The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  He took two steps toward the Land Rover when he remembered the name written on the sheet of paper. Gabriel ran back to the Mercedes and dropped to his knees to crawl inside. He pawed through his uncle’s pockets and felt around the car amid the broken glass and other bits of trash before he finally found what he was looking for.

  “What are you doing?” Justin cried.

  Gabriel held up Sacha’s smartphone and grinned. “Do you have a knife? I need to cut off some of his fingers.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “I don’t know which fucking finger unlocks the phone. I thought I’d just take them all.”

  Justin bent down and snatched the phone out of Gabriel’s hand. He flipped it over and looked at it for a couple of seconds before he finally shook his head. “No fingers needed. I can hack this.”

  Gabriel backed out of the car but didn’t stand. He wasn’t fond of the idea of cutting off body parts, even if it was his bastard uncle, but he knew that phone had to have important and useful information. He’d pull the man’s eye out for the damn retina scan. “Are you sure?”

  “It’s a Russian phone. Totally hackable.”

  Gabriel grunted and let Justin help him to his feet. They really were out of time. Justin tossed him the phone as they got into the Land Rover and peeled out in a puff of smoke and burning rubber. Gabriel had barely gotten his seat belt on when he was thrown into Justin on a sharp turn. The man was an impressive driver. He took them down one side street and then another and another, taking them on an incredibly twisting course away from the airport and toward Budapest.

  The sound of the sirens still chased them, but Gabriel never spotted a police car in their rearview mirror. Returning to Budapest was a dangerous gambit. It was easier to get lost in the busier city, but the crowded streets also threatened to slow down their escape. His only hope was that the street remained quiet for early afternoon on a Monday in winter. Tourists were thin and the weather was bitter cold. No reason to be out.

  After a few more turns, Justin pulled into a parking garage, smiled at the attendant as he paid the fee, then found an open spot on a crowded floor. He pulled straight into the opening, hiding the dents, scrapes, and dings that marred the front of the car.

  Turning off the engine, Justin looked over at Gabriel. “Well, that was exciting. Chase music would have made it better.”

  “Maybe. Suggestions for getting out of town?”

  “There’s a taxi stand two blocks from here. If we’re lucky, we’ll grab a cab there. We take it to the Four Seasons deeper in the city. Pop into the bar for a midday drink, and then hire a town car to take us to the airport. From there, we rent a car and drive somewhere off the radar of your family to plan our next move. It’ll also give me a chance to get into your uncle’s phone.”

  That was…an incredibly sound plan. The stop at the Four Seasons would definitely throw anyone tracking them from the scene of the accident off their scent. The posh hotel certainly didn’t cater to thugs and riffraff that pulled hits in the middle of the day.

  “Huh…”

  “What?”

  “I had no idea that you were more than a pretty face and tight ass,” Gabriel teased.

  Justin scowled and pointed one finger at Gabriel. “Watch it, G Love. Or you’re never touching this tight ass again.”

  “That will never happen.”

  Justin rolled his eyes and started to get out of the car. “Come on. I need a drink after that nonsense.”

  Gabriel couldn’t agree more. He knew he wouldn’t be able to relax again until they were out of Hungary, maybe not until he was back in the States with Justin.

  Chapter 6

  Gabriel rubbed his eyes as he walked over to the window. He was exhausted and his body still ached. Nearly three hours in the car driving and then more hours looking over the paperwork they’d stolen off Jozsef had left his eyes sore and tired. Leaving Budapest had been relatively easy as they followed Justin’s plan. They’d retreated west to Vienna. He hated going west when he was sure that his sister Nadia was somewhere in the east, but Vienna was a major city and had a large airport that would offer flights to their next destination, wherever it might be.

  Pushing aside the curtain, he stared out at the city glowing brightly against the black sky. He’d been to Vienna only a couple of times in the past, and they’d all been incredibly brief trips. His brow furrowed as he stared out the window without actually seeing the buildings. Had he never killed anyone in Vienna? No. He hadn’t. Meetings had been conducted here, but he’d never actually tracked down a target in this city.

  Room service had been ordered, and Justin was still tinkering with Sacha’s phone. Photographs of the paper documents they recovered were taken and sent off to Marilyn, who was already tracking down a potential buyer. He was a little surprised Justin didn’t want to simply give the information away to whoever wanted it. At least there was a chance to make a little money off this endeavor to offset some of their costs.

  The information they were selling was a similar setup to what they’d already seen happening across the United States. False information supported by more lies that would be published across various social media sites and in so-called reputable news sources. Russia was trying to stir up more anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, and anti-EU sentiment to destabilize the region.

  Sadly, Gabriel couldn’t say he was surprised by it. His father was all about expanding the power of Russia, which in turn expanded his own power and prestige. Nicolai Krestyanov saw himself as the true force behind the throne. While Gabriel’s reasons for killing his father were purely selfish, he had no doubt in his mind that the world would be better off without Nicolai around to create global trouble.

  But the simple job of killing Nicolai and Nadia didn’t feel so simple anymore.

  Why had Sacha written the name Maryska on a piece of paper? It was entirely possible that he was talking about someone other than his mother. Except that it wasn’t an incredibly common name. What were the odds that he knew someone else with that name?

  “Fuck, yes!” Justin shouted.

  Gabriel jerked away from the window and walked back to where Justin was sitting on the small sofa. He was hunched forward over his laptop and Sacha’s smartphone. “What?”

  “It took a little more doing than I was expecting, but I’m in the phone. Disabled the GPS chip so they can’t track it. I’m going to download all the information from the phone into my laptop. It’ll be easier to sort through everything there.”

  “Have you seen anything else mentioning Maryska?”

  Justin’s head came up and he stared at Gabriel, not even trying to mask his worry. “I just got in. Haven’t dug through anything yet.”

  “Well, just look at the contacts at least. I need to know if there are multiple entries.” He had to know if it was the same person. It couldn’t be.

  But what if it was?

  Justin sighed softly but thumbed through the contacts. Gabriel stood over his shoulder, watching the scrolling list. When nothing came up, he did a search. Still nothing.

  Justin put the phone on the table while the contents downloaded to the laptop and looked up at Gabriel. His expression made it clear Gabriel wasn’t going to like what he was about to say, but knowing Justin, he wasn’t going to hold back.

  “You’re not thinking clearly.”

  A harsh, bitter bark of laughter erupted from Gabriel, and he paced over to the king-sized bed. The hotel room wasn’t big and didn’t give him nearly enough room to properly pace, but now that Justin had voiced a growing worry gnawing at the back of his brain, he needed a whole lot more room or they were going to come to blows.

  “What about this plan to kill my family makes you think I could ever think clearly?” he demanded with a sneer. “These people were supposed to love and protect me. Teach me things like compassion and honesty. They taught me how to lie and kill. That’s all I’m good for, Justin.”

  “That’s Viktor Krestyanov talking.”


  “Bullshit! Viktor was raised on it, but Gabriel Prescott became more efficient and ruthless than Viktor could ever be.”

  Justin stood and closed the distance between them. Gabriel tried to move around him, avoid his hands, but they were already closing over his shoulders. “Gabriel’s also the man who cooked me dinner and protected my back. He’s the man that I trust with my life.”

  Gabriel swallowed hard against the lump that was forming in his throat. It was easier when he was filled with rage and ready to burn the world down. Justin’s ability to reach inside of him, soothe him all the way to his soul, left him feeling off-balance and shaky.

  He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak but had to stop and clear his throat again. “Are you suggesting that we need to pull back even farther? Return to the States and make a longer-term plan?”

  “No. I want to get this done now. It’s more dangerous to knock it all out at once when they are expecting us, but the way you’ve effectively taken them down could also make them more careless and desperate.”

  Relief swept through Gabriel, but he tried to mask it with a curt nod. He didn’t want to put this off any longer. He didn’t want to risk his family sending someone to the US or finding Justin. They would build a life that didn’t include looking over their shoulders.

  “Then what has you worried?”

  Justin smirked at Gabriel and he instantly realized the stupidity of his question. Everything about this entire endeavor would have a sane person worried.

  “I meant what new thing…”

  “Your mother.”

  Gabriel tried to pull out of Justin’s grasp so he could resume pacing, but Justin tightened his hold before shoving him back to sit on the edge of the bed. Gabriel blinked in surprise.

  “First, you need to slow down. You’re still recovering from getting your ass kicked.”

  “Thanks,” Gabriel grumbled.

  “You need food and sleep.”

  “What I need is—”

  “Is to listen to me,” Justin cut him off. He’d raised his voice and gave Gabriel a little shake. “It’s not just your life you’re risking on this now. I’m here. I’m thrilled to be fucking here with you, but I’m not looking to go out in a blaze of glory in Europe because your family is a bunch of assholes. I’m really looking forward to having the dog versus cat argument with you.”

  Gabriel stared at Justin, speechless for a second, trying to follow the man’s train of thought, but he was drawing a blank. “What are you talking about? Is that an American sex thing?”

  “God, no. Dogs and cats. You know, furry animals you keep as pets.”

  “Of course I know what they are. Why are we arguing about them?”

  “Because we have to decide what we’re going to have when we live together.”

  “That’s ridiculous. We’re going to have cats.”

  Justin shook his head while making a tsking sound. “Nope. Dogs. Four of them. Big ones, too.” Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, but Justin was already waving his words off. “But we’ll get into that later. The point is that we can’t figure out that and all the other good stuff until we’re done with this. Which means we gotta get out of this alive.” He tapped his temple with his left index finger. “We gotta be smart.”

  Taking a deep breath, Gabriel sat up a little straighter on the bed. He wanted this life that Justin kept tempting him with, and he knew to get it, he was going to have to be as objective as possible every step of the way. “Say it.”

  “The thought that your mother just might be alive is totally fucking with your head. It’s all you’ve talked about since you first saw her name on that paper. We don’t know if it’s her Sacha was talking about, or if he was talking about someone else. Hell, it could be a trap. They could be fucking with you, luring you in to kill us both.”

  “You think that I don’t know that?”

  “No, I don’t! You’ve never once uttered the word ‘trap’ to me. As far as I know, it hasn’t occurred to you. To me, it looks like you’re going to rush right in on the first lead that you uncover. And I’m going to run right behind you because I’m here to protect your ass.”

  Gabriel closed his eyes, muscles tightening against the image that immediately flashed across his brain of them both being gunned down in a hailstorm of bullets because he was being an idiot.

  “You’re right,” he murmured. “The moment I saw her name, I lost all objectivity. It caught me off guard. There’s a little voice in the back of my head whispering that it’s all a trap, but there’s another voice that keeps questioning it. What if I’m wrong about it being a trap? What if she is still alive? Does Father know? Has he kept her prisoner? Or did he just discover that she’s alive and she’s in danger?”

  Justin sat on the edge of the bed, his shoulder rubbing against Gabriel’s. He reached over and threaded his fingers through Gabriel’s.

  “Was your mother like your father and the rest of your family?”

  “No,” he said sharply. He softened his tone, but still repeated, “God, no. My mother…I was nine when she died. That would have made Nadia about seven. We were both at boarding school. It was where we spent most of our time from the age of six on. We were home for summers, but we were just as likely to be at my uncle’s summer home as we were to be home with our mother. But she…” Gabriel paused and sighed so deeply it was like he could feel it coming from the very bottom of his soul. “I don’t remember much. She was rarely in the same room as my father, and they almost never talked when they were together. I don’t think I ever saw her smile around him. But she smiled and played with us when it was just the three of us. She was kind and loving. She liked to play games and draw flowers.”

  “Do you think she was unhappy with your father?”

  “I know she was.”

  “Do you think she could have faked her death to escape him?” Justin nudged Gabriel with his elbow. “Her son has already done it once. Could run in the family.”

  “Maybe. But if she did, why did she leave us with him? If she was unhappy with Nicolai, did she really think it was smart to leave her two children with him?”

  “Would Nicolai have let you and Nadia go?”

  Gabriel frowned and shook his head. There was no way in hell that Nicolai would have let Maryska take his children. The future of his family line.

  “But he may have been willing to let her go since he already had what he wanted from her.”

  “True.”

  Justin tightened his fingers around Gabriel’s. “I’m not saying that we give up on her. I just don’t want us chasing after leads that we can’t back up with some facts. I don’t want to give your family the upper hand any more than they already have.”

  “You’re right. We’ll be careful.”

  Gabriel looked over at Justin to find the same look of worry on his face. He knew Justin could see the exhaustion weighing down on him. His body ached badly, down to the bone in some places. He needed another round of painkillers, but they made his brain too damn foggy, and he had to remain sharp. The remainder of his family shouldn’t know that he was in Vienna. No one should know. And he wasn’t taking any more chances than necessary with Justin’s life.

  “Room service should be here any minute. Eat and then get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about our next step.”

  Gabriel nodded. He toed off his shoes and started to work on the buttons of his shirt. They’d picked up some clothes for him on the way to Budapest, but Gabriel was eyeing a heavy sweatshirt he’d seen in Justin’s duffle bag. It would be warm and smell like the man. The perfect combination to put him right to sleep when his belly was filled with food.

  For now, he was content to not think about the next step. It was easy. Nadia was the next step. The next target. For now, talk of Maryska would have to wait.

  Justin couldn’t stop the smile that stretched his lips as Gabriel’s snore rose in volume for a moment and then settled back down to a whisper of sound. He’d
fallen asleep within fifteen minutes of finishing his dinner. Justin had pressed him to get a carb-heavy meal. He’d lost too much weight during the past couple of months, and his body could use the energy for both healing and to lull the man into a deeper sleep.

  Fuck, he was turning into a mama hen with this man. But finding Gabriel in that basement had done a number on his own sense of security. His first instinct was to drug Gabriel and drop his ass on the first flight heading to the States. He needed at least three months of rest and recuperation before hunting down any more of these assholes.

  But Gabriel was not going to stop. Not until it was finally over.

  Justin understood this drive to have the slate wiped clean. To be safe. To keep those you loved safe. So, he stayed by Gabriel’s side through everything that was headed their way.

  He was about to turn his attention back to the laptop when a call flashed across his phone. The caller came across unknown, but he had a strong feeling he knew exactly who it was, and that wasn’t good.

  Glancing at the softly snoring man one last time, Justin picked up the phone and hesitated. His instinct was to step out into the hallway to take the call, but he didn’t like leaving Gabriel alone for even a second. Not when he was unconscious, and his family was doing everything within its power to kill him. With a growl of frustration, Justin stepped into the bathroom and closed the door until there was only a crack of space left that allowed him to still see the entire hotel room.

  “What?” he snarled when he answered the call.

  “You’re in Vienna.”

  Justin rolled his eyes. It was exactly who he was afraid it would be—Patrick Carlisle, his old boss at the CIA. Leaving The Company was not as easy as he’d portrayed it to Gabriel, but the man had enough on his mind with his family. He didn’t need to worry about Justin’s own entanglements…yet.