Blood Trust - Eric van Lustbader [92]
“Fuck you, sonny,” Paull said.
Jack put his hand on the barrel of the ArmaLite and pushed it down. “Do as he says, Dennis. Confrontation isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
When Paull had reluctantly lowered his weapon, Thatë said, “Follow me.”
His men parted and he took them through the underbrush toward the area where they’d been fired upon en masse. There, they found seven men sprawled on the ground. Some had been shot, others had had their throats slit.
Thatë pointed. “Here are Arian Xhafa’s men. The snipers in the trees are also dead.”
Paull gaped. “I don’t believe it.”
“Examine for yourself,” the kid said. “Xhafa’s men are Muslim, my men are Russian.”
Paull put up his weapon and, crouching, went from corpse to corpse. Even he could deduce the truth from the full, curling beards, the fanatics’ eyes.
“Grupperovka,” Alli said.
Thatë smiled at her. “Kazanskaya, yes.” He turned to Jack. “This was why I was sent here: To find out who was backing Xhafa with money and arms.”
Jack gave him a hard look. “And did you?”
“I was forced to escape before my assignment was complete.” His grin returned. “But now, thanks to you, I have returned to finish what I started, and to wreak my revenge on Arian Xhafa.”
NINETEEN
“HOW IS she?” McKinsey said when Naomi slid into the passenger’s seat. She was just finishing a call.
Through the windshield, she could see the Mercedes, BMWs, and Porsches, arrayed like trophies on the street. “When you lie down with a scorpion, you’re bound to get stung.”
“She’s your sister. That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“Rachel didn’t love Larry or her kids, she loved his money.”
“Yeah, but still. Don’t you want to stay with her?”
“I told her I couldn’t stay.”
McKinsey cleared his throat, then started the car. “I’ll drive you home.”
“We’re going to the main branch of Middle Bay Bancorp on K and Twentieth.”
“It’s almost three,” he observed.
“I called the president of Middle Bay. He’s expecting us.”
McKinsey wrapped his fingers around the wheel, but he didn’t put the car in gear. “My opinion? I think you ought to be with Rachel. She needs you now. I mean, who else does she have?”
“Rachel is more self-sufficient than I am.” Naomi gestured with her chin. “Drive.”
McKinsey sighed, then turned off the engine. “Why the hell are we going to Middle Bay Bancorp?”
“Because that’s where Billy Warren worked.”
“So?”
“He was a loan analyst.”
McKinsey shook his head. “I don’t follow.”
“What if Billy discovered something unusual was going on inside the bank?”
There was a skeptical look on McKinsey’s face. “Like what?”
“Like large sums of money going in and out that weren’t being reported.”
“Naomi, Billy Warren was shtupping Dardan’s main squeeze. This has already been established. He was killed by Dardan’s people.”
“But why was he tortured? The question has been bothering me from the beginning. No, Billy had discovered something someone badly didn’t want uncovered. Now drive.”
“Naomi, this isn’t a good idea.”
She looked at him, finally. “What isn’t?”
“Middle Bay is the wrong direction for this investigation to go in.”
“Is that a warning?”
“I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Pete, I’ve been to Roosevelt Island.”
“Come again?”
“I’ve seen the girl—Arjeta Kraja.”
“Would you please start making sense?”
She had to give him this, there was not a flicker in his eye.
“I followed you yesterday morning. I saw you going out to the island on a motorboat. Who were you with and what were you doing there, Pete?”
“Naomi, trust me, you don’t want to pursue this.”
“No, actually I do.”
He stared out the window; his fingers drummed anxiously on the wheel.
“Pete, either you take me to Middle Bay, or I’ll call a cab.”
“It’s just that…” He turned to her. “Do you remember our first day on the job together? We were sent to pick up the FLOTUS. On the way there, we got sideswiped by a van driven by a drunken driver. Anyway, you were trapped on your side of the car. We couldn’t use the Jaws of Life because you were jammed up against the door. It took