“When do you think we were spotted?”
“At Kevin’s apartment.”
“Did you see someone?”
Edward jerked the car into the left lane and slammed on the horn, muttering a curse at another driver. “I didn’t see anyone, but if any place in the city was being watched, it was likely to be his apartment. They would have followed us back to the hotel and then waited to see where we went next. The bank was a dead giveaway. It was the one secure place to store the information they wanted. Now they don’t even need to worry about brokering a deal with you. They can just kill us and take what we have.”
“Lovely. I’m guessing that you’ve got a brilliant contingency plan that will get us out of this mess.”
“Run?”
Daniel’s sweaty hand tightened around the handle. “Can’t say that’s the answer I was hoping for.”
“Sorry. I’m not used to having someone with me. I’d usually retreat to a place that I was familiar with and then pick them off one at a time.”
With his free hand, Daniel slipped his thumb and index finger under his glasses to rub his eyes. Edward’s ability to protect himself was hindered because he was too busy trying to keep Daniel alive.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t! None of this is your fault. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
Daniel glanced over his shoulder and out the rear window. A small red sedan whipped over a lane, causing other cars to honk and swerve to get out of his way. There was their tail and they were getting closer. “Let’s worry about who is more sorry later.”
“What time is it?”
“What?” Daniel asked, jerking back around. He wished he hadn’t. Edward slammed on the brakes and then jerked the car to left, narrowly missing another car. Paris traffic was way too thick for a proper car chase. At least, not the high-speed, insane turns he’d already experienced going through the mountains.
“Time! What’s the time?”
Daniel looked down at his watch. “It’s twelve forty.”
“Fuck. Five minutes is a lot of time. Let’s pray the damn thing isn’t late,” Edward muttered under his breath. He looked over at Daniel and flashed him a weak smile. “Grab our packs.”
Daniel nodded and did as he was directed. “Got them,” he said, holding both tightly in his lap.
“You still got your Métro pass?”
“Yes.”
“Get it out and put it somewhere you can grab it quickly.”
Shifting the bag around so he could pull his wallet from his pocket, Daniel grabbed the handy Paris Visite Pass that gave them unlimited travel on the various public transportation systems around the city. He shoved the card into his front pocket and then returned his wallet to his back pocket.
“What are we doing?”
“We’re grabbing the Métro,” he said with a grin, referring to the city’s light rail system that traversed nearly every part of the city.
There was a part of Daniel that was undeniably excited about the prospect of riding the famous Paris Métro, but he’d really never imagined it happening under their circumstances. He glanced over his shoulder again. The red sedan was still there. Not gaining, but not falling off either. He could vaguely see the front two passengers, and they definitely didn’t appear to be Asian. Their hair coloring was dark, but he couldn’t make out more than that.
“Who are they?”
“Russians.”
Daniel jerked around, his heart skipping a beat. “Are you shitting me? Russian spies are chasing us?”
“Yep. Why do they have you more worried than the others?”
“Come on! You’ve heard the countless stories of people being poisoned in the UK and it all being tied back to Russian spies.” Edward laughed next to him, and Daniel punched him in the shoulder. “This isn’t funny!”
“I’m sorry,” Edward said, even if he didn’t look at all contrite. “It’s just that you’re adorable.”
“Fuck you! I’m not.”
“We’ll discuss that later. But back to the Russian spies. They aren’t more likely to kill us than the others. Trust me, they all want to kill us. The Russians have just gotten sloppy over the past few years.”
“Wonderful,” Daniel muttered. He tightened his hands on the backpacks in his lap while keeping his gaze on the traffic in front of them.
“And don’t worry about being poisoned. I think they’re going to opt for the double tap to the head and call it a day.”
“You’re not helping.”
“I’m not going to give them a chance to fucking touch you. I swear it.”
All the joking left Edward’s tone, and Daniel’s heart skipped a beat for a new reason. There was possession in his voice, an underlying anger that he hadn’t heard before, and it touched something deep inside of him. Above all, Daniel believed him. Edward was going to do everything within his power to keep him safe.
“See the sign up ahead of the Métro?”
Daniel nodded and then answered, “I see it.”
“When I say so, I want you to jump out of the car and run for the station. Go through the turnstile and keep running until you see a train. Keep moving until you can get on a train.”