Chapter 29

29

Danielle Verde ditched her stolen car five blocks from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

There had been several times in the last twenty hours when she’d thought she wouldn’t even get it out of Romania, let alone all the way to Budapest. That she had seemed like a miracle.

After her communication with Rick La Rose the previous evening, she’d grabbed a taxi and headed for the airport.

On the drive, she’d purchased a ticket for a flight to Budapest leaving in two hours, thinking she was in the clear.

Everything fell apart after she was in the airport security line. As she and the others plodded forward, she spotted one of the men who’d gassed her car about to go through one of the X-ray machines.

She immediately left the line and headed for the exit. She was almost to the door when someone behind her yelled her name. She sprinted outside and jumped into a taxi that had just dislodged its passengers.

She had the cabbie drop her off in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Bucharest, where she stole the first in the series of vehicles that brought her to Budapest.

She slipped into the Ritz and made her way to the reception desk.

“May I help you?” a female clerk asked.

“I’m looking for one of your guests. Billy Barnett.”

“I’m sorry. Mr. Barnett stepped out maybe twenty minutes ago.”

“I see. Is it possible to leave him a message?”

“Of course.” The clerk hesitated a moment. “Are you Monique Ortega?”

Decades of undercover work kept Danielle from showing the surprise she felt. This was the first time she’d used the alias, and as far as she was aware, the only other people who knew it were Rick, Lance’s specialist, and the specialist’s go-between she was supposed to contact.

Deciding to take a chance, she said, “I am.”

“One moment.”

The clerk stepped away for a moment and returned with a small paper sleeve.

“Mr. Barnett wanted me to give you the key card to your room. I do need to see an ID, of course.”

“Sure.”

Danielle showed the clerk a fake Canadian passport.

“Thank you.” The clerk handed her the sleeve. “You’re in room three twenty-one. Mr. Barnett said that he would contact you when he returns from the shoot.”

“Shoot?” Danielle asked.

Looking excited, the woman said, “Yes. For a commercial staring Tessa Tweed and Mari Chen.”

Danielle almost laughed in relief. She had taken “shoot” to mean something entirely different.

“Did Mr. Barnett mention how long he might be?”

“He did not. But if you are interested, you can go watch it yourself. It’s by the river. Only a ten-minute walk away.”

“Thank you.”

She’d been on the run since yesterday. What she really wanted was a hot shower and some sleep. Maybe she could sneak in a short nap before Barnett returned.

Three men entered the lobby from outside as she walked to the elevators. Two of them she recognized immediately. One had been the man she’d seen at the Bucharest airport. The other was Dieter Wenz, a mercenary who’d been involved in many questionable activities over the years but had always somehow evaded blame.

All thoughts of a shower and sleep disappeared. Before the men looked her way, she slipped into the elevator waiting area, out of sight, then hurried into the elevator car when it arrived.

Once in her room, she went straight to the sink and splashed water on her face. After a few deep breaths, her heart rate began to slow, and she was able to think and not just react.

How could Dieter and his companions be here? She was positive no one had followed her out of Romania. And the only people who knew the Ritz was her destination were Rick La Rose, Lance’s specialist, and this Billy Barnett person. While she didn’t know the latter two, she was sure Lance wouldn’t have trusted just anyone on this mission.

That left two possibilities. The first, that Dieter was here for a reason completely unrelated to her. The second and more likely, he was here because Lance’s specialist was in the area.

Barnett would need to know about this right away so that he could warn Lance’s man.

She found a piece of paper and wrote down what she’d seen and what she knew about Dieter. She then stuffed the paper into a hotel envelope.

She reached for the room phone but stopped herself before lifting it from the cradle. Her first instinct had been to find out which room Billy Barnett was staying in and slip the envelope under his door.

But what if Dieter knew about Barnett, too, and broke into the room? The last thing she needed was for him to find the note.

The clerk had told her Barnett was at a film shoot by the river. The smart play would be to go there and warn him in person.

She left the note on a nightstand, in case she was caught, then headed out.