Page 77 of Mile High Ruin

By the time the SUV turns away from the private terminal and the lights of Bucharest begin sliding past the windows, I know exactly what Sloane is thinking. She has been quiet for almost a full minute, which for her usually means she is arranging several questions into the order she intends to ask them.

I can see the first one coming before she turns toward me.

“If nobody was supposed to know where we were landing,” she says, “who were all those men who showed up to help?”

Anton shifts in the front passenger seat. Not much, but enough.

He doesn’t want me answering.

I understand why. Sloane already knows more than she should. She saw armed men attempt to kill me, watched Anton and Marek return fire, saw the captain die on the tarmac, and listened to me admit that whatever business I conduct cannot be neatly described as legitimate.

The sensible course would be to tell her nothing else.

Unfortunately, I have discovered over the last several hours that I’m becoming strangely unwilling to lie to her.

“They were security.”

Her eyes narrow. “I gathered that much.”

“Private security.”

Anton turns his head slightly. “Vadim.”

I ignore him.

Sloane notices the warning immediately. Her gaze flicks between us. “Apparently that was classified.”

“It was unnecessary,” Anton says.

“For me to know?”

“Yes.”

Sloane looks offended.

I almost smile.

Anton sees it and becomes even more irritated.

“They didn’t know where we were landing until approximately fifteen minutes before touchdown,” I explain. “That is standard procedure when I travel somewhere I consider exposed.”

Her attention returns to me. “You hired them?”

“Yes.”

“A local team?”

“A private agency with personnel in several countries.”

She absorbs that slowly.

Anton looks as though he would prefer I develop blood loss severe enough to stop talking.

The arrangement was made two days ago through a private security contractor that has handled temporary reinforcement for me in the past. The men knew the city and the approximate arrival window, but not the airfield. Their team leader received the coordinates only after the aircraft had begun its descent.

Fifteen minutes.

Enough time to position themselves close enough to respond if necessary.