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“Don’t, Simone, please!” Logan begged.

The car slammed to a stop. She flew forward, and her head slammed into the back seat. Even as she was pushing back, Simone saw the driver aim his gun at Logan.

And Konstantin—a bleeding Konstantin, blood dripped down his cheek and some pooled in his right eye—yanked his gun out again and pointed it at her. “Let’s make sure you understand the situation.”

Mission accomplished.

Mission accomplished.

“You’re going to retrieve my missing prizes, and if you don’t, I will kill everyone you care about in this world. Starting with Nana. Moving on to Logan. Then I will make you beg for death before I finally grant you that ever-so-painful release.” The blood dripped onto his coat. Blood from where she’d clawed the hell out of his face. “Do we understand each other, lisichka? Do we have a deal?”

Oh, they had a deal, all right. The deal was…she was going to kill him at the first opportunity.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Happy now?” Hugo bit out as blood poured from his broken nose and busted lip. He glared at Ryan.

No, Ryan was not happy. “She screamed.” That had been Simone’s scream, right before the line went dead. “She was supposed to be safe. Logan was supposed to keep her safe.” He’d sent Simone away with Logan because the prick should only have allegiance to her. She was Logan’s family, after all. Family first. But Logan—he’d betrayed her?

I sent her off to die.

Rage and fear nearly splintered him apart.

Hugo spat blood at him.

Ryan punched the jerk again. Hard. Right in the face. After that prick had come at him with a blade, Ryan had unleashed on the fool.

He’d pummeled the bastard into the floor, only to be hauled back by Jamar and Charlotte.

And, even as Ryan’s fist connected with Hugo’s face again…

Jamar hauled him back once more. “Focus!” Jamar blasted.

Oh, he had focus. The focus of his fist hitting Hugo’s face.

“Control,” Jamar snapped as his grip tightened on Ryan’s shoulders. “Get your control back so we can deal with this clusterfuck.”

It was a major clusterfuck. They’d forced all of the customers and staff out of the restaurant. Now it was just filled with CIA and MI6 operatives. Even Jezebel was on her way over.

Everyone was there but…

Where the hell is Harry? He hadn’t seen that green agent anywhere. What was Harry off doing? Shoveling more updates to the pencil pushers back at MI6’s main office? Ryan shook free of Jamar’s hold.

“Told him what you wanted…me to say…” Blood dripped down Hugo’s chin. “Happy?” Hugo sat in a chair right in front of Ryan.

Ryan leaned forward so that he could be on eye level with the bastard. “You came to kill me.”

Hugo’s mouth curled into a half-smile.

“You are working for Konstantin.” Obviously. “Were you doing that shit all along? Were you running behind Frederick’s back the whole time?” Where the hell was Frederick?

Unfortunately, Ryan had a bad suspicion about Frederick’s location. What had Hugo told him…that he could be seeing Frederick soon? Considering that Hugo had come to the restaurant intending to kill Ryan, then he must have meant…what, exactly, about Frederick’s location?

That I’d see him in hell?

Hugo hadn’t answered Ryan’s questions. So he pushed, “He’s dead, isn’t he? You killed Frederick?”

Not a half-smile any longer. A full smile stretched across Hugo’s face. Dammit. Ryan’s head whipped toward a watchful Charlotte. “Get a crew out to Frederick’s country estate. Search the place. Top to bottom.”