A group of men sat to their right, watching an elderly woman sing on stage.The place was empty, which meant she could be auditioning.The skirt-suit she wore was classy, though the gray color was too dull for the stage.She wasn’t bad.A bit raspy, but the Armenian tune showcased her powerful voice.
Lex approached the men.They were dressed in cheap suits like the two they’d knocked out in the basement, which meant none of them was Petrosian.They were busy staring and discussing the singer on stage and didn’t notice their arrival, until Lex said, “I’m looking for Petrosian.”
They jumped up and reached for their guns.
“Where are Yegor and Pazar?”one of them asked.
“Downstairs.Take us to your boss now,” Lex ordered them.
He was surprised when they lowered their weapons.But then Lex realized they weren’t looking at him.The singing had also stopped.He turned, expecting to see Douglas carrying a bazooka or some lethal weapon.Instead, his eyes met familiar eyes and they belonged to the woman who’d been singing.
He shook his head.Either the bump on his head had been so hard it was now screwing with his sight or this woman’s turquoise eyes were exactly like Jillian’s.
Up close, she looked much older.Still, the combination of thick black hair, those unforgettable eyes, and perfectly symmetrical face made her striking.But the way she carried herself said she was used to commanding attention.
“My name is Alin Petrosian,” she said with an accent.“Khosrov Petrosian’s widow.We’ll talk in the office.”She didn’t offer him her hand, just pinned the men with a hard glare.“Make sure Yegor and Pazar are okay.”
Lex and Douglas exchanged a glance, then followed her and the man who’d been standing a few feet from her.She led them into an office.It was large with leather chairs and portraits of horses.The scent of cigars and leather hung in the air.
Instead of offering them a seat, she turned and studied Douglas.“Wait outside,” she ordered.
Douglas didn’t move.Lex glanced at him and nodded.Douglas was reluctant to leave, but couldn’t disobey Lex.By the time the door closed behind him, the woman was seated behind the desk.She still didn’t offer him a seat.
“How much?”she asked.
Lex cocked his eyebrows.“Excuse me?”
“How much will it take for you to step aside so I can see my granddaughter?”
Granddaughter?“Jillian?”
A purse sat to her right.She dug inside and removed what looked like travelers checks.“What’s your name?”
“Lex Fitzgerald, but I don’t want your money.”
“Of course you do.It’s obvious you’re attached to my granddaughter.Such devotion is something my people value in a servant.I was told you are her bodyguard.”She gave him a onceover, her eyes cold and calculating.Jillian’s were warm and sexy.“Going by what you are wearing, you have expensive taste.I’m willing to pay you whatever you ask, so I can take my granddaughter home.So I’ll ask again.How much?A million?Two?Ten?”
Lex stared at the woman in shock.How ironic.He’d offered Jillian money so she could be in his life.Now her grandmother was offering him the same to let her go.He chuckled, but stopped when the woman’s eyes flashed with rage.The way she lifted her chin and straightened her spine reminded him too much of Jillian, so they might really be related.But there was no chance in hell he was giving up Jillian.
The woman stood.“I didn’t come back to this godforsaken country to be laughed at by a commoner.You will step aside willingly or suffer the consequences, because I’m not leaving without her.She’s my only grandchild and the last of the Zakarians.”
Lex didn’t know Armenian history, but he understood what the word commoner meant.He didn’t care if Jillian was the future leader of some eastern European empire.She belonged with him.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s no money in this world that could ever make me let her go or replace what I plan to give her.My love.Because you see, she already has my heart.”
The woman laughed.“Heart.Men.I plan to give her something she never had.Family.History.Roots.A legacy.Can you deny her these things and live with yourself?”
CHAPTER 21
“These two people haven’t moved since we got here,” Rake said, tapping the screen of his laptop.
Jillian’s grip tightened on the back of his seat.He was in the front passenger seat, and she was behind him in the middle row, practically climbing over his broad shoulders to see the screen better.One of those people could be Lex.She swallowed, her throat so tight and mouth so dry she could gag.
“But they’re alive, right?”she asked.
“Yes.”Rake explained how infra-red satellite imagery worked.
Four people were moving around at the front of the club.Several more were in the back.Lucien, the designated driver, had parked across the street from Petrosian Hookah Lounge.The traffic on the street was heavy, but the pedestrians were few.This side of San Juan tended to get busy at night and on weekends since it had a higher concentration of clubs and bars.
