The Bullet

by Iris Johansen

  He was silent. “You’d actually do that?”

  “Why are you surprised? You must have researched me enough to find I scarcely know her. It would be no real loss.”

  “And what would you get out of it?”

  “I told you, it would give me exactly what I wanted. No one would ever question that I’d do anything I had to do to get what I wanted, even if it meant sacrificing family. Absolutely no weakness. And a chance to end this nonsense. I’m tired of it. I’m ahead of the game now. You’re the last of the family on my list.” He shrugged. “Of course, you might not be sated with Cara and still go after me later. But I’d still buy some time to finish the Chinese negotiations, which are crucial. And if the solution doesn’t prove effective, I’ll just go after you again, and this time I won’t stop. It will just mean I’ll have to make your end even more painful and bloody.”

  There had to be something wrong here, Svardak thought. Everything Kaskov had said made sense to him considering the bastard’s deadly reputation, but it was definitely suspect. “I could keep Quinn?”

  “Of course. Quinn is a cop, and he’s only a hindrance to me. Enjoy yourself.” His lips twisted. “By the look of him, you already have. Though I have a man who could have done it better. Do you need any tips about—”

  “No!” Cara cried out as she launched herself and tried to grab the phone away from him. “Shut up! What kind of man are—”

  Her head snapped back as Kaskov’s fist struck her in the face. She staggered back and fell to her knees.

  “You don’t touch me.” Kaskov stood over her, his lips tight, his eyes blazing. “You would have learned respect if I’d had the raising of you. But now it seems Svardak will have that pleasure.” He lifted the phone again. “Yes or no, Svardak.”

  Svardak’s gaze was still on Cara’s shocked face. It had been a hard blow, and he could see the mark of Kaskov’s hand on her cheek. He suddenly wanted it to be his mark on her, and he felt a rush of pleasure and anticipation that was almost erotic. “She looked the same the first time I hit her. I’d almost forgotten … but the blood reminded me.”

  “Yes or no.”

  He couldn’t take his gaze off the blood on Cara’s lower lip. “How would you handle it?”

  “My men are very good at packaging. Tell me where, and I’ll have her delivered.”

  “And scoop me up? I’m no fool.”

  “Kaskov, don’t do this,” Cara pleaded.

  He slapped her again, hard. She fell to the floor.

  “You would be a fool if you didn’t take sufficient care, Svardak,” Kaskov said. “It’s wide-open country here in the mountains. You should be able to find a place that you could make certain you wouldn’t be ambushed.”

  Svardak could see that Cara was having to struggle to sit up. So weak. So pliant to anything he wanted to do to her. He felt another flush of heat twist through him. “Tonight?”

  “If you like, it’s up to you.”

  Yes, it was up to him. The possibilities were making him heady with exhilaration. He was winning, and she could do nothing about it. “I’ll send you the coordinates. Deliver her there in the next two hours. I want her bound and helpless. Do you hear me, Cara? Get ready for the chains again. I’ll have them ready for you.” He cut the connection.

  Abrams was staring at him warily. “There’s a good chance that it’s a trap, you know.”

  “Of course, I know,” he said curtly. “Only an idiot wouldn’t suspect it.” He paused. “On the other hand, Kaskov is a ruthless son of a bitch who might want to rid himself of me in the most convenient method possible. He does think of business first, and I’ve been getting in his way. Cara even told me once that he cared nothing for her. He’s quite capable of trading her for a truce.” He thought about it. “Or risking her neck to make me think he was.” He was staring at the blank screen of his phone. He could still see the image of Cara lying there, weak and in pain. “And Kaskov liked punishing her. I could tell.” Because he felt as if he had been joined with Kaskov in those exquisite moments. “It won’t hurt to play his game and see what happens. It will change nothing. It will only be a delay. I can afford to wait for Kaskov. I’ll send him coordinates to Copper Flats, where I was going to have Cara meet us when she agreed to surrender herself. As long as you’re very careful, there should be no problem.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Too bad. You don’t have to like it.” He was still mentally seeing that delicious drop of blood on Cara’s lower lip as he started to type in Kaskov’s address. “All you have to do is make sure that if a trap is sprung, it won’t be Kaskov’s.”

  * * *

  Oh, shit.

  The muscles of Eve’s stomach clenched as she pressed the device in her ear to turn it off. She should probably continue listening, but she couldn’t do it right now.

  Cara.

  That Svardak call Eve had just monitored had been terrifying … and bewildering.

  And she couldn’t face it alone.

  Her hand was shaking as she dialed Jock.

  He answered on the second ring. “Problem?”

  “Big-time. Can you come back right away? You need to hear this.”

  “Joe?”

  Of course he’d think it was Joe who was threatened. He’d seen how vulnerable he was earlier tonight. “Cara.”

  “I’m on the ridge overlooking the road. It will take me four minutes.” He hung up.

  Four minutes sounded like a long time at this moment. She couldn’t stop shaking.

  Cara.

  Kaskov?

  Jock was there in three minutes. “What is it?” he said curtly.

  She pulled out her earpiece and handed it to him. “I recorded the call as soon as I knew it was Cara.” She drew a shaky breath. “It’s crazy, Jock. What the hell can we do?”

  He didn’t answer. He was already listening. Even in the shadow-filtered moonlight, she could see the icy hardness begin to form in his expression. A few minutes later, he jerked the device out of his ear.

  He wasn’t moving. He was just sitting there with that terrible rage hardening his expression more every second.

  “Jock?”

  “Not now,” he said hoarsely. “Give me a minute. I’m not thinking, I’m just feeling.”

  She had also needed time to absorb. She nodded jerkily. She repeated, “It’s crazy.”

  He didn’t reply for another couple minutes. “You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. That’s what I’m hoping…”

  “Kaskov. I shouldn’t be surprised. I never trusted him. But I never thought he’d be that callous. He was ice-cold, Jock.” She shuddered. “And he hurt Cara. They were talking about her bleeding.”

  “Don’t talk about that right now. It’s getting in my way.” He was still once more, his brow furrowed. “But you were surprised, weren’t you? Because, in spite of everything the entire world knows about Kaskov, you have a tendency to see deeper.”

  “You’re wrong.” Her lips tightened. “I don’t have a clue about the man who hurt Cara tonight. I have no idea why he would do that.”

  He was silent again. “I do.” Then he reached for his phone. “Cara. Let’s see what she has to say about it.”

  She watched him in bewilderment as he punched in the numbers. “What are you doing? If she’s being held by Kaskov, there’s no way he’ll let her answer you.”

  “The question is all in the word ‘if.’” He hit the speaker button while he was listening to the ring. She could see the tension in every muscle of his body, desperation in each line of his face. “And Cara can be amazingly determined…”

  “Hello, Jock,” Cara said as she answered the phone. “I suppose you heard my call to Svardak? How angry are you?”

  Eve saw an expression of unutterable relief cross Jock’s face as his hand tightened on the phone. “I’m furious with you.”

  “I thought you would be. Will you please get over it?” she asked wearily. “That call almost drained me, and I s
till have a lot more I have to do before the night is over.”

  “I thought you might. Being a sacrificial lamb takes considerable energy, doesn’t it? And you had me fooled until I realized that it was striking too many false notes in my experience with both of you. So it was all just a show that you and Kaskov put on to set you up for Svardak?”

  “Yes. I was planning on calling you later if you hadn’t had time to set up the audio so you could hear it for yourself.”

  “How kind. It would have been even kinder if you’d given me advance warning so that I wouldn’t have to go through that hell. I want to strangle you, Cara.”

  “No, you don’t. You’re just hurting. I would have tried to warn you, but you’d have just argued with me. There was no question I’d change my mind.” She drew a shaky breath. “And time was running out. I could tell Eve was in a panic about Joe. From what Svardak showed me, she had a right to be. Is she there?”

  “I’m here,” Eve said. “And I’m not sure I don’t agree with Jock. I might be in a panic about Joe, but that doesn’t mean either one of us would want you pulling something like this. What do you think you’re doing?”

  “As I said, trying to get Joe away from Svardak. Jock wouldn’t listen to me. He just closed me out because he was scared. I had to go to Kaskov.”

  “And you both lied to me,” Jock said through set lips.

  “I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t say what you wanted to hear. And you knew I’d do anything I could to help Joe if I got the chance. Because you were wrong, you need me. I can keep his attention away from Joe long enough for you to get him out of that ranger station and safe.” She added quickly, before he could argue, “Yes, Edding might have proved to be a minor distraction, but I’m the main attraction as far as Svardak is concerned. But I had to have a good reason to be there because at some point he would have questioned why I gave in about Joe’s release. Because he knows me, and it might have seemed too easy to him. But now all you’ll have to do is concentrate on getting Joe out and leave the rest to me.”

  “Providing we’re not concerned with what Svardak will be doing to you while we ‘leave the rest’ to you,” Jock said harshly. “That might be a major distraction in itself.”

  “I’ll find a way. I know how to push his buttons. And Kaskov said that he might be able to have some of his men run interference for me. But, of course, it will have to be after you get Joe away from the station.”

  “Might? Of course? I can’t say I’m liking Kaskov’s extremely casual view on keeping you alive. In fact, I’m not liking his entire input into the matter.”

  “Don’t blame Kaskov. It was entirely—”

  “Enough, Cara.” Kaskov came on the line. “I believe I can come to my own defense. You’ve already taken sufficient heat tonight. Go ahead, Gavin. It’s not something I didn’t expect.”

  “You’re going to get her killed. Didn’t you say that you couldn’t trust me not to do that when you showed up at Ruell Falls? Well, here she is, directly in the line of fire.”

  “Come now. We both know she’s a force of nature when she makes up her mind. I’m a reasonable man, I don’t fight battles I can’t win. Besides, she’s my blood. It would offend me to see anyone but myself defeat her. You couldn’t expect me to take your side against her.”

  “I could expect you to try to keep her alive. She’s of value to you. That was my only hope. But you chose to use her to revenge your damn vendetta instead.”

  “It was certainly a consideration. Cara realized that when she came to recruit me. She’s such a clever girl. But, then, she also had an idea how much I’d enjoy the actual hunt.”

  “I’m glad you were entertained,” Jock said softly. “Because when this is over, I’m coming after you, Kaskov.”

  “You are angry,” Kaskov said. “Interesting. I believe most of the time you manage to overcome that bloodlust. What tipped the scales?”

  “You enjoyed yourself a little too much. You hit her, you son of a bitch.”

  “Yes, I did,” Kaskov said. “And I did it well. I imagine I made Svardak salivate. But I can’t really claim credit for that action. It was Cara’s idea.”

  “What?”

  “For God’s sake, Jock,” Cara said impatiently. “Of course I told him to do it. Svardak likes to see me hurt. It’s a power trip. If he had doubts, I knew it might have a good chance of blurring them.”

  “Then by all means it had to be done,” he said sarcastically.

  “Yes, it did.” She was silent. “I have to go now. Kaskov has the coordinates, and it seems to be a flat about an hour’s drive from the ranger station. He’ll leave me there for Abrams to pick up and take to Svardak.”

  “Like a sack of potatoes?”

  “Oh, I’m much more valuable than a sack of potatoes. And my packaging will be impeccable. Kaskov says that he has special chemically treated ropes that appear strong and foolproof, but will enable me to wriggle out of them if I try hard enough. When you see Abrams’s car coming down the road toward the station, it will be your signal to get Joe out. I’ll make a distraction to be sure that Svardak is out of that house for at least ten minutes. I might not be able to hold him any longer.”

  “And I’m just supposed to accept that? Just rely on you and Kaskov, who might be there for you?”

  “I believe he’ll try very hard. If you can think of something else, by all means do it. But not if it means not getting Joe out of there. That’s not an option.” She was silent, struggling to speak. “Don’t rob me of this, Jock,” she whispered. “And don’t you dare get yourself killed.” She cut the connection.

  Jock sat there, frozen, gazing down at the phone.

  Eve knew how he felt. She was feeling that same panicky helplessness she was seeing in him.

  Then Jock was swearing beneath his breath and jumping to his feet.

  “Jock?” She sat up straight. “Where are you going?”

  “Where do you think?” He was gliding silently toward the ranger station. “Didn’t you hear her? I have my orders. I only have a few hours before I’m going to see her come down that road. I have to find a way to keep her alive. And that means timing the removal of those guards at just the right time.” He glanced over his shoulder. “And you have to make sure that canoe you used to come over from that far bank is as close as possible to the station without anyone’s seeing it. I’m going to need to move very fast to get Joe out of that first-aid room and both of you on your way across the lake to your car on the other side.”

  “And you won’t be able to move that fast burdened by Joe and without help,” she said curtly as she got to her feet. “Joe’s no lightweight. I’ll have to help you get him out of the station and down to the canoe.” She held up her hand as he opened his lips to protest. “No,” she said fiercely. “You probably don’t want to risk either me or whatever plan you decide to go with. But I can do this. I’m no Wonder Woman, but I’m healthy and strong, and I’ll be able to help. Cara was right. Not doing everything possible to get Joe out is not an option.” She shivered. “She also said she could only give us ten minutes. The quicker we can get Joe down to that canoe, the quicker you can get back to help her.” She turned toward the lake and started moving. “So shut up, Jock. Just figure me into being there to help Joe and not just rowing him across the damn lake. I’ll call you when I get the canoe hidden closer to the station, and you can come and tell me what else I can do.”

  RUELL FALLS

  “Gavin might still go after me, you know.” Kaskov smiled ruefully at Cara. “Even if you manage to live through what that idiot, Svardak, is planning for you. Gavin was intensely annoyed about my abusing you.”

  “You didn’t abuse me,” Cara said jerkily. She was still shaken and disturbed after hanging up on Jock. If everything didn’t go right, that could be the last time she would be able to speak to him, and the idea was terribly painful. “And I told him that everything you did was my idea. I’m the one with whom he was really angry.”<
br />
  “Wrong. He was really angry with himself for not being able to keep you from doing this madness. I came in second because I was on-site and had the ability to stop you and didn’t choose to do it.”

  “You couldn’t have stopped me.”

  He smiled. “Not true. I’m more ruthless than anyone you’ve ever known, Cara. I have no problem channeling that ruthlessness whenever it’s necessary. Neither does Gavin, but he suffers from serious twinges of conscience on occasion. I’ve gone past that inconvenience.” He sighed. “But Gavin always makes an exception where you’re concerned. There might not be any twinges at all where I’m concerned.” He leaned forward and gently touched her lower lip. “This hurt you.”

  “And it excited Svardak.” She moved her head to escape his touch. “It might have pushed him over the edge. You did what I wanted you to do. Shouldn’t we get going?”

  “There’s a little time. It’s only a short helicopter ride from here. I’ve sent men to search the area to make certain there aren’t going to be any surprises for me when I deliver you.” He was still looking at her lip. “This displeased me. I’m a superb actor, but I found it difficult to give Svardak what he wanted. I believe I’ll have to take something excruciatingly painful back from him to make up for it.”

  “Blood?” Cara shook her head. “I can’t think about that anymore. I’m beyond wanting anything but to keep everyone I care about safe.” She added wryly, “And maybe come out of this alive.” She frowned. “You wouldn’t have something I could use to help me ensure that I do, would you? I know you said that you’d use ropes that would let me free myself, and that should help. But Abrams is sure to search me for weapons. I thought you might be very clever about finding ways to get around obstacles like that.”

  “Oh, I am. But it’s generally best to think in advance on devices of that nature.” He shook his head. “You’re such a novice, Cara. It’s good that I was prepared for it. I might have something on hand that could be a little more efficient than that amateurish dagger you stuck the bastard with before.”