Page 95 of The Lazarus Protocol

“Glad to hear it.” Ice wondered if his friend would still be good after he heard this. “Stephanie told me that Vesper is her half-sister.”

“Seriously?” That was Noah.

“She said that?” Dan asked.

Ice wanted to see Adam’s face for this. “That’s what she told me.”

“Where is she now?” Adam said. “Is she with you?”

“I dropped her off. We don’t need⁠—”

“You did what!” Adam roared across the phone line.

“—that complication. This is about getting Kai back and squaring things with Earthnet. It isn’t about Stephanie, and whatever family squabble she’s got going on.” When no one responded, Ice continued, “I tracked the signal to Milan. I’m about to make entry.”

“We’ll meet you there for pickup,” Noah said.

“I’m not sitting on this for three hours waiting for you. Not when Kai could be dead by then.”

“We know,” Noah said. “We’ll be there.”

Ice heard noise in the background. Chairs scraping, chatter he couldn’t make out. “I’ll get him out, and we can all bring him home. Then we need to have a chat with Earthnet about what’s going on.”

“Agreed,” Noah said. “Keep us posted.”

“You need backup?” Jay asked.

“Not badly enough to wait for it.” Ice probably had an associate or contact who lived close enough to pitch in and help him out. But that would only end up with him owing someone a favor, something he didn’t want to have to worry about. “I’ll check in when it’s done.”

Ice ended the call, grabbed the weapons he wanted, and exited the car. He could hear the steady buzz of local traffic. A police siren. But all of it was a street or two away from here. If Vesper had chosen this place ahead of time, she either controlled the space because she’d bought the building, or she knew it would be empty.

He picked the lock on an entrance designated for employees, according to the sign beside the door, and stepped into the warehouse.

Ice slid a knife from a sheath that was sewn into the pocket of his pants and looked around. Down a hall to a door with a small circular window that gave him a view of the main warehouse floor.

A lone woman sat in the center of the room, on a wooden chair. Waiting for him.

Ice pushed the door open and walked to her, his senses working on whether her goons were somewhere around here waiting to kill him. He didn’t hear anyone else. When he stopped fifteen feet from her, he got the impression they were alone.

“Vesper.”

She lifted her pointy chin. “So you know who I am now?”

“I knew enough before,” Ice said. “I don’t really do messy family drama. Not my thing.”

“Interesting.”

She might think she knew who he was, or anything about him, but no one did. Not really. Ice shifted his stance, holding out the blade so there was no mistaking what was happening here. “Where’s Kai?”

“That’s his name? Hmm. He wouldn’t tell me.” She lifted her hand, the comms earbud between her fingers.

“Figured out it’s a tracker? Good for you,” Ice said. “Now give me my friend back.”

“I know who you are. Which is why it surprises me that you show up here, acting like you care about some American.” Vesper sneered. “Men like you don’t have friends.”

“So you know just enough you believe you understand me.”

“I could make life difficult for all of you, but I haven’t.”