Free Deadly Games by Jaycee Clark

closed the panel behind her and walked through the small room filled with boxes, bottles and glasses. She pushed through the door as the bartender turned to shout at her before recognizing who it was. He nodded to her and she winked and smiled at him.
    “Keep up at this pace and you’ll draw a hefty wage in tips alone, my friend.”
    He grinned and set three glasses on the bar.
    She strolled through the crowd without a care in the world.
    Well, there was a care. His name was Dimitri Petrolov, or was at the moment.
    Outside she leaned close and whispered to Ivan. “Tomorrow meet me at the regular spot.”
    He smiled slowly and nodded as she walked to her car still parked at the curb.
    Once inside she told her driver to head to her house in Kladno.

     
    * * * *
     
    Raven sat in a car she stole from the car park of the hotel. It was a sporty little Audi, grey and loaded. The owner shouldn’t miss it until morning, and if it was reported before then, well, a stolen car would be nothing new.
    She wasn’t about to have a cab sit here, rack up a price, and then have to explain as to why she wanted to sit here. Strangely enough people tended to remember things like that. Lights off, engine cut, she sipped the black coffee she picked up at a coffee bar.
    She’d crossed the Vlatva River back into the Malá Strana, or Lesser Quarter.
    More open space and gardens over on this side. Old aristocratic homes lined the streets with the exception of a few modern additions, of which the warehouse/industrial building seemed to be. In her rearview mirror she could see the lighted walls of the Castle.
    There was no sign of a black BMW, but she waited anyway and was finally awarded because she’d been watching the second level.
    Lights shone in the windows upstairs and shadows, silhouettes of at least two men, occasionally crossed in front of it. One she clearly recognized as Dimitri Petrolov’s, whether from his profile or something in his carriage, she knew not. She only knew he was inside.
    So with whom was he meeting?
    There. He crossed from one window to the next, turned back and back again.
    Pacing was he? Then he stopped. He stood now, in the light of the window, looking out before turning back to his guest.
    Five million?
    Since when did anyone in their right mind turn down five million because of a bloody gut feeling?

    42
    But she knew if she took the job and the money and later things arose that told her she’d made a mistake, she didn’t know if she could survive that a second time. She barely survived it the first time.
    Her phone beeped The LCD screen told her it was Nikko.
    She chose to ignore it.
    Raven watched the shadows and wished she had a way of hearing what they were saying. At least she knew where to find the man.

    43

     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
    Dimitri and John climbed into his BMW, after running a scanner over it. No bugs.
    He opened the garage door and backed out.
    As he drove away from his house, he asked, “Why Kladno?”
    “I just remember a house there. A renaissance residence she said one of her lovers had acquired for her. Since we can find no record of it, I decided we should check it out ourselves.”
    This was the first he was hearing about it. Several blocks later, he checked his mirrors and saw three cars following him. He took E48 northwest out of the city.
    “Why do you think this is the place?” he asked.
    Cars piled up behind him. In the dark it was hard to tell if any were following him or just heading out of Prague to home, to another city, or even into Germany.
    Neither he nor John talked as they drove towards the old city. The expressway was busy tonight. Cars passed him and several he guessed were driving under the influence even though it was prohibited. He had his expressway pass, which he always kept current.
    Never knew when he’d need to take a trip such as this.
    The town of Kladno came into view, its lights winking in the night. An old city it boasted a population of about