Chapter 39 #2
The officer closest to Wyatt stowed his weapon, then tugged Wyatt’s arms behind his back. He slapped cuffs on Wyatt’s wrists and jerked him to a standing position.
“Stay put,” the second officer said to Natasha and the others. “Help is on the way.”
Natasha stared into the officer’s green eyes, a shiver rolling over her spine.
“Wait! You’re leaving? He’s gonna kill us. You can’t leave!” Kate called out, frantic.
“Everything will be okay,” Wyatt said to Gwen in a calm voice, his Adam’s apple moving with a hard swallow before the officer pulled him back.
Wyatt locked eyes with Natasha, a silent request to keep his daughter safe.
“I don’t understand,” the hacker at Gwen’s side yelled out once Wyatt and the officers were gone, tears in his eyes. The kid couldn’t be more than twenty like Gwen.
Gwen slowly sank to the floor, her eyes positioned on the door through which Wyatt had left with the two officers. “Why’d they only take him? Why’d they leave us?”
Jasper slid down the side of the podium, keeping his back to it, the gun in his hand.
“Don’t worry, we won’t lose him.” Harper paused. “But shit, Balan is—” Her words died in Natasha’s ear, the comm going dead. Her communication with the team had been severed, and when the door off to the side of the stairs connecting to the backstage opened, she knew why.
Alexander Balan, The Knight, was there.
“It is nice to finally meet you in person, Chandler.” Balan casually threw out the words, no longer trying to conceal his heavy European accent, which also emphasized his formal manner of speaking English.
He dropped a black duffel bag at his feet, and Natasha instantly went for her firearm, standing quickly, the gun aimed his way.
Balan didn’t pause. No hesitation. He knew she wouldn’t dare shoot him with the stage rigged to explode.
Dressed in a Canadian police uniform, Balan took off the Montreal PD hat and tossed it. He swiped a hand over his hair back and forth twice.
The stereotypical lanky look of a computer nerd she’d had in her mind wasn’t a match for this guy.
He’d changed since he was in his twenties and was Kate’s teacher.
More muscles on his tall frame where there hadn’t been in the past. A trimmed beard that’d never been in any photos of his alias as Rothus.
If it weren’t for the cold, dead eyes that met hers right now, she’d swear it wasn’t even him.
“Your comms frequency is jammed as long as you’re within fifteen meters of me.
You can take that little device out of your ear if you’d like.
” He cocked his head, and when she didn’t follow his directive, he shrugged.
“You look surprised to see me, Natasha. Did you not expect we would meet here in person like this?”
She kept her arm steady even though her insides shook, and her pulse intensified.
“Put the gun away.” His voice, so eerily calm, chilled her. “You cannot shoot me, and you know it. You hurt me, and we all die.”
The unpleasant truth of his statement had her lowering the gun to her side.
Balan’s lips stretched, showcasing crooked teeth that were tinged yellow, then he faced the stage. “Hello, my dear Kate.”
“You son of a bitch.” Kate slowly stood. “You were supposed to die.”
Balan ate up the distance between where he stood and the edge of the stage, his eyes lifting to meet Kate’s. “I taught you everything, and I am dismayed by the way you decided to repay me.”
Natasha could shoot him. His back was to her. But what if . . .? No, she couldn’t take the risk. She had to play the long game, to believe Wyatt’s team would come through for them.
“What’d you do, Kate?” Felix hissed.
Kate faced her husband, an ugly twist to her lips. Her forehead tight. “You stupid ass. If you didn’t need to stick your dick in every woman that crosses your path, maybe I wouldn’t have had to save the company.”
“And you could not have done it without my help.” Balan pivoted to the side to put eyes on Natasha as well.
“The FBI thought you were The Knight,” he said to Felix.
“But you were a pawn in your wife’s game.
She has been using you since the day you laid eyes on her.
” The bastard kept his tone so freaking casual it made Natasha’s skin crawl.
“Did you actually think you earned first place in that competition where you met Kate?” He snickered.
“I taught your darling wife how to be one of the best hackers in the world.”
Natasha kept her gun in hand, prepared to use it when the time was right, and if she couldn’t manage to shoot him, she could knock him on the back of the skull, at least.
“Let those two go.” Natasha tipped her chin toward Gwen and the young man at her side. “They’re innocent.”
“Collateral damage, I’m afraid.” Balan’s cold eyes met hers.
“Like your brother was?” She’d either intensify his anger with her question, or she’d distract his focus.
If she could try and control the direction of the conversation, control what happened next, maybe she could gain the advantage somehow.
“How did you manage to get out of your house without burns? The operatives said your brother was engulfed in flames, and yet, your skin appears flawless. Did you choose yourself over him? Was that what happened? Does the guilt keep you awake at night knowing he died when it was supposed to be you?”
“I am not a coward. I would not make such a choice.” He rolled his shoulders as if attempting to dispel his anger. “He was innocent. He shouldn’t have died.”
“You must have cared deeply about him, or you wouldn’t have arranged such an elaborate plan of revenge. So, why’d you let him die?” She was poking a bear, and she had no idea if he’d be the one to draw blood.
“I did not let him die,” he said, each word punctuating the air as if he stabbed a finger her way. “I always traveled using tunnels. I was on my way home when my fail-safe was remotely hacked and triggered. He was dead before I got to him.” Mourning and regret eased into his tone.
Natasha took a step closer, wondering if there was even a fraction of humanity inside of this man.
Was there a way to tap into his love for his brother to try and get him to back down?
“Please, let them go. Like your brother, they’re not part of this.
” She had to get Gwen out of there. If something went wrong, if their plan failed .
. . no, she couldn’t lose Wyatt’s daughter.
Kate sprung toward the stairs, prepared to flee when Balan spun her way and shouted, “You will die if you take one step down. The bomb activated the second the five of you were all on stage. Give or take a few kilos, if the weight on the floorboards goes up or down, the bomb goes off.” He cocked his head, eyes set on Kate.
“Do what he says,” Felix pleaded with his wife. “Don’t kill us all.”
Kate lowered her heel to the floor, took a step back from the stairs, and leveled Balan with a glare.
“If you had just stopped like I asked, we’d all be fine.
Rich and happy.” Her voice was softer now.
“You taught me everything I know, but you took things too far, Alex.” She tipped her head, a plea in her eyes, an attempt to get Balan down from the cliff of crazy.
Balan smoothed a hand over his bearded jaw and repeated Rich and happy over and over again as if he were a parrot. “I never did it for the money.”
“The game,” Natasha whispered. “That’s why she had to make it a challenge. The money wouldn’t have been enough, would it?”
Felix slowly stood and faced his wife. “I asked you years ago if you were somehow connected to The Knight’s cyberattacks.
I know our company is good, but come on, that Knight character never once targeted our clients in the past. Sort of hard to believe we’d be so lucky unless you were involved somehow.
” His brows shot together. “You denied it when the FBI poked around, but it’s true, isn’t it?
” He grabbed hold of Kate’s shoulders and shook her.
“You bankrupted us. What choice did I have?” Kate pushed at his chest, attempting to get him to back off. “And you’re no saint. Don’t pretend you’re any better.”
“I’m not a murderer!” Felix released his wife and stumbled back onto one of the chairs.
“You two done yet?” Balan adjusted the sleeves of his shirt. The detonator had to be small, most likely strapped to the inside of his wrist.
“Why’d you bring me here?” Natasha asked when he grabbed his duffel bag and set it on a chair in the front row. “Why all the clues, Balan?”
He stilled at the mention of his real last name but only for a moment before he unzipped the bag. “You figure that out with Jasper’s help? I thought he did not say anything to you in the limo last night.”
“I didn’t need Jasper.”
He retrieved a laptop, a smile crossing his face. “You knew I was listening, right? You knew I had been in your room.” Balan shook his head as if impressed. “Nice work, Chandler. You got me on that.” He balanced the computer on his palm while typing.
She glanced at the stage, ensuring no one moved. No heroics that’d lead to the place blowing up. Gwen had her knees to her chest, her arm around the guy next to her since she appeared to be steadier than him. She was tough like her father, no surprise there.
“All of this time, I had been playing a game with Kate, but you were my only worthy opponent.” Balan set the laptop on the chair and dipped his hand back into his bag. “It is time for part two.”
Natasha’s stomach dropped. “Part two?” Her brows lifted in surprise at the chess game in his hand. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“I assume you have now realized those two cops that arrested your British friend were actually my guys. He is in that lovely abandoned mill. He is tied up, and the place is rigged with explosives like this stage.”
The clothing mill clearly hadn’t been chosen only because it was abandoned but because of the proximity to the convention hall. And now Wyatt was there.