Just Business (Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies Book 1)

by Sidney Bristol

  Haley made a sharp turn, cutting off a truck and there, ahead of them, was their temporary home.

  She cranked the wheel right and swerved into the parking garage entrance. Instead of going up to their VIP parking, she skidded to a stop in a visitor parking spot.

  Konstantin was out before she shifted into park.

  “Wait. Kon, wait,” she shouted after him, but he wasn’t listening.

  She spat curses as she yanked the phone out of the cradle and followed him. The earbud still in place beeped, picking up the call.

  “Ivana? Zasha? We’re here. We’re on our way up,” Haley managed to say as she ran.

  Silence met her statement.

  Neither Ivana nor Zasha replied.

  The sound of Haley’s breathing was too loud to make out faint sounds.

  They’d found the closet. Or the call had disconnected.

  Haley hit the stairs in Konstantin’s wake. She heard his footsteps thundering ahead, leaving her in the dust.

  This was not a good idea. They needed to stick together.

  A bang rattled through the earbud along with a fearful yelp.

  Haley did not want to catch these guys between them and Zasha. Who knew how good that reinforced door really was if people started shooting?

  She topped the fourth floor stairs and stopped.

  Konstantin stood peering out the door, gun in hand. He glanced at her. “Hall’s clear. Ready?”

  For a split second she gaped at him. Had he really just rushed ahead only to wait for her?

  “Ready,” she said and drew her weapon. Another bang and muffled men’s voices. “They’re in the bedroom.”

  Konstantin pushed the door open further and stepped through.

  Their condo door lay partially in the hall.

  There wasn’t another soul to be seen. Where were the damn neighbors? How had Natasha found them?

  A head leaned into view.

  Haley reacted. Her gun came up and she fired.

  The man went down in the doorway, dead before he hit the ground.

  “God damn it,” Konstantin growled.

  “They’re getting in. They’re getting in,” Ivana chanted.

  Haley put her back to the wall as they neared the door and the body. She could hear voices coming from the condo. “We’re here.”

  She grit her teeth as Konstantin proceeded into the condo first, hunched almost double.

  At least he’d waited for her on the stairs.

  A shot blasted over her head, taking out a chunk of drywall.

  Konstantin dropped to his knees and put his back to the cabinets forming the bar.

  Haley knelt at the point where the small entry let into the galley kitchen with the living room spread out in front. A scowling man looked back at her, gun up.

  Shit.

  This was going to hurt.

  Her stomach knotted up, knowing she didn’t have time to dodge.

  Before that man fired, another gun went off. She winced as her would-be attacker’s blood painted the wall.

  Haley gaped at Konstantin who now stood, gun up, his gaze hard.

  Adrenaline pumped through her veins, making it feel as though she were on fire.

  She could have kissed him in that moment, except Zasha’s thin, shrill scream tugged them forward.

  “Zasha!” Konstantin roared.

  Something cracked and clanged in the bedroom. Were they through the door?

  “Ivana? Ivana, are you there?” Haley whispered.

  No answer.

  “Stay back or she dies,” another man shouted.

  Two were dead.

  How many more were there? Just the one talking? Or could there be more?

  “Why don’t we talk about this?” Haley called out. “No one else has to get hurt.”

  “Fuck you,” another voice spat.

  Haley held up two fingers.

  Konstantin didn’t look at her, but he did nod.

  A four-man team made sense, especially if they’d expected Konstantin and Haley to be there.

  They’d have their hands full with Ivana and Zasha. Neither were going to go with someone easily. Not after the last twenty-four hours.

  “I can easily pay you double or triple what Natasha is paying you,” Konstantin said.

  “Back up or the old woman gets it,” the first voice called out.

  Haley grit her teeth. So they had a rational person willing to warn them and a firecracker who doled out threats.

  Haley drew her knife. If they had to go into the bedroom, she couldn’t use a gun. Not in close quarters like that, with Zasha and Ivana at risk.

  “We aren’t going anywhere, so let’s talk about this.” Konstantin waved at her. He wasn’t letting his fear and anger get the best of him. Despite the stress he must be feeling, he was keeping a cool head.

  She crept past him, keeping close to the bar while heading to the hallway.

  With luck, the men would be expecting another man. Not her. It would be a small advantage. Unless Natasha had prepared them for her.

  It was a gamble with precious lives in the balance.

  To Haley it was worth the risk.

  “This ends one way,” the rational speaker said.

  “You’re right, so let’s make this as peaceful as possible,” Konstantin replied.

  “You don’t get it.” Rational speaker barked a laugh. “She wins. No matter what you do. She always wins.”

  Just how powerful was Natasha?

  “Did you miss the part where I’m her son? And you have my daughter in there. If you think she always wins, then you never met me. You do not want to make an enemy here today, man. Let’s all walk away from this with our lives.”

  “Sometimes version two is nothing like the original.”

  Haley glanced at the door.

  Where were the police? The neighbors? Where were the people?

  There was no more banging. Just silence.

  Haley reached the body and ignored it in favor of straining to get a glimpse into the bedroom.

  There.

  A bit of movement.

  She jerked back as a shot blast through the doorway.

  A shrill, muffled scream erupted.

  Zasha.

  Someone was trying to keep her quiet. That also wasn’t a sound from behind a door. So they had managed to get Zasha and Ivana out of the closet. That wasn’t good. Haley needed to get control of the situation. She—

  Konstantin roared and charged past her into the bedroom.

  Haley’s heart nearly stopped and she braced to hear another shot.

  But it didn’t come.

  She pushed up, bolting after him while keeping as low to the ground as she could.

  Konstantin was only a step in front of her. He hauled back and threw a punch, hitting the man holding onto Ivana.

  Oleg was on the far room clutching Zasha to his chest, his big, beefy hand almost covering her entire face.

  Haley prayed Zasha’s eyes were closed as she aimed the gun at Oleg.

  “Stop that right now,” Oleg ordered.

  She heard the sick crunch of a fist hitting cartilage from the clash between Konstantin and the other man.

  Then it all happened so fast.

  Konstantin staggered back out of her peripheral vision.

  She tried to pivot, keeping her eye on both men, but it was impossible.

  Ivana turned and grabbed her attacker’s gun arm, swinging it toward her in a wild grab.

  The gun fired, so loud in the small space.

  For a split second the world seemed to stop. Haley was frozen.

  And then Ivana’s frail body shuddered from the impact. She staggered sideways.

  “No!” Haley shouted.

  Konstantin lurched back into view, tackling the man to the ground.

  Haley sidestepped as the two men pitched onto the bed, a flurry of fists as they struggled for dominance.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off Oleg, but Ivana needed her. Rig
ht now if she was going to live.

  She found Ivana by feel. First her ankle. The skin between her house shoes and pants was cool to the touch. Then again, she was always having circulation issues these days. Haley’s hand coasted up her leg to her hip and found Ivana’s hands pressed to her chest and wet. So very wet.

  Konstantin pitched over the far side of the bed and didn’t get back up.

  The man with the loud mouth got to his feet. There was blood on his face and she didn’t think his nose had pointed that direction a moment ago.

  “Go,” Oleg barked.

  The other man glared at her and her gun.

  “Leave them.” There was room for argument in Oleg’s tone. “She said not to kill them if possible. She just wants the girl.”

  The second main raised a wavering hand to aim his gun at Haley. “She didn’t say I couldn’t hurt them.”

  “Move.” Oleg shoved the guy forward while carrying Haley. “Put the gun down and we leave.”

  Haley prayed Konstantin got up, because right now she couldn’t do this alone. She had to think. She held her gun out, aimed at neither man, but didn’t give it up. “What are you going to do with her?”

  Oleg shoved the other man forward, keeping him between Haley and Oleg.

  “She’ll be looked after,” Oleg said.

  “Konstantin? Kon?” Haley called out as the two men inched past her. “What did you do to him?”

  Zasha needed to be rescued.

  Haley didn’t know the extent of Konstantin’s injuries.

  And Ivana...

  Haley glanced at the older woman.

  So much blood...

  Oleg and his companion darted out of the bedroom with Zasha.

  Haley put the gun down and pushed aside Ivana’s hands.

  Blood pumped out of the wound.

  “Shit,” she muttered and covered it with both hands. “Kon? Konstantin!”

  He groaned and an arm appeared on the other side of the bed. Then his face.

  “Where’d they go? Where’s Zasha?” he asked, though his words were unsteady.

  “Come here. Now.” Haley swallowed then focused on Ivana.

  Oleg had made it sound like Zasha wouldn’t be harmed. There would be an opportunity to get Zasha back, but Ivana didn’t have that time.

  “Hey?” Haley pasted on a smile. “You did great. You did wonderful, Ivana.”

  “Ivana? Oh hell...” Konstantin made a strangled sound and staggered around the bed. “I’ll call the hospital. I’ll get them here. You’re going to be okay.”

  Ivana choked and tried to say something.

  The shot was central mass. Right in the chest. The damage a shot like that did to internal organs was devastating, and she wasn’t in the best health.

  Ivana looked at Haley, and she knew. They both knew. It didn’t matter how much money Konstantin had or how fast an ambulance got here, Ivana was dying. Her final act was to protect the children she’d loved as her own.

  “Sh.” Haley swallowed back the tide of emotions. “Save your strength, okay? You did amazing today.”

  “Ivana? Oh, God.” Konstantin crawled to Ivana’s other side and stared in horror.

  “Konstantin?” Haley reached out a bloodied hand to him.

  He took it and she placed his hand over the wound with hers.

  It was a matter of time.

  They could hold on to her for a few moments, but this was it. Her end.

  Konstantin stared at Haley for a moment before turning his attention on Ivana.

  Did he understand?

  He bent his head until his forehead pressed against hers.

  “Thank you, Ivana. I never said that enough, did I? Thank you for making us a home. Thank you,” he whispered. “Zasha loves you so much. I love you. Your place was always with us. You were my mother. Not her. You.”

  Haley swallowed at his words, so full of emotion.

  And then Ivana breathed her last.

  16.

  Monday. Rose House. Arlington, VA.

  Natasha paced the front room.

  Where were they?

  It shouldn’t have taken this long.

  Why was it? Had they run into a problem?

  Her phone rang.

  Oleg.

  At last.

  She snatched up the phone.

  “Where are you?” she demanded.

  “Just left. On our way,” he said breathlessly. “We lost two.”

  “Did you get the girl?” Natasha demanded.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. That’s all that matters.”

  Natasha breathed a sigh of relief.

  She’d known it would be worthwhile to gift Ivana something trivial that would allow Natasha to keep tabs on her. The bracelet had done its job, leading her right to them.

  Now she had all the pieces. By tomorrow she’d be the queen of not just one empire, but three.

  MONDAY. ROSE HOUSE. Arlington, VA.

  Konstantin sat in the front seat of the car, staring straight ahead. But he wasn’t seeing the cars or license plates. He saw Ivana. The way she’d looked at him and smiled. The blood.

  Natasha was going to pay for this. He would never again think of her as his mother. A mother should protect. A mother should provide. Not terrorize and kill.

  Ivana was his mother in every way that mattered. And now she was gone.

  He would get Zasha back and he would stop Natasha.

  “Kon? Konstantin.” Haley’s voice broke through the mental fog.

  He turned his head and looked at her.

  “I know you’re stunned right now, but we have to do something,” she said.

  He agreed, but he couldn’t make his mouth move.

  Instead, he pulled out his phone.

  Haley had said the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

  Konstantin hit dial on his father’s phone number.

  This morning hadn’t gone as planned, but now everything had changed.

  Pick up...

  The line rang.

  And then it didn’t.

  Konstantin pulled the phone away from his face.

  The call had connected. His father simply wasn’t saying anything.

  Konstantin swallowed, then did the thing he didn’t want to do. He spoke Russian. “She has Zasha.”

  “When? How?” Leonid’s voice betrayed him. That was worry.

  He cared.

  How had Konstantin not seen this?

  He was too stunned to process this realization, too mired in his grief and fear.

  Konstantin swallowed and kept going. “They just took her from our safe house. And...they killed Ivana.”

  The line grew quiet.

  While Konstantin had always avoided his father when he was loud and angry, it was the quiet moments that were truly dangerous.

  “Where are you? Meet me now,” Leonid said in a hard tone.

  After all these years, the person he was turning to was the one he’d hated most.

  “Okay,” Konstantin said.

  Konstantin relayed his father’s order and location to Haley. She gave him one long look, as if to ask if he knew what he was doing, but she didn’t push back. Instead, she rerouted them.

  It was only then that he realized his father had hung up.

  “What if I was wrong, Haley?” Konstantin rest his head against the seatback.

  “Don’t worry about that right now.”

  And yet it was all he could think about. The entire drive to the out of business store with the empty parking lot was one big vacuum. If he wasn’t wondering about his father’s intentions he was fretting over how much Zasha had seen and heard.

  Leonid got out of the other car immediately. He wore the same suit as before, but there was an alertness that was new.

  Konstantin glanced at Haley.

  “We’re going to get Zasha back,” she said and reached over to squeeze his hand.

  He had the strangest urge to kiss her right then.

  �
�Let’s do this.” She let go of his hand and got out.

  Konstantin was the last to join Haley and his father between the two cars.

  Leonid gave Haley a once-over. “This is the bodyguard.”

  Bodyguard.

  That word inspired rage.

  When this was over he was going to nail his personal security to the wall over this. Haley was the only one worth a penny.

  “Yes, I am Mr. Titov’s live-in security,” Haley said though the statement hadn’t been directed at her.

  Leonid nodded at him. “There is blood on your fingers.”

  That observation was a spark. A spark that lit the flame in Konstantin’s chest, boiling his blood until he had to clench his fists. They’d paused to change clothes and get rid of the bloody garments, but he feared he’d always see her blood on him. “That’s because I held Ivana’s hand while she fucking died.”

  “I am sorry to hear of her death,” Leonid said with what Konstantin might call actual regret. Not that there was much emotion in his voice. “Your mother. What does she want with the girl?”

  “We don’t know,” Haley said, jumping in and saving Konstantin from having to think clearly. “In the beginning, after she kidnapped us, it was all about making you pay. Revenge. Konstantin and Zasha didn’t factor into it, except as bait.”

  Leonid glanced sideways at Konstantin. “I suppose she figured out that without us in the picture she stood to inherit everything.”

  He swallowed.

  The idea of Natasha raising Zasha was... Not an option.

  Leonid shook his head. “This is my fault. I should have dealt with her years ago. I thought... Never mind.”

  “Mr. Titov?” Haley tapped her phone. “Can you tell us the significance behind these pictures?”

  The pictures.

  Now?

  Konstantin didn’t see how it mattered, but maybe Haley would.

  Leonid looked at the phone screen, his brows climbing up and up.

  “That’s where they are,” he muttered, then handed it back. “I will not say.”

  Haley sputtered. “But...”

  “What about Zasha?” Konstantin didn’t give two fucks about the pictures.

  Leonid looked at Konstantin with those same intensely blue eyes. “We’ll get her back.”

  “How?”

  “I can get us more people, but that’s going to take time,” Haley offered.

  “No time.” Leonid glanced at his watch. “I’m late already. If we’re going to stop her, it has to be now.”