Interdiction (A James Winchester Thriller Book 3) (James Winchester Series), James Samuel [book recommendations TXT] 📗

of wind blew inside, rattling the windowpanes and causing the open stove to flicker.

“Now, Miss Aleksi, you have found yourself in rather a complicated situation. Understand, you mean nothing to me.” Gordon sat at the table. “Please, sit.”

Nazifa bit her tongue and rose to meet him. She ducked by the noose, attempting to shake the nausea bubbling every time she looked at it.

“Do you know where you are?” Gordon asked.

“Croatia.”

“Where in Croatia?”

“Why do you ask me these stupid questions?”

Gordon’s mouth tightened. “What if I told you that you could leave here with your life?”

Nazifa only frowned. She wouldn’t rise to these stupid games.

“I’m prepared to give you that option.”

Nazifa clutched the adjacent chair with her handcuffed hands. Her knuckles whitened as Gordon removed her phone from his pocket and slid it across the table towards her. She stared at it, expecting a trick.

“Pick it up.”

“What are you trying —”

“Pick up the bloody phone.”

Nazifa took the phone in her hands. It was indeed her phone. Gordon had even charged the battery. She unlocked it and swiped through the menu screen. It looked completely untouched.

“What have you done to it?”

“Nothing, I assure you. I’m not aware of your passcode.”

Nazifa took in deep breaths through her nose. “Well?”

“I want you to make a call. Someone to pick you up. You are in the countryside close to Mrkopalj. A road leading into the forest from the south side of the village leads here. There’s only a single unpaved road leading in that direction.”

Nazifa shook her head. “I can find my own way.”

Gordon’s pupils appeared to flash with orange light. “You will make the call, or you will hang.”

She couldn’t help but take another glance at the noose. Nazifa realised she had no choice but to play his game. She had no other avenues of escape.

“Call James Winchester. Tell him where you are. You will say you escaped, and you are hiding here. Not a word about us.”

“And if I don’t?”

Gordon jabbed his head at the noose. “It’s your one chance of survival. Is he really worth that much to you?”

Nazifa thought about it. He was a useful man to have around, but did she care for him? Did she truly love him? In her heart she knew he was merely a tool to serve the Bosnian cause. If it was a choice between him and her, the choice was obvious. She swiped to her address book and made the call.

The phone rang. Every ring that went unanswered was like one of her lives ebbing away. She mouthed the word ‘please’ as she willed him to pick up. The ringtone stopped. Nazifa opened her mouth to speak when the cold, mechanical tones of his voicemail cut her off. She grimaced.

“Such a shame. Perhaps I made a miscalculation. I thought you meant something to him.”

“No, wait.” She threw her hands out in case he came at her. “I can get through to him.”

Gordon flicked his eyebrows. “Then you best make it quick, I’m not a man who likes to be kept waiting.”

Nazifa gulped and moved to Sinclair’s number. Her pulse quickened. The noose appeared to edge closer every second.

The incessant ringing started off again. Sinclair was her last hope for salvation. She turned away as hot tears came to her eyes. Swiping them away, she struggled to hold herself together.

“Nazifa?” said Sinclair.

“Sinclair.” Her legs wobbled and she reached out to grab the chair. “Sinclair, help me. I don’t have much time.”

“Calm down, Nazifa. How can I help you?” His soothing voice was like honey poured into her ear. “Are you looking for James?”

“Yes, yes, I need him here. Now. I need him to help me.”

“Slow down, I can barely understand you. What’s happened?”

“I was taken. Taken out of Sarajevo. I got away. I don’t know who they were. I’m in Croatia.”

Sinclair paused. “I see. James isn’t here at the moment. I don’t know when he will be back.”

“Sinclair, please. This is an emergency. I’m alone. In a cabin near Rijeka. The south side of the village of Mrkopalj. There’s one road. I’m in the forest. Please help...” She cast a furtive look at the impassive Gordon. “I don’t want them to find me.”

“Stay where you are. The moment James returns I will tell him where you are. Keep yourself hidden.”

“Come on, please.”

“You have nothing to worry about. Believe me.”

Gordon shifted his chair backwards. His shadow loomed over her like death itself. He held his palm out and gave a light flick of his fingers.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

“No problem. Stay where you are.”

The line went dead. Gordon snatched the phone out of her grip and pocketed it. He held an amused simper across his face.

“When Winchester is liquidated, you will be free to go.”

Nazifa stamped back towards her place on the floor. Her dry mouth tasted only the ashen flavour of guilt. There was no question about the right thing anymore. It was a matter of survival.

Chapter Sixty-Three

Sarajevo, Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sinclair had his head in his hands as he stared at the swirling grooves in the coffee table. What had he done? Gallagher had issued the order to eliminate James. He hadn’t said anything about this.

He slammed a fist down on the table. The empty porcelain coffee cup jumped and landed on its side then rolled onto the floor with a crash. Sinclair threw his chair out and kicked the fragments of porcelain aside. Gallagher had played him for a fool.

Sinclair struggled to press the right icons on his phone. His fat fingers were cumbersome. After a few seconds of fumbling, he dialled Gallagher’s number.

“Wood?” Gallagher answered.

“What are you playing at? This wasn’t part of the deal. You told me