Suddenly she felt as if the situation had gotten infinitely more dangerous.
Connor glanced over at her and gave her an almost imperceptible nod in Dax’s direction, silently telling her to leave this to him. She moved behind the bench and found herself in Dax’s grip. He pulled her close, whispering into her ear.
“Stay quiet. We don’t want anything to pull her out of the delusion. Let Connor do his thing. He’s good at this,” Dax whispered.
Connor sat down beside Natalia, easing her back down to the bench.
She started chatting away, patting his arm as though they were close friends. Unfortunately, she was speaking rapid-fire Russian.
He held a hand up. “Please, Natalia. You know Sergei would want us to keep our covers. In English, please.”
She nodded. “His English is very good, don’t you think? He is the smartest of men. It’s how he can do what he does.”
What does he do? The question was right there on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to shout it, to scream it out, but that would likely give away Connor’s game.
“Sergei can do anything,” Connor agreed. “But he’s concerned about you.”
Natalia’s skin flushed and she sniffled a bit. “I still love him. I never stopped. How could I? I also understand that we can’t be together again until he has finished the job he started so long ago. I miss him. Tell him I miss him every single day.”
“I will,” Connor replied, his eyes steady on Natalia. He practically radiated assurance. “He misses you as well. He wants to thank you for all the work you’ve put in. But we’re a bit worried.”
He was so subtle. He never said anything that might make the woman suspicious. He was good. He knew when to smile, when to pat her hand. He knew exactly how to play her, but then Lara had seen Connor at work before. He’d known exactly how to play her, too.
Except he wasn’t always smooth. Sometimes, he could even be obnoxious. He would have played her better if he’d kept up the Niall identity, said the pics he’d shared of himself online were from a few years back and he’d taken up a personal training regimen or something. Why hadn’t he approached her in that fashion? She would have fallen into his hands a lot quicker. She wouldn’t have been so distant in the beginning with him.
“What does he have to be worried about?” Natalia frowned. “Everyone who could have stopped us has been taken care of. We took care of the woman when we needed to. And that bitch. Yes. It was good to take care of her. What was her name? I should remember.”
Was she talking about Joy Hayes?
“This is the problem, Natalia. Your memory is fading and that could be bad for us.”
“I remember the important things.”
“That’s for me to decide. I’m going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer them to the best of your ability. What is Sergei’s last name?”
Lara reached into her pocket and touched the button on her phone to record the conversation. She’d come prepared so they wouldn’t miss anything, but she’d forgotten about it until now. Connor glanced her way and nodded to let her know they were now being recorded.
Dax’s stared into the distance, scanning their surroundings. He was there to do what Connor couldn’t while he was so focused. Dax was searching for a threat, ready to defend them.
“Of course his last name is . . .” She stopped. “They change so many times. My Sergei’s name is always changing right in front of my face. Why do they hide him from me?” She sighed, then continued her rant in Russian.
Lara fought back disappointment. At least she could take the recording to a translator. They might not know what Natalia said now, but they would know at some point. Anything could be helpful.
“Natalia, I told you, in English,” Connor said with just a hint of sharpness.
It seemed to bring her out of whatever place she’d gone to in her head. “I’m sorry. It is so hard because I want to go home. It has been so long. So long. I am getting older now, but my Sergei will still bring them all down. He will destroy this country as he was meant to do. These new people are wrong. They seek to make money, but there is a greater purpose. He will fulfill his destiny because he is a great man. When he stands over the rubble, all will know him and they will understand what we sacrifice for our people. I will watch with pride.”
Natalia spoke with the fervency of a true believer. Destroy the country? It made Lara’s gut clench. Something terrible was going to happen. Something they had to stop.
“Are you going to kill me now?” Natalia asked the question with all the emotion of a woman asking about the weather.
“No. Why would you say that?” Connor asked.
“Because you always watch me. Because you’re never far from where I am. I do not know if you are here to protect me or to kill me. Perhaps either, as need be. I have, how do you say, insurance policy. If I die, your secrets will not be safe.”
Connor’s head came up and he flashed a look Dax’s way.
That was the precise moment she heard the whirring ping and saw Natalia’s body buck. Connor dove to the side, and Lara found herself facedown in the grass. She tried to look around. Connor had been sitting right next to Natalia. Had he been hit? Her heart threatened to stop at the very thought. No. Connor couldn’t get hit. He was too smart, too good at his job. He couldn’t be hurt. She needed him too much.
“He’s across the pond,” Dax said, his voice eerily calm. “I saw the glint of his rifle. I think he’s on the move.”
“We don’t know that. He could be aiming for another target.”
Lara didn’t need an interpreter to know that Connor meant her. If that was the Bratva, they’d been after her, too. Maybe she was a loose end they wanted to tie up.
Connor crawled to her, his SIG in hand. She couldn’t see all of him. She needed to get her hands on him, make sure he was okay. What had she been thinking when she’d tried to keep her distance? Hadn’t she had enough proof that life was way too short?
“Keep down, Lara. I’m going to get you out of this,” he vowed.
“I think Natalia was the target,” Dax said. “I’ve got a decent line of sight and he’s moving west toward the parking lot.”
Reason punched through her anxiety. They’d just gotten a woman killed and the man who’d done it was getting away. The only person who might be able to tell them what Natalia had meant was fleeing the scene. “No. We have to get the shooter. We have to catch him. We don’t have enough information. We don’t know how she’s connected.”
“No.”
“Connor, please.” The guy was likely getting away right at that moment. “I’m fine.”
“I could go,” Dax offered.
“Don’t move, Dax. I’m calling in every favor you’ve ever owed me.”
“This is not a move they would have applauded at the Agency, brother.”
Connor cursed. “I know but she’s more important than anything.”
Dax stayed right where he was and Connor joined them, both men covering her.
“Don’t move. We’ve got some cover here in case he comes back to finish the job.” Dax moved his hand. She couldn’t see what he was doing but she heard him a moment later. “There’s been a shooting at the Serenity nursing home. Yes, you heard me right. We need police and at least one ambulance. Hurry.”
Lara raised her head up as much as she could. “Natalia?”
“She’s dead.” Connor gently forced her head back down. “It was professional. One between the eyes.”
Maybe the assassin wasn’t the only person who possibly could help them decip
her what Natalia had said. The odd conversation she’d had with Mrs. Simms came back to her in a flash. “We have to get back to her room before the cops get here. They’ll take the evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Natalia left a note with her roommate in the event of her death. That may have been the insurance policy she mentioned. Mrs. Simms thought that was why we’d come here in the first place.”