“How?” Griffin, Adam, and Leslie asked at the same time.
“I slipped the tracking device Agent Reynolds gave me into her shoe. If the stubborn girl keeps it there, you should be able to find her.”
Griffin could have kissed the pain-in-the-ass woman, but Adam was shoving him out the door toward the Homeland Security van. Agent Reynolds followed in their wake.
“Tony,” Agent Reynolds called. “Pull up Mrs. Ranjbar’s GPS.”
The agent inside the van powered up a laptop. A flashing light appeared on a grid on the screen. It was moving slowly.
“They’re moving through the water processing plant,” the agent said. “And they’re on foot.”
Griffin grabbed the laptop. “Let’s go,” he said to Adam.
“Hold on,” Agent Reynolds demanded. “We’d do better to coordinate this. I want Salenko alive. He’s not going to kill the chef.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Griffin argued.
“Mrs. Ranjbur was wearing a wire. Salenko is using the chef as leverage against the counterfeiters. His plan is to ransom her to her grandfather. He needs her alive to do that. Take a minute to think this through and we’ll find her.”
Leslie joined them at the van. “The sharp dressed man in there is our link to the counterfeiters, Griffin. We got them.”
He didn’t care about that right now. Not while Marin was in danger. And he really didn’t feel like standing around and making nice with more federal agents. He glanced back down at the laptop. The light had stopped flashing. And then the screen went blank.
CHAPTER20
The sulfur smell hung thick in the night air. Marin’s captor had his hand pressed against her mouth, making it impossible for her to avoid breathing in the disgusting odor. She gagged as he hauled her through the darkened water treatment park. He released his hand briefly, but when Marin started to scream, he slapped his palm over her mouth once again.
“Keep quiet,” the man they called Yerik ordered.
Marin struggled against him. She’d recognized Agent Morgan’s voice shouting out among the gunfire. But Yerik was already dragging her through the warehouse and out into the dark woods behind it when the agents were entering the building. Still, Griffin was close by; Marin could feel him. If she could only yell, she was sure he’d hear her.
Yerik pushed open a door and slipped into another warehouse, roughly carrying Marin with him. When they had reached the center of the building, he yanked her hard against him. He pulled something out of his pocket and waved it in front of Marin’s face. It was a syringe. Marin’s heart skipped several beats.
“Listen carefully, Chef.” His breath fanned against her cheek making Marin gag again. “I told you before you will not die. I must exchange you for Elena. Those crazy Greeks are afraid of your grandfather. He will be the one to free Elena if he wants to ever see you again. But if you scream or call out to your friends, I will be forced to end your life.”
He said the words with no emotion. As though taking a life was as routine as brushing his teeth. Marin stilled against him. Griffin was near. He would find her. All she had to do was be patient and not aggravate her captor. If it meant seeing her family again—seeing Griffin again—she would do anything. Marin nodded.
Slowly, Yerik removed his hand from her mouth. Marin took a gulp of fresh air. She kept her expression contrite as he relaxed his hold on her body.
“You are a smart woman.”
He kept his long fingers tightly shackled around her wrist while he replaced the syringe inside the pocket of his jacket. Marin’s mind raced as she tried to figure out her options.
“What happens now?” she asked softly.
Yerik’s icy gaze slid over Marin. “We keep moving.” He yanked on her arm, pulling her along the row of plastic barrels lining the wall of the warehouse. As they reached the end of the row, Yerik punctured one of the containers with his knife—a weapon that looked more like a miniature sword. Marin’s nose immediately burned from the intense odor of chlorine. Shoving Marin through the door, he turned and tossed a lit match onto the spilled liquid.
His knife pressed into Marin’s side. “Run!” he commanded.
Marin knew enough about chemicals and fire to follow orders. They were fifty yards away when the warehouse exploded, lighting up the night air. She heard the sound of a siren going off and vehicles moving in the direction of the warehouse and it seemed he was leading them toward those sounds. Marin gladly kept up the pace, hoping they’d confront someone who would rescue her.
The sulfur smell was now mixed with the nauseating smell of burning chlorine and Marin’s breath burned when it sawed through her lungs as she tried to keep up with Yerik. Twice, she stumbled on the dirt road. Both times, he nearly dislocated her shoulder as he jerked her back to his side. The noises from the fire faded as the hum of the giant generators processing the dirty water became louder. A truck sped by them and Marin’s heart leaped. But the driver hurried on, seemingly on the way to the blazing warehouse.
Yerik steered them onto another dirt road. This one weaved between the giant water treatment tanks. The humming became louder, vibrating against their feet as they ran. He was careful to keep their bodies in the shadows, dodging the spotlights wherever he could. They stopped in front of a ladder attached to one of the tanks and Marin quickly glanced around. She saw the unmistakable red beam of a security camera across the path from them. Her grandfather’s hotels had similar models on their exteriors. The ones used by the Chevalier hotel chain were also motion sensitive. Marin prayed these cameras were the same. While Yerik pulled down the ladder, presumably so they could climb to the top of the water treatment tanks, Marin pretended to slip. She kicked her heel along the dirt, creating a mini-dust cloud.
“Sorry,” she said in response to Yerik’s angry glare. “I tripped.”
She winced painfully when he jabbed the knife into her side.