All The Way

by Tricia Jones

  She’d wanted to hate them for it, especially when Leah came along and all the attention Grace had craved from her parents had been bestowed on her baby sister. Instead, she’d spent her life trying to please them. To make them sit up and pay attention. They never had. But from the moment Grace had glimpsed Leah lying in her crib at the hospital, she fell in love. So much that when her father had demanded her promise, she’d given it willingly.

  If Nikolai could help her find Leah, she would pay his price. She would pay any price if it meant keeping her sister safe. All she could hope was that Nikolai would shortly open the door and tell her Pavel Baletsky was still safely behind bars where he belonged. At least then she could breathe a tiny bit easier.

  Moments later, when Nikolai opened the door, one look at his face told her that her worst fears had been realized.

  Pavel Baletsky was free. And he had her sister.

  Chapter Three

  “It doesn’t mean she’s with him.”

  Grace sat rigid as Nikolai drove through Paris and toward her hotel close to the Gare du Nord. The air conditioning whispered cool over her flesh as she tried to digest his words. “It’s a bit coincidental, don’t you think? He’s released from prison and Leah goes missing?”

  Nikolai remained silent as he negotiated the busy intersections at Bastille, but as they came out onto the straight his cell rang.

  Since he had it connected to hands-free, he simply pushed a button. “Da?”

  “Niko, it’s worse than we—”

  “Vadim, I’ll call you back. Five minutes.” Nikolai disconnected before the other man could answer.

  “Who was that? What’s worse than—”

  “A business matter.”

  “Of course.” She shook her head. Everything she wanted to know always drew the same response. A business matter. “Don’t worry, Niko. I’m not about to interrogate you. All I care about is finding Leah.”

  “The matter will be sorted soon enough. She’ll be back with you and that will be an end to it.”

  She hated his flippant tone. The easy manner in which he could illustrate his desire to be rid of her and her sister. “I hope you’re right and we’ll soon be out of your hair.”

  She looked straight ahead, but sensed him glance at her. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Isn’t it? You never had time for her. Never wanted her around.”

  “I was rarely afforded the opportunity.”

  Okay. That was true enough. “You can’t blame me for wanting to shield her.”

  “From what? Me?”

  She spared him a glance. What was the point in denying it? “Yes, from you. From the secrets, the covert telephone conversations and God knows what else.”

  “Most of which were in your head.”

  “The closed doors and hushed voices weren’t in my head. Nor were the papers that got shuffled away when I stepped into a room or the barely strapped tolerance when I asked you questions.”

  “Certain things didn’t concern you.”

  “You made that perfectly clear.”

  “But still you pressed.”

  “Until I found ways to handle it.”

  “Ah yes. By handing me over to the police.

  “I didn’t hand you over. They came to me after I…after we split up.”

  “And you conveniently spilled your guts.” He whipped the car to the curb, parking illegally, then got out. “Pack your things. I’ll wait in the lobby.” He wrapped his fingers around her arm, then ushered her through the entrance doors.

  Grace knew there was no point resurrecting their conversation back at the Club when he’d insisted she stay at his apartment. Part of her was glad of it. She would be right there with him when they discovered Leah’s whereabouts.

  In her room she quickly packed what few things she had taken out of her suitcase, grabbed her bag from the bed and hurried downstairs to the lobby.

  Nikolai was pacing the floor, speaking on his cell, no doubt picking up his conversation with the man called Vadim. Seeing her, he ended the call.

  “Is there news?” she asked as he took her case. “Did that man have information?”

  “No.”

  She glared at him, was almost tempted to yank her suitcase back out of his hand and tell him to go to hell. Except then she would be back where she started, with no clue where to start looking for Leah. “I just have to settle my bill.”

  “It’s done.”

  He was already striding to the door. She waited until they were back in the car and unzipped her bag to retrieve her money purse. “How much do I owe you?”

  He glanced down to where she was pulling out euros. “It’s on me.”

  She continued to count notes. “I pay my way, Niko.”

  “As do I.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  He jerked a shoulder. “If your sister is with Pavel, then the situation exists because of our past relationship. I take full responsibility for both the situation and for its solution.”

  Grace couldn’t stop the empty laugh escaping. “God, Nikolai, even when it’s personal, it’s all business for you, isn’t it? You think you have to step in and sort out a job gone wrong as if it’s under guarantee. We’re not talking about fixing a dodgy deal or making good on a business contract, this is my sister.”

  “And I intend doing everything in my power to locate her.”

  She gave up before they got into a pissing match. It would end as it always did. Stalemate. “How will we know where to start looking?”

  “I have a few feelers out. We just wait for the first bite.”

  “They must still be in England. Leah doesn’t have a passport.”

  “There are ways around that.” He narrowed his eyes. “If your sister is with him, they’re likely in Europe. Athens. Pavel went there on his release.”

  “Why would Pavel go to Athens?”

  He started to speak, hesitated, and it was a full minute before he spoke again. “He has associates there. No doubt he’ll be looking to pick up where he left off before he was sent down.”

  “What was Pavel in prison for? I know you said embezzlement, but I want to know the details.”

  “He tried to con the wrong people. He pushed; they pushed back. Harder.”

  “What sort of con?”

  “The sort that landed him in prison.”

  “You still insist on treating me like an idiot. Like some stupid woman who can’t handle the details. As I said, nothing changes.”

  “No. Nothing does, it seems. You still think of me as a low-life, a criminal who hides under the façade of civility.”

  “That isn’t—”

  “Not that it matters.” He gave an easy shrug. “You came here for my help, believing my sort of help would extend beyond that which the police could offer, even were they willing to consider this a missing persons case. You also believe my sort of help requires involvement with the less, shall we say, desirable elements of society. So, perhaps you might consider that having nothing change, at least where I am concerned, is in your best interests at this time.”

  He was right of course. That was exactly why she’d come to him. “You’re sure you can find her?”

  He sucked in a breath. “I make no promises.”

  The way he said it alerted her. There was no confident swagger in his words, none of the trademark absolute certainty. A little shiver ran through her. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Simply that you must be prepared for frustrations, delays, wild chases that lead nowhere.”

  “I am. What time tomorrow will we get to Athens?”

  “Ah, you misunderstand. We are not going to Athens. I go alone.”

  “No. She’s my responsibility. Don’t you get that? I made my own choices without considering how they’d affect Leah. It’s my fault she’s gone and it’s up to me to find her.”

  “I know your sensibilities.” He pulled up as the lights turned red. “Where this journey mi
ght take us may offend them.”

  “She’s my sister. I’ll do whatever necessary to make sure she’s safe and happy. If that means mixing with undesirables, then so be it.”

  What looked like insult flashed in his eyes, but was soon replaced by a cold, hard stare. “If you come with me, there are certain conditions. You will not question. You will not argue. This is non-negotiable.”

  It stuck in her craw, but desperation was its own necessity. “A year spent with you made me more than aware that most things are non-negotiable. But if that’s what you want. Okay.”

  He looked like he didn’t believe her, which was probably pretty sensible of him. Plus, he was helping her so maybe she ought to be a little more gracious. “Look, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I am grateful for your help.”

  “You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.” The lights went to green and he pulled out. “I should have handled the matter of Pavel and your sister when you first asked me. Had I stepped in, things might have been different and she wouldn’t be involved.”

  Grace’s antenna jumped. “Involved in what?”

  Long moments passed when he didn’t say anything. “He’s doing this to show me he can. That he’s capable. Thumbing his nose at me.”

  Grace swallowed down the queasy feeling that slid into her throat. “Are you saying he’s only interested in Leah because he wants to get at you?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Don’t you think he cares about her?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  She looked out the taxi window. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “Making you feel better was not my intention.”

  No. It never was. Without thinking, she pulled out her phone and checked for messages in the vain hope Leah might have called. Disappointed, but hardly surprised, she found nothing. “I can’t understand why she won’t answer my messages. Even a simple text.”

  “She’s a child and believes herself in love. The foolishness of youth at work.”

  “For once I agree with you. But even if that’s the case, a quick text, what would it hurt?”

  Nikolai blasted a motorist who cut in front of him, muttering an insult in his native tongue. He gesticulated to the offending driver as the puce-faced man turned left.

  “Glad to see you haven’t lost your patient streak.”

  His smile was wry. “Patience is for people who are prepared to wait.”

  “Very funny.”

  She glanced at her phone again, sighed as she slipped it back into her bag.

  “It’s Pavel’s work.”

  Grace looked across at him. “What is?”

  “The reason Leah hasn’t contacted you. He will have instructed her to ignore your requests, or maybe coaxed her to turn off her phone. She may not realize you’re trying to get in touch.”

  “Why would he do that? It’s not as if she needs to tell me where she is. Just that she’s okay.”

  “All part of the games he enjoys playing. We’re here.”

  He pulled into a gated entrance, pressed a button on a pad on his dashboard and the huge wrought-iron gates slid open to reveal a large and beautiful courtyard, cobbled paving stones and copious greenery making the surroundings lush and quiet. A magnificent oasis in the busyness of Paris.

  As Nikolai pulled into a space and killed the engine, Grace thought about what he’d said. It didn’t sit well, turning the queasy feeling to full blown nausea. If this was some stupid, thoughtless game to settle a score with Nikolai, then Pavel really was cruel and heartless.

  Leah didn’t deserve that. She might be a headstrong girl who always thought she knew best, but in many ways she was guileless. While she had no doubt Leah was infatuated with Pavel, Grace now feared the older man had coerced her sister into leaving with him. Simply to provoke Nikolai.

  “There are some things I need to take care of.” Nikolai retrieved her bag from the car. “I’ll order you up a late supper.”

  “I’m not hungry.” Grace stepped through the entrance door he held open for her. “Please don’t think you can go off on your own, Niko. Whatever you do, wherever you go, I want to be right there with you.”

  The wrought-iron elevator whispered of bygone days, elegant and ornate. As Nikolai closed the gate, Grace stepped back against the mirrored wall. “You’re good at shutting me out,” she almost murmured it. “You always were.”

  He pressed the button for the fifth and top floor, then stood with his back to her. “I speak when things need saying. Remain silent when they don’t.”

  She huffed, watching his broad back expand as he breathed. From nowhere came the memory of watching him breathe as he slept. It was a rare occurrence as she seldom stayed the night with him. He always drove her back home, leaving her with the memory of a fast, hot kiss on her threshold. In many ways she couldn’t blame him, as she had never allowed him to stay at her place, even though Leah boarded at school during the week. It would have been so easy, on those weeknights to invite him in. Welcome him into her bed. Yet she never had.

  His current home was a spacious apartment, muted luxury in warm, rich tones. She barely had time to take in what she recognised as original paintings adorning the high walls, or the titles of books filling the floor to ceiling bookcase, before she was in a large, surprisingly feminine bedroom with mint coloured furnishings and huge French windows.

  A guest room, she realized, both relieved and weirdly disappointed. He obviously wasn’t looking to be paid for his services any time soon.

  She wondered about his own room. Did he still favour the iron bedstead that had belonged to the man who had raised him and who he considered his mentor? The one with the rungs she had clung to as he’d pushed her beyond sanity, as he’d taken her to a place she had never been to before and had never visited since.

  “Unpack,” he ordered, yanking her from the idiot thoughts she was having. “I’ll order you that supper.”

  “I’d rather talk.”

  “There’s nothing yet to talk about.”

  “There never is.”

  The wry flick of his mouth was almost a smile. “As I said, I speak when things need saying.”

  She felt like irritating him, probably in retaliation for the thoughts she’d had about that bloody iron bedstead. Thoughts of the feelings he could still, it seemed, provoke in her.

  “Perhaps I should book a business meeting with you. Maybe then I’d have your undivided attention.”

  “Maybe you would. Now unpack.” With that he left, closing the door behind him.

  He was a bloody nightmare, Grace decided as she pulled her toiletries bag from her case. Although he’d only made brief reference to that night two years ago, he still seethed about what she’d done. She could tell from the look in his eyes, the way that muscle flicked along his jaw, the barely strapped tension that could wire his muscles until she could sense his fury.

  Perhaps part of the reason she niggled at him to talk was because she wanted him to break. To accuse her. To demand answers. Then they could move on. He could put all his energy into finding her sister, rather than use it being irritated with her.

  Grace went into the adjoining bathroom and ran the shower. She had a feeling it would be a long night.

  ****

  Nikolai ignored the hitch in his system, the simmer in his blood that had taken up residence the moment Grace came back into his life. Natural enough, he decided as he waited for his laptop to boot. Damn right he should feel something, seeing as how she’d sold him out and walked away without a second glance.

  What he felt was anger, fury, with a very large dose of sexual frustration thrown in. He was due after what had happened in his office. One glimpse of that ripe breast spilling above sensible white cotton would tempt any man. Damn right he should feel sexually frustrated.

  Maybe he would call Nanette home from that spa. Having her around might put an end to his need to get Grace on her back at the first opportunity.

  Grace w
asn’t immune either. The way her eyes darkened, the way her chest rose as her breathing deepened. He remembered those signs. They’d haunted his dreams for too many nights.

  If he wanted her, he could have her. She’d already agreed to his terms. Had said she’d do anything.

  He wondered if she meant that, but before his mind determined just how far he could push her, he snapped his thoughts away from desire and seduction. Pavel had her sister. It was his responsibility to get her back. Despite that the spoilt brat had gone willingly, the girl had no idea what she’d be walking into.

  Hearing the hiss of the shower, Nikolai glanced at the guest bedroom door. With Grace safely occupied, he snapped down the lid of his laptop and reached for his cell.

  “Does he have her?”

  Wisely, Vadim didn’t try to stall or fabricate. He knew his boss and friend too well. “Da.”

  “Where?”

  “The exact location is unclear, but they’re in Athens.” As Vadim hesitated, Nikolai knew his friend had clicked in to his unspoken concerns. “It’s possible he’ll pick up where he left off, Niko. Especially with this girl. Like a gift from the gods.”

  Nikolai glanced back to the door, then turned away and lowered his voice. “Have you checked the Athens connection?”

  “Da. It’s locked down, but I have people working on it.” Again, Vadim hesitated, then said softly. “It may already be too late.”

  Nikolai refused to contemplate such an outcome. If he did he might take his eye from the ball and miss some vital connection, some clue as to where the next step would take them. “Is Tariq working on this?”

  “Da.”

  “Good. Keep him on it. I want every lead, every rumor explored until I’m satisfied it’s useless, understood?”

  “Of course, but Niko—”

  “Keep on it.” Nikolai disconnected the call as the door opened and Grace stepped out, dressed in jeans and a white tee. He moved to the enormous burgundy sofas arranged to face each other and reached for the decanter on the glass-topped table between them. He poured brandy into two glasses and offered one to Grace.