Free Rogue Angel 52: Death Mask by Alex Archer Page A

other car had followed them.
So much for the benefit of the doubt,
Roux thought bitterly. Roux checked for the reassuring shape of the gun inside his jacket. It was always a last resort, but when options were quickly whittled down by circumstance, it was always better to have the choice than not.
    “This will be fine,” he said. “Stay in the car. You don’t have to get involved in this.” Mateo nodded and pulled over. On cue, the other car stopped, riding their tailgate.
    Roux climbed out of the car.
    He started to walk toward the other vehicle as four men emerged, their eyes firmly fixed on him. They were keyed up, on edge, ready for action. Not a good sign. He stood his ground, not moving beyond the length of his own car.
    The man who’d been driving started toward him, swinging a semiautomatic by his side.
    There was no pointing, no shouting. No grandstanding. These men were professional, organized, disciplined. Roux’s first thought was ex-paramilitary. They were a team. A death squad.
    He’d been willing to think things weren’t as bad as they could be when he noticed the tattoo on the back of the man’s gun hand. It was the same tattoo Mateo had.
    The old man didn’t believe in coincidences.
    He turned slightly and in the corner of his eye saw that Mateo had climbed out of the car. So, five of them instead of four, not that it made a massive difference. The odds were stacked against him. The only thing in his favor was that he was Roux. They’d never encountered anyone as resourceful or stubbornly determined to stay alive as he was.
    “This isn’t for you. You’re not wanted, understood?” the man with the gun said.
    “Not wanted by who?” Roux asked. It was a straightforward question. He was buying time. Trying to think. Had he seen that tattoo before? What did it mean?
    “Doesn’t matter,” said the man.
    “I think it does. I think it goes right to the heart of the matter.”
    “You talk too much, old man. Don’t make me hurt you. Just turn around and go home.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    “You can. Mateo will drive you back to the airport. All you need to do is get back on your plane and we can all go on with our lives.”
    Roux shook his head. “There’s someone counting on me.”
    “And now
I’m
counting on you. Mateo’s counting on you. My friends here are counting on you. We don’t want this to become messy.”
    “And if I refuse?”
    “Then it becomes messy. Go back to Paris.” The man was obviously well-informed, Roux realized. “Live out the rest of your life in peace. That sounds like a good deal to me.”
    “I’m sure it does,” Roux said. He thought about going along with their request. It had a lot going for it, truth be told. Garin was a big boy. He had Annja working hard to save his life. Roux had pretty much exhausted all avenues of inquiry here in Seville and, more importantly, got his findings out to Annja. She’d find the mask if it was here to be found. All things considered, it wouldn’t have been difficult to walk away. But the simple fact that these people wanted him to do that meant he wouldn’t. He wasn’t that kind of man. Garin always said he was an ornery bastard. He wasn’t wrong. That they didn’t want him here meant this was exactly where he wanted to be.
    “You want me gone, tell me what you’re so afraid of me finding. Then I’ll think about your offer.”
    “I’m not afraid at all, my friend, because there is nothing for you to find.”
    “Really?”
    “Really. We don’t like foreigners coming here and poking their noses in our business. Get back in the car and we’ll say no more about it. That is my final word.”
    Five against one.
    He could improve on those odds pretty quickly.
    Roux nodded and climbed back into the car without saying another word. He waited for Mateo to ease himself in behind the wheel.
    Before the driver could start the engine, though, Roux had the muzzle of his gun pressed against the back of his head. That