He stepped back again before forcing himself to retrieve the gun. He flicked the safety on, tucked it in the waistband of his jeans, pulled some flexi cuffs out of his jacket and secured Johnny.
Megan’s stomach rumbled and she curled in on herself. She looked grey. He moved to hold her, but she held up her hand to stop him.
“That proof enough that I don’t need self-defence training?” The words came out strained.
“Are you okay?” Dimitri was livid with his need to get near her. To touch her. To make sure she was fine. “Did he hurt you?”
“Only my scalp.” She groaned and bent over some more. Dimitri wrapped an arm around her. He couldn’t stop himself. She was in pain and he hated it.
“What the hell is wrong, Megan, you’re freaking me out here.”
He could have sworn she was blushing. “Dinner. That’s what’s wrong. I need a toilet. Fast.” She pointed to the end of the alley and the road. “I’m going to lean on the wall over there. You won’t want to come near me. Please call Julia so she can take me back to the flat.”
“I can take you.”
“No! Call Julia.”
She pushed away from him and she staggered off, muttering something about humiliation, leaving Dimitri to stare after her. He wasn’t sure what stunned him the most, the fact she’d disarmed her attacker in ten seconds flat, or the fact she’d said please. He pulled out his cell phone, keeping watch on Megan and the unconscious guy at his feet.
“I need a pick up,” he said when Joe answered. “I’ve got one guy down and a woman who needs a toilet, stat.” There was silence for a second before Joe asked for his location.
Chapter Six
“I don’t like this, but seeing as it’s the closest anyone’s managed to get to Rudi Abramovich, I’m prepared to let it run its course.” Tessa Sharp was another one of Lake Benson’s contacts. She was also a Commander with the Special Crime Investigation division in London’s Metropolitan police force.
She watched two of her officers remove Johnny Rotten from one of the holding cells in the basement of Benson Security’s office building. Dimitri and Joe had already questioned the guy and confiscated his phone. The one with a number for Rudi Abramovich.
“It was pure luck,” Callum told the woman. “We knew he had access to Rudi, not that he had a number for him.”
The woman wasn’t in uniform, but her tailored black suit was designed to be intimidating. The team had already filled her in on the details of their operation, making it very clear that their priority was to secure the safety of Claire Donaldson and Katrina Raast.
“Pure luck that took a year of following leads and pushing doors.” Dimitri felt the need to remind his boss.
Callum inclined his head in agreement.
Tessa eyed Dimitri thoughtfully for a minute. He had no doubt she was running scenarios in her head. “I’ll let you meet with Rudi.”
She didn’t seem to care when he bristled at her affording him permission he in no way needed and never requested.
“We’ve been after his business records for years,” Tessa said. “The bastard spreads his operation over too many countries, which means multiple split jurisdictions. It’s been hell trying to cut through the bureaucracy to set up a joint operation. Even after this long, we’re nowhere near the agreements we need to investigate Abramovich fully. This,” she signalled to the men in the room, “cuts through that.”
“We need to go through the information first before we hand it over.” Callum was immovable on that point. They all were.
It was clear from the set of her mouth that Commander Sharp was about to argue the point.
“No.” Dimitri stood and stared at the woman. “No discussion. No negotiation. We’ll hand over everything we get, but not until we know where my sister is being held.”
Tessa’s eyes darkened. “She isn’t the only woman who’s suffering out there.”
“She’s the only one I’m related to.”
“You don’t call the shots here.” Her tone was calm, in charge. “I can shut this operation down like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“Then you won’t get the information you need, because right now myself and Megan are the only two people with any chance of getting close enough to Rudi to get those records.”
She inclined her head, conceding the point. Her eyes narrowed. “Okay, you can pinpoint your sister’s whereabouts. But the operation to retrieve her has to be done under the radar. I don’t want anyone tipping Rudi off that we’re onto him. Not before plans are in place to bring down everyone involved in his organisation in one fell swoop.”
“How long will that take?” Joe said, from where he was leaning against the doorframe.