Vadim. He and Angel are on their way back from their—”

“No!” Oh God, she felt terrible if he’d come back early from his honeymoon.

Roman’s expression softened and he shook his head. “It’s not because of you. Not entirely. I talked to Angel and it sounds as if they were both going stir crazy on an island. They were ready to get back home.”

“Wait, when did you talk to her? And when did you set any of this up? I wasn’t gone for that long.”

To her surprise, he scrubbed a hand over his head and looked almost sheepish. “I’ve been setting this up since yesterday but I made most of the calls and set everything into motion when I was scouting Lynch’s boat.”

She’d known he planned to move them to a new safe house but an outside security team was a big deal. “You’re not…” She shot a glance to the front seat and lowered her voice as she looked back at Roman, even though she was pretty sure the two men in the front could still hear her. “You’re not paying for this security detail are you? This all sounds really expensive.”

He blinked, as if she’d really surprised him. “No, but I would. You’re worth it.” He said it so matter-of-fact, he left her speechless as he continued. “Right now the only thing that matters is keeping you safe.”

“Got some news. Good and bad,” Escobar said from the front. He held up her phone, which had now been switched off. “I recognize the man from the picture and it’s bad. Did a quick check to make sure but it’s Alexei Lagunov. Enforcer for the Russian mob. Deadly reputation, which I believe is earned.”

The blood in her veins turned icy, chilling her from the inside out. She’d had an idea the guy was bad news but hearing it confirmed was terrifying. As a shudder snaked through her, Roman took her hand in his. Her hand was clammy but she didn’t care. His touch grounded her.

“Can you really do what you told him? Transfer the boat to his boss?” Escobar asked.

She nodded.

A long moment passed in which Roman and Escobar seemed to have a silent conversation. “What?” she asked either Roman or Escobar. She didn’t care who answered.

She wasn’t sure if Garza knew what was going on and wasn’t planning on spelling it out. She’d worked with the other man and liked him well enough. He was really quiet, but very skilled according to Hugh. Her boss had used him often for his personal security, which made her feel better about him being here.

“I think it’s in your best interest to do it. The Russian mob…they’re not forgiving. While you have nothing to do with Lynch or the money he owes, you’re now on their radar and that’s a bad place to be, especially when you’ve made them a promise. Give them what they want. When they’re out of the picture and Lynch is fair game, we call the police. Which we could do now. If that happens, I don’t know if they’ll take it out on you. They want their money, bottom line. The choice is up to you though.”

She swallowed hard and looked at Roman, a small part of her wondering if he’d judge her for what she was going to do. It wasn’t even a decision really. “I’m doing it.” Because she wasn’t stupid enough to piss off the Russian mob.

Roman let out a relieved breath. “Good. If you didn’t I was going to ask Vadim to.”

“You said something about good news?” she asked, looking at Escobar while still holding Roman’s hand.

“Yeah.” His expression was grim though, not exactly lining up with the concept of ‘good news’. “Clayton Gibson, one of my guys, was found dead earlier this morning at a park. Shot six times in the face and chest. He had a vest on, which is odd enough, and… Anyway, I did some checking into his financials—deep checking—and it looks like he was Lynch’s partner. He’d been taking extra payoffs from Lynch, through the company, but to an offshore account. It was in his sister’s name, which is why we missed it the first time, but once I started looking harder it wasn’t difficult to figure out what he’s been up to. There’s more evidence against him, including some credit card receipts from Vegas during the time frame you were there. I’ve already emailed you and the police everything we’ve found, but I’m pretty sure he was Lynch’s partner.”