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Her eyes widen and then narrow to narrow, venomous slits. "My father asked you for help?"
I shake my head. "Not me. But I'm not the only agent who on occasion does favors. I have a contact there now who has been helping me track Babichev. It's quite possible that your father has gone into Witness Protection, but?—"
"It's more likely that he's dead."
I gave a single nod.
She takes a sip of her tea and then sits quietly. I imagine she’s filtering through everything we've talked about.
My phone beeps, and I'm grateful for the distraction. I look down and see a text from Artyom that he's here with our supplies. I move toward the door and unholster my gun. Glancing through the peephole, I see Artyom coming up the path to the door.
I invite him in, keeping him in the foyer. As much as possible, I want to shelter Kate from the ugliness of my work.
"I got all the groceries you asked for. And at the bottom, there's a few more reinforcements." He’s referring to ammunition.
"Any word on Babichev?"
"The alarm at the bookstore went off. We couldn’t get there before the cops did, but with a little palm greasing, we were able to find something that tells us it was Babichev. It's at the bottom of the bag as well." Artyom looks toward the living room where Kate is still sitting on the couch. He glances up at me, leaning forward, and in a softer voice, he says, "You're not gonna want to let her see it."
It's funny how terror and rage can fire in an instant. But knowing Babichev left something related to Kate to fuck with me fills me with both. “Where is that motherfucker?”
"That Lucy Fiori, or I guess it's Ricci, is all over it. Seeing as you’re friends, maybe you can reach out to them again. We’ve had men on the house, but no one has approached. We checked on the neighbors like you asked. They’re okay. Just regular dudes."
He stares at me for a moment, and I can see there's something he wants to say but is nervous to utter.
What?"
"Robbie and I are wondering if there's somebody on the inside. Maybe loyal to Babichev. It doesn’t make sense why he can always find her or you, but we can’t find him."
He has a point. It’s something I need to think seriously about. “Any thoughts?”
He shakes his head.
"If what you’re saying is true, then she’s in danger here, since my men know where I am."
“Not everyone. You've kept things pretty close to the vest since you took her. Who doesn’t know you’re here?"
I can’t think of anyone off hand. It’s all hands on deck in finding Babichev, but only my closest men are here. “See what you can find out.”
He steps back and nods. "We have the place surrounded, but everyone's out of sight. Anyone coming through for picnics or campouts are unaware of us, but you can be damn sure we're keeping an eye on them."
I pat his shoulder and mentally make a note that he's due for promotion. "Thank you."
He smiles. "I have to say, Boss, I like working for you a whole hell of a lot better than Igor or that fucker Babichev."
“That’s good news for me. Thank you, Artyom."
When he leaves, I take the groceries into the kitchen. On the way, I note that Kate is no longer in the living room. When the kitchen is empty as well, I decide she’s gone to her room. This is a good opportunity to see whatever Babichev left in Kate's bookstore, and then I’ll make her breakfast.
I put the groceries away and hide the ammunition in a cupboard I don’t think Kate can reach. Then I open the envelope, taking a breath before I pull out the thin slip of paper. At first, I can’t decipher the image. It’s mostly black with a roundish gray area. I read the words alongside the top, and the blood drains from me. Along the top left is Kate’s name. On the right is the name of a medical clinic. This is an ultrasound image.
“Fuck!”
Kate told me Babichev had seen her, knew she was pregnant. He’d somehow obtained a copy of her sonogram, and he left it for me as a threat.
I shove the paper into the envelope and hide it with the ammunition. Panic fills me as I have to consider Kate going missing could be more than just her retreating to her room. Especially if I have a traitor in my ranks.
“Kate!” I bellow as I head to her room. I reach her door, not bothering to knock or even use the knob. I bust it open. "Kate!"
