Chapter 41 The Loose End

• The silence in the wake of Vance’s departure was heavier than before. The hum of the medical equipment seemed to amplify, each beep a measured heartbeat in a world that had just been thrown back into violent motion. Alexander and I were alone again, but the careful, tentative space we’d been building was gone, replaced by the cold, hard reality of a trained killer who now had a reason to want us dead.
• Alexander’s gaze was fixed on the tent’s entrance, as if he could still see the ghost of Vance’s exit. The lucidity that had allowed him to identify Varga was now sharpened into a razor’s edge of anxiety. The CEO was gone; the survivor was back.
• “He won’t be taken easily,” Alexander said, his voice low, almost to himself. “If he’s at the Mercer, he’ll have the place scouted. He’ll have exits we haven’t even thought of.”