by Taylor Lee
Sitting at her desk, her eyes pinned to the computer screen, she ignored Caleb’s frown and shrugged motioning to her sandwich and soup daring him to report her to Rafe. Caleb shook his head and grimaced.
“I repeat, hotstuff. I’m just looking out for you.”
She relented and gave him a weary smile. How could she tell him that the lump in her throat was so big she couldn’t swallow if she wanted to? Fatigue mixed with anger and hurt was taking a huge toll on her ability to concentrate. Getting sick trying to eat would make it worse.
Rafe and Grayson were standing off to the side when she heard Grayson ask, “When does she arrive? And how is she getting here?”
“By private jet. We couldn’t take a chance on commercial. I need her now. She’ll be ready to work in the morning if jet lag doesn’t compromise her. Given her training, that is unlikely. Besides, I’ve never seen a more dedicated worker.”
Caleb, who never let a question go unasked or unanswered, looked up, curious.
“Are we getting reinforcements, boss? And don’t tell me it’s the female kind. Trying to give hotstuff a little competition?”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed, then he gave an exasperated sigh.
“Yes, Caleb. We do have reinforcements coming in. And a special one at that. Katya Yashim is a member of our Chechen team. Vlad agreed to send her to help us. She speaks five languages fluently, and who the hell knows how many dialects. One of her specialties is Russian. I’ve worked with Katya in the past. She is first rate. She’ll be here in the morning.”
Rafe glanced at his watch.
“Look, it’s nearly 0200 hours. Let’s reconvene at 0700. We’ll start our meeting over breakfast.”
He threw Nicky a pointed glance then turned back to Caleb. His voice was crisp.
“In answer to your inappropriate question, Caleb, we don’t have competition on our team. We cooperate or we die. It’s as simple as that.”
Per usual, Caleb didn’t quit. To Nicky’s embarrassment, he pulled her up out of her chair and showered her with a blazing grin.
“See, darlin’. Even the boss man says you don’t have to worry.” He licked his lips and waggled his tongue at her breasts. “Plus with your “assets” hotstuff, hard to know how anyone could compete.”
Nicky gave him a shove, hoping that her cheeks weren’t as red hot as they felt.
“You are incorrigible, Caleb.”
Caleb grabbed her and swung her in a circle then gave her a resounding moist smack on her cheek. “But you love me, don’t you darlin’? Say it, baby, so I can jumpstart my sexy dreams about you tonight.”
Nicky rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a grin
“How could I not love you? You are such an idiot!”
She linked her arm in his using him as a buffer as they left the room. Without looking at him she could feel Rafe’s eyes on her. His looming presence was palpable.
As she stumbled down the hallway almost too tired to walk, she congratulated herself. She’d made it through a whole day and most of the night barely speaking to him—and given the crisis, hardly thinking about him. She prayed her exhaustion would keep thoughts of him at bay, and that she could sink into blessed oblivion.
~~~
What small relief she got from her few stolen hours of sleep was quickly forgotten the next morning when she walked in the dining room and saw the most gorgeous woman she’d ever seen. The sinking feeling in her stomach told her the young woman must be Katya.
She was small, slender. But like Nicki, her tiny body was replete with womanly curves. Her Middle Eastern heritage was written all over her lovely face. Thick lashes that reached almost to her arched brows shadowed her dark eyes. A natural flush tinted her soft dusky skin. Her rosy lips were full, sensuous. Blue black hair hung down her back, swaying when she moved like a shiny curtain of silk. The dark-haired beauty was like an exquisite rare bird. Beside her, Nicki felt big, ungainly. That Katya was gazing at Rafe in open adoration didn’t help. Neither did the fact that Rafe was clasping both of her hands in his. His eyes gleamed with admiration.
The shock Nicki felt must have been visible on her face, because Rafe gave a guilty start when he saw her. He dropped Katya’s hands and reached out to Nicki, drawing her next to him.
“Come here, Nicki. I want to introduce you to a special friend of mine. Katya, this is Nicki Powers. Nicki, meet our Chechen wonder, Katya Yashim.”
Nicki managed to disengage from Rafe’s grip and reached out to shake the lovely young woman’s hand.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Katya.” Grateful that her voice didn’t betray her, she couldn’t stop staring at the gorgeous woman. She was that breathtaking.
To her surprise, Katya fairly glowed with pleasure, gazing at Nicki as if she were her long lost friend. Her melodic voice was a trilling cascade of notes, as lovely as her face.
Katya gushed, “Oh my. You are even more beautiful than they said.”
She reached out to touch Nicki’s hair, then pulled back, blushing. “I…I’m sorry. But, your…your hair is glorious. I have never seen anything like it. It…you look like you could ignite, burst into flames at any moment.” She flushed a rosier shade of pink. “I have heard many stories about the fierce fire-haired fighter.”
She bowed slightly. “It is an honor to meet you. May I call you Nikita?”
Nicki was stunned at the effusive praise. She bristled, not only at Katya’s use of her given name but wanting to protect herself from the girl’s adoring gaze. She didn’t want her to like her. She preferred hating the beautiful young woman.
Nicki’s voice was sharp.
“I’d rather you didn’t. As I indicated, my name is Nicki.”
Katya reared back, her eyes wide.
“I…I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. Please, Nicki, forgive me.”
Rafe stepped in as if to explain Nicki’s rudeness. Searing her with a reproachful frown, he turned back to Katya, his voice was quiet.
“Don’t apologize, Katya. I should have explained. We purposefully have introduced Nicki by her American name. It is her father’s preference.”
Katya’s full lashes dropped over her dark eyes, fanning against her pale cheeks.
“Again, I am sorry. I didn’t know.”
Then gathering her courage, she smiled at Nicki.
“It is just that Nikita is powerful, like you.”
A low whistle interrupted them. Caleb loped over to them, a goofy grin on his face. He gazed from Katya to Nicki.
“Damn. Now I’m really fucked. How the hell am I going to get my pants zipped in the morning? Hell, the thought alone is a hard one.”
Katya laughed out loud, a delicious peal.
“You must be Caleb. Your reputation precedes you. Only I have been told that your outrageousness is a deceptive cover for the fearsome warrior beneath.”
Caleb’s eyes darkened as he bowed slightly.
“Ah, lovely lady, don’t believe everything you hear. And how the hell is that Genghis Kahn wannabe, who has the Russian mafia pissing their pants at the thought of him on their tail?”
Rafe shook his head in mock despair but couldn’t hide his amusement at Caleb’s antics.
Katya lifted a saucy brow.
“You must be referring to Vlad. He is well and sends you all his good wishes.”
Rafe smiled at Katya then graciously pulled out the chair next to him motioning to her to be seated. She looked up at him and returned his smile, whispering politely, “Thank you, Rafe.”
Nicki swallowed around the painful lump in her throat and gazed longingly at the doorway. She started when she realized that Rafe was talking to her.
“Please, Nicki, sit here.” He pointed to the chair on his other side, across from Katya.
“No.”
Her voice was harsh, rude. She did her best to cover her embarrassment in the silence that followed her outburst.
“I…I planned to sit there.” She waved to the other end of the table t
hen hurried down the row of chairs and sunk into the one next to Grayson. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder to see Rafe’s heated gaze. It burned her back.
Grabbing her napkin, she clenched her teeth and stared at her hands, twisting the napkin in her lap. She knew everyone was looking at her. She couldn’t bear to see their confused stares.
It took her a moment to feel Grayson’s hand on her knee. She peeked up to see him gazing at her, his hooded eyes dark with concern.
He smiled at her and drawled in his deep voice tinged with the Appalachian high country he called home: “How’re you doing this morning, Sugar?”
She snapped, “Fine! Why?”
His grin broadened.
“Why? Becuz, it’s not often I have the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known sitting next to me. I’m making conversation, Sugar.”
Nicki took a deep breath. From the way he was studying her, she knew Grayson had observed the scene in the front of the room. He looked like he knew how she felt. If he did, she wished he would tell her. All she knew was that in any moment she was going to scream, or, God forbid, burst into tears. What was wrong with her? She had to get control of herself. She couldn’t let Rafe do this to her. Shatter her confidence. Undermine her courage. She squinted at Grayson’s hand gently rubbing her knee. She swallowed and said, “I’m fine, Grayson. Really, I am.”
He smiled at her, a soft sexy smile. Raking his eyes over her, he replied. “Yeah, darlin’ that you are. That you are.”
His open admiration was a balm of silent support that sucked the tension out of her, capturing her anger and her hurt. She drew a calming breath and returned his smile.
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “Any time, Sugar. Any time you need me, I’m right here.”
~~~
Rafe stood at the head of the table and formally introduced Katya to the team.
“All of you know Vlad. Katya Yashim is Vlad’s right hand “man.”
At the appreciative chuckles from the men, he grinned at her.
“Don’t let her looks fool you. Katya is as tough as they come. In addition, she is brilliant. At my instigation, Vlad brought her on the team for a number of reasons, primarily because of her prodigious language abilities. I was wrong when I told you last night that she speaks five languages. She speaks seven. Among them are Chinese, Pashtun, Arabic, and, critical to our current needs, she is fluent in Russian.”
He glanced around the table.
“Any questions—from anyone except Caleb?”
Everyone laughed. Caleb gave Katya a rakish grin and a thumbs up gesture. Katya threw him a saucy wink.
Caleb clasped his hands over his heart and moaned.
“Woman, you’re killing me!’
Rafe shook his head and pressed his lips together to ward off a despairing grin.
“Ahem. To continue. Katya and I with Grayson’s help are going to wrestle with the Volkov conundrum. I have some thoughts that I want to share with Katya and see if she can make sense of them. The rest of you continue what you were doing yesterday.”
His voice hardened. “This isn’t news to any of you. They’ve had the Chambers girl for at least five days. We have to assume there are more girls. Every day we don’t find them is another day in hell for some very young, very vulnerable women.”
Consenting murmurs were heard from around the table.
Rafe turned to Nicki.
“Nicki, I know you are getting good information from the mothers and the girls’ friends. But we need the connections. I want you to stop interviewing people and put those instincts of yours to work. The connections are there. We have to find them.”
He glanced from person to person.
“Questions?”
When there were none, he caught her eye.
“Oh, and Nicki, one more thing.”
She frowned, wondering if he was going to harass her in front of everyone about eating. What he said was worse.
“Vlad also wanted Katya to come here was because of you, Nicki. Katya is a trained fighter, but given the violent turmoil in Chechnya, her skills need to be top notch. I want you to work with her, Nicki. Teach her some of your moves. Ways to use her size and her gender to her advantage.”
“I can think of a few ways.” Caleb hollered. “How about I work with both of them? We can get a little three way action on, and see what we can come up with. How does that sound, ladies? “
Rafe’s snort was audible over the groans and guffaws from the other men.
“Dammit, Caleb, you really are incorrigible. And, no. That is not an option. I want Nicki to train Katya, spar with her.”
Nicki shoved down a wave of anger. So Rafe thought that his precious little flower was too delicate to fight with the men? Too bad. She didn’t fight with women. She fought with men and beat the hell out of them.
She glanced up to see Rafe frowning at her.
She lifted her chin and returned his frown.
“When I have time.”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed ominously. His voice was quiet, dangerously so.
“Make time.”
When she shrugged and looked away, Rafe added, “Today. Before lunch.”
Nicki stood up and heaved her uneaten croissant across the table. She tossed her head and shot him a dismissive glare.
“Fine.”
She focused her radar on Katya.
“Be ready at 01100. That’s 11 o’clock in case you don’t know military time.”
The scrape of her chair was deafening in the silence that followed as she turned and stormed out of the room.
Chapter 14
Nicki barreled her way to the Cave, brushing by three different men without returning their greeting. She was shaking, a mix of fear and anger coursing over her. Fear because she knew how angry Rafe was with her. And anger because…because she admitted to herself she hated Katya. Even as she said it she knew she was being foolish. It wasn’t Katya she was angry with. It was Rafe. She was still smarting, aching from the other night. As many times as she relived it his words still stung. They were like acid burning every nerve ending in her heart. Face it, Nicki, you’re not the kind of woman I fuck.
She scoffed. She’d bet Katya was. God, Rafe’s tongue was practically hanging out when he looked at her. But then all the men were gaga over her. How could they not be? She was the kind of woman men loved. The kind they craved. So different from her. Katya wasn’t rude or brazen or flippant. She was all sweet and innocent but with a little touch of wickedness. Thinking about how she took on Caleb, Nicki cringed. If she didn’t hate her so much she could probably like her.
Booting up her computer, she began poring over her notes. Of course, Rafe had singled her out. Saying it was time for results. Time for her to find the connections they all were looking for. Why her? Damn, as if she didn’t want to find them! But she had inkling that Rafe might be right. Staring at her screen, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she already had all the information she needed. She just needed to put it together, to do what Rafe said. Let her instincts play out, give them rein.
She pulled up the pictures of the three girls. They were all beautiful, and painfully young. They each wore too much makeup, more than she did. Everything about them was stylish and mature, except for their eyes. She shook her head. Damn. Remembering what she was like at seventeen, she looked beneath the surface, beneath the makeup, the bravado and the layers of privilege. She focused first on Hillary’s face, then Sophie’s, and then Cindy’s. She forced herself to meet their eyes. Hold them in her thoughts and listen. Listen for the clues that would come if she could quiet her mind long enough to hear them.
Caleb rapped on the desk twice before she shook loose and looked up at him. For once, he wasn’t smiling. Rather he looked as sober as she felt.
“Hey, hotstuff. You look like you’re doing some serious thinking. Anything?”
Nicki shook her head and tried to cast off her annoyance. She was close, so close, but no matter h
ow hard she tried, the thoughts wouldn’t jell.
“Hate to bother you, Nicki. But it’s almost 1100 hours.” He added with a teasing grin. “That would be military time.”
Nicki frowned, feeling the heat burn her cheeks. She remembered her snotty comment and the surprise on all the men’s faces at her rudeness. She struggled, wanting to say something to Caleb, to apologize, to explain. But she couldn’t. The words stuck in her throat. If they didn’t make sense to her how could they to Caleb. No, better to leave well enough alone. She was a bitch. And Katya was perfect. So be it. She could live with that. It looked like she would have to.
She unwound her stiff body from the chair. A sure sign that she’d been concentrating. But now she needed to move. Hmm, ordinarily when she felt like this, she would go for a pounding run. Guess sparring with the “chosen one” would have to suffice.
“Thanks, Caleb. I lost track of time.”
She headed toward the doorway when Caleb hollered out, “I’d tell you to kick butt, but maybe I’ll hold that thought.”
Nicki almost laughed. He really was a piece of work. She just wished it wasn’t so obvious to everyone, even Caleb, that she was jealous. Yep. An angry, jealous bitch. She shrugged and headed toward the sparring ring.
Turning the corner she stopped, horrified. Katya and Rafe were standing by the ring, deep in conversation. It looked as though Rafe was comforting her. His hands were on her shoulders. She was gazing up at him. At that moment, Katya rested her head against Rafe’s chest and his arms slipped down around her waist. They stood like that for a long moment, then Rafe lifted her chin with one hand and smiled down at her. She barely came to his shoulder. She was so small, so fragile, and so feminine. Bile surged in Nicki’s throat, She stumbled back around the corner leaning against the wall to keep from falling. Gulping deep raspy mouthfuls of air, she bent over, her hands on her knees, willing herself not to throw up.
She tried to ignore what she had seen. Find an explanation. Anything to account for the scene burning in her brain. But she knew what it was. It was Rafe. The Rafe all the men envied, the Rafe that women whispered about. The Rafe who brought her to the edge of a fierce orgasm begging, sobbing for more… then told her she wasn’t the kind of woman he fucked. The more she thought about it—the more she envisioned Rafe’s arms around Katya, the more she saw her gazing up him, the way she herself had done just two nights before—the more infuriated she became. Her fury rallied her. She stood up straight, took a deep breath and strode around the corner to face her demons.
