Page 76 of Dark Soul

“Human and child trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism … he was anywhere and everywhere, as long as there was profit in it for him. He’s the worst kind of predator.” Griffin took a deep breath. “He supposedly died at sea. A lot of agencies out there would like to know he’s alive.”

“And now he’s back.”

Griffin shook his head. “Lemercier is a suspicious individual. Our little stint with the broken window must have jarred him.”

“You think he’ll run?”

“Depends on how much the Iranians are paying him. But we need to be ready for anything.”

“The bug’s still in place,” Rogue said. He’d been keeping an eye on the laptop in front of him. “Kvyat is in his office. He’s made a few phone calls, but nothing relevant, so far.”

“Give it some time,” Slate said. “It’s only nine in the morning.”

Nine in the morning.

Dark felt a stab of guilt. None of them had gotten any sleep the previous night.

“Time is a luxury we may not have,” Griffin said. “Not if Lemercier is involved.”

23

* * *

Alexia

She’d tried hard to go back to her normal life, because that was what Nikolai deserved.

It’d gotten easier as the week progressed, but she still remembered the panic of those first few hours, after she’d snuck back into the house, when she still hadn’t known if the security team would mention her disappearance to Kvyat.

She’d sat in front of the man at breakfast, her hand shaking, unable to swallow more than a few mouthfuls of porridge.

But Kvyat hadn’t asked her anything, nor did he seem interested in her or Nikolai at the moment. His full attention, for the last couple of days, had been on the phone in front of him, as if by staring at it hard enough he could will it to ring.

Alexia knew a little of how he felt.

Dark hadn’t tried to get in touch with her.

Not that she wanted him to.

Liar.

And she knew she had to let it go. She’d been a way into Kvyat’s life—that was it.

But he let you go.

He didn’t know if you were going to talk to Kvyat about him, and still he let you go.

Yeah.

So he may not be a killer.

That’s about the most you can say about him at this point.

And still, she couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing—and if he was okay.

He’d looked so … lost … when he dropped her off.

“The end. Are you okay, Alexia?” Nikolai asked. Embarrassment colored her cheeks—while she’d been off in her head, the boy had finished reading Lord of the Flies.