CHAPTER 30

Olga wheeled over andlet Brett in. Once he was inside, she reached up and smacked him hard across his face.

“Owwww!” he whined, holding his reddened cheek. “What the heck, Olga!”

“That’s for almost losing me everything,” she hissed at him. “Do you have any idea what could have happened if the police had figured out what my package really was?”

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Brett snapped. “Besides, they haven’t even caught me.” Then he pointed his chin in Cassie’s direction. “I saw her car in your driveway. What is she doing here?”

“Taking your place,” Olga said.

“What?!” Brett cried out. “Olga, you can’t do this.”

“Of course I can,” she said, her words quiet and deadly. “First, you stole from me. Then, you forced me to cut you in on my deal. And now, because you are a fool, you bragged about it to Cassandra and she’s figured everything out.”

“I never told Cassie anything!” Brett exclaimed.

“Don’t bother lying,” Olga said. “She’s already told me about how you were bragging to everyone about your secret art delivery. And how you were stupid enough to let her see you searching The Concert on your mobile phone.”

Brett looked completely bewildered. “Olga, I’m telling you, she didn’t hear it from me. If she knows about the painting, she got it from someone else.” Then he looked at Cassie, his eyes burning. “Like maybe from her cop boyfriend!”

“What are you talking about?” Olga said.

“Cassie wasn’t alone when she found your package, Olga. She was with that cop, Riley. He was in the car when they chased after me today. In fact, from what I hear, they’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. If she knows the truth about that painting, then so does he!”

Olga’s gaze swiveled from Brett back to Cassie.

Cassie fought to keep her expression calm. “Don’t be ridiculous, Brett. You’ve already proven your incompetence to Olga, along with the fact that you can’t be trusted. Why should she ever believe another word that comes out of your mouth?”

Olga was looking hard at Cassie as she spoke. Then, her gaze suddenly softened. “Yes Brett, Cassandra is right. You have failed me for the last time.” As she spoke, she reached inside the drawer she’d opened before Brett came in and pulled out a gun. Before Cassie could open her mouth, Olga pointed it directly at Cassie’s head and put a finger to her lips. She continued talking. “I trust Cassandra completely. And Cassandra will be the one to hand deliver my package. Not you.” With a motion of her hand, she indicated that she wanted Brett to bring Cassie closer to her. Brett crossed the room and yanked her hard by the arm, pulling her toward Olga until Cassie was directly in front of her.

With her free hand, Olga reached up and yanked aside the collar of Cassie’s shirt. Without even looking down, Cassie knew that the microphone wire was now visible. Her skin stung as Olga ripped off the tape and yanked at it, pulling the transmitter up through the opening in her shirt.

Then she handed a stunned-looking Brett the gun. She indicated he should continue pointing it at Cassie’s head while she dropped the small unit onto the floor and swiftly crushed it under the heel of her shoe.

“Well, Cassandra,” she drawled, kicking the pieces aside. “It appears I actually can’t trust you. And Brett, who seems to have more luck than sense, has come out the winner here.”

“Ha!” Brett pressed the gun up against the side of Cassie’s head. “Winner...winner. Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it, Cass,” he sneered.

“Enough, Brett,” Olga snapped. “I’m so sick of all of this.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her fingertips against her temple.

Cassie didn’t know what to do. The connection between her and the team in the car was now lost. Based on Olga’s last words, they would have no idea of the danger she was in.

“Well, Brett,” Olga said. “Instead of Cassandra, it looks like you’re the one who needs to complete one final task before I have you deliver the painting, and I finally get my money.”

“Our money,” Brett said. “And what task?”

“You need to do a bit of pest control.”

Brett looked confused. “What?”

Olga’s eyes went to the ceiling and she exhaled loudly through her nose. “Idiot! You need to take Cassandra somewhere...and kill her.”

“Oh.” Brett looked shocked at first, but then a slow smile spread over his face, and he gripped the weapon more tightly.

“The police are already looking for you, Brett,” Cassie said. “Right now it’s just for stealing a painting. Do you really want to add murder to the list? If you walk away now, you may not even get prison time.”

Even Olga could see he was starting to waver. She reached up and put her palm against the cheek she’d smacked. “Brett, darling, do you remember how much money I told you you’d get after I sell this painting?”

The hard glitter returned in Brett’s dark eyes. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, if you want that happy ending, you must do this first.” Olga went to another drawer and pulled out a roll of duct tape, tossing it to him.

Olga reclaimed the gun while Brett forced Cassie onto the ground. She fought against him. But although Brett was wiry, he was surprisingly strong, and within a few short minutes, he had slapped duct tape over her mouth and around her wrists. He lifted her up and shoved her back into the chair beside the kitchen table.

Then Brett was in possession of the gun again while Olga went to a bookshelf and removed one of the thicker books. She opened it to reveal a carved out rectangular space inside. She lifted out a black cell phone and tapped the screen, then lifted it to her ear. She spoke briefly and quickly in Russian to whoever was on the other end. Then she ended the call and replaced the phone and the book.

Olga scribbled something onto a small notepad, then handed it to Brett. “This is where I need you to deliver the painting,” she said. Cassie watched as Brett read the note then shoved it into his back pocket.

“I’ll need you to leave tonight and drive straight through. First, however, I don’t care where you do it, but get rid of Cassandra.” She pointed a finger at him. “And, Brett, if you screw up this time, you’ll not only get no money, but I’ll kill you myself.”

Olga moved to quickly re-crate the painting and handed it to Brett. “Where did you park?”

“Behind some big bushes nearby,” he said. “I didn’t want to park in your driveway with the cops looking for me.”

Olga raised her eyebrows. Probably surprised that the idiot thought of a detail like that, Cassie thought.

“I appreciate that, Brett,” she said, then frowned in concentration. “But we need an easy way for you to load up the painting and get Cassandra into your car.”

“I think...” She took the gun from Brett’s hand and, using her walker, rolled slowly toward Cassie. Olga parked the walker and took a step closer to her. Cassie’s eyes grew wide as Olga raised the hand with the gun. And then the world went black.