Page 49 of Grizzly Sleuth
“Why not? The man is long dead.”
“You idiot. He’s a link to us,” she hissed.
“Lots of Dimitris and even more Sokolovs.”
“And how many of them with a niece named Svetlana and a nephew named Yuri?” she riposted.
“Stop worrying so much. I’ve got this under control.” Yuri no sooner said that than he stiffened and whispered, “Someone’s in the hall.”
Before she could reply that it was probably Idris, the door to their room smashed open, hard enough it hit the wall but, before it could bounce shut, people clad in body armor, their faces covered in helmets, poured in, screaming, “Hands up and don’t move.”
Svetlana immediately complied, but Yuri spat, “What is the meaning of this? Why are you kicking in our door?”
Before any of the armed soldiers, wearing distinctive KGB badging, could reply, a petite blonde stepped past them and scowled at Yuri.
Uh-oh. Svetlana’s stomach knotted because she recognized her.
So did Yuri. “Olga, what’s this about? I thought dinner wasn’t until eight.” Her brother offered a flippant query with his drop-your-panties smile.
Olga’s gaze slewed to Svetlana, and her lip curled as she spat, “I can’t believe I fell for your lies.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and before you think the wrong thing, this is my sister, Sonya.”
“I think you mean Svetlana,” Olga countered with a cold smile. “You can drop the act and the fake charm. I know who you are.”
“The man who made you scream do me harder.” Yuri couldn’t resist the taunt, and Svetlana could have killed him. A woman scorned should never be humiliated.
Olga’s face turned an ugly shade of red. “Yuri Romanova, you are under arrest, as is your sister.”
Caught. So much for Yuri’s claim they had no clue as to his identity.
His expression turned blank and his query flat. “How did you find out who I was?”
“By surprise, only moments before our meeting this afternoon,” spoken sourly. “It’s why I was late. I was requested to attend a briefing because our hackers had new information on the suspects we’d been seeking. They managed to trace Svetlana, the mighty bear trainer, back to her roots and in the process discovered she had a brother. They didn’t have many images to work with, but even though much younger, I recognized you. I immediately informed the doctor so that we could make plans to take you into custody at the restaurant, but Dr. Levy insisted I go through with our lunch.”
“Now, Olga, we both know it was more than a meal.” Yuri winked, and Olga trembled with rage.
“I had orders to not act out of the ordinary.”
“An order to fuck me? I hope you got paid extra.” Yuri’s crudeness made Svetlana wince.
Olga’s chin went up. “For the sake of the mission, I sacrificed my dignity that I might plant a tracker in your jacket.”
Yuri’s lips flattened. “You used me to get to my sister.”
“Not just you. Where’s the bears?” Olga demanded.
“What bears?” He opened his eyes wide.
“Don’t play stupid. I want the one your sister named after you, plus the second one spotted at the hotel.”
“Alas, our current location doesn’t allow pets, so we had to set them free. I’m sure if you go wander around the forest outside of town, you’ll find them. Or they’ll find you. They’re probably hungry by now,” Yuri offered with a vicious smile.
“You won’t be laughing for long. Take them into custody,” Olga barked. “Comrade Albalkin is ready and waiting with his tools. He’ll make them confess to the bears’ location.”
Torture with no chance of escape. Perhaps it would be better to die now before the pain started. Maybe if she attacked the woman, the soldiers would shoot her.
Yuri must have had a similar thought because the towel around his hips hit the floor as the bear emerged with a roar and charged.
