To her right a door opened to a luxuriously furnished bathroom. She entered to find the small room endowed with brass fixtures and marble and stone. A sunken tub dominated the floor beneath a second window. The glassed-in shower was immense. Feeling trapped, furious that she’d been separated from Jack, Lily left the bathroom and strode into the bedroom. For a moment, she considered destroying the room. Then she spied the note on the bed—right next to a dozen bloodred roses.
Feeling a little sick, she crossed to the bed and snatched up the single sheet of paper. My darling Lillian, I fear you will be quite upset upon reading this letter. Please rest assured that your infant son is in good hands. My staff has been instructed to treat both of you with the utmost kindness and respect. I hope you find the suite to your liking. My goal is to make your stay here at Veisweimar as comfortable and pleasant as possible.
I would like to discuss some business with you this evening over dinner. Feel free to use the shower. There are several gowns and shoes stowed in the closet, which I had flown in from Milan. I hope the styles and sizes are to your liking. Dinner is served promptly at seven o’clock. If you’re on time, I’ll make sure you get the opportunity to spend some time with your son later.
Until then, Bruno.
Vaguely, Lily was aware of the paper shaking in her hands. Of her pulse raging like a white-water river down the side of a mountain. For the first time she realized just how delusional DeBruzkya was, how dangerous. He was living out some kind of sick fantasy.
And she was right in the center of that fantasy.
Robert looked at the global positioning system in his palm and tried not to notice that his hand was shaking. He’d given the miniature GPS radio to Lily so he could track her if they were separated. He hoped she still had it. Hoped the soldiers hadn’t found it and taken it away from her. He thanked his lucky stars Hatch liked to arm his ARIES team with high-tech toys.
Robert had been running on adrenaline since leaving the hospital an hour earlier. He considered himself in pretty good physical condition, but after nearly two miles of running, his leg was beginning to cramp. And he knew if he wanted to make it to the Veisweimar Castle before dark he would have to get his hands on some type of vehicle.
Around him rain fell in sheets, but Robert barely felt the chill or the wet cling of his clothes. He stepped onto the dirt road and looked both ways. He’d been on that particular road for nearly an hour, and all of two cars had gone by during that time. Not a good number considering he needed a car five minutes ago.
The passage of time taunted him as he pulled out his compass and headed north. Lily and Jack had been missing for nearly two hours. Every time he thought of them he had to fight a surge of panic. He could only imagine what she was going through. She might be a strong woman—tough even, and fast on her feet, to boot—but she was no match for a brutal man like DeBruzkya. Robert had seen what the dictator was capable of, and even a courageous woman like Lily didn’t stand a chance against a sociopath. What the hell did DeBruzkya want with her? Had the dictator somehow found out Robert was an ARIES agent and intend to use her as leverage? Or were his intentions of a more personal, more twisted nature?
The possibilities made his heart pound with a helplessness he’d never known before. He thought about Jack and felt his gut twist into a knot. Urgency was like a fire raging through him, spreading and gaining momentum, threatening to burn him alive. He needed to move. To do something. To bring them home. He loved Lily more than life. He loved his child. His son. He refused to consider the possibility that DeBruzkya would hurt them. The thought was simply too much to bear.
Robert was so embroiled in his thoughts, he almost didn’t hear the rumble of an engine, the sound of tires sloshing through mud. He blinked rain from his eyes and looked over his shoulder to see dual headlights cutting through the rain and fog. Running on fear and desperation, he put his hands over his head and stepped into the beam of the headlights. The brakes squealed. Tires slid in thick muck. But the vehicle—an old car of indistinguishable origin—slid to a stop.
A man in a raincoat rolled down the window. “Are you drunk, man?” he shouted. “What’s seems to be the problem?”
“There’s been an accident,” Robert said.
He saw the other man’s eyes sweep the area, obviously looking for a vehicle that didn’t exist. “My wife is badly injured,” Robert added.
The car door opened. Robert’s heart pounded as he reached for the pistol. Turning his collar up against the downpour, the man approached him. “Where is she? Does she need to go to the hospital?”
“I need your vehicle,” Robert said.
The man’s eyes widened. He turned to run to the car, but Robert was faster, grabbing his arm and spinning him around. “I just need your car. A young woman’s life is at stake.”
The man’s eyes flashed to the pistol. “The car is yours.”
Robert slapped the last of his cash into the man’s hand. “Thank you,” he said in Rebelian and got into the car. Looking at the lightning flickering in the sky, he hoped the rain would hold until he reached the castle. Rain made good cover.
“Hold on, Lily,” he whispered and jammed the car into gear.