“Give me the statue, Gideon.” He dug his hand in Dobran’s hair and jerked his head back. He held the statue squarely in front of his face. “If you don’t keep your eyes open, I’m going to hammer this statue into a pile of rubble.”
“Bitch. Arrogant bitch…Only a down payment. She promised she’d give me more. She said she had lots more…”
“Who?”
“But she never gave me anything else…and she even wanted that statue back. Bitch.” He reached out and tried to grasp the statue. “So beautiful…Mine.”
“Who?” Joe repeated.
“Did I tell you I was going to castrate you?”
“Who?”
“Maldara…Kiyani…”
“Why?”
“How do I know? She wanted it done…” His eyes closed. “They pay me, I do it. But he was too dangerous. She shouldn’t have cheated me.”
“Who was he?”
“You know who he is. Everyone knows him…” He was dozing off to sleep again. “But she shouldn’t have tried to take the statue back…”
And no matter how Joe shook him, he only got mumbles and complaints. Joe was cursing low and vehemently beneath his breath as he released Dobran’s hair and let his head fall back on the pillow of the couch. “Dammit, it’s not enough.”
“What do you mean? You know it was Zahra. He said as much.”
“Yes, but I’m going to have to squeeze more out of him. I can’t risk his going on the run or ending up a corpse if Zahra decides he has to be taken out.” He put the statue in his backpack. “And Eve may need him to testify if all this shit comes tumbling down around her.” He slipped on the backpack. “Come on. Help me. We’ve got to take him with us.”
“That was the scenario I wasn’t looking forward to facing.” Gideon helped him get Dobran onto his feet, and they half carried, half pulled him toward the door. “How do you intend we do it? Go right through all those sentries, lugging him along behind us?”
“No, we go back to the gallery, pick up Sebak again, and let him show us the other way out.”
“What other way out? We have the house-renovation plans. Every exit leads out front or to the side gardens protected by sentries.”
“But there was something missing.” They’d reached the grand staircase and were having to balance Dobran’s weight to keep him from falling down the stairs. “I told you that it wasn’t right.”
“But you didn’t tell me why.”
“The gallery. You said everything was built around keeping the gallery safe. But there was only one door, and it led to the hall and the front doors. Dobran would have wanted another way to get his treasures out of the château in an emergency. Only he wouldn’t have wanted it put in the house plans for everyone to see.”
“You’re guessing.”
“Of course.” They were on the staircase landing. “But it’s a good guess, and I’m banking on it. It’s better than trying to yank Dobran through that garden and having to deal with—”
An explosion rocked the house.
Fire!
Flames were suddenly ripping through the foyer below them.
Then another explosion.
“The gallery.” Joe and Gideon were dragging Dobran down the rest of the steps. “Get him to the gallery.”
Smoke.
Another explosion. This time from the kitchen.
It was hard to see now.
It took them twice as long as it should have to reach the gallery.
A minute more to punch in the code he’d watched Sebak enter.
Then they were inside.
The heavy steel door slid closed behind them.
Joe released his hold on Dobran and pressed the lock on the door. “Bring him. I’ve got to get to Sebak.” He was running down the aisle. “We’ve got to get out of here before the local fire department shows up with the police and an antiterrorist unit. And those grounds out front will be teeming with Dobran’s sentries by now.” He’d reached Sebak and knelt to free him from the handcuffs and rip off his tape.
“What did you do?” Sebak screeched. Tears were streaming down his chalk-white face. “I heard the explosions. Are you trying to kill me? I did everything you told me to do.” Then he saw Gideon and Dobran. “I thought you were only going to question him. He’s the one who will kill me.”
“Not if you get us out of here,” Joe said as he jerked him to his feet. “You’ll never see Dobran again if you help me get him away from here before anyone breaks in and tosses another bomb. I didn’t