Had Chloe seen her at the conference? Media section? Near the catering table?
“Hurry,” the woman said, her accent sharp.
British?Chloe couldn’t tell.
Behind them, footsteps spanked the concrete. The squeak of rubber soles.
Someone shouting in Russian.
She glanced at Skeet, and his expression said it:Trust the stranger.
She dove through the doorway just as something exploded behind them in the garage.
The sound turned deafening as car alarms shrieked and men shouted over the crash of falling debris. The service door slammed shut with a metallic clang that reverberated through her bones.
“C’mon,” the woman said, unfazed, already moving down a narrow corridor. “Keep up,” she said over her shoulder. “That won’t hold them long.”
What—
But they followed her through a maze of service corridors, past laundry rooms and storage areas, until they emerged through an unmarked exit into an alley behind the hotel.
They stopped in the alley, breathing hard, the smells of Bangkok rising around them.
“Thank you,” Chloe gasped, trying to catch her breath. “I don’t know who you are, but?—”
“Watch yourself better,” the woman said and took off down the alleyway.
Chloe stared after her.
“Who was that?” Skeet said.
“I don’t know.”
They stood there for a moment, listening for sounds of pursuit. The alley was quiet except for the distant hum of traffic and the clatter of dishes from a restaurant kitchen somewhere nearby.
And of course, her thundering heart.
“We need to get back to our rooms,” Skeet said finally. “Figure out what we learned and what our next move is.”
She had started to pace, her heart rate settling. “The resort. We know Volkov is taking Radic to a resort in Phuket this weekend. We need to be there.”
Skeet stared at her. “Are you serious right now?”
She stared back.
“Absolutely not. You saw what just happened. They made us, Chloe. Whoever this Volkov is, he’s... dangerous. He’s got like a... I don’t know. An evil-empire vibe. And he might suspect something.”
“Which is why we need to move fast. Before he has time to clean up loose ends.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
“You are scaring me.”
“I’m not the one shooting at us!”
“Do you hear yourself?”