Джеймс Паттерсон - Lost

She had no qualms about giving up the backpack and the diamonds in exchange for her daughter. Her human-trafficking endeavor might not have gone the way she’d planned, but right now all she wanted was Josie safe.

Billy stood up like a gentleman when she reached the picnic table. He held out his hand to show Hanna he wanted her to sit on the bench across from them. He was also telling her not to do anything stupid.

Hanna fought the urge to embrace Josie and forced herself to sit down across from the smiling Russian. She didn’t look at Josie because she didn’t want to reveal the wave of emotions swirling through her. Her baby was safe. At least for now.

Billy sat and stroked his blue goatee while his brown eyes assessed her. They sat in silence for a few moments. A Mustang revved its engine along Ocean Drive. The occasional sound of the band around the pool at the Clevelander Hotel floated in the humid air.

Billy said, “Hanna, so happy you could join us.”

Hanna didn’t say a word. She was terrified. She kept her hands in her lap so the Russian wouldn’t see them shake. It was all she could do not to break down and scream. She had to stay calm for her daughter. She glanced at Josie, and the look in her eyes told Hanna she was traumatized. It was the first time ever that Hanna had wished she had a gun. If she’d had one, she would’ve shot Billy in the face.

Her eyes flicked up quickly to where Albert sat in the car. She had been right not to let him come with her to this meeting. But she had to admit there was a certain degree of security in knowing he was close by.

The short strip of greenery here, with the bushes and a few palm trees, changed the atmosphere from up on the strip. In other circumstances, it would be calming. The waves gently rolled onto the beach, making a steady noise that competed with the band at the Clevelander.

Billy smiled at Josie and ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. It made Hanna’s skin crawl.

Billy said, “Do you have what I want?”

Hanna just nodded.

“With you?”

She hesitated. If he knew the diamonds were in the backpack she’d carefully set on the ground behind her, he might decide to eliminate both witnesses right there. Now she wondered if she’d made a mistake by coming here without Albert.

Billy’s response to her silence was to yank Josie closer to him. He laid an open Buck knife on the table and smiled.

Hanna said, “There’s no need for violence. The diamonds are in the backpack.”

Billy laughed and clapped his hands. “You’ve given us quite the runaround.”

Hanna didn’t answer. She saw two men in suits step off the sidewalk and head toward them. Two more men appeared from behind her, and then a fifth man in a black suit started walking toward them. Billy’s loud clap had signaled them.

The man in the black suit was a little older than Billy, about forty-five. He didn’t show the deference to him the others did, and he came right up to the table. He addressed Billy in Russian and they argued briefly about something. Then the man marched away toward the beach like a sulking child.

Hanna said, “You annoy everyone, not just me.”

Billy turned to Hanna and said, “You’ll thank God if all I do is annoy you.”

He was hard to fluster.

Billy said, “Give me the backpack.”

“Give me my daughter.”

Now Billy lost his good humor and leaned forward. “What have I done to make you think this is a negotiation? That knife could be in her eye before you say, ‘Don’t do it.’”

Hanna reached behind her and lifted the pack. Even under the weight of it, her hand shook wildly. She tossed it onto the picnic table.

Billy stared, a grin on his face.

Hanna ran her finger along the ridge of diamonds to show him they were in the strap.

Billy mumbled, “Clever.” He looked up at his men, then at the backpack again.

Hanna said, “Josie, let’s go.” She stood up to emphasize that she was done talking.

Billy held up one hand and said, “I’m sorry, you can’t leave just yet.”

Hanna slowly sat back down. “Why? I have nothing left to give you.”

“We need your brother.”

That caught her by surprise. She just stared at the handsome Russian. Finally she said, “Albert? He’s not part of this. I had the diamonds and I just gave them to you. Our deal was that you would give me my daughter for the diamonds.”

Billy cut his eyes to the man standing behind Hanna. He shook his head and said, “No, I just said I had to have the diamonds or you wouldn’t see your daughter again. You can see her. She’s safe. If you want her back, I need your brother in her place.”

“You can’t expect me to sacrifice my brother.”

Billy shrugged. “You can sacrifice your daughter if you prefer. Your choice.” He gave a quick laugh and said, “Too bad your name’s not Sophie.”

Hanna said, “He won’t come after you if you let us go. I swear to God.”

“I’m not worried about your brother coming after me. I’m untouchable here in the U.S. But he’s caused all kinds of problems in Amsterdam. We’re one big organization. Roman and Emile Rostoff are brothers. You didn’t really think we’d let Albert return to Amsterdam, did you?”

Hanna shot him a nasty look. “This was your plan all along.”

“Part of it, yes. I knew we’d have to deal with your brother.”

Her mind raced, searching for options. For the first time since this whole ordeal started, she realized she had none.

Chapter 99

HANNA FELT THE panic rise in her throat. This man wanted to ruin her life. He was going to murder her brother or her daughter. How was it possible that he had her in this position? He wasn’t some sort of feudal lord. He was a Russian gangster.

Billy was looking at Hanna as if he expected her to cry. He couldn’t have been more wrong. She wasn’t sad; she was furious. Furious and scared for her daughter. There was no combination more potent for a mother.

Hanna said, “You won’t let us go, even though you have the diamonds?” It was hard to say the words in such an even tone.

Billy said, “I am quite sorry. I wish it could be different. Until your brother shows up, you and your daughter will remain my guests.”

“I don’t want to leave here with you.”

“What you want is of no concern to me. Your failed attempt to smuggle people not only didn’t pay off your previous debt, it cost us additional resources and our most valuable law enforcement contact. Your debt to us is now quite significant.”

“Even with the diamonds? That’s nonsense.”

Billy didn’t smile when he looked Hanna in the eye and said, “Speak to me that way again and your daughter will go through life without a left ear.”

Hanna couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting down to the knife Billy had set on the table. Suddenly, she felt like she had no control over her own actions. There was no conscious thought as she moved.

She reached down and grabbed the open folding knife on the table. The blade looked nasty, all sharp angles and gleaming steel. She brought the blade up and swung it at Billy’s face as fast as she could.

The muscular Russian was quick. He jerked his head back, and the blade missed him by an inch.

Hanna swung at him again, but the result was the same. A smile spread across his face. That stupid, infuriating smile.

Hanna couldn’t stop herself—she drove the sharp blade into the top of his left hand. She felt the steel pass through his flesh and tendons and then stick firm in the wooden table. Blood spurted up from the wound like a tiny oil-well gusher.

Billy’s eyes bulged and he let out a wail. It hurt Hanna’s ears, but it was satisfying to know she had hurt him so deliberately.