Stanton asked.
“A clear path out, a car, and a hundred grand,” Samir said quickly.
“Fine,” Stanton said. “You’ll get it. But let the woman go first.”
Samir gave a short laugh.
“What do you take me for? She comes with me. I let her go when I’m safe.”
Stanton knew that was a lie. Samir would never release a witness who could identify him.
“I’ve got a better option,” Stanton said. “You let her go and take me instead. I’m worth more to you as a hostage, and you know it.”
“No!” Nina cried out for the first time. “Michael, don’t!”
Samir yanked her by the hair to silence her.
“Quiet.”
Stanton took another step.
“Think it through, Samir. I’m a millionaire. Public figure. They’ll search the whole country for me. You’ll have leverage, money, and time if you take me instead of her.”
Samir hesitated. Greed flickered in his eyes. Stanton’s offer had appeal.
“How do I know you’re not playing me?”
“Because I’m giving you my word,” Stanton said. “And I keep my word.”
Something in his tone must have convinced him.
“All right,” Samir said. “Come here. Slow.”
Stanton moved toward him, keeping his face calm. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Boris and the others shifting almost imperceptibly, trying to improve their angles.
“Tell your men to stop moving,” Samir snapped.
“Everybody hold,” Stanton said. “No one turns.”
He came within arm’s reach.
“Let her go,” he said.
Samir smirked and shoved Nina slightly aside without letting her fully out of reach.
“Closer.”
Stanton took one more step and was nearly chest to chest with him. Samir grabbed him by the collar and jammed the pistol against his temple.
“There we go,” the gangster said. “Now we walk. Slow.”
Stanton didn’t move. He looked at Nina and said something silently with his eyes.
Samir jerked him.
“I said move.”
“Samir,” Stanton said evenly, “your magazine’s not full.”
Samir blinked.
“What?”
“You’ve got one round left at most. I can see the indicator.”
Instinctively, Samir glanced down at the pistol. That split second was enough. Stanton drove his elbow hard into Samir’s stomach and twisted the gun hand at the same time.
A shot went off. So much for one round left. But the bullet hit the ceiling. Nina jumped clear, and Stanton’s men surged forward. Within seconds Samir was on the floor with Boris’s knee in his back, and the pistol was in Stanton’s hand.
“You’re done, Samir,” Michael said, looking down at him. “And this time you answer for all of it.”
He turned to Nina, who stood against the wall, shaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
She stared at him as if she were seeing a ghost.
“Michael… is it really you?”
He nodded, not sure what to say. Fifteen years had passed since they last stood face to face. What did a man say to the woman he had abandoned while she was carrying his child?
“I’ve seen you on television,” Nina said, “but I never thought…”
“Neither did I,” Stanton said honestly.
“How did you find us?”
“Alex,” he said simply. “He saved me from being detained and told me you were in danger.”
At the mention of her son, Nina’s face changed instantly.
“Alex. Where is he? Is he okay?”
“He’s in the hospital,” Stanton said. “He was beaten, but he’s going to be all right.”
Nina covered her face with both hands.
“Oh God. This is all because of me. They took me to force him to cooperate.”
“This is not your fault,” Stanton said gently. “But it’s over now. Samir won’t hurt either of you again.”
He turned to Boris, who still had Samir pinned.
“Tie him up with the others and call the police.”
“Already done,” Boris said. “They’ll be here in twenty minutes.”
Stanton nodded and looked back at Nina.
“Let’s go to the hospital. Alex needs to see you.”
She nodded uncertainly, and he helped her out of the building. Outside, the morning sun was bright, and after the dim warehouse Nina squinted against it. Stanton steadied her by the arm and felt how badly she was shaking.
“It’s over,” he said quietly. “You’re safe now.”
Nina turned to him, and in her eyes he saw the question she hadn’t yet asked.
“Yes,” he said, answering it anyway. “I know Alex is my son.”
Alex’s hospital room was full of bright daylight. The boy was sitting up in bed, flipping through a magazine without really reading it. When the door opened, he looked up—and froze when he saw Nina.
“Mom!” he shouted. His face lit up so completely that Stanton, standing in the doorway, felt his chest tighten.
Nina rushed to him, wrapped her arms around him carefully, mindful of the bandaged ribs, and burst into tears.
“Alex, honey, I was so scared.”
She stroked his hair, kissed his cheeks, tears running freely down her face. Alex held onto her as if he were afraid she might disappear again.
“Are you okay?”
