by Wendy Rosnau
Nadja ignored the question and went straight to the heart of her concern. “What do you mean you can’t find my dau—find Alzbet?”
“This is strange. She never runs off.” Mady’s voice was flat. “I’ve got staff checking all the floors but no one has found her yet. Prisca is out looking, too.”
Nadja was starting to feel a mix of panic and fear. “Maybe she’s on the slopes having an early ski lesson.”
“No, she’s not.”
“How long have you been searching?”
“Over two hours. Nadja…it’s like she’s just disappeared. To make matters worse, this morning the wind-chill is below zero. If she’s out there without proper clothes…I don’t know, I’m really scared something bad has happened to her.”
Mady’s fears were also Nadja’s. “I’ll check with Kovar and see what he thinks. I’m on my way.”
“All right. I’ll run down Prisca and see if she’s had any luck. I’ll meet you at Kovar’s suite as soon as I can.”
Nadja was frantically looking for something to wear when Bjorn came through the door. “What’s up?”
“Mady called. Alzbet is missing. Where have you been?”
“Taking care of Kimball, getting you something to wear and to eat.”
She spied the black pants and sweater draped over his arm. He was also carrying a pastry bag and two coffees. She ignored the food and nearly knocked him over to collect the clothes he’d brought her.
“I stuffed the goods inside the sweater,” he said.
“The goods.”
He smiled. “You know, underwear.”
“Oh.” She shook out the sweater. A pair of black panties and a black bra fell to the floor. She scooped them up and dressed quickly.
“The cup marked M is yours. How you can drink brown milk is beyond me, but—”
“Did you hear what I said? My Alzbet is missing. I’m going to talk to Kovar. She couldn’t have just disappeared. Something’s wrong.”
“Want me to go with you? You seem rattled.”
“Rattled?”
“Ja, rattled. Don’t worry, kids run off. It’s what they do. She’s probably in a closet somewhere with a flashlight, playing I Spy.”
“I can only hope, but something tells me that’s not the case.”
“Want me to do something?”
Nadja jammed her hands on her hips. “Yes, as a matter a fact I do. You can be a damn bit more worried.”
“She’s not my kid, so why would I? Besides, kids aren’t my thing. Don’t get me wrong. The other night she was cute enough. From what I saw of her in the dark, but—”
“Just shut up.” Nadja grabbed her boots and plopped down on the couch to pull them on. “You don’t think Holic found out we’re here, do you?”
“No. Why?”
“Because if he did and he learned that—Never mind.” She shoved her foot into the first boot and ran the zipper. As she reached for the next, she saw Bjorn set the cups on the coffee table, then he sat down beside her and relaxed on the sofa as if to take a nap.
“Nadja, listen. Calm down and give it some time—she’s all right.”
She blew him off, and finished zipping up her second boot. But when she attempted to stand, he grabbed her arm, pushed her back and leaned into her space. With his free hand he reached across and braced it on the arm of the sofa to pin her in. He was no longer nonchalant, and she suddenly realized that he’d been playing a game with her.
“Now then, just what the hell is going on? Talk to me, honey. What are you hiding? What’s this kid got to do with Holic?”
“She doesn’t. I’m just worried, is all. She’s small and vulnerable, and from your experience on the streets, you should know what it’s like to be cold and alone.” She shoved him hard and scrambled off the couch. “I have to go see Kovar. I’ll call you if I need you, so don’t go anywhere.”
Kovar was dead when Nadja entered his bedroom. She knew it without touching him, without even searching for a pulse. She stared down at her grandfather where he sat slumped in his wheelchair. Although it appeared that another heart attack was the cause of his death, she suspected otherwise. That became fact when she examined him and found his neck broken and all the fingers on both of his hands broken as well.
She knew then who had killed him. It had to be Holic. He usually used a single bullet to the right temple, but in this case he had entered the suite not as an assassin, Nadja decided, but to harvest information.
Had he gotten what he had come for?
She hadn’t ever thought that her grandfather’s death would bother her—she had only envisioned relief and freedom—but she was suddenly struggling for air. She forced herself to take a deep breath, then to move. She began to search the room for clues, but after ten minutes she had found nothing. Not even the secret room had been touched.
There had been no struggle on Kovar’s part, which meant either that he had been expecting Holic, or that someone else had accompanied her brother-in-law into the suite to force Kovar to cooperate.
She was confident that Holic didn’t know she worked for Quest, so if he had learned that she was there at the lodge it shouldn’t have raised suspicion. Not unless…
Unless she was on the kill-file. Polax had told her there was a possibility that a number of Quest agents had made the Chameleon’s roster. If she was one of them, then last night at After Shock, when she’d locked eyes with Holic, he could have identified her.
The broken bones in Kovar’s hands, and the manner in which it had been done, guaranteed that he’d been tortured mercilessly. There were signs that he’d been gagged. No doubt to muffle his cries of pain.
The question that came back to her time and time again was, had he died guarding their secrets, or had he crumbled and eventually divulged that Alzbet was her daughter? If he had, then that would explain why Alzbet was missing.
Nadja called Bjorn. “Get over here. Fourth floor, end of the hall.”
As she hung up, the door opened and closed, and she rushed into the living room. It was Mady.
“What did Kovar say? Does he know where she is? I’ve been thinking about Gerda—maybe she—What’s wrong, Nadja? You look so pale.”
“It’s Kovar. He’s dead.”
“What? No!” Mady hurried past Nadja and entered Kovar’s bedroom.
Nadja followed. “I found him like that. He—”
“Had another heart attack.”
“No. It wasn’t his heart.”
“Not his heart?”
“His neck’s been broken, and his hands.”
Mady’s eyes went wide. “His hands?”
“Every finger on both hands.” Nadja watched Mady’s behavior for a moment, then asked, “Mady, what do you know?
“What are you asking?”
“I think you know what I’m asking.”
“I don’t. Why would I?”
“Stop it, Mady. Holic was here. He’s been here this past week. Don’t say no—I saw him at After Shock. He did this.”
“Are you crazy? He wouldn’t do this. He has no reason.”
“Your tone is defensive, and the words spoken too fast. Both incriminate you.”
Nadja and Mady turned to see Bjorn standing in the bedroom doorway.
“Who are you?” Mady asked.
“Ask your sister who I am.”
Mady addressed her sister. “Nad?”
Nadja glared at Bjorn, then said to Mady, “He’s my partner.”
“Partner? What kind of partner?”
I work for an intelligence agency, Mady. I’m not in insurance. Bjorn and I are—”
“You didn’t come to visit Kovar, you’re here to hurt my husband.”
“He’s a killer, Mady. Powerful people pay him to kill their enemies. He’s a hired assassin, and he’s very good at it. He’s wanted by every government agency in the country.”
“He kills only bad people,” Mady reasoned.
“Then you knew?”
“Not in the beginning.”
“Why did he kill Kovar?”
“I tell you he didn’t do this. He wouldn’t.”
Bjorn moved through the door and crouched in front of Kovar’s still body.
“Let’s ask Holic,” Nadja suggested. “Where is he now?”
“I’m not going to tell you that. I’m not going to help you hunt down my husband. You said you were an agent. What kind of agent?”
Nadja glanced at Bjorn. “I…”
“We’re in Special Operations.”
“And do you kill people?”
Again Bjorn answered. “Sometimes.”
“You, Nad? You’ve killed people? Honestly, what happened to the sweet Naddy I remember?”
“What happened, Mady, is I had my eyes opened at the end of a leather strap, and Kovar’s iron will, while you were away pretending that love could turn poison into wine. But it can’t be done. Not where Holic is concerned.”
“You kill people, too, and yet you judge him.”
“And you, you support him even though he killed Kovar.”
“He didn’t!”
“And I believe he’s taken Alzbet.”
“I tell you he didn’t do this.” Mady shook her head wildly. “And why would he take Alzbet? For what reason?”
“Where’s Prisca?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve looked but she wasn’t where I thought she’d be. She’s not answering her cell phone, either, so I’ve asked a few of the maids to search for her.”
“You’re as worried as I am, Mady.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Yes you are, and I know why. Holic has taken both of them.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. He wouldn’t kidnap his own child. He wouldn’t need to.”
“No, unless he’s on the run, and wanted to make sure she went along. The other night when Pris stopped by she mentioned him. She’s very taken by her father. She loves him very much. What would she do for him, Mady? Would she break the law? Lie? Steal?”
Her words seemed to alarm Mady even more. “No, he wouldn’t take her from me. He wouldn’t make her do those things.” She started rubbing her arms while she paced. “He wouldn’t leave without telling me. He just wouldn’t.”
“Mady, talk to me before he gets too far away. Tell me what you know.”
She glared at Nadja. “Stop it, Nad. I’m not going to help you, so just stop it! Now get out of here. Both of you.”
“We’re not going anywhere.” She asked again, “Where would Holic take Prisca and Alzbet?”
“He would never hurt Prisca. And I told you, he has no reason to take Alzbet, just like he has no reason to kill Kovar.”
“Tell me this. Has he been acting differently the past day or two? Anything unusual?”
“He asked to see Alzbet.”
“And why is that odd?”
“Holic isn’t fond of children. He didn’t even like Pris until she was older.”
“When was this?”
“Last night. He asked me to bring her for a visit.”
“And did you?”
“Prisca took her up.”
“Up?”
“He’s been staying on the tenth floor.”
Nadja thought about the helipad on the rooftop. “If the helicopter is gone, then he has Alzbet and he knows.”
“Knows what?”
It was Bjorn who had asked the question. Nadja turned to him in time to see him set his jaw. It was as if he was waiting to hear what he already knew. But he didn’t know. How could he?
“He knows what, Nadja?”
“That we’re here.”
“Maybe.”
He was still looking at her as if he knew. If he did, then why hadn’t he said something? She had to tell him the rest. It was the only way to spur him into action. Alzbet needed to be found.
She said, “If he took Alzbet there’s a good chance he knows who her mother is.”
“And that’s important because…?” Again it was Bjorn asking the question.
Nadja raised her chin. “She’s my daughter, not Ruger’s.”
“Bingo. Why did I already know that?”
“If you did, then why—?”
“Make you say it? Because, honey, you promised me days ago no more bullshit.”
“She’s not yours,” Mady interrupted. “Kovar said—”
“What you needed to hear so you wouldn’t ask too many questions. She’s mine, Mady,” Nadja confessed, “and I think Holic knows it and intends to use her to lure me into a trap so he can kill me. Me and Bjorn.”
Mady’s eyes shifted from Bjorn to Nadja, then back to Bjorn. She studied him for a moment, then said, “I knew there was something about you that looked familiar in the elevator the other day, Mr. Larsen. It was the eyes. They’re Alzbet’s eyes. You’re her father.” She looked back at Nadja. “It’s true, isn’t it? He’s your child’s father?”
Jakob directed the helicopter pilot toward Glass Mountain. They had left the helipad on the rooftop at six sharp.
While Prisca held Alzbet, Holic considered his next move. Nadja would soon find Kovar dead and her brat missing, and then… Then after a few hours of painfully waiting to hear something, he would give her a call, and an ultimatum. His plan was perfect, and in the end he would have what he needed to move forward.
The use of his hand was gone; he no longer entertained hopes that it would heal. He would never return to the life he loved, but he would survive. He was a wealthy man, and he knew how to get what he wanted. And right now he wanted two things. He wanted revenge on Bjorn Odell and his daughter’s loyalty. He would have both shortly.
He still wasn’t sure about Mady. It looked as though she’d been lying to him for days. Maybe years.
Loyalty was everything.
If there was none, then what good was she?
If Mady’s love was false, he’d been a fool.
He looked to Prisca and realized that if that was the case, the only person he had left in his life—that he wanted in his life—was his beautiful daughter.
She must have sensed him looking at her, because she turned around and smiled. He smiled back as if nothing was wrong. As if their sudden flight with Nadja’s brat was nothing to be alarmed about.
Nothing would stop him now, he decided. Revenge was in sight. Revenge as well as the pleasure of seeing Mady and Nadja racing up the mountain to save their children.
Of course it would do neither of them any good to plead with him. He already knew who would live and who would die. Still, it was always entertaining to see a beautiful woman on her knees pleading for mercy.
“Jakob, I have a question to ask you. Did you say Otto was near by?”
“Graz. Why?”
“Contact him. I need a favor. It involves Pris.”
Jakob grinned where he sat opposite Holic. “You know anything that involves your daughter would be Otto’s pleasure. He’s always had an eye for Prisca, and he’d hoped one day the feeling would be mutual.”
Not in my lifetime, Holic thought. Otto Breit was resourceful and smart, good bodyguard material, but nothing more. He didn’t voice his thoughts, however.
He said, “We’ll discuss Otto’s future once we get to the cabin.”
Chapter 19
He would have strangled her if he hadn’t walked out. And two hours later he still wanted to.
He had a child. A little girl. And Nadja had kept it from him.
Bjorn stood facing Glass Mountain, the cold wind whipping at his hair and clothes, but for the first time in his life he didn’t feel it. He didn’t feel anything. He was numb.
He had a child. A little girl with blue eyes like his—if what Mady said was true. And it was. He’d seen it in Nadja’s face.
He had been with the girl last night, and because there had been no books to read he had told her a story about a boy in Copenhagen who had lived on the docks. He’d made his life into a fairy tale, when it had been far from one. The irony was th
at he’d been telling his story to his kid.
It had been dark, and the low-watt night-light on the table next to the bed had given everything in the room a muted amber glow. He hadn’t paid much attention to his daughter’s face.
His daughter.
Bjorn drew hard on his cigarette, ignoring the phone in his pocket going off again. It was her. Nadja had been ringing him for the past hour.
When he’d walked out, she had called him back, but he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t look at her.
Her face when Mady had said Alzbet was his… He would never forget it.
Damn her to hell, he thought. She’d had plenty of opportunities to tell him about his daughter. She could have said something in Prague. And if not Prague, why not Nordzum? They’d been snowed in for three days together. She’d admitted she was a double agent, and that she had a bionic nerve chip in her leg. Hell…why had she stopped there?
Last night she’d looked him straight in the eyes and lied again. Then she’d made love with him—made love like she had truly wanted him. Cared for him. But that was her specialty, making men believe in the magic.
After all, she was the best in the business. The stats at Quest proved it.
If Holic hadn’t made his move and killed Kovar, then what? If he hadn’t kidnapped their little girl, would she ever have told him?
No, he didn’t believe she would have, and that was why he could never forgive her. Not ever.
It was just a good thing he hadn’t told her how he felt last night. How he’d been feeling since he’d laid eyes on her in Prague.
Bjorn remembered the tattoo. A heart with angel wings. At least she had cared about their child. He knew she had, because when she’d learned that Alzbet was missing she had been in a panic. He had keyed in on that, and that’s when he’d begun to rethink her actions since they’d arrived at Groffen. Why would she be so upset about Ruger’s child? A little worry was normal, but she’d been shaky and close to irrational. An agent of her caliber irrational?
No, it didn’t fit.
He swore again, then checked his watch. He’d better get back. Nadja was right—Holic had their daughter and he was going to use her as bait. Soon they would get a message detailing the conditions of their daughter’s release. Only Holic would never let the child live. Not his child.
