by Wendy Rosnau
Casmir took a deep breath, pushed back the uncertainty that was creeping up her spine. The air filling her lungs held the tangy taste of salt. She felt a sudden chill in the air. It came out of nowhere—the tropical air was as warm as the baked sand that skirted the coast.
“By the way, my captain is also a surgeon. He assures me that you will have no more than a small scar on your neck. He was very careful. Although I do not expect Yurii will be too pleased.”
Pierce went crazy for a moment, then called Merrick.
“The tracker stopped sending. We’re in the middle of the goddamn Mediterranean and we’re fucked.”
“She was probably stripped and issued new clothes. Petrov is no fool.”
Merrick sounded too calm.
“She’s not wearing the tracker on her.”
“No?”
“I put it under her skin.”
“Why the hell did you do that?”
“I don’t have time to go into it. Now what?”
“Now I call Polax, and tell him that they took the second bait.”
“You expected them to find it.”
“We’re not dealing with amateurs. Of course we expected it. Sit tight. I’ll be in touch.”
Pierce hung up, swearing. He didn’t like being handed the plan in bits and pieces. Had he known that they wanted the tracker found, hell, he would’ve pinned it on her chest.
He sent his hand over his jaw in frustration. What else could go wrong? he thought. What the hell else?
He had his answer a second later when he turned to see Ash sneaking a nip off a whiskey flask he had tucked inside his pant pocket.
Casmir was ushered off the Stella di Mare and led past the stone steps cut into the rocks that separated the azure lagoon from the four-story rock villa.
A narrow footpath curled into the rocks, and she found herself nudged toward a small dock where a small boat lapped the calm water.
The boat was piloted by a tall man dressed in a gray uniform. It didn’t fit him very well. The pants were too short, as if they weren’t his. She should mention it. Let him know that the last man who wore that uniform was probably dead. Yurii was a hard man to please, and he went through men like she went through shampoo.
Filip helped her into the boat, then sat across from her as the man took up his pole and sent them on their way into the dimly lit caverna.
The waterway was well hidden from the coast, invisible to the naked eye. It appeared as nothing more than a crack in the jagged rocks, but the narrow secret passage had a purpose.
Everything in Yurii’s life had a purpose.
They traveled the windy cool cave for several minutes. Casmir tried to calculate the distance, but the twists and turns were deceiving, and she soon realized that there were numerous offshoots—grottos leading to other passages. Perhaps one of them led to Yurii’s data center.
Suddenly the boat headed toward a rocky shore. Filip jumped out and then held his hand out to her. She took it and allowed him to lead her down a narrow path lit by gas torches. They flicked around her, and this she made note of, too. The passageway was fed by fresh air. That meant there was an exit that led back to the coast.
They climbed stone steps, a railing of iron caging them as it followed the rock ledge upward.
Filip nudged her ahead of him. It was a long climb, and she wondered as they traveled the stairway why they hadn’t simply used the outer steps. Her question was soon answered when Filip unlocked a door with a key and she was ushered into a brightly lit room that looked like an infirmary.
There they were greeted by a woman in her late twenties wearing the same drab gray uniform as the boatman. Hers fit better, however. Which meant she had been there longer.
The woman smiled at Filip, but he didn’t smile back. She whispered something, then said to Casmir, “I’ve been sent to see that you bathe. Don Petrov wants you smelling of rose oil when you greet him.”
“You mean when he greets me,” Casmir corrected. “I’m the guest.”
“You are no guest, signorina. You are Don Petrov’s property now. A slave to whatever he wishes of you, whether it is pain or pleasure.”
“That’s enough, Allegra. Do your job with your mouth shut. It is all that is asked of you.”
A hard look from Filip sent Allegra into motion and once Filip left, Casmir stripped and was led to a shower. Afterward the woman instructed her to lie down on a table and she was given a massage with an oil that was heavy with the scent of roses.
Wrapped in a white robe, Casmir heard a door open. Filip stepped back inside with a syringe in his hand.
She didn’t fight what came next—there was no point. Minutes later she felt the sting of the needle, and then nothing at all.
Ruza waited in IsaDora’s private office for her mother while Saber Lazie cooled his heels in the corridor looking like a man out of his element.
The entire flight to Prague he had held her hand, and more than once he’d said, “Don worry, mon coeur, Cassie is smart like her mother. She also has Pierce closing in fast.”
She’d told him he didn’t need to come with her. His answer to that had been, “Oui, I do. I promised Pierce I would keep you safe.”
“In New Orleans.”
He had shrugged. “We can’t have everythin’ we want. Pierce will just have ta get used to plans changin’ like da wind. Your brother, too.”
A side door opened and IsaDora entered her office. Like Ruza, she was lean and looked younger than her age—seventy-one, in her case. She wore an expensive eggshell pantsuit and her white hair stylishly short and modern.
“I’m told you brought a man with you.” IsaDora sat and pressed a button on her desk; the screen on the wall to the right lit up, and a camera in the corridor showed Lazie leaning against the wall. Ruza noted that he was cleaning his fingernails with a knife big enough to gut a pig, or an alligator.
“Interesting-looking man. Your taste has changed, I see. An actor, perhaps?”
“A bar owner in New Orleans,” Ruza corrected. “But I suspect there’s more behind the scenes.”
“There always is, isn’t there, darling. So what brings you to Quest? I specifically remember you telling me five years ago you would never set foot in this place again.”
“You know why I said that. You could have overruled Lev’s decision to recruit Cassie.”
“And I would have if she hadn’t proven to be such a resilient actress, like her mother.”
Ruza had carefully thought out what she was going to say. IsaDora was far more protective of Quest than Lev. But she also loved Cassie as much as Ruza did. “Lev has gone too far this time. He’s put Cassie on a mission that she may not survive. I’ve come to ask you to intervene.”
“That doesn’t sound like Lev. He loves Cassie, even though you’ve always questioned that. He also knows that Quest can’t withstand another failure. The eyes of the world are watching us.”
“Then why would he allow her to be kidnapped by the very man who wants her dead?”
The words sent IsaDora’s face into a pugnacious frown. “Tell me more.”
“Months ago Cassie’s mission was to get close to Yurii Petrov. She was to win his heart, then bring him to his knees. She completed the assignment. Weeks ago Petrov escaped prison bent on revenge.”
“I know the mission. Lev assured me the other day that the problem was being handled.”
“It’s being handled, all right. He has cooked up a scheme to use Cassie to trap Petrov. He’s allowed him to kidnap her to learn Petrov’s secret hideout. An agent from Onyxx is tracking her at the moment.”
“It sounds legitimate.”
“I have a bad feeling about this. You know the Petrovs. They are ruthless men. They kill without conscience.”
“Are you possibly overreacting because it was a Petrov who killed Jacko? He was a traitor, remember?”
“If you remember, Cassie managed to trap Petrov months ago with deception. Is she not a traitor now in Yur
ii Petrov’s eyes? Am I expected to sacrifice my only child to the same family who destroyed her father in the name of Quest?”
“You have a good point. I’ll ask Lev to join us and see what he has to say about this.”
IsaDora pressed another button. “Lev.”
“Yes, IsaDora.”
“Come to my office.”
“I didn’t know you were coming in today.”
“I was called away from home. It’s important.”
“Could you tell me what this is about?”
“Your sister is here. Either she’s delusional, or you have some explaining to do. What was that?”
“Nothing. I’ll be right there.”
Chapter 17
Pierce nearly choked Ash Kelly unconscious before he realized that what his comrade had in his flask wasn’t whiskey.
As Ash lay coughing and trying to recover his air, Pierce took a swig off the flask, then screwed up his face and spit it over the yacht’s railing.
“What the hell is that?”
“Green tea laced with damiana.”
“What’s that?”
“An herb.”
“An herb used for what?”
Ash sat up, cleared his throat. “God, you’re jumpy.”
“Answer me.”
Ash hesitated, then said, “It’s just tea.”
“Bullshit.”
“I’m not drinking anymore. I’m clean.”
Pierce lifted the flask to his nose and took a sniff. “What’s this herb do?”
Ash got to his feet. “Takes the edge off my…”
“Guilt?”
“The shrink calls it depression. Sully was my friend, okay? I let him down. He’s dead. I think about that day a lot.”
“It wasn’t your fault. If you hadn’t gotten out of there, you would be dead, too. This damiana…what else is it good for?”
“It’s also an aphrodisiac.”
Pierce arched an eyebrow. “From what I remember, you don’t need that. You were pretty popular with the women. You’ve got a—”
“That was before.” Ash gazed out over the Mediterranean. “I don’t want even a woman these days. I’ve lost the urge.”
“The urge?”
Ash looked at Pierce. “Need me to draw you a picture?”
“Didn’t mean to get into your business.”
“The hell you didn’t.” Ash shrugged. “It’s been a rough year. There were weeks I didn’t get out of bed. Too damn drunk to lift my head. But I’m back, I tell you. I’m back.” Ash rubbed the back of his neck. “You sure are a jumpy bastard this trip. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before. What made you come at me like that?”
Pierce wasn’t into sharing personal business, but here they were talking about herbs, hard-ons and women. Not getting it up could be a problem. He’d never really experienced that over the years, and lately the problem had been the opposite. Cass had kept him in jack-off mode from the first day he’d laid eyes on her.
He’d tried to ignore it. Tried to tell himself it was just a male reaction to a beautiful woman. Maybe he’d always known it was more than that. Maybe that was why he’d tried so hard not to like her.
The thought brought him back to the situation at hand. He said, “It’s true I’ve been on edge this trip. It’s not you, Ash, it’s me. I’m the one with the problem. I know my job, I’m just not used to getting a mission’s agenda in bits and pieces. I don’t feel in control, and I don’t like it. A woman’s life is at stake.”
“A woman you care about.” Ash looked at him and grinned. “I can hear it in your voice. You got close to her.”
“This one is a one of a kind. She dresses fit to kill, and she wears crazy shoes. And she can chew a man’s ass off quicker than a piranha. She’s not like any woman I’ve ever met.”
“I’ve heard that before, and when I’ve heard it…”
When Ash paused, Pierce said, “What?”
“Do you love her?”
“More than I thought possible.”
It was true Pierce had never thought much of the word. As a kid, he’d ached to feel loved, and it had made him vulnerable. As a man he had realized that he could live without it. Was probably better off without it.
He said, “The tracking device went dead. I called Merrick. He says we sit tight and wait to hear from him.” He handed Ash back the flask. “Here, if you can down that sour stuff, you deserve a medal and an iron-plated dick.”
It was after dark before Merrick called Pierce back. He answered his phone quickly. “Oui?”
“Head for the Amalfi Coast. When you reach the Gulf of Salerno call me. Stay out of sight.”
“How do you know where she is?”
“Let’s just say Lev took extra precautions. After all, she is his niece, and he’s not into suicide missions.”
“I wish I had known the tracker was planned as a diversion. I wouldn’t have had to cut her neck open and put her through that for nothing.”
“It probably worked out for the best. Once they found the tracker under her skin, they were satisfied and stopped looking for more. Polax tells me that the tracker in her shoe is singing loud and clear.”
She was hanging from some kind of hook. Her arms were stretched high over her head, and her wrists were bound, attached to a chain. There was a bright light shining down on her and she was naked.
It felt like she was in a vertical tunnel, or perhaps a narrow tower.
Filip’s words returned to haunt her now. Yurii has arranged a welcome party for you. A party for two.
“You’re awake. Good.”
Casmir followed the voice, saw Yurii standing ten feet away on a balcony. He was smoking a cigar and sipping a glass of wine.
“You’re looking well, my love.”
She lifted her chin. “I would blow you a kiss, but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”
He laughed. “That’s one of the things I love about you, Kisa. Your tongue is as sharp as your mind and as irresistible as your body. Can I get you anything?”
“A pair of sunglasses.”
He reached out and pressed a button on the wall and it dimmed the light that was shining down on her. “Better?”
“Thank you.”
“You’ve been a very bad girl, my love. Very bad.”
“You would know the definition of that word.”
“Normally I cut out the tongues of men who displease me. What do you suggest I do with you?”
“I’m sure you’ve thought of something already.”
“Filip thinks I should kill you quickly.”
“And what do you think?”
“I want to hear you beg forgiveness. I want to know why you still wear my ring.”
“It’s a pretty bauble. I’m a woman who likes pretty things.”
“I think it is more than that. I loved you.”
“Past tense. That doesn’t sound good for me.”
He frowned, and Casmir forced herself to smile through the pain in her wrists and the vulnerability of her nudity. “We’re both victims of circumstance. Position and loyalty, they can be the death of you.”
“Are you saying you never wanted to betray me?”
“I had a job to do.”
“And you did it well.”
“Not well enough, so it seems. You’re standing there and I’m about to die.”
“You’re not afraid to die?”
“Dying young has its benefits. No wrinkles to worry about, and look at all the money I’ll save on hair dye.”
He was smiling now. He set his drink down on the ledge of the balcony, then stubbed out his cigar. He pushed another button on the wall and the chain she was hooked to began to lower her to the floor.
Give the girl a lollipop, Casmir thought. The actress wins round one.
When Yurii met her below, he released the bands on her wrists and freed her from the chain. Then he pushed her hair out of her face and at the same time wound his hand in it. Draggi
ng her against him he kissed her hard. It only lasted a few seconds, but when it was over, the look on his face told her round two was about to go to the man.
Up against the wall naked as the day she was born, she felt him slide his hands over her hips, then slowly up her ribs, his fingers brushing the underside of her breasts.
“It’s been a long time, and I’m anxious to have you. But I want it to be perfect. You remember how I like it, da. Tell me you didn’t fake everything that happened between us. Convince me, my love, that killing you would be a mistake.”
“A woman can only fake so much. I don’t need to convince you of anything.”
“And it is that truth that has tortured me for months.”
Casmir brought her hand up to his cheek, then she leaned forward and kissed him. “One for the road,” she whispered.
Yurii stepped back. “You knew I would come for you.”
“Destiny?”
“Yours and mine.” He raised his hand and brushed his thumb over the stitches on her neck. “Filip tells me that Quest has used you once more. One too many times, my love. I have killed the man who has done this to you, and now I will teach Quest a lesson they will never forget.”
“Pierce is dead?”
“I only wish I had been the one who killed him. Come, I will show you to our room. I’ve redecorated it especially for you.”
Ruza came to her feet the minute the door opened and Lev stepped inside. She didn’t know what came over her—she had never lost control in her life—but she lunged at her brother before he could close the door.
Screaming like she’d lost her mind, all she could think about was Cassie out there somewhere being tortured to death by a Petrov.
Her war cry sent Saber Lazie bolting into the room. Ruza got off one good swing that connected with Lev’s jaw before Saber lifted her off her feet and dragged her back.
“Bon Dieu, mon coeur. Dis is no way to solve de problem, Cookie.”
“I agree with your friend.” IsaDora had come to her feet. “What has come over you, Ruza? I have never seen you so upset.”
Ruza ignored her mother. “Let go, Lazie.” When he did, she straightened herself and took a deep breath. “You’re a liar, Lev. You tricked me, and you tricked Cassie. Your intent from the beginning was to sacrifice her for your own purpose. Deny it. Tell me I have it wrong.”
