Damn. They taste good.
After so many hours of not eating, they were the best fries I’d tasted. He’d already smeared mayonnaise on top of them. I stuffed some more in my mouth like a wild woman. Grease and mayo smeared my fingertips.
I wiped some of the sauce off my chin. “Where’s your car?”
He hadn’t touched his burgers. They lay on his lap in a pile.
I made a motion of driving. “Vroom. Vroom. Where is the car?”
He shook as he dug his hands into his pockets before pulling out another set of keys.
“Good.” I piled more fries into my mouth, kept the gun pointed his way, and came close to him. “Give me that jacket.”
He held out his hands.
“Jacket.” I got close to him and tapped it.
He jumped.
“Take it off.”
He pulled the jacket off.
I snapped my fingers, trying to get him to hurry up.
He threw it to me.
I backed up, put on the jacket, and ate more fries. “Damn these are good.”
The man muttered French, as tears fell from his eyes.
“Shh.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to kill you. No kill. Do you understand!”
Why am I yelling? Talking louder isn’t going to help him better understand me. Okay. I have food. I have a car. Where the fuck am I going?
I pointed to the gun and waved my hand. “No kill. No danger.”
Horror covered his face. He remained still.
I pulled the hood up of his jacket over my head and zipped it up. Stuffing more fries in my mouth, I found his phone in the right pocket, pulled it out, and dialed Maxwell’s number.
No signal. Fuck. Why no signal?
I put the phone up and gestured for him to come forward.
He rose and held two burgers close to him.
I made sure the hood was over me enough and got behind him. “Let’s go.”
Muttering French, he stumbled forward, stopped, and then turned around.
I ate some more fries. “What are you doing? We’re leaving.”
He studied me and bit his lip.
“You don’t want to do that, buddy. Just turn around and let’s go.”
Apparently, the guy had other plans. Shrieking, he charged for me, still holding the two burgers close to him. I swept his left foot off the floor. He tripped and hit the wall. The burgers crashed to the carpet.
I slapped him with my back hand, shoved him to the wall, and pressed the gun’s point to his throat.
He gasped.
My heart boomed in my ears. Salt coated my mouth. All I could think about, was grabbing more of those fries.
What am I doing? Maybe I should just stay here. No. Jean-Pierre might kill Kazimir once he gets his girl. I’ve got to be there.
The chubby man whimpered against the wall.
I glanced around. “Did you get something to drink?”
He mumbled.
“Damn it. Never mind. You can’t understand me.” I gestured at the door and yanked him forward. “Let’s go.”
He opened the door and hurried out.
No one was outside.
When I thought he was heading to the elevator, he pointed to the other end of the hallway and spoke in French.
“What?”
He dangled his keys.
“Car is over there. Okay. Let’s go.”
Shit. I didn’t know the building had a garage.
We rushed down the hallway, edging past other apartments.
I put my injured hand under his arm. Just in case, maybe someone would think we were an odd couple walking together. I had no idea how I’d hurt myself. It was probably the wrestling with Jean-Pierre that did it.
My head went dizzy.
I put more fries into my mouth and dropped the carton.
I’m free. Kind of.
We walked down a short flight of steps to a gray metal door. He opened it. We went outside. My hand gripped the gun, as I scanned the garage.
The poor man still appeared terrified as he guided me to his car.
Move it. We have to get out of here.
I sped up our pace.
Jean-Pierre had to have other men searching around for me. It would be stupid not to. There should be guys all over the place.
Did they think I left the area already? How long had I paced on the roof? Are they still here?
We got to the outside garage entrance. I pushed the door open, scanned the space as fast as I could, and nudged the man to go forward.
I stayed behind him with my gun pointed at his back. “Take your time. Keep it slow.”
Conversation sounded further off ahead of us. It could’ve been Jean-Pierre’s men, or residents talking about the craziness going on in their building. The words were all French.
The man whimpered.
“Shh. It’s almost over.” I patted his back. “Car. Vroom. Vroom. Get me there.”
Maybe I should’ve brought some of his burgers along.
A couple climbed into a car on the right. They continued to talk among themselves . I swore it was an argument, but I had no time to care. What I knew for sure, was that they didn’t notice us.
The chubby guy got us to his car.
“My buddy. That’s what I’m talking about.” I patted his back again.
He gave me the saddest smile and tried to hand me his keys.
I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. We’re in this together.”
He frowned.
“Vroom. Vroom.” I pointed to him. “You. Drive. Let’s go.”
Another whimper left him as he went to the driver’s seat.
I rushed over to the other side, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat , but still pointed the gun at him. I thanked God his windows had a tint to them.
He turned to me and spoke.
“Shh.” I pulled his phone out, turned it on, and dialed Kazimir. The phone didn’t ring. It didn’t matter. I would get to him soon. My whole body calmed for the first time that day.
Just get out of here.
I made a gesture of starting the car.
The chubby man put the keys in the ignition, started it, and backed out. He mumbled something.
I pushed the tip of the gun into his stomach. “Shh.”
He trembled next to me.
I tried the phone again. Still, there was no signal.
What the hell is going on?
He drove the car through the garage. It was a small parking space. Slowly, we went down all the floors . Once we hit the bottom level, I spotted several of Jean-Pierre’s men near the exit.
No way. I came too far.
I sank back in the seat and lowered the passenger seat a little.
My captor stirred behind the wheel.
“Everything is going fine.” I tapped the man’s stomach with the gun. “Keep going.”
He kept his speed and drove past the guys.
I let out a long breath, but didn’t raise up in the seat. Outside of the building, more of Jean-Pierre’s men scanned the area. A few looked to be heading our way.
No. No.
Someone called them and they turned and headed in the other direction.
Yes! Thank God.
The chubby man sniffled.
“Don’t worry.” I dialed Kazimir’s phone one more time. “You’ll be done with me soon. You just have to drop me off somewhere.”
A rang came and then the connection ended.
That’s okay. I’ll try again and a-fucking-gain. I won’t stop. I’m free.
A good mile away from Gwen’s building, the growing chaos continued. More smoke hung in the air. More sirens blared. The city had continued to break out in pandemonium. Several cop cars sped by us.
Finally, the phone showed a signal.
I yelled. “Yes, Jesus!”
The chubby guy jumped next to me.
“Sorry.” I dialed his number and thanked God once again, when it rang.
&
nbsp; Chapter 10
Kazimir
The exchange would be the end of this horrible nightmare.
Baba claimed my mouse would be back to me. I wouldn’t believe anything else.
My little mysh will be with me tonight, but will our enemies still be alive.
Blue yelled from across the living room. “The cellphone towers are up!”
“Hurry and Call Jean-Pierre.” I walked over to Maxwell. “This has gone on long enough.”
I took the phone.
It rang once.
Jean-Pierre answered, “Yes?”
“I’m texting you the address. Bring Emily in ten minutes.”
“Okay. I will.” Jean-Pierre hung up, before I could say anything else.
What was that about? No other instructions?
“The tower signals are fading again.” Worry creased Blue’s face. “He must have several people on this.”
“Hold the signal.”
“I’m trying.”
Maxwell dialed the other number that Emily had called from and kept it on his ear. “It’s just ringing.”
Fuck.
“We’re tracking the number now.”
I thought about what Baba told me. She mentioned that Emily would escape. With my mouse, anything was possible.
I grabbed both of my guns. “Let’s head to the exchange address.”
“And if Jean-Pierre’s putting a trap there?” Maxwell asked.
“He doesn’t have enough time to do it. And our people are already in place.” I gripped my guns. “Let’s go.”
Maxwell headed forward. “What’s up with the movie request to the theater guy?”
I rented out the entire theater. That was the only place that would be perfect for the exchange. Tight enough to make it difficult for Jean-Pierre to leave, but enough exits for my mouse to sneak out. I then asked for a list of movies that the theater had in house. They were ordered to empty the whole place out, and play a specific old classic gangster movie in theater 7.
“The movie is a gift to Jean-Pierre.” I cracked my neck. “It’s actually the only nice thing I will do for him.”
“How’s that?”
This particular movie, “The Public Enemy, is one of the best gangster films in history. James Cagney and Jean Harlow. You can’t get any better than that. It would be a decent way to die. Could you imagine, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, right as the most perfect film played above you.”
“I would rather die while a chick with big tits was riding me. Three chicks in fact.”
“I’ll remember that and try.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
“We’ll see.” I winked.
We rushed out of the house.
Blue traded her laptop for a blue handgun she removed from her bag.
Maxwell raised his eyebrows. “Damn. That’s pretty.”
She winked and hurried with us as we got into the jeep. Pavel followed too.
The door shut behind us.
In the other car, David had Jean-Pierre’s lover next to him. It calmed my nerves. The more I saw that damn woman petting the invisible unicorn, the more I yearned to shoot her.
Forget about it.
Soon I would have Emily in my arms.
Everything would come down to this moment. It was Jean-Pierre’s last chance to keep his lover alive. One slip up. One moment of him trying to be cute, and I would slit his flute player’s neck from ear to ear.
My phone rang.
More to say, Jean-Pierre. You hung up to fast.
I didn’t recognize the number, but that didn’t matter today. “Yes?”
“Fuck!” Emily yelled over the phone. “Kazimir!”
My heart boomed in my ears. “Emily!”
“I got away.”
Jesus fucking Christ, woman!
My hands shook. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know.”
Throbbing hit my head.
Her voice broke into static. The connection sucked due to Jean-Pierre messing with the towers.
“Mouse?”
She came back on the line. “Where’s the exchange?”
“Fuck the exchange. Where are you?”
“I don’t know. I’m heading. . .” she yelled at someone. “Where are we going?”
I widened my eyes. “Who is that? Who the fuck are you with?”
“My. . .new friend. Damn it. He can’t speak English. Where’s the exchange?”
“Who can’t speak English?”
“The guy.”
“What guy?”
“The one I kidnapped. He’s going to take me to the exchange.
I growled. “Mysh, I don’t care about the exchange. I want—”
“Jean-Pierre is heading there. Keep him going that way. We end this today.”
Goddamn it.
Rage erupted through me. “The exchange will be in the cinema of Forums de Halls. Theater 7. Where are you now?”
“In a car somewhere in Paris.”
The signal faded.
Her voice hit the static line again. “I’m. . .”
“Emily!”
“I’m on the way. . .”
“Emily?”
The phone clicked off. I dialed again and the dead signal came back up.
Fuck you, Jean-Pierre.
The jeep continued to drive to the location.
Emily’s kidnapping changed the view of Paris. It was now an ugly site. A bouquet of scars. Angry, and red. Blood spilled over the city. Fires scattered across the huge expanse, giving a new definition to its nickname—The City of Lights. Gray clouds of smoke weighed the city down.
Maxwell widened his eyes. “What the hell is going on?”
“Emily said she escaped and then the signal went out.”
Maxwell grinned as he shook his head. “Does she know where the drop off is?”
“Yes, but I don’t give a damn about that. I want to grab her.”
“Naw.” Maxwell waved his hand. “Emily is going to want closure. Let her meet us there.”
I fisted my hand. “Fuck closure. I want her safe and back to me.”
Maxwell put up his gun. “Then, let her do what she do.”
“What does that mean?”
“Relax.” Maxwell shrugged. “I can’t believe she escaped.”
“It was dangerous.”
You’re pregnant, mouse. You have to be careful.
Maxwell leaned back in his seat. “This is almost over, but. . .I should’ve known.” A weak laugh left him. “She always escapes in the end. She hates to be trapped.”
Blue quirked her eyebrows. “How did she do it?”
“She didn’t have time to tell me.” I ran my fingers through my hair, and gazed out the window as Paris sped by me. It was easy for Maxwell to have so much confidence. He didn’t have his whole heart beating in those tiny hands?
I barely made it without her.
You escaped again? I told you not to. You better get back to me safely. And Jean-Pierre better not get in the way.
Maxwell laughed.
I frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“Emily always keeps things interesting.”
“That she does.”
“Now what do we do with the French?” Maxwell asked. “Jean-Pierre hasn’t said anything—”
“And he won’t. All he cares about is his flute player. He’ll come for her, regardless.”
“What do we do?”
“Emily gets to me safely, then we kill them.”
Maxwell eyed me. “Jean-Pierre and his cousins?”
“All of them. Everybody that’s not us.” I glared out of the window. “Once Emily arrives. The cousins get it. The flute player too. Jean-Pierre dies last. I want him to see everything. After that, we go to Moscow, but some remain. We take out his bloodline. Fuck them all.”
Maxwell drew an invisible cross in front of him. “Remind me to never piss you off.”
A deadly quiet rode the rest of the
drive.
On my left, Pavel answered the phone and then turned to me. “David said that no one’s in the movie theater. Authorities are emptying out the mall now. We didn’t put in that call.”
“Jean-Pierre must’ve just warned them. Good. No innocents have to die, just his men.”
I thought about the additional information I learned about the exchange spot.
Forum des Halles, was its own little underground city. It had 150 stores along with high end restaurants, a hip-hop center, swimming pool, library, and gymnasium. It would be a maze getting out of that place.
Even more important, it would be a massive battle ground. Tons of things to use for death. If the authorities came inside—military, or police—I would kill them. No one would be safe if they got in my way.
I didn’t need to be behind anymore national incidents this year. The FBI already had my name connected to the bombing. President Smirnov might get cute, and try to help, or align with other governments.
No worries. Get Emily back and then think of the consequences.
Emily was tough and the most powerful women I knew. Once I had her back at my side, there would be no stress. If the governments came up against us, we would destroy them. If somehow they were able to put me behind bars, I knew Emily wouldn’t let me sit in there for too long.
That’s if, I don’t escape again.
I shook my head.
No. None of these things are my future. Think about her. It’s safe now.
For the first time since she was taken, I imagined her back within my arms.
It will happen. Baba confirmed it. There are no other options.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at the mall. The limo parked by the theater’s fire exit. Several of David’s men stood outside. While I expected Misha to be at my side, David had proven to be a huge help. Half the coming chaos would not have been executed so perfectly without him.
He has to be at my side from now on.
David got out the car with Jean-Pierre’s lover. He guided the flute player out of the other jeep and walked over to us.
Our men were already outside the theater. I entered from the fire exit and gestured for the flute player to come to me. A little sluggish, she hurried over.
What would the Butcher want with such a weak little thing?
I leaned Maxwell’s way. “What’s the girl’s name again?”
“Really?” Maxwell rolled his eyes. “It didn’t seem important to remember?”
Dirty Minds: The Lion and The Mouse (Book 4) Page 13
