by Amy Deason
His boss stared at him, her stoic expression like concrete.
“Charlie,” Nikolas pressed, “she gave us what we needed. We can’t let Dmitry kill her.”
The moment between them held for an eternity it seemed.
“Nikolas,” she sighed, “I’ll do what I can to save the girl but the main focus still is taking out Dmitry. Now that he has Phillip’s daughter, it’s even more imperative. I just hope she doesn’t talk before someone from our committee gets to him.”
“Let me go. I know the layout of his compound.”
“No.”
There was no arguing with her. If he didn’t agree, she had ways of forcing his cooperation. And he was certain it would not be pleasant.
“Who are you going to send?” He had to know whose hands Cadence’s life would be in.
“Leave it to me. You are not to interfere. Do you understand?”
He bit back on the words he wanted to say and nodded.
“Now throw away that fucking bottle and sleep it off.”
Spinning on her heels, Charlie turned and left him standing in the middle of the room.
What had he done? He hadn’t seen the mission through all the way to the end because of an emotional tie to Cadence. He’d let her wander off with the first person he’d felt halfway safe with and it turned around to bite him in the ass. Henry was in league with Dmitry and he’d taken Cadence to him. Straight into the viper’s nest.
And he was half drunk.
Shit.
He needed to sober up quick. To hell with Charlie and her orders. He’d gotten Cadence into this mess and he would get her out. She needed him whether she knew it or not and he’d be damned if he was going to fail her now.
~ ~ ~
“I told you I didn’t want her hurt. We had a deal.”
The anger in Henry’s voice blew away some of the fog inside her brain, allowing her conscious mind to flit to the surface. Weaving in and out of a fuzzy sort of darkness, she tried to open her eyes but the lids so were so heavy it was like trying to lift boulders with nothing more than her pinkie finger. The unsuccessful effort drained her and she felt her mind slipping beneath the blackness again.
“Yes, Mr. Collins, we had a deal. You bring Phillip Montgomery to me, I get the formula, and I leave the girl alone. But it didn’t work out that way, did it?”
For a moment, she shoved the exhaustion away and her mind became fully alert, even if her body did not. She knew that voice. Both of those voices.
Oh no. No, no, no. This could not be happening.
But it was happening. In a flash, it all came back to her. Henry. The helicopter. Dmitry. She’d tried to escape, tugging at the harness holding her in place inside the helicopter. She’d managed to free one arm before Henry grabbed her, shoving her back into the seat with enough force to steal her breath. And then the needle being shoved into her arm. Darkness.
She tried to shove herself into a sitting position but her body wouldn’t cooperate. Nothing would move. Not even her fingers or toes.
What the hell had been in that needle?
Struggling against her weighted lids, she forced her eyes open just enough to see the two men in the room with her. Dmitry looking like a beefy boxer in a three-piece suit. And Henry . . .
The sight of him standing there was worse than she had imagined. Betrayal ripped through her, tearing a hole in her heart. Years of trust and loyalty went up in a cloud of smoke.
Standing at the foot of the bed she was lying on, both men wore equal expressions of anger and frustration. Neither of them had noticed she was awake yet. It was probably better for her if it stayed that way. The longer they believed she was out of it, the longer she could remain alive.
Risking one last look at Henry, her dad’s best friend, she shut her eyes against the scene before her.
Why? Why Henry? Why would you do this to us?
The thought was incomprehensible. Henry had been her dad’s best friend. He had been her uncle by association, if not by blood. He’d been welcomed into their home with open arms time and time again. Even after her dad had gone missing, he’d still been there for her. He’d sat, worrying with her day after day, month after month. And now she knew why. He’d only been interested in her dad’s formula, not his safety. Every memory of Henry was tainted, smeared with the effect of his betrayal. All ties between them were severed in an instant.
“It’s not my fault your hired goons killed him. They were just supposed to make him talk, not torture him until he bled out on the floor. They didn’t even get the information.”
Oh, Daddy . . . So that had been his blood she’d seen. And they had hurt him. Tortured him until he died.
A wave of despair crashed over her, trying to pull her under. She wanted to cry, needed to cry but she was just so tired. It was taking everything she had to stay conscious.
“A minor error on my part.”
“A minor error? A highly respected United States scientist is dead and you call that a minor error?” Henry’s voice grew louder with each word he spoke. It would have been impossible for her not to hear him even if the two men had not been standing close to her.
“There was no other choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“What did you think was going to happen? I was going to let him walk away?”
“If he took the deal, yes.”
“But he didn’t. Now he’s dead,” Dmitry replied.
The nonchalance in his voice over her dad’s death made her want to scream. If only she had the energy, she would launch herself from this bed and rip the Russian’s eyes out.
“I’m sure we will have better results with his daughter.”
“Why? Because she’s a girl? Let me tell you something Dmitry. I know Cadence. I knew her parents. She’s just as stubborn as they were. Hell, her father was my best friend.”
“And yet, you sold him out for a measly five million dollars.”
Five million dollars? That’s all my dad’s life was worth to you?
“She may not even know anything,” Henry hedged.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have a colleague who may be able to help persuade the girl to cooperate.”
“Not Ivan and Sergei? They obviously have no finesse when it comes to questioning people. Look how well they did with Phillip,” Henry said with a sneer.
Despite the series of revelations she’d just overheard, the effort to stay focused on the conversation was becoming more and more difficult. She could feel her consciousness slipping away.
Come on, stay awake, Cadence. Just a little longer . . .
“No, they are going after the asshole at the monastery.”
“Who? The tour guide?”
Like a flare gun firing in her brain, Cadence felt the bright spark piercing the darkness closing in on her.
Nikolas! Oh God. No!
“Yes, but I doubt he is anything so mundane as a tour guide. From your description, I’m positive he’s the man who broke into my offices, killed my men, and took the girl.”
“What?” Henry’s voice broke on the word. “Who the hell is he?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care as long as he’s extinguished. I expect confirmation of his death within the hour.”
No, no, no . . .
She may be mad at Nikolas, may even hate him right now but she didn’t want him dead. Not really. Oh God, what was she going to do? She was lying here in God-knew-where with a couple of lunatics and they were sending men to kill the man she loved.
I love him. It doesn’t matter that he’s rough around the edges or that he’s horrible with showing emotion. He’s strong and resourceful and do
es his best to stand up for what’s right. He makes me feel safe and wanted and when I look into his eyes, I can see the man he truly is. He’s not the cold-blooded killer everyone takes him for. He has killed I know but there is so much more to him than that. I see it, I feel it. He has a good heart and soul. And now he’s going to be ambushed and killed.
“Holy shit,” Henry whispered. “This is too much. First Phillip and Cadence and now you’re going after some guy that might or might not be involved? I didn’t sign up for this.”
“Yes, you did,” Dmitry insisted. “When you accepted my money, you accepted everything that goes along with it. You’re involved in this from start to finish. Don’t think just because I paid you, you can’t vanish just as easily as Phillip. Or this girl.”
“All right, all right,” Henry muttered. “So what now?”
“We wait. My colleague will be here shortly.”
“And you think this associate of yours will be able to make Cadence talk?”
“Yes.”
“And if not?”
“Then she will join her father.”
The finality in Dmitry’s statement drove a dagger straight into her heart. She was never getting out of her alive.
“You got what you wanted. She’s no longer any of your concern,” Dmitry growled.
“Okay,” Henry murmured. “But this is the end of the line for me. After you get your information, we part ways. I don’t want to know anything else.”
“Agreed. But you better hope she talks. I’ve paid you very well and I expect results.”
The implications of Dmitry’s threat were obvious, even to her. If she didn’t talk, Henry was going to be in a lot of trouble. Like the kind of trouble where he ended up dead.
Good.
She had never wanted anyone dead as much as she did right now. Henry was the reason her dad was gone. He was the reason she was here. And he was the reason Nikolas was going to be killed. Henry deserved to die and if she could accomplish it by not talking, then so be it. She was going to die either way. But at least this way, her death might have some meaning.
The two men walked away, completely unaware that their entire conversation had just been overheard. And as the darkness beckoned to her, pulling her underneath its comforting waves, she became even more resolved to do whatever she could to avenge her dad’s death. Even if it was nothing more than remaining silent.
Chapter 30
Thank God for DHM.
The nanocapsule, commonly known as the sober pill, had worked wonders on his alcoholic buzz. It had been easy enough to find on the streets of St. Petersburg. You just had to know where to look. And have deep pockets. Luckily, he had both.
Now downing his second cup of black coffee, he slammed the car into fourth gear, eating up the streets between the slumbering steel and glass giants of St. Petersburg. The buildings flew by completely unnoticed as he raced around corners, heading out of the city. He needed to get to Dmitry’s compound quickly. If he were right, then that was where Henry Collins had taken Cadence when they had left Valaam.
The bastard.
Nikolas tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He wished it was Henry’s neck instead. Not only had the man sold out his best friend to a Russian psycho, but now he was handing over his daughter too.
Over my dead body.
There was always a possibility it could come down to that but he didn’t think so. But even if it did, what better reason to die than for the person you loved? There was no use denying it any longer. He loved her.
He loved her strength, her determination. Regardless of the obstacles mounted against her, she met each one head on, never letting fear dictate her actions. But it was more than that. The way she looked at him, into him… She saw him, the real him. She looked past the evil things he’d done in the name of justice. She believed in him. He had never had anyone believe in him in a very long time. It felt good. Better than good. It felt amazing. Like a breath of fresh air. She made him feel he could be good guy and not the demon he saw himself as. Cadence was the one he wanted to be with. He felt it in every bone of his body. And he’d let her go.
Why?
Because he was in love with her and that scared him. She scared him.
Everything about her was terrifying. The way she looked at him, the way she made him feel, the way she opened his eyes to the simple things. She reminded him of the good in the world, not just the low down and evil. It sounded corny, even in his head but she was a breath of fresh air, the bright side to a dull coin. He could think of a thousand overused analogies but they all came down to the same thing. Cadence Montgomery had changed him. In just a few short days, she had somehow managed to slip underneath his armor, cracking it as she went. And now she was in serious danger. All because he’d gotten scared.
She’d trusted him and he’d betrayed that trust. It was time to win it back.
He couldn’t very well stroll through the front gates like he had the last time. With the element of surprise gone, there was no way he could get inside Dmitry’s compound the way he had before. But there was more than one way to gain entry into the offices. It would just take a little more finesse. And some help.
But not from Charlie. She’d ordered him to stay out of it and she would be pissed if she knew what he was planning. But that was precisely why she wouldn’t know. Not until it was done and over with. He would deal with the consequences of her anger later. Right now, all that mattered was getting to Cadence quickly.
Reaching for his phone, he typed out a quick text and hit send. By the time he reached where he was going, there should be a full-fledged plan in place.
Foregoing the most frequented highway, Nikolas took a shortcut. One which would give him an extra ten minutes, possibly fifteen if he pushed the stolen vehicle to its limit. The alternate route was as quick as it was dangerous. Especially if the driver was unprepared for twisting turns that seemed to pop up out of nowhere along the empty stretch of highway. Each one more intense than the one before it but the worst of these curves was Lokot’ d’yavola.
Aptly named, Devil’s Elbow was well known by the locals for its wicked bend. Sharp and deadly, it was one hell of a curve. It was a good thing he was an excellent driver. Even if he hadn’t been, he still would have taken chosen this road because it was the quickest way to Cadence.
He just hoped he was not too late.
Although Dmitry was The Perfect Order’s main target and would be dealt with accordingly, his sights were set firmly on Henry Collins. The man was going to die for what he’d done to Cadence. Taking her father away and returning her to a mad man, Phillip’s former best friend was as good as dead. Nikolas just hoped that whatever Dmitry had given Henry was worth his life because if he did nothing else today, he was to take it.
A glint in the rearview mirror caught his eye. Glancing up, he saw the white car moments before the back window exploded, showering him in a wave of glass.
Never losing control of his car, he looked behind him, watching as the white sedan closed in.
What the fuck?
As the vehicle approached in a burst of speed, the passenger leaned out of the window, raising a pistol. The bullet took out his side mirror.
Shit!
Despite the speed and the shots being fired at him, Nikolas recognized the man instantly. Sergei Vasnetsov. And no doubt the driver was Ivan Rzhvesky. Dmitry’s men.
As if things weren’t complicated enough, now he had to deal with these two. Heading into the first set of dangerous curves, Nikolas stomped the gas, rocketing him into the turn. The late-model sedan was not ideal for this rescue mission but it would have to do. In his hands, hugging the corners at a high rate of speed, it was no longer a family automobile smelling of french fries and chocolate but a red terror on wheels chewing up the highway.
Rounding the second hairpin curve, they were less than twenty yards behind him and closing fast when the next shot rang out. This time, his taillight took the hit.
Damn it!
He couldn’t keep going like this. If he didn’t do something soon, he wouldn’t make it to Dmitry’s compound and Cadence would be dead for sure.
No!
He was not going to let her die.
Entering Lokot’ d’yavola, Nikolas yanked on the steering wheel, rocketing the car into a near tailspin. Now sitting in the other lane and facing the opposite direction, he was no longer the prey but the hunter.
These assholes wanted to play?
Well. Game. On.
He could clearly see the surprise stamped on the men’s faces as they rounded the curve hot on his heels. Time slowed down as he raised his arm, gun in hand. Focusing instantly, he opened fire on the white sedan, blowing a hole through the thick windshield. As the glass rained down on both the passenger and the driver, he shot again. Inside the vehicle, Ivan’s head flung back against the headrest. The car veered off the highway, plowing nose first into a giant oak tree.
Nikolas tried to peer through the dark plumes of smoke pouring from the crumpled hood. It was too thick, too black. He couldn’t see a thing.
He had a choice to make.
Finish them or go after Cadence.
Ivan was dead. It wouldn’t take long to send Sergei following into his partner’s footsteps. They were a part of Dmitry’s psychotic inner circle and mostly likely the ones who had murdered Cadence’s father. He could be in and out of this situation in a blink of an eye.
Or he could leave now and hopefully get to Dmitry’s compound in time to rescue Cadence before she was killed.
