“This is Bravo Three. The paths are clear. No one is down here yet.” That deep voice belonged to Asher. It was his first op since the twins were born.
“This is Bravo Two. We’re in position. Ready for your entry, Echo Two,” Owen announced as Ana and A.J. finished making preparations with their gear to go into the caves.
“Be careful. I may lose contact with you from my position soon,” Harper came over the line. She was parked nearby in their mobile unit, waiting for the next steps. Not that they knew what next steps Grigory Volkov would dictate.
The assigned FBI agents were in their positions waiting for instructions as well, plus a helo and boat were on standby.
“This is Echo Two,” A.J. said while strapping his gun to his back beneath his shirt, the same as Ana. “Moving into position now.” A.J. peeked out from behind the bushes.
“You’re clear,” Wyatt noted.
“Surveillance cameras will be blind for fifteen seconds starting now,” Harper alerted them.
A.J. reached back for Ana’s hand, and they hugged the side of the brick wall until they reached the employee entrance door.
They were inside in a matter of seconds and used the cool, stone wall to guide their path down the steps of the dark entranceway. “We’re inside,” A.J. remarked.
Ana snapped their first Chemlight, which illuminated the uneven stone floor. Inside the dark bowels under the castle, she did her best to ignore what did indeed sound like voices echoing off the walls. Not to mention the staged displays of coffins, plaster gravestones, and other stone statues they passed that sent chills up her spine as they moved through the tunnel.
The darkness, the urban legends, and the sprawling winding caves were the least of her concerns, though.
“This is Bravo Two,” Owen popped on the line. “I’m situated out of sight near your target location. And I now have eyes on the Volkovs’ secret tunnel entrance. It’s about ten feet behind those fountains where you’re scheduled to meet. I guess that’s why the target chose this spot. I’ve got two armed guards entering the area of the fountains now. No sign of our target yet.”
The target—Grigory Volkov.
“We’ll be okay,” A.J. said softly, sensing she needed the reminder, and dropped another Chemlight. “We’re past checkpoint one, Ivy Grotto,” he announced to his team, and she was amazed A.J. even knew where they were given how dark it was. “One more checkpoint, then we’ll be there.”
The mazes were different than she remembered when there as a teenager. Of course, the tunnels had been properly illuminated back then.
“Ottoman Alley should be coming up soon,” Roman told them, and each step on the uneven stone had her pulse fluttering faster at the side of her neck.
“I’m just trying to figure out why the mannequins are dressed for a ball. What happens if they get wet or we feed them after midnight?” Chris asked, and was he making a Gremlins reference?
Ana almost stumbled when a memory from Grigory’s birthday party fifteen years ago flashed in her mind. Everyone in masks. The music. The dancing. Dominick, not Grigory, had asked Ana to dance, and she’d declined. Had he remembered her from that night?
“Checkpoint two,” A.J. announced, and Ana nearly felt the history of the Turkish harem bounce off the walls and strike her as they moved. The cries of the women’s voices. During Roman’s history lesson, he’d explained women from the harem were often tossed like trash down wells into the belly of the earth.
Chills crashed over her skin as she raced a hand along the cold, slimy wall, an attempt to maintain her balance. It was hard to breathe down there. Stifling.
“I can hear them,” Ana whispered to A.J. as they slowed their steps. “We’re close.”
A.J. stopped walking and faced her. He gripped her arms, leaned in, and surprised her with a quick “if something happens to me, don’t blame yourself” kiss. “We’ve got this,” he said after he pulled back, his voice deep but low. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he added and then whispered more words of comfort and encouragement.
She didn’t feel better, though, not when she knew what was most likely about to happen. But she drew in a breath of the thick, musty air, trying to prepare herself for the unpreparable.
“Moving in now,” A.J. announced and gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting go. She maintained his pace, her heartbeat pounding in time with their slow and cautious steps.
A moment later, another memory suddenly snagged her mind as plain as day and had her jerking to a halt.
There are more passageways, her dad had told her the night of Grigory’s party. If we get split up and anything bad happens, find the Wine Fountains. There’s a secret exit behind them. His voice was in her ears now as if he’d just said the words. Once inside, keep going until you find a fork in that tunnel. Left leads to the road near a big house. The big house is dangerous. Don’t go there. Right takes you to the river. Go right. Find help.
“I just remembered something.” She grabbed A.J.’s free hand and peered at him. “When you enter the Volkovs’ entrance to their tunnel system, about a few hundred meters in, there’s a fork. Left should lead to Adrik’s old home. Right to the Danube River.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded, the memory still so clear in her mind.
A.J. tapped his ear and quietly gave the intel to his team. “You ready?” he asked, and she forced a nod. “Let’s do this.”
Her attention returned to the path, lit only by one tossed Chemlight ahead of them.
They rounded the corner to find the meeting space awash with a soft glow. Lanterns were scattered around the floor, circling the 4-sided fountain, which was covered in some weird greenery that couldn’t possibly be natural down there.
“I’m here,” Ana announced, dropping her bag down and holding her hands in the air.
Two armed men she didn’t recognize stood by the fountain but quickly turned her direction when she spoke.
“Who is with you?” Ana recognized the voice as Dominick, but was Grigory with him? Adrik?
“Someone who helped me get here,” she replied, her tone level. “You can trust him.”
“No outsiders. If you’re loyal to us, you will terminate him,” Dominick stated, and she glimpsed a shadowy figure at the secret tunnel entranceway. Was that Grigory?
“No. That’s not necessary.” She stepped forward, but the guards raised their sidearms. “He won’t say anything.”
“You have my word,” A.J. spoke up and set a hand to her back.
“He knows of us. Of this location,” Dominick bit out. “Prove your loyalty. Now.” Ana suppressed a shiver. His voice sounded like it had risen from the bottomless pits of hell.
“Please, this is—”
“Now,” Dominick demanded, cutting off her desperate plea.
“I am on your side. He is nothing to me. My loyalty is with you.” Ana’s chest tightened, and she fought for a deep breath in the humid space. She pulled her gun from her back and spun away from A.J. in one quick movement.
A.J.’s hands shot in the air, and he took several steps back. “Ana, please,” he murmured in protest, continuing to put space between them. “You don’t need to do this. I helped get you here. You need me,” he added, their one last-ditch effort to protect his life and keep him with her.