“I’m glad you’re not really dead.”
“Me, too.” He winked at Tobey and got another smile. “You’ve been very brave. Don’t worry, okay? It’s going to be fine.”
How it would be fine, Dane wasn’t certain. But he had given up his life to keep this child safe once before. He wouldn’t hesitate to do it for real this time.
Chapter Eight
Guilt twisted Lena’s stomach as she stood outside the door listening to the father and son discuss their future. Because of her, they may not have one.
She needed to do something but wasn’t sure what. Her hands were tied. There was nothing she could do that wouldn’t make her own situation worse.
Viktor was an evil bastard, but he was smart and he always hedged his bets. She hated feeling useless and weak, but that was exactly what she was.
“I trust you’ve had a nice visit,” Viktor said as he interrupted the father and son reunion, his enormous guards flanking him. Lena stayed back, looking for some opportunity in which she could overpower three large men with guns and save the day.
It was ridiculous. If she could do that, she wouldn’t be in this mess. And neither would Dane. Or Tobey. She swallowed down a lump of anxiety.
“Can we talk somewhere privately? I think it’s obvious I’m not going to go anywhere,” Dane asked Viktor, sounding completely calm.
“Of course. Weller, please bring Mr. Ryan into the living room.”
“Dad?” Tobey’s voice went up with worry.
“It’s going to be okay. I want you to close your eyes and think about playing soccer. Don’t worry.”
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too, buddy.”
Butch escorted Dane out of the room. He stared down at her where she hovered by the door.
His glare went right through her. “You are a despicable excuse for a human being. I hope you rot in hell.”
“I’m already in hell,” she whispered, but he’d already been pulled away.
Chapter Nine
Dane needed a plan, and he needed one quick. How could he possibly overpower three men and Viktor Kulakov? They were all bigger than him. All armed. Then there was Lena. Who knew where her loyalties lay? Even if he fought his way through the guards, she’d probably shoot him dead to protect Viktor.
He needed to be smart, but at the moment his only thoughts were of the meeting with his son. Tobey loved him. And now he was counting on Dane to get him out of this.
Dane needed help, but there was no way to get in touch with his team.
Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal Josiah Thorne wasn’t expecting him to report to his new assignment until next week, and no one else would be looking for him. He didn’t even talk to the people in his apartment building.
The largest of the three beasts moved closer. Braced for the first strike, Dane tensed, feeling his thigh muscle protest. But the man just untied Dane’s bonds and stepped back.
“You’re probably wondering why I’ve brought you here.” Viktor smiled, a gesture that would in no way be confused with kindness.
“I figured you’d get around to telling me sooner or later.”
“I need your help with a loose end.” The man was probably in his late forties. His nails were manicured and his hair was perfectly in place. His tanned skin held only the most distinguished of wrinkles.
“Does this loose end have a name?” Dane guessed.
“It’s so nice to be able to conduct business like men instead of barbarians.” The man’s cold, gray eyes flashed toward the other room.
“Let’s get this over with. Tell me who’s on your list. I’ll find out where they are, and once I know Tobey’s safe, I’ll give you their location.”
“Actually, I had something more expedient in mind. I’m being watched and so are my men. It took a great deal of resources to allow us to be present for this little adventure. After that inconvenient and unwarranted arrest, I’m not at liberty to hunt down the person who is causing me great personal distress. I’d rather have you bring the person to me. Once you hand him over, I’ll release your boy.”
Dane snorted. “Sure, you will.”
“You insult my honor.”
“My apologies to your honor.” He made no effort to make his apology sound sincere in any way. This man had no honor. His use of children as pawns was evidence of that. “Who is it?”
“Well now, that’s a where the first problem lies. I knew him as Robbie Vanderhook, but soon found out that was a lie. When I…ended his employment, it was because I found out he was a DEA agent named Robert Gates. But once again, I was deceived. It seems he’s much better at hiding his true identity than you are.”
The man glanced toward the room where Tobey was being held. It was true, Dane’s past wasn’t buried as deep as some. But that was because he only had one enemy—his former boss, Tim Reynolds—and that enemy believed him dead. Reynolds was a crook, and dangerous when threatened, but he was definitely a little fish compared with Viktor Kulakov, who was the ruthless leader of an entire crime syndicate.
And Dane had led Kulakov straight to his old life by visiting Tobey when he should have stayed away. Tobey was in danger now because Dane had been greedy and wanted to see his son.
Viktor let out a breath. “At this point we’ve found three other identities, and I’ve become bored with this silly game. I wish to cut to the chase, as it were, and have a professional sort out the details.” Viktor waved his hand as if this was nothing more than an inconvenience.
Dane’s brows pulled together, more out of surprise than not knowing who the person was. In fact, he knew the man well—he was married to Dane’s best friend, Angel Larson—make that Williamson now. Dane knew the man by his real name, Colton Williamson.
They were friends, and Dane was the godfather of the man’s son.
Dane glanced toward the room that held his son. “I’ll be happy to figure out who he is and bring him in.” Along with the rest of Task Force Phoenix to take down these ass-hats and save Tobey. As much as Dane didn’t want to leave Tobey behind alone, he knew the best chance to save his kid was to get away from there.
“I’d hoped you would be accommodating.” Viktor steepled his fingers in front of his lips, which were turned up in a cruel smile. “Thanks to Mr. Vanderhook, I’ve learned from my mistakes. Trust is not something I give freely. It must be earned, and that takes a very long time. Unfortunately, we do not have time to get to know one another on that level.”
Couldn’t the man just get to it?
“I know you will come back if the boy is here. However, I’m sure you won’t be alone when you do. To make certain everyone sticks to their task without deviation, I’m going to send Lena with you. She must check in every so many hours. If she reports you’ve misstepped, the boy dies. If she says you’ve run, the boy dies. If she fails to report in at the correct time, the boy dies.”
“And if she kills me?”
“I trust her to make the right decision.” Another eerie smile. “Lena!” he snapped, and the woman rushed into the room.
“Yes?”
“Accompany Mr. Ryan on his quest to extract a dear friend. Be quick about it. Time is of the essence.”
“What about the—”
Her question was cut off by Viktor’s glare, but Dane was certain she was asking about Tobey.
“You take care of retrieving Vanderhook, and I’ll take care of dear Tobias.” He raised a brow. “Unless you want to change the terms of our arrangement.”
“No,” she uttered quickly.
Dane wondered what kind of arrangement they had and decided he didn’t care. The two of them and their arrangement could both go to hell. The quicker the better.
“Can I say goodbye?” Dane asked.
Viktor tapped his index finger to his lip twice and smiled. “No. You should be off. As I said, time is of the essence.”
Rat bastard.
Viktor turned his reptilian gaze on Lena. “Call me d
irectly in eight hours, no texts. You’ll be given the time to call back at the end of each contact. Make sure you don’t forget. One missed call and…well…as I said before, no need to be barbaric.”
Chapter Ten
Lena flinched when Butch pressed a set of keys into her palm and sneered. “Don’t bitch up my ride. Bring it back with a full tank of gas or I’ll gut you.”
She didn’t understand. “How am I supposed to—”
Viktor held out a credit card scissored between his index and middle finger. He was so elegant, and yet so deadly. “For travel necessities.”
She snatched the card from his grasp and turned for the door. Better to get this over with so she could get back to her own problems. She didn’t look to see if Dane was following her. She heard his footsteps on the dry wooden floor of the ratty house. When those steps hesitated at the front door she turned.
“He’ll be okay,” she whispered. “As long as we do what we’re supposed to.”
Reluctantly, Dane moved on and climbed up into the passenger side of Butch’s raised Jeep. At five feet six, she was not exactly short, but she had to hop up to the running board to get in.
Dane said nothing as she backed up and started down the bumpy lane toward the main road.
“So, do you know where we’re going?” she asked as she made a left onto the paved road. She wasn’t sure she’d picked the right direction, but she’d had to decide at the end of the lane.
She liked to have a plan, even if nothing ever went according to those plans.
Dane didn’t speak. She waited a full minute before she glanced over. He was staring out the side window.
“Do you know where this Robbie guy lives?” she tried again. Nothing. “I get that you’re pissed at me, but we have to work together to get this guy so we can free your son,” she explained with more detail, hoping it would shake him into speech.
It worked.
“Pull over,” he ordered and pointed to the side of the road. “Now.”
She did as he said, not sure what would happen. Surely, he wasn’t planning to run away or overpower her. If she didn’t call Viktor at the correct time, he would hurt Tobey. She had no doubt about that. Viktor was a viciously dangerous man.
Without another word, Dane jumped down from the Jeep and headed for the trees along the quiet road. She hopped down to go after him, but by the time she made it around the back of the jeep, Dane was bent over vomiting into the weeds.
Her heart clenched at the sight. The tough deputy marshal was worried sick over his kid. This man loved his child very much. And she was partly responsible for that child being in danger.
She stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. She wasn’t surprised when he shook it off and turned away from her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and the man went off like a bomb.
Chapter Eleven
“You’re sorry? You’re fucking sorry?” Dane’s hands shook with rage. He had to force himself to step away so he wouldn’t risk strangling her. How dare she?
“You have threatened my life and might be responsible for getting my son killed, and you’re sorry? How can a person be so heartless? Don’t stand there and tell me how sorry you are when this is all your damned fault!”
“I didn’t know they were going after Tobey,” she said. “I didn’t even know Tobey existed.”
He took a step closer and she backed away. “Sure! You just happened to ask me if I had any family when we were in the van. That slight mention of what was to come. Just stop talking to me. You’re nothing but a lying piece of shit! I can’t even stand to look at you without wanting to kill you with my bare hands.”
She didn’t argue back, which was what he’d wanted. He was so furious he wanted to get it out. And why not at her? This was her fault. She’d lured him into danger with her sexy body and warm, deceitful smile.
He’d been weak and stupid, and she’d taken full advantage of it. And now Tobey was in danger because Dane had been so lonely. Fuck!
He stepped away to retch again.
Blaming her only forced him to see his own failures. If he hadn’t gone to see Tobey, whoever had been watching him wouldn’t know he still had a family. Dane had led the wolves right to their door.
After ten more minutes of stomping and raging at the trees, he realized he needed a plan. A good one.
Lena had gone to wait in the Jeep. He limped back and hoisted himself up into the seat, letting out a breath at the pain.
“I have the pain pills that were in your pocket. Would that help?”
“Don’t be nice to me. I hate you.” At the moment, he wished Viktor had sent Butch or Weller on this adventure instead of Lena. He didn’t need the reminder of how weak he’d been. But Viktor wouldn’t send one of his protectors away since he still felt threatened. He would keep the muscle close by.
She sighed. “For what it’s worth, I hate me, too. It doesn’t mean you need to be in pain for no reason.”
His head was throbbing, along with his leg. “You hit me.” He realized it must have been her. The room was small. There hadn’t been anyone else there.
She nodded. “I was planning to put a sedative in your drink, but when you said you had taken pain medicine, I worried about an interaction.”
Because he was no good to them dead.
“I hit you with the bottle. I’m sor—” She stopped before she got the word out. With a frown she turned the key and the Jeep roared to life.
“Go south.” He rested his head against the glass of the passenger window and tried to focus on a plan to save Tobey. He understood now why marshals weren’t allowed to work their own cases. His ability to make rational decisions was compromised by the overriding need to get Tobey to safety at all cost.
He wasn’t thinking like a marshal. He was thinking like a desperate father.
He wondered how Thorne had done it. Long ago, his boss had walked away from his daughter. He’d kept watch over her through the years, and sent his team in whenever she’d needed help. When Samantha witnessed a congressman shoot a woman in an alley, Thorne had sent other people to her rescue while he remained in the shadows.
Dane didn’t want to stay in the shadows hoping someone else would save his kid. He wanted to take care of it himself. He wanted to rush into that broken-down house, kill all of them, and carry Tobey away to safety.
But that plan was unrealistic. Not only was he outmanned, but they most likely were already moving Tobey to another location so they couldn’t be ambushed.
Dane needed to think. He pointed to a truck stop and Lena pulled in. It was almost two in the afternoon, and he hadn’t eaten since the night before.
The rumble in his stomach reminded him of a flight attendant’s demonstration and the importance of securing your own air mask first before assisting other passengers.
Dane needed to get himself together first, so he would be able to help Tobey.
Chapter Twelve
Lena was glad to stop. She’d had to pee for the last forty-five minutes, and her stomach was growling so loudly she’d turned the radio up to cover the noise. While she was technically the one in charge, she didn’t want to push him into another rage.
Well-deserved as it was, it wasn’t helping their cause.
She didn’t hesitate as he went to the men’s room without a word to her. Instead, she hurried off to the other side of the building to use the ladies room. He wouldn’t run. She didn’t know what he was planning, but she knew that much. He wouldn’t do anything to risk his son’s life. But he was a marshal. He’d definitely be planning something.
Dane’s blond hair was darker when wet and his serious eyes sought her out in the diner. She raised a hand and he came to sit across from her.
“I got you coffee,” she said, pushing the cup closer.
“I don’t drink coffee.” He didn’t even look at her or bother to glare. She had fallen below hatred into complete indifference. To
him, she was nothing. “Especially not after you’ve touched it.”
She assumed he was accusing her of tainting it with something rather than a general case of cooties. She let out a breath of annoyance, though she had no right to be annoyed. She had admitted her plan to drug him so she didn’t blame him for being leery.
He picked up the menu and studied it until the waitress walked over.
The older woman smiled at him and he smiled back, the sight a cruel reminder of what Lena had destroyed. She’d gone to the bar specifically to lure him to her hotel room and drug him so Butch and Weller could get whatever Viktor wanted from him.
When they’d driven him to that abandoned house, she’d expected they might rough him up to get information out of him. She had assumed he was just another criminal associate of Viktor’s. Dane seemed rather tough and she thought he’d survive the ordeal. Little did she realize exactly who she’d lured into a trap.
She’d rationalized it in her mind because she didn’t have a choice. She honestly hadn’t known they were planning to use the man’s son against him. But she should have guessed.
Dane ordered a ton of food, and when the waitress left, the smile fell from his face. “I’m surprised you didn’t order a plate of white mice.”
Yes, yes. She was a snake. Whatever.
Frustration got the best of her. “I hope you’re not using all your brainpower on clever little jabs at me.” She leaned in so the other diners wouldn’t hear her. “I know I’m shit. Trust me, there is nothing you can say to make me hate myself more than I already do. I truly didn’t know they were going to use your kid. Like I said, I didn’t even know you had a kid.”
“You didn’t ask until it was too late. You didn’t want to know. Now your conscience is clear.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
She let out a breath and looked around to make sure no one had noticed their altercation. She rubbed her forehead and tried to calm down.
Watched from a Distance Page 3
