Page 42 of Deadly Charade

He plunked down across from her in the plastic chair she wasn’t sure would hold his weight. “I take it you aren’t hurt too bad?” he asked.

“A few scrapes, some bruises and soreness, but I’ll be good to go in no time.”

“Yes, well, please accept my apologies for the incident at the gallery. I only knew I was followed, and I didn’t know who you were. So sorry for hitting you with that frame.”

She gave him a small smile and a nod of appreciation. “FSB?” She opted to speak Russian. The man obviously knew who she was, but it also helped them talk without anyone in the waiting room listening in.

He folded his arms and scanned the room. “Did you think you’re the only one undercover?”

“Actually, yes. What’s your story?”

He scrutinized her, as if assessing whether he could trust her. “The Russian government has a vested interest in recovering stolen artifacts of cultural significance. Before someone else gets to the pieces and they are lost forever.”

“Who is the ‘someone else’? Is the Bratva involved?”

He paused, possibly for dramatic effect or because he didn’t want to have this conversation in a waiting room with nurses, patients, and visitors bustling about. Not that any of them likely spoke Russian, but one never knew.

“It’s not the Bratva,” he said, lowering his voice. “There is an underground organization within Russia that believes their lineage entitles them to secure certain cultural artifacts by any means necessary. I’m trying to figure out who they are and make sure we don’t lose more important pieces of our history forever.”

So, not the Russian mafia. Wow.

“Alex Dominik isn’t innocent,” he said, “but he’s not the mastermind behind this. He’s doing someone else’s bidding. The secret society is blackmailing him.”

“Blackmail?”

“Yes.”

“Then who killed the security guard?”

His eyes fell. “I don’t know. Someone came out after me when we stepped outside. The guard had promised me some information on Zaika, and I paid him, but he didn’t deliver. That’s why we argued.”

“The gallery was quiet that day.” Ignoring the pain it caused her, Kira stood and double-checked the sparsely populated waiting room. A row of plastic seats lined three walls of the windowless room. A man sat in one corner by himself and appeared to be asleep. Close to the entrance, a pregnant woman who looked like she might be in labor sat with a man trying to comfort her.

No one was paying any attention to them, so Kira continued. “A couple of security guards and the gallery attendant were in the area. The attendant had moved on to another group of patrons before I took off after you.”

“Yes. This is the mystery.”

Kira didn’t buy that Ivan had no theories on who might have killed the guard, but she’d leave the topic alone for now. And she still wouldn’t take his name off the suspect list.

One question burned within her, and she decided to take a risk and ask. “Who is Victor?”

The man’s nostrils flared. “You need to stop this investigation now. Victor is a dangerous man. You would be wise to walk away.”

Tired of the stonewalling, she faced off with the man. The pregnant couple were called back by a physician and the other man still slept. With hands on her hips, Kira stared the Russian down with narrowed eyes. “Why were you following us through the back roads in West Virginia? I find your timing impeccable.”

Ivan huffed out a breath. “I wasn’t following you.”

“Really?” She tamped down the desire to unleash her pent-up fury and say things she might regret later. “I appreciate the mountainside rescue, but I find it very convenient that you came running the second after someone attacked us.”

“I just wish I had been closer to stop that truck.”

“But that doesn’t answer the question of why you were there.”

“Listen closely.” Ivan’s voice barely qualified as a whisper. “You and your partner are in this too deep. You’re not safe.”

“You do realize that we’re trained to do this kind of stuff?”

He snorted and scowled. “I might not be able to stop the next attack. Especially if we uncover the secrets of the Collector. Believe me, these men will kill everyone who stands in their way for the fortune buried in these mountains.”