In the Shadow of Malice Book 3

by Nancy C. Weeks

  “I can give you something that will take the edge off.”

  “No! Just get on with it.” Ludis couldn’t take a narcotic. He needed his wits about him.

  The doctor raised a container and doused a liberal amount of the burning liquid over the deep knife wound below his shoulder.

  Ludis took another deep swig from the bottle of vodka. Setting it on the table, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared into the doctor’s face.

  Vodka usually was a great distraction, but not tonight. Ludis couldn’t help clenching his jaw each time the doctor pressed down on the wound. The fucking knife wound was nothing. The pain from his father’s blows lasted longer than this scratch.

  His father, the great Emil Vasnev. Now that was a distraction.

  He had lived daily under his father’s abusive thumb and cleaned up more horseshit than he cared to track. And everything Ludis had worked so hard for the last thirty years was about to be for nothing.

  “My father…” A slight gasp of pain escaped Ludis’s lips. He bit down hard on his back molars and hissed out a breath. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “Two days ago.”

  “And?”

  A sadness edged into his doctor’s eyes. “He’s the same. The clinical trial had no effect on the cancer.” The doctor removed the gauze and reached for the needle. Before he continued suturing the wound, he said, “Your father’s assistant, Mr. Reese, asked me to relay a message.”

  The doc’s eyes were glued to Ludis’s chest— a sure sign of his discomfort.

  “What does Reese want now?”

  “He couldn’t reach you, so he wanted me to tell you time is running out. He gave me an envelope of orders from your father. I have it in my coat.”

  Ludis fisted his free hand. “It can go in the trash with all of this on your way out,” he said, nodding at the bloodied bandages.

  The man grimaced, which made him pierce the skin a little harder. Ludis bit back a groan. He didn’t need to read the note from Reese. It was another warning. If Ludis failed to deliver Adam Blake and the kid to his father before his death, Emil would make sure Adam inherited the Vasnev empire even without proof of life. Ludis would be left with nothing. His prize for delivering Adam, the apartment in New York City and a few million. Petty cash.

  The fucking golden child.

  Emil Vasnev’s dying wish was to lay eyes on his daughter’s only child just once. Ludis could still feel his father’s boney fingers digging into his wrist, leaving round bruises where he clutched at Ludis’s pale skin. He cried, begging Ludis to bring him his only grandson. Ludis never hated his father more than he did at that moment.

  Easing the cramp in his fisted hand, he faced the doctor. “How long does my father have?”

  “A month, maybe two. There is no way to know exactly. It’s time to make plans.”

  It took everything in Ludis from shouting Thank God. Time was on his side, but a few loose ends had to be cut before Emil took his last breath.

  His nephew’s existence was an albatross around Ludis’s neck, but Adam had no idea he and Anna were Emil Vasnev’s only living blood relatives. Blood inherited all. And, that chain tightened closer to the skin each day the video disk, the proof why his sister had to die, existed.

  Somehow Adam walked away with the disk with Ludis’s mistake, the killing of several family members, something Emil still, to this day, vowed revenge on those responsible. It was a failed attempt at claiming his space with the family, and it could never come to light that Ludis was behind it all.

  That nightmarish day came down to Annija’s life or his. Ludis begged Annija to tell him where the disk was, and then he hurt her. She never understood how much he loved her; no other woman would ever fill the hole in his heart her death drilled. The pain never eased even though she willingly betrayed family for her bastard kid.

  * * *

  Adam had the disk, but again, he was clueless, or he would have used it years ago. It had to be stored in the boxes he took from his home in the early morning hours following Annija’s death. Ludis searched for those damn keepsakes for years, but had nothing to show for it. One day, Adam would discover the disk. If he didn’t kill Ludis, there would still be no place he could hide. Family revenged family, and the Vasnev were spread across the globe.

  Ludis’s plan, use Adam’s daughter to force Adam to give him the disk. Once it was in Ludis’s hands, he would happily kill his nephew and the kid, and watch Emil’s body rot away. Emil wasn’t the only one who could forge a legal document.

  The doctor released the pressure over the wound. “I’m going to start you on a round of antibiotics. It’s a deep cut and I don’t want infection to set in.”

  “Whatever. Just hurry up.”

  The doctor raised his eyebrow and scowled. “Mr. Vasnev, this wound isn’t something to scoff at. You need rest to give it a chance to heal, or you’ll pull out the stitches.”

  A slow burn gushed through Ludis’s veins. His fisted hand begged to react, but he kept it pressed to his side while he gulped a deep breath instead. Taking his anger out on the man in front of him would serve no purpose.

  “Finish closing the fucking wound, bandage it, and get the hell out.”

  The doctor did exactly what Ludis demanded. As soon as he shut the door, Ludis poured himself another glass of vodka and chugged half of it down like water. He reached for his cell phone and punched in a number. The call was picked up on the first ring.

  “Well?”

  “I don’t have anything for you, Mr. Vasnev. I told you I would call you―”

  “Why the hell not? You have had hours to examine the remains.”

  The man on the other end of the phone sighed heavily. “The bodies were burned beyond recognition. One female and pieces of what appear to be two males. This is going to take time.”

  “What about the child?”

  Another heavy gasp. “Nothing yet. If she was upstairs, finding any sign of her remains will be almost impossible. The officials are combing through the wreckage. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything.”

  Ludis’s blood rushed through his veins. The throbbing was so intense at his temple that he had no idea what kept the blood from bursting through his skin.

  “You have one hour to get me what I’m paying you for. One hour!”

  “Mr. Vasnev… that’s impossible. I can’t possibly get it to you in―”

  “One hour or my men have their orders. Do I make myself clear?”

  Ending the call, Ludis tossed the cell on the bed and stormed into the bathroom, placing his hand under cold running water. He yanked a white hand towel off the rack, wet it, and pressed it against his face. The coolness didn’t touch the fire burning within him. He raised his head and glared into the large mirror over the sink. The bandage over his left shoulder already had blood seeping through it.

  If only he could have gotten to Adam’s daughter. He found the safe room, but he couldn’t breach Blake’s security system.

  How in the hell had his nephew fought through his men? It was as if he came out of the walls. One minute, they were alone with the lying bitch; and the next, his two best men were dead, and Blake had a knife on him.

  The doorbell chimed and Ludis left the bathroom. He opened the door, letting in three men. They kept their attention on anything but him.

  “Your news better be more appealing than your expressions.”

  Each man glanced at the other. One finally spoke up.

  “Sir, there is no sign of Blake.” He pulled out his cell phone from his breast pocket. “We tracked his call here,” he said, pointing to a cell tower off U.S.1 and the Beltway. “It’s too weak a signal to pinpoint an exact location. There have been no calls since, which means he may still be in the house or―”

  “Aizpis muti! Shut the fuck up. I want verification that Blake and the girl are dead, or their present location.” He yanked the closest man to him. “Nothing else.”

  Lu
dis angrily shoved the man against the wall next to the door. The man grabbed his shoulder and groaned. Ludis’s business partner, Stefan, knocked loudly and entered the suite. He paused for a moment, no doubt taking in the expressions and atmosphere in the room and laughed. Stefan never could resist being an asshole.

  “I come bearing gifts,” he said, pulling out his laptop from his shoulder bag.

  “You better be, Stefan. I’m ready to shoot someone.” He glared at the men who lingered by the door. “Why are you morons still here?”

  “Don’t get rid of them just yet.” Stefan lifted the computer lid. “I have men watching the brother’s home. You’re going to love this.” He hit several keys and an infrared image came up on the monitor. “That thermal imager you procured is genius. Look what we found.”

  Ludis shoved him aside to examine the screen. “What the hell am I looking at?”

  “It’s an infrared image of the inside of Jared McNeil’s house.”

  Stefan pointed at the upstairs master bedroom. The outline of the room came out in different shades of gray except for two white splotches lying on a bed in the center of the room.

  Ludis shook his head. “I don’t see what…”

  “That image was taken at five forty-five this morning.” He pointed at each of the white blobs. “We have Jared and Jennie McNeil here,” he said, outlining their bodies. “But who do we have here?” He tapped another body prone on a sofa in the living room.

  “Are you saying that’s Blake?”

  “No other people occupied the house all evening until around five, when this guy showed up. And he didn’t use the front door.” He brought up another image. “This was taken only thirty minutes earlier.” Only two people appeared on the screen. He clicked through several other photos. “McNeil’s family is all accounted for. I can’t think of anyone else it could be but Blake. Can you?”

  Ludis glared at the monitor. “No, I can’t.”

  A sense of triumph erupted from somewhere deep within him, but he knew no outward sign of emotion crossed his features. “And the girl?”

  “There is no sign of her, but if she’s alive, all we have to do is watch and wait. Blake took great pains to be part of his child’s life. He won’t abandon her now.”

  Eight

  Calista leaned against the headrest and closed her eyes. Anna sat beside her in the backseat of Father Anthony’s sedan, her hand clasping Calista’s so tightly, her middle fingers were numb. Anna hadn’t let Calista out of her sight since she woke up in the twin bed at the rectory and found Adam gone.

  Father Anthony brought up a change of clothing for Anna—a boy’s pair of blue jeans and sports T-shirt. Anna, who still hadn’t uttered a word, shook her head, but when Father Anthony added they were from her father, she gave in, even allowing the priest to tuck her long, wavy hair under an orange Orioles baseball cap.

  They drove into an older, well-established neighborhood of a small town west of Baltimore. After a maze of turns that Calista was too tired to make heads or tails of, he entered a cul-de-sac, parking in front of a two-story colonial.

  “This is Adam’s brother’s home. I tried for years to talk Adam into coming clean with his family, but he can be stubborn.”

  “Yes, he can,” Calista said, trying unsuccessfully to produce a smile that never happened. “Does his brother know we’re coming?”

  “Adam met up with Jared after he left the rectory. They are expecting us.”

  Anna’s grip grew tighter. Calista placed her arm around Anna’s shoulder and hugged her. “It’s going to be okay,” she lied.

  It was such a lame thing to say, but she had to give Anna something to hold onto. There was nothing okay about the last ten hours, like trying to explain to her grandfather why she couldn’t come home. That had been about as much fun as a bat to the side of the head. How was she supposed to convince Anna of anything when all Calista wanted to do was roll into a tight ball and have a good cry?

  A man opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. He hurried toward them. Anna’s eyes widened as she jerked her head back and forth.

  Calista drew the child closer to her, but before she could come up with something encouraging to say, the passenger door opened.

  “Hi. I’m Jared. You must be Calista.” He knelt, holding out his hand.

  Adam’s eyes stared back at her on a new, yet oddly familiar face.

  Her mind raced, searching through her memories. Then it hit her where she met Jared McNeil. He shared one of the worst moments of her life.

  Father Anthony unclipped his seatbelt, and before he exited the sedan, he said, “Anna, your father trusts Jared with his life.”

  Calista released Anna’s seatbelt, but kept her close, her arm holding her against her. “Jared McNeil, this lovely young lady is Anna.”

  Was her last name Blake? Calista never thought to ask.

  “You’re a real sweet pea, Anna. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  What are the chances that the one detective she ever met, the man who interviewed her after Hanna’s attack, is Adam’s brother? Everything about that day, the disbelief, every horrific moment came slamming back as if it just happened. And he didn’t even recognize her.

  “We’ve met before, Detective McNeil. I’m Hanna Tu’s… was Hanna’s best friend, Calista Martin. You interviewed me after the attack.”

  Jared’s expression didn’t waver. For some reason, that hurt her like nothing else in a long time. She ached to tear Anna away from him.

  “Calista, we’ve never met. My brother Noah interviewed you and your other roommates.”

  “You just look so much like…”

  “Noah and I are identical twins. Most people can’t tell us apart.”

  Calista choked out a simple hello. He gave her a brief smile before shifting his attention to Anna. “So, little one. I know you’re worried about your dad. He’s not here just yet, but he’s on his way. Maybe we can all wait for him in the house.”

  He lifted Anna out of the car, but when he headed toward the sidewalk, she didn’t move. Jared remained perfectly still. Calista had no problem reading his expression. Anna was his niece, and from the warmth radiating from his features, he was falling hard for the little girl.

  An instant later, and for the first time since Calista had met the child, she smiled―a genuine from-the-heart smile. She reached for his hand and they headed toward the porch.

  Father Anthony laughed. “I guess it’s true, children see things more clearly than adults. Anna knew exactly who Jared was to her.” The priest peered in through Anna’s side of the car. “Are you getting out?”

  Calista didn’t feel the sense of ease that settled over Anna. In fact, if there was a way to stay where she was, she would. Sadly, nothing came to her. One way or another, she had to get out of the car and face whatever was on the other side of the colonial door.

  The front door opened again, pulling Calista out of her head. A petite woman with shoulder-length auburn hair waved from the porch before she walked toward Jared and Anna. Again, recognition hit hard.

  “Jennie.”

  “You know Jennie McNeil?”

  “Yes,” she said, facing the priest. “Do you know who Hanna Tu is?”

  He nodded as his eyes widened.

  “She was my best friend. We were roommates before…”

  “I had no idea, Calista,” Father Anthony said, placing a hand on her arm.

  “I met Jennie while visiting Hanna at the hospital and later at the rehab center. Jennie, Hanna’s sister, Sarah, and I spent a lot of time together. They both became my connection to Hanna. I can’t explain the need I had, how it lessened the grief just being with them, especially Sarah.”

  “The world has shrunk in the last few hours, hasn’t it? There’s a reason for all of it. Trust that, Calista.”

  “Sarah and I, we were at odds with each other. I thought all she cared about was her job, even though Hanna kept trying to help me see who she really was insid
e. You think you’re strong…and then the world proves you wrong. Sarah helped me more than I could ever express.”

  My God!

  “Is she here? Is Sarah here?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Sarah might not blame me for what happened to her sister, but I can’t forgive myself for leaving Hanna in that damn apartment. That monster was just waiting for us to drive away so he could…”

  “Don’t do this to yourself. Hanna’s attack isn’t your fault.”

  But it was her fault. If Pete couldn’t convince her otherwise, no one could.

  “Had I just waited with Hanna for one hour, Sarah would have finished a serious project involving national security, and Hanna would be alive today. And lately, I let Sarah, and our friendship slip down the toilet. I don’t return her phone calls…didn’t even attend her wedding a few months ago to Jason. Sarah asked me to stand up with her and Jennie.” She faced the priest. “I’m so happy she found love, she found Jason. He’s an amazing man. I just couldn’t be there. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I didn’t want to spoil her day, bring everything back.”

  “Like you are feeling right now? Adam’s brothers worked that case. That man would have found another way at Hanna.”

  “I know that here,” she said, pointing to her head, “but it’s hard to believe it here.” She covered her heart with the palm of her hand as her throat clogged with tears. She swallowed them just as Jennie came up to her with a welcoming smile and gave her a quick hug.

  “Hi, Calista. When Adam said he had a friend helping him with his daughter… it’s a small world, isn’t it?”

  Calista tried to return the smile, but she didn’t have the skill to fake it. Instead, she reached for the passenger door. “Sorry, I don’t belong here.”

  Adam, Hanna, Sarah, and last night―it was all coming at her too fast for her to hold onto. There was a thread here, something she was missing. As that thought sunk in, another one hit, hard. Shit! She was so damn naïve.