AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you?”
He chuckled lightly. “I never trust anyone, especially my own kinsman.”
Well, that made me feel better. Getting out, I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked with confidence into the abandoned building. The broken out windows and dilapidated roof only added to the feel of ambivalence toward the situation.
“Why is it you guys always meet in abandoned buildings and warehouses?”
“I should think the answer is fairly clear,” Ivan retorted.
It was. I just didn’t like it. Easier to make a mess, easier to get away with murder…easier for no one to know you were ever there.
“You know, at least in my line of work there’s an element of sophistication.”
“Yes, I imagine when your partner tried to kill you, he was thinking that very thing.”
He shoved the door open and walked through, leading the charge as he approached his fellow countrymen. There were four of them, all as formidable as the next. Words flowed from his tongue in a language I had never bothered to learn. Aside from having no interest in ever visiting Russia, the language was extremely complicated.
I watched intently as he exchanged what I thought were pleasantries. The other men seemed to know him and like him, but still showed no signs of ease. It made me wonder what their demeanor would have been if I had shown up alone. I’d probably be laying on the ground with a bullet in the center of my forehead. Then again, that seemed almost too nice for men like this. Perhaps some torture would have been in the works first for killing some of their men.
“Raven, you have the pieces,” Ivan said, motioning me forward.
I took a few hesitant steps when the man across from me moved his hand toward the gun at his hip. Dressed impeccably in black suits, you would never know they were killers if you met them on the streets.
Then one of them grinned at me, his smile promising pain if only he could get his hands on me. Okay, maybe anyone with a brain could see just how dangerous these men were.
I unzipped the bag and pulled out one of the eggs from the wrappings, holding it up for them to see.
“Hand it over,” the man ordered.
“No.”
“Raven—” Ivan started.
“What assurances do I have that when I hand these over, you’ll let me walk away?”
“You’ll just have to trust us,” the man grinned.
“Not good enough.”
His smile faded and Ivan shifted closer. “This is not part of the plan.”
“Excuse me if I don’t trust my life to you. I don’t even know you.”
“If you don’t give us the eggs, we’ll just shoot you and take them from you,” the man offered. “It makes no difference to me.”
A door to the side opened and everyone turned, drawing their guns as a man moved out of the shadows, followed by three other men. When he stepped into the light, I gasped.
Henry Allsebrook
“Yes, shoot her,” he laughed.
“Who are you?” the Russian asked.
“I’m the owner of those artifacts, and I insist you return them.”
“Thief!” the Russian yelled. “Those were gifts to the Imperial family of Russia. They do not belong to English scum like you!”
“I bought them, as did other men over the last hundred years.”
