Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

LAINEY

PRAGUE

E verything came down to family.

Everything .

Arm in arm, Em and I matched paces as we approached the Charles Bridge. Em let out a happy little sigh the closer we got.

"We're here," she said, her excitement leaking into her voice as she squeezed my arm. We were in warm coats, hats to keep our ears warm, gloves for our hands, and fur-lined boots for our feet. "We're really here."

"You said you never actually saw the city when you were here previously." The minute she'd let that slip, I put a visit to the bridge at the top of the list. We'd arrived in Prague over the past two days, traveling in smaller groupings.

Currently, following not far behind us were Bodhi and Freddie. They'd both been game when I said I wanted to take Em for coffee and to see the bridge.

"I didn't," she said with a sigh as we paused to cross the Vitava river. "Doing anything touristy was not an option. Not really. Limited schedule, high engagement. I spent most of my not practicing time, sleeping."

"Well, luckily for you, we have time on this trip." The urgency in my blood burned. We had a handful of leads. Leads that the guys were in the process of running down now. Emersyn had to head to the theater today to meet the cast that would be working in and around her show.

But only if we got confirmation that the rest of her crew had arrived. The only people handling her equipment were her people, the ones Liam and the others had vetted. Vaughn would handle all the ties in the rafters and he'd be on one of the catwalks as needed.

No expense spared and no chances taken.

Em pulled her phone out and then turned to tuck her shoulder to mine before she angled the phone to snap a selfie. Our grins matched and then I gave her a kiss on the cheek during another snap.

"C'mon." I tugged her arm lightly. "Let's take a walk across the river. We only have an hour before our first meeting" We didn't make it five whole feet onto the stone bridge before there was an actual bounce to her step.

"This bridge was built in the 1300s," Em said, doing a little dance before linking her arm with mine again. I sipped my coffee. They were still hot which was welcome against the briskness of the wind over the river. "It's older than the U.S. It's older than a few countries now… It's historical and permanent, and I love this bridge."

I chuckled. "I can see that. Should I be glad this isn't tall enough to bungee jump off of?"

Her snort was indelicate and amused. "I like bungee jumping when we get the time. The guys are hilarious about it." She flashed a look over her shoulder.

"That's because you're pretty damn fearless." I wish I could say the same. The sense of urgency, to find Andrea, was like a constant itch between my shoulder blades. We were here, no more delays. Tactically, we'd left our rear guard as clear as possible. Now, we needed to find my sister. Find Pretty Boy's and Bodhi's siblings.

We had names. We had rough locations. We had… we had leads. I hoped the guys turned something up this morning. Hans had also sent word that he would be in Prague directly. So hopefully that meant he also had more leads. For now, we had to stick with the plan.

That plan involved getting Em to the theater and meeting with two of the largest contributors to the fund that brought her to the country. They were patrons of the arts. One, Em said she remembered. The other was new.

It was the new one that I wanted a good look at. I had some familiarity with Valentin Zhukovsky. He was a longtime fan of Em's, and had served as a patron on her previous visits. The theater was owned by him, if I recalled correctly. He had definitely leapt at the chance to sponsor her return visit.

I tossed a glance over my shoulder. Bodhi moved easily, his head on a swivel. When he caught my look, he just nodded. We were fine.

The whole point of this walk, in addition to stretching our legs, was to make sure Em was seen. Hours in the air had left me stiff and a little cranky. Walking to the venue was the fastest way to get noticed.

As much as I wanted to hurry, I kept my steps steady and even. If we rushed, we chanced missing something. Em was putting herself out as bait. I hadn't missed the looks the guys exchanged or how her security precautions in the past had been about keeping her from being stolen.

Dangled like chum…

So many people should have died far sooner. But that was the past. As much as I wished we could go back, we couldn't. Dealing with the present was where we needed to be, especially since tomorrow was not promised.

"You look very fierce," Em murmured as we angled toward the boulevard that would lead to the theater. I'd memorized the route. "I thought you wanted me to be approachable?"

I snorted. "I wanted them to see you. Not come anywhere near you." At the same time, if someone tried to make a move, we were in place to make sure they didn't. We wanted to lure out our targets, but I would not trade Em to get Andrea back.

We would get Andrea back and keep Em, thank you very much.

"Besides, I should have a good frown of disapproval as your chaperone." I made a face at her and she burst out laughing. "You know I'm right," I reminded her. "Granted, I may not be able to do battle axe…"

"Ball Cracker, you don't need to do battle axe." Freddie's cheerful observation pulled fresh laughter out of Em. "Besides, axes are more Jasper's thing."

I didn't ask. At the same time… "That seems oddly fitting," I admitted.

Em winked.

Then we were there. The mile walk seemed suddenly far too short. Though it was early in the day, there was a lot of movement at the theater. Bodhi narrowed the distance between us, falling into step on my right as Freddie took Em's left.

"It's fine," she said. "Those are our people."

That relaxed one worry, but not all of them. Their crew. Their staff. All vetted by them. But we were still in a city we didn't know, dealing with enemies we hadn't fully identified, and far from the resources we were all used to having.

Crossing the street, Em moved ahead with Freddie while I hung back a little with Bodhi.

"It's fine," he said, his tone downright soothing and I grinned at him.

"I know, I just wanted to check if we've heard from Hans yet?"

He shook his head once. There were greetings being called out to Emersyn and she'd paused to chat with some of the techs.

"He'll be here," Bodhi assured me, the lightness of his hand gliding down my back. The touch almost ephemeral and yet it steadied me. "Trust me?"

"Of course," I murmured. Then we were with Em and resumed playing our parts as Emersyn headed inside.

"I won't be here long," she told me, embracing the roles we were playing. Although, in her case, she was just being herself. "But I like to get a feel for the space."

"You've performed here before," I reminded her. Or had I misunderstood?

"I have," she said, stripping off her hat once we were inside and out of the wind. I followed suit. "But… every venue has a different vibe. Almost… a personality of its own. Sometimes that personality changes because of alterations they've made."

She followed a long hallway past several closed doors that had empty nameplates on them. Dressing rooms? Probably.

We had a blueprint for the whole place. I needed to study it more. Her boots clicked along the hall until we reached a wider area where the backstage area bowled outwards to the wings.

The curtains were pulled all the way back and all the lights were on. It was a lovely venue with red velvet chairs and some classic baroque architecture and design. Still, it seemed wrong to see all of it and the stage in such stark relief from the too bright lights.

"Other times," Em continued. "I'm the one who has changed. The first time I performed here… I was eleven."

She gave me a tight smile.

"It used to feel a lot bigger. A lot scarier."

"Now?" I studied the seating and then the stage itself. With all the lights on it was easy to see the catwalks and battens where her silks would be suspended.

"Nowhere near as big or scary." The brief moment of wonder in her voice pulled all my attention. Instead of staring at the theater, she looked off to the side where Bodhi and Freddie were speaking. "Lots of things that used to be scary just aren't anymore. I used to think it was because I'd seen worse."

"You survived worse," I reminded her. "But you also have security now." Something she'd never had in all the years I'd known her.

"I do," Emersyn murmured, then refocused on me and her smile grew. "My life is almost perfect."

Before I could respond though, the squeak of the doors on the far side opening echoed through the wide space. Two men strode inside, letting the doors bang closed behind them.

The man on the right was Valentin Zhukovsky. The owner of the theater, and a huge Em fan. He was a big man, a paunch in the front, but a cheerful smile on his ruddy face.

"Emersyn! My?á?ek !" He spread his arms wide as he strode toward us on swift legs. His companion didn't lag by much, but the tall man with the silver hair that brushed his shoulders and an expensively tailored suit that seemed out of place in the tired old theater.

Too much new money against the declining grace of the old world. Still, I tracked both men as Em crossed the stage to meet Zhukovsky. Bodhi and Freddie moved out onto the stage, staying close.

Zhukovsky was up the three steep steps to the stage and then his huge hands were engulfing Emersyn's. "You look wonderful."

He bussed the air next to each of her cheeks with kisses that never connected.

"It's good to see you too, Valentin. Thank you so much for the invitation."

"You have an open invitation. We sold out the day we announced you were coming. Then when you added two more nights, well…" He kissed his fingers as though he were a chef. "Perfection. I will be right up there in my box. I love to watch you."

The choice of words was a bit unfortunate, even if the man seemed genuinely jovial. His companion hadn't approached, instead he studied me.

Before I could comment, however, Em was turning to me. "Valentin, this is my chaperone, Elaine. She's more company than anything else, but it's her first time in Prague. I want to take her to see some sights and maybe catch them myself this time?"

Elaine. Ugh.

"You need a chaperone?" Zhukovsky frowned, then he shook it off. "We will make arrangements. I would love to show you my city. You were never here long enough before."

"I know, an oversight, and one I'd like to correct while I'm here."

"Done." The man pivoted with more grace than I expected. "Valentin Zhukovsky," he introduced himself and held out a hand to me.

"Elaine," I said, hating my full name. "Hardigan."

Em's eyes widened. But I wasn't taking any chances. The speculation in Zhukovsky's eyes was enough to make me wary. The fact his friend hadn't joined us and continued to stare added to my unease.

Maybe they would recognize me. Maybe not. I'd take my chances there. But avoiding Benedict was probably smarter.

"It is good to meet you, Miss Hardigan. Emersyn is one of my favorites. I want her stay and by extension yours to be as smooth as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, bring them straight to me. I will take care of everything." The lightly accented English seemed to add to his emphasis.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhukovsky, I shall endeavor to do my best." Then I glanced back to his friend. "Is he with you or just…"

"Oh," Zhukovsky said as he released me. "Juraj, stop lurking like some street thug. You're making the ladies uncomfortable."

The man shot Zhukovsky a thin smile that never reached his eyes. As he climbed the steps, he was as reserved as Zhukovsky was boisterous. Frankly, the men seemed polar opposites.

"Juraj Vedri?," Zhukovsky introduced him. "This is Miss Emersyn Sharpe, an exquisitely talented dancer. You will swallow your tongue when you see her perform."

"I look forward to it," the man said easily, though he didn't offer a hand or make any move to get closer. He was holding himself apart. He glanced past me, but whatever he saw there had him jerking his gaze back to us.

Interesting…

Were we making him nervous?

More importantly, why were we making him nervous?

"We will make time for tour," Zhukovsky said. "Don't worry, I won't bring Juraj. We will have fun."

Then they were excusing themselves, well Zhukovsky did. His less than chatty friend said nothing as he strode away up the aisle with Zhukovsky following him.

"That was weird," Emersyn murmured.

"Hmm-hmm."

Time to do some research into Juraj Vedri?.

I glanced over to Bodhi who already had his phone out. Good. It could be absolutely nothing. He might just be some street level criminal, but that didn't fit him.

Not at all.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath and shaking off that bit of unease. All we could do was remain watchful. "What do you need to do next?"