Page 104 of When He Lies
Time ticked past ever so slowly. He kept a napkin in his lap. A gun beneath the napkin.
He didn’t need to check his watch to know that Simone should have left the hotel by now. She’d left, and she would be safe.
Her safety was what mattered most to him.
“Excuse me…” A voice said into his ear. Directly into the earpiece that he’d put in place during his elevator ride down to the restaurant. The female voice belonged to Jezebel. “I can’t help but notice that you seem to be missing a companion.”
He brought the coffee mug to his lips and blew softly over the rim. “Did Charlotte just tell you that news? Or do you have a little camera in here?” He used the mug to cover the movements of his mouth. His words had been nearly soundless. That was the thing about CIA tech. Sophisticated as hell. And nearly microscopic.
He’d always enjoyed the toys that he was given from the CIA.
“Both,” Jezebel responded. “Simone was supposed to be there with you for this meeting.”
“Um. Change of plans.” He sipped the coffee. Then he caught sight of a familiar figure striding into the restaurant. Ryan tensed. “It looks like I may not be the only one experiencing a change of plans.” He put down the coffee. His hand drifted toward the napkin in his lap and to the gun that waited beneath the napkin. Tension poured through him as he watched Hugo Thomas approach the table.
Hugo eased into the chair right across from him.
Beneath the napkin, Ryan’s hand curled around the gun. He pointed the weapon at Hugo. He’d had the chair Hugo now occupied positioned in that exact spot deliberately. To give me the perfect shot. “Pretty sure I was supposed to meet with your boss. Not you.”
“He’s otherwise occupied. So you get me.”
Charlotte began to approach the table.
“I don’t want you.” Ryan was not interested in underlings. “My deal was with Frederick. Clearly, that deal is over.”
Charlotte was mere steps away.
Hugo reached out and snagged a piece of sausage from Ryan’s plate. “I am starving. Killing someone does that. Always gives me an appetite. Maybe it’s the adrenaline.” He munched on the sausage. “I don’t know.” His head tilted. “What happens to you when you kill a man? What happened when you killed Alexei Morozov?”
Charlotte arrived. “Good morning, sir.” She beamed at Hugo. “What can I get you?”
“Same thing he’s got.” Hugo flashed her a grin. “And he’ll be picking up the tab. Why don’t you bill it to his suite?”
He knows about my suite. He knows far too much, I can see the truth in his cocky grin.
Charlotte backed away.
Hugo kept his asshole grin in place.
Ryan kept his hold on his gun.
“Oh, come on,” Hugo chided. “Please don’t be boring. I know who you are. What you are.” He snatched another sausage from Ryan’s plate. “You’re no billionaire. You’re a spy. You think you’re going to take down Konstantin, but that isn’t going to happen. He’s miles ahead of you.”
“I want to see Frederick.”
“I can make that happen.” A nod. “Let’s get out of here. The Rolls Royce is waiting.”
“I don’t need to go anywhere. Frederick can drag his ass in here.”
Laughter. “Doubtful.” Hugo’s fingers tapped on the table. “Okay, let’s try it this way…” His smile vanished. “If you don’t leave this restaurant with me right now and get your ass into the Rolls Royce, then I’ll tell Logan to kill Simone.”
What. The. Fuck?
“Good for you? Bad for you?” Hugo’s boyish face twisted. Flashed with evil intent. Then he pulled out his phone. Held it up. “One phone call is all it takes. So you tell me, super spy, do you want Simone to live or die?”
This isn’t happening. “You are bluffing.”
“Nope. Not at all. See, Konstantin heard every word of your conversation with Logan earlier. Easy to do…because Konstantin has access to listening devices, too.” He touched his ear then motioned to Ryan. “You got one in right now, don’t you? Konstantin said you’d be monitored by your boss. A lady named Jezebel.”
