Interdiction (A James Winchester Thriller Book 3) (James Winchester Series) by James Samuel (best novels to read for beginners TXT) 📕

Sinclair croaked and coughed. He snatched the burning cigarette from the ground.

"Wait, wait, I didn't mean to say it like that. What I mean is she wouldn't love any man. She's gay, James, she's a lesbian."

"What?" James exclaimed.

"A lesbian. We conducted a background check on her. We found out she has a girlfriend here in Sarajevo. Jasmina Velic. A Bosnian woman. She's been using you this whole time. Go and find her yourself if you don't believe me."

James let Sinclair's words hang in the air. He wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Everyone in this damn country seemed to have an agenda. Truth appeared to be a foreign concept here. Plemenac, Gallagher, Miran, Kemal, Sinclair, and now Nazifa. Strangely enough, after what Plemenac had told him about Kemal, he believed Sinclair. It didn't make the truth any less cutting. He'd been duped again and again.

He thumped his elbow into one of the glass panels of the door behind him. The thick padding of his coat sent the whole pane out of the door in one piece. It smashed on the hallway floor.

"For fuck's sake, Sinclair." James turned away from him. "And when were you going to tell me this?"

"I was hoping I never had to."

James ran a hand down his face. "What else? I suppose you're going to tell me that bonus Gallagher promised you was for more than just your loyalty?"

Sinclair looked embarrassed but nodded. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I'm this close, Sinclair. This close."

"Okay, okay, calm down. Nazifa was taken by Gallagher into Croatia. The whole point was to lure you there."

James scoffed. "Oh yes? What makes him think that I wouldn't kill every one of them?"

"Maugham is there."

He licked his lips. Gordon Maugham was Gallagher's favourite personal assassin. He'd aged and some of his skills had declined, but he was something of a legend within Blackwind. Gordon had been there since the beginning. His deeds had become part myth and part truth. Nobody quite knew where to draw the line anymore. James knew on his day he could fight off anyone, but Gordon presented a problem.

"Gordon Maugham,” James said the name slowly.

"Yes. Gallagher told me. When you go to rescue Nazifa, he would be waiting."

James looked back at Sinclair. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"You know, I don't want you to die."

"I see. Well, what option do I have now?"

"You don't have to go. Forget about it. You could make peace with Gallagher and move onto our next assignment. Let it go. Let her go. Nothing has happened yet."

James straightened up. There was no debate about this. He would go to where they had stashed Nazifa. Vengeance played upon his mind. He had already crossed the Rubicon tonight; the die was cast. Gallagher and Blackwind were finished for him.

"You're not going, are you?"

James thrust a finger at him. "You have no right to make suggestions to me. By rights, you should be flying off that balcony now for not telling me about this earlier."

Sinclair opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it again.

"Sinclair, this is going to be our final assignment together. I will have a price on my head within days. Plemenac died tonight."

Sinclair went paper white. "What, but he has diplomatic immunity? You cannot do that."

He clenched his fists. "If I hear the words 'diplomatic immunity' one more time I'm going to be extremely undiplomatic. Now, Plemenac died tonight at the White Fortress. He tripped and fell off the cliff. That's all you need to know. I'm going to Croatia, now."

"But why? With everything you know, why would you take the risk for her?"

"For her?" James gave Sinclair a downcast look. "This is not for her; this is for me. If I don't deal with this now, Gordon Maugham will be the man chasing me across the world until one of us is dead. Gallagher will never let me go. Now don't say a word, get me a car."

Chapter Sixty-Six

James watched Sinclair like a hawk. This, his only real friend in the world. He wanted to trust him, but he couldn't take the risk. Sinclair had been with him since the first day he joined Blackwind. He counted Sinclair among his very closest allies. Yet he was under no illusions. People in this world betrayed their best friends for the tiniest of rewards. How could he know that Sinclair wouldn't alert Gallagher and Gordon he was coming?

James said little to Sinclair as they gathered the arsenal needed to take on Gordon and storm the cabin in the woods. Large black cloth bags of death soon rested inside the trunk of the Audi. His thoughts occasionally wandered over to Nazifa. What Plemenac said about Kemal and the Bosnian nationalists made sense. Kemal was a major figure in the nationalist scene. Nazifa had worked with his family long before she'd met James.

There was no doubt Kemal knowingly kept her orientation a secret, while at the same time encouraging him to pursue her. Why had he asked him about his evening with Nazifa at the football game? How did he know he had spent the evening in her presence in the first place?

"Wait in the car," James ordered as Sinclair shut the trunk. "I need to make a call."

"James, do I really have to go?"

He glared at Sinclair, who quickly got the message and slid into the passenger seat. Dialling Kemal's number, the phone started to ring.

"James?" said Kemal without his usual joviality.

"They took Nazifa."

"Nazifa? Where?" Kemal's voice sounded panicked. "Who?"

"Croatia. I know the place because she called me. How quickly can you meet me? I'm going to get her now." James released a little half-smile. "The Serbians took her."

"Serbians," Kemal growled down the phone. "I meet you