The Grandmaster's Pawn by Patricia D. Eddy

Author:Patricia D. Eddy [Eddy, Patricia D.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

Six

Daniel

Tugging at the jacket of my uniform—pilfered from one of the employee lockers not long after the museum closed down for the day—I take a few deep, centering breaths. This is the part of the job I love. The thrill. Knowing if I lose focus for a single second, it could all be over. Alarms. Police. Interpol.

Tonight, however, there’s nothing. Only longing. For something different. For her.

Tatiana’s in my ear as I hover at the door, the Chessmen in my sight. “Cameras going dark in three, two, one. Mark,” she says. I have ninety seconds before she has to turn them back on. Cloning Gemma’s phone gave me access to the motion detectors, and I flip them off next, followed by the pressure sensors.

I lift the glass covering the display carefully and set it aside, then flip open my small satchel. One at a time, I swap the original chess piece for a perfect forgery.

“Fifteen seconds,” Tatiana says as I set the final piece in the case.

Steady.

With only a second to spare, I reach the hall. “Clear.”

Less than five minutes later, I slip out the museum’s loading docks and stroll towards the Thames. Just another bloke on his way home from work.

“Set up the meet with the buyer,” I tell Tatiana as I pull my hat down lower to hide my face. “I want it over and done with by tomorrow evening. Then…we need to talk about my exit strategy.”

“Wh-what?” Tatiana splutters in my ear. “You cannot be serious. Daniel, l’voinak, you are the best in the world.”

“And I intend to go out on top.” Severing the connection, I tuck the earbud in my pocket and pull out my phone. It’s late. Well after nine. But I need to hear Gemma’s voice.

“Hey,” she says quietly. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t call.”

“I always keep my promises, bijou. My flight was delayed or I would have rang you hours ago. I’m almost to my hotel.” Stopping at a bench overlooking the water, I stare up at the moon. I don’t know why I’ve never noticed its beauty before. Perhaps I’ve missed many things. “How are you?”

“Tired. I have a paper due next week, and I’ve been working on it all night.”

“On?”

“You don’t really want to know.” She stifles a yawn.

“I do. Truly.” My chest tightens when I realize I’m not lying. “Tell me.”

“Ten pages on—” A knock at the door stops her, and she sighs. “Hang on. It’s probably the pizza I ordered.”

I resume my walk, but three steps later, there’s a loud crash and then Gemma screams, “No! Get away from me!”

My heart is in my throat as I turn and start to run. I’m five kilometers from her flat. “Gemma! Answer me!”

A wet thud, the sound of fists on flesh, and then Gemma’s soft moan. The call’s still connected, and I press the phone to my ear harder, trying to hear anything that might help me—help her. Footsteps, then a voice.

“Hastings.”

My entire world turns upside down. “Ulrich, what the bloody fuck are you doing? Is Gemma—”

“She is alive.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.