All The Way

by Tricia Jones

  She shuddered in a breath. “Okay. What’s going on? And don’t you dare fob me off.”

  He tried to take her hand, but she wouldn’t let him. He’d tell her as much as he could. “That government contract I told you about? Pavel was the employee we were watching. The contract was for several orders of raw materials, iron ore, and I suspected Pavel was siphoning off supplies from each delivery. I wanted to keep things in-house while I gathered proof, because I needed to find out the extent of the embezzlement. What he was doing with the materials and who he was dealing with.”

  “Did you?”

  He nodded. “But not until after the authorities became involved.”

  “What was he doing?” Grace ran her palms down her thighs. “Who was he dealing with?”

  Before he could answer, she closed her eyes. “Oh God. He’s involved in arms.”

  “There’s no evidence he’s picked up where he left off.”

  Her eyes opened on an accusing glare. “That’s a cop-out. You know him probably better than anyone.” She leapt from the bench, and started back in the direction they came. “I have to get her away from him. You said you’re monitoring the situation, so you know where she is.”

  “Da. I know where she is. I’ve made arrangements for us to leave shortly.”

  ****

  She remained silent on the flight, which gave Niko the opportunity to reflect and plan his next move. It wasn’t easy, seeing as his concentration was shot. She didn’t speak, but he felt the waves of fury vibrating from where she sat across the aisle from him. Perhaps he deserved it, but, damnation, he had to protect her. Had to shield her. He couldn’t bear to see her hurt by this, not when he could do something about it. This time, at least, he had some sort of control.

  This time.

  Long ago memories burned through his mind. Images. Flashes. Another lifetime. With Viktor’s help, he’d made his peace with them. Had learned to channel his inadequacies into strength and power.

  “I deserved to know.” Grace’s sharp retort yanked him back from his dark journey. He looked up and into her scathing gaze. “Had I known, there’s no way on God’s earth I would have let her stay with him.”

  “What would you have told Leah? My suspicions? By your own admission such conjecture would have driven her further into his arms.”

  “That was my decision to make. Not yours. What gives you the right to play judge and jury? This is your fault, Niko. By allowing me to think we were dealing with a simple matter of infatuation, you’ve put Leah in an untenable position.”

  She was right, but damned if he would take her lofty accusations any longer without defending himself. “I told you to let me deal with it. We were gathering proof of his guilt at the time you met with your sister, but you let her go.”

  “You bastard. Don’t you dare make this my fault. Don’t you dare lay this on me.”

  “I don’t need to, you’re making a good enough job of it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Blaming yourself. You always beat yourself up where Leah’s concerned. Isn’t it time you stopped trying to be mother, father and every goddamn thing to her?”

  Grace leaned back in her seat and turned her head away. She felt Niko touch her shoulder but jerked away. She didn’t want to be comforted, she didn’t deserve it. She’d let Leah down. Niko might be at fault not telling her what he knew, but at some gut level she knew that and had chosen to ignore it. She’d wanted to please Leah. Wanted to make up for what life had stolen from her. From them both.

  Was he right? Did she try to be everything to Leah? Maybe so, but she didn’t know any other way to do it. Letting Leah go like that, with a man like that. How could she have been so stupid as to deny her instincts, every one of them had screamed at her to get Leah away from Pavel.

  In her mind’s eye she saw her parents’ faces. Both of them looking at her as if she were what they always suspected. Useless. Ineffective.

  Grace pushed the image back, knowing she had to concentrate on what was happening right now. There would be time enough for her self-recrimination, for her self-loathing when Leah was safe.

  “You need to involve the police.” She turned to Niko. “I want him arrested.”

  “That’s not possible right now.”

  “Don’t you tell me that.” The words scored her throat as the breath backed up in her lungs. “Even if you still have no hard evidence, you tell the police what you suspect. Do something about this, Niko. You get my sister away from that lowlife.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Yes, it is. He’s involved in God knows what, we both know it. And he has an innocent girl with him. She needs to be back with her family. With me.”

  “Do you think the police will see her as an innocent victim? Do you think they won’t assume she’s involved in some way? She’s with him willingly, Grace. She told you that herself. The police storming in will only strengthen her resolve to stand by him.”

  She pressed her fingers to her temple. “I can’t think about that. I just need to get her away.”

  “Trust me,” he said sharply. “I’ll get her away.”

  “She’ll take one look at you and dig her heels in again.”

  “This time I won’t give her the choice.”

  The low, resolute tone gave weight to his statement and Grace knew he meant it. He wouldn’t give Leah the choice. It gave her a moment’s peace to believe the truth of that and if there was one time in her life she wanted to rely on his tough and uncompromising qualities, this was it. It was hard to imagine what lessons from his past had forged those characteristics and given him the unwavering confidence he now displayed, but right then she could only thank the fates that they had.

  She met his gaze and held it. “I don’t care how you get her away from him, just do it.”

  He gave a slow nod. “Trust me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Grace felt she was in one of those strange and unsettling nightmares when everything seemed disjointed and out of kilter. In other circumstances, the small narrow street was the kind she would wander along on holiday, looking at souvenir shops or maybe stopping for a coffee at an outside café to observe the passing scenery. Yet, as she waited with Niko and Vadim in a corner bar overlooking Marseilles harbour, thoughts of a carefree holiday stroll were furthest from her mind.

  Plants and assorted greenery shaded their window seats, so that anyone looking in would be unable to make out their faces clearly. The seats were strategically chosen to give a good view of the third floor window of a flat above an art shop selling watercolors by local artists.

  “Why can’t we go in now?” Grace asked as her rapidly diminishing patience snapped thin. “If they’re in there, you could just deal with Pavel and I can get Leah.”

  The two men looked at her as if she were a minor inconvenience. “It’s not that simple,” Vadim said patiently, no doubt growing equally exasperated with Grace who had asked the same question at least half a dozen times in the hour they had been sitting there.

  “It seems simple enough to me. We just—”

  Grace broke off when one of Niko’s men walked across the road, dodging cars whose drivers indicated displeasure with a blast of horns. Another man joined him as they reached the pavement. The two men came into the bar and headed for their table. The older one spoke in Russian and she tried to decipher from the handful of words she’d learned from Niko during their time together.

  She managed a couple—money and girl.

  “What?” Grace asked as Niko and Vadim exchanged glances. Niko stood, beckoning her to do the same. With his hand in the small of her back, Niko led her from the bar where they made their way to Vadim’s car parked at the end of the street. “What’s going on?”

  “We need to go.”

  She wanted to challenge that, to tell him that yes, she could tell they needed to go from the way he almost frog-marched her down the street, but at least they were finally doing somet
hing. She had this awful premonition, a deadening weight in the centre of her stomach that brought a wave of nausea as Niko ushered her into the back of the car. He took the passenger seat and let Vadim drive. As Vadim sped away, Niko turned to her.

  “Fasten your seat belt,” he said gruffly.

  She pulled at the strap and slipped it into the holder. “For God’s sake, Niko. Tell me what’s happening.” She almost didn’t want to ask, but not knowing was driving her out of her mind with worry, with scenarios of Leah being locked in a French cell accused of accessory after the fact, or whatever they damn well called it. “Niko!”

  “They’re not there.” He kept his gaze in front, staring out the windscreen as Vadim negotiated the busy city centre traffic. “They may already know we’re looking for them and have decided not to make it easy.”

  She didn’t like his reference to they, because it made her concerns about Leah being an accessory almost too real. “Where did they go?” Niko didn’t respond, which gave Grace her answer. She closed her eyes as her stomach roiled dangerously. “God. They could be anywhere. Maybe they’ve gone back to Greece.”

  Niko turned to look over his shoulder. “They’re still in Marseilles.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know.”

  She looked into his deep blue gaze, wanting to hate him, wanting to hate herself for ever becoming involved with him, but she couldn’t.

  She pulled her gaze from his and stared unseeing through the side window at the passing shops and cafes. Unshed tears swamped her heart. She couldn’t blame Niko; she certainly couldn’t hate him. It wasn’t his fault that he’d lost his parents and been taken in by Viktor and his family. Wasn’t his fault that he’d had the misfortune of having Pavel as his “adopted” brother. It certainly wasn’t his fault that the attraction that flared between them on that first night at the stranded hotel had brought them to this. She had an equal share of the blame. She’d wanted him—still wanted him—God help her.

  Considering it her penance, Grace didn’t attempt to stop herself from worrying. She alone had brought Leah into this situation, the responsibility was hers. She should have better protected her, kept a closer eye on what she was doing, who she was involved with. Despite what Niko said about her trying to be both father and mother to Leah, she deemed it her responsibility to take on whatever role Leah needed at the time.

  Grace squeezed her eyes shut against the pain of reflecting that perhaps there was a modicum of truth in her parents’ assumptions about her. Perhaps she was inadequate, inconsequential. The one time, the only time, they’d ever entrusted her to an important task and she’d screwed up. Royally screwed up.

  As the car sped out onto the open road, Grace dropped her head back against the seat, thankful that the men were largely quiet, mumbling the odd words in Russian at intermittent intervals. She felt useless, redundant, and so bloody miserable she wanted to curl up in a ball and fade away into oblivion. Instead, her mother’s harsh words reverberated around her head, her father’s constant reprimands. In her mind’s eye, she saw them turn away from her, ignore her, as if she didn’t matter, as if she had no purpose, no value.

  Blinking, Grace wondered if there had ever been a moment in her life when she’d felt more wretched than this one, but then Niko’s cell rang and she put further morbid contemplation on the back burner. He spoke too fast for Grace to make out any words, then he closed the phone and turned to her. “Timo has located them.”

  She wondered how Timo had done that, but perhaps it was best she didn’t know. Whatever Pavel was mixed up in, she was certain Niko could match him in terms of questionable contacts, but as long as they helped get Leah back she was willing to turn a blind eye.

  They traveled along a cliff road on the north eastern edge of Marseilles, beyond which the sea shimmered an electric blue. A couple of miles along, they turned down to the right toward a magnificent house perched precariously on a huge rock with stunning views out to sea.

  When they stopped, Nikolai murmured something to Vadim and then got out. He opened the door for Grace as Vadim went around to retrieve their bags. “Where are we? Is this where Leah is?”

  He shook his head as he offered his hand. “We’ll be staying here.” He leaned down, kissed her cheek then whispered in her ear. “Leave the talking to me. Don’t make demands and don’t make a scene.”

  She looked at him as he drew away, then followed him toward the house. Her hands shook as they got closer to the house and the door opened to reveal a bulk of a man who looked like one wrong remark would have him hurling them all off the rock into the sea. She wanted desperately to grab Niko’s hand, but remembered his words and the warning look in his eyes.

  At the door, Vadim turned, introducing Nikolai to the other man in Russian. The men shook hands, then the giant turned his narrow eyes on her. She ignored the urge to step behind Niko and use him as a shield. The man looked about seven feet tall and as wide shouldered. Grace took in the worn, frayed jeans and the singlet vest covering his massive chest. He spoke in Russian, not taking his eyes off her.

  “Grace,” Nikolai explained after a moment. “The girl’s sister.”

  He looked Grace up and down, then jerked his head over his left shoulder beckoning them inside. Nikolai stepped aside for Grace to enter after Vadim and as she passed the Leviathan, she felt his gaze on her. Her stomach wanted to heave when the man closed the door, both from the claustrophobic atmosphere that clung to the walls and the way he looked at her.

  The man walked past them down the hallway, leading them into the surprisingly light kitchen. The windows faced the sea and Grace watched tiny dust motes dance in the stream of light. Behind her Nikolai gave her a little nudge toward the man who now held out a chair for her at the battered pine table. As she moved, Grace heard the rumble of feet on stairs and seconds later a woman all but bounced into the kitchen in white cut-offs and tee, her red hair dancing around her shoulders. Her ordinary face became beautiful as she smiled and virtually flew toward Nikolai, wiping her hands on a cloth as she ran. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth.

  “What on earth are you doing still living in Paris?” she demanded in a thickly accented voice. “You should have escaped the heat to come here with the rest of France. And with me.”

  “Another kiss like that and I’ll sell up and move in with you.” Nikolai’s hands settled on the woman’s waist as he grinned back at her. “How are you, Gabrielle?”

  “How am I? I’ve been evicted from my beautiful house to come here and tend to all of you. How do you think I am?” Still clinging to Nikolai’s neck, she turned and looked at Grace. “Is this her?”

  She didn’t exactly sneer, but it was close. Grace pushed back the urge to march over and tell her to get the hell away from Niko, but seeing as he didn’t seem to mind her limpet enthusiasm, that might be considered making a scene. Besides, she had more pressing concerns than some floozy with her sights set on Niko.

  As he made the introductions, the woman looked Grace up and down then gave Nikolai another smacker of a kiss.

  “My apologies for interrupting this little love-fest,” Vadim said, as he stepped forward and manoeuvred Gabrielle away. She laughed and pecked him on the cheek. “To him you give full bodied kisses, yet for me a mere peck.”

  “Stop complaining.” Gabrielle popped her arm around Vadim’s waist and hugged him to her as she turned back. “So you’re Grace.”

  Oh, it was a definite sneer now and Grace could hardly blame her as she imagined the same look lingered on her own face. “And you’re Gabrielle.”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed, then she tilted her chin into the air. “You’re attractive enough, I suppose. Easy to see how a man could be sucked in by you.”

  Grace started to tell her to go to hell, but Niko touched her shoulder. “Grace, this is Gabrielle. Vadim’s wife.”

  Well, that was something. At least the viper was spoken for. Grace had begun speculating
if Gabrielle was one of the infamous two lovers Niko had acquired since their affair ended. At least now, she didn’t have to deal with that on top of everything else.

  As the woman moved toward her and invisible poison arrows flew across the small kitchen, Grace wondered if she should duck.

  “Come with me,” Gabrielle ordered. “I’ll show you where you can freshen up.”

  Grace glanced at Niko. She had the distinct feeling plans were about to be made and they didn’t include her. Screw that.

  “Can I have a word with you? Now?”

  Anger flashed in Nikolai’s eyes as he looked down at her. “This is not the time.”

  Grace stood her ground. “It won’t take a second.”

  With measured steps he came across to her, grabbed her arm and marched her out to the hallway. “I warned you to keep quiet. Why don’t you take orders for once in your life for God’s sake.”

  “For once in my life?” She lowered her voice as he marched her further down the hallway. “I’ve spent the whole of my bloody life taking orders, you bastard, so don’t you lay that on me. Don’t think you’re going to dump me here and go off on your own. I’m sick of you continually palming me off, treating me like some kind of idiot, useless woman who can’t hold up her end.”

  “I think no such thing.”

  “Really?” She made an effort to lower her voice again. “Yet you’re happy to let me stay here with a woman who might just claw my eyes out, while you go off and be the big strong male who has to protect the poor incapable female?”

  He curled his fingers around both her arms, his jaw tight. “Don’t be absurd.”

  “If you think you’re going to dump me here and go off on your own you’re delusional. Try it and I’ll call the police.”

  “I don’t respond to threats.”

  “Not threats, Niko. Facts. If I find you’ve gone off without me, I won’t hesitate to call the police.”