Evan nodded. The Roma people had been persecuted everywhere they went. Russia was more of the same.
“Anything about her mother?”
“Olga. Yes. A little.” Diha tapped a few keys and the screen containing her face shrank to one corner while documents filled the rest. “There are some arrest records. Petty crime. We can see from this that she mainly operated in the heart of the city, likely where it was easy to work the tourists.”
“Have you found any more about Obran?”
“You didn’t give me much more to go on.” Diha wrinkled her nose. “This sounds...bad, Evan.”
“It is bad. And without a promise of protection for Felecia, she very likely won’t give us more.” He peered at Diha. “What’s going on back there? Why won’t Zora bend?”
Diha sighed. “The director.”
Evan rolled his eyes.
Zora was the assistant director of the Task Force. As far as Evan saw, she was the director unless the meaty old man showed up to throw his weight around a bit and make demands about progress.
It was easy to assume that the old man was pressuring Zora for results they didn’t have. Which meant acting tough and coming down hard on someone who deserved a break.
“Okay, well, I’ll reach out if we learn anything new, okay?”
“I’d appreciate it. And Evan? Stay safe.”
“Thanks.”
He ended the call and blew out a breath.
This was a fucking disaster.
7.
Sunday. Safe House. St. Petersburg, Russia.
Felecia stalked away from the office. She was glad for the spacious flat. Right now she didn’t much want to run into anyone.
They weren’t going to help her. Sure, Evan might want to and the others seemed open to it, but she doubted they would go against this woman’s wishes. She had to be their boss, someone with more clout.
What was Felecia going to do?
She approached a window, keeping to the side, in the shadows and out of direct view. There were curtains drawn across the glass, but they were on the sheer side. She peered down onto the street below.
Her hours of lead time were gone. She knew her father had someone down there watching them. The team had not tried to hide their movements since they wanted to lay their own trap. Now the only one getting snared was her.
The best-case scenario was for the Americans to capture her father when he came for her.
Did she have other options?
If she left on her own, she’d be tailed. There just wasn’t enough traffic in, out or around the building for her to emerge safely.
Staying here meant she might end up in jail for her father’s crimes.
She was back to needing an exit of her own making, and the only option she saw was Evan. Could she convince him to let her go? Help her even?
Felecia turned away from the window and kept pacing.
“It’s a good thing I’m not part of your team then,” Kelsey said, her tone cheerful.
“You can’t do it,” a man practically growled back at her.
Too late Felecia realized that was Logan’s voice, gone rough and deadly. She froze as the larger, more comfortable living room came into view.
Kelsey stood grinning up at Logan. Felecia couldn’t see the man’s face. His back was to her.
“You’re wrong.” Kelsey placed her palm on Logan’s chest and tilted her head to the side. “I can do whatever the hell I want. You are not the boss of me.”
Felecia held her breath and considered backing up, but she was frozen to the spot.
Logan muttered something she couldn’t hear, did an abrupt pivot and stalked down the main corridor. Kelsey’s shoulder’s slumped and she took a deep breath. Felecia breathed almost in time with her as the tense atmosphere dissipated.
This was her exit cue.
“You shouldn’t lurk in shadows, it’s rude.” Kelsey’s gaze went directly to Felecia.
She flinched and once more hunched her shoulders. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Oh, please. If we were saying anything you shouldn’t have overheard, that’s on us. Get in here.” Kelsey waved her into the comfortable room.
The space was a confusing mix of intentions. Two plush, expensive looking sofas framed what looked to be a sitting area with the large windows as their focus. Sitting there one could look out over the whole of St. Petersburg.
A large, grand desk was laden down with monitors and other equipment. This was where Evan spent his nights, watching over them.
Still yet, black crates lined the walls. She knew from her glimpse inside that they were packed with guns, munitions, and other things she didn’t know the use of and hoped she never learned.
“Sit.” Kelsey flopped onto the larger, blue sofa.
“Is everything okay?” Felecia found her English was coming to her faster now that she was actually using it.
“How many languages do you speak?” Kelsey eyed her with interest. She’d changed from her yoga pants earlier and now wore jeans, knee-high boots and a long-sleeved knit top. Her chin-length hair framed her face in a choppy, funky looking bob.
“Six,” Felecia replied.
“Damn.” Kelsey’s brows rose. “And here I thought I was doing pretty damn good with three.”
Felecia glanced over her shoulder, unsure if she were looking for Evan or Logan.
“He won’t come near me for a few hours,” Kelsey said.
She was talking about Logan.
“Everything okay?” Felecia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Kelsey waved her hand, dismissing the concern. “Oh, it’s fine. Just men being silly and unreasonable.”
Felecia chuckled.
“See.” Kelsey wagged her finger. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“Aye.”
“So, what’s got you all wound up?”
Felecia’s good humor vanished. She grabbed one of the throw pillows and held it to her stomach. She stared at a spot on the floor.
Was she allowed to discuss what had happened behind closed doors?
What did she care? She was the one getting screwed. If this Zora didn’t want the others to know, that was her problem. Not Felecia’s.
“You know a woman named Zora?” she asked.
Kelsey nodded slowly, her face impassive.
“She wants me to tell her things. About my father. She has no intention of helping me escape him. She says I’ll be lucky if they don’t hand me over to the police.”
“Wait, what?” Kelsey’s face scrunched up.
Felecia felt a little soothed that even Kelsey, who hadn’t been there when the others found Felecia, saw the absurdity of it.
Kelsey held up her hands. “Okay, I shouldn’t have asked.”
Fear nibbled at Felecia. “Did I do the right thing not backing down?”
One side of Kelsey’s mouth screwed up.
What was Felecia thinking? These people were a team. They were together. None of them were going to take her side in this.
“Oh, fuck me.” Kelsey groaned and sat forward, perched on the edge of the sofa, elbows on her knees. “I’m not saying this, understand?”
Felecia nodded.
“You aren’t asking for more than they’ve done for informants with less valuable information. I don’t know why they want your dad so bad, but they do. And that makes what’s in your head valuable. Stick to your guns, no matter what Zora threatens you with, okay?” Kelsey’s soft features seemed sharper, more angular with the anger coming off her as she spoke. “Again, I didn’t say this, but fuck if I’m going to sit around and see someone who deserves help shit on. That’s not why I’m doing this job.”
“Thank you,” Felecia whispered.
“Okay, well, now that that’s done.” Kelsey unzipped her boots and curled her legs under her. “I’ve got a totally nosey question for you.”
“What?” At this point, Felecia owed Kelsey whatever answers she want
ed.
She tilted her head to the side and her eyes seemed to twinkle. “Did something happen between you and Evan?”
Heat flooded Felecia’s cheeks. They hadn’t done anything, not really, and yet they all seemed to know she’d tried something.
“Oh, is that a blush I detect?” Kelsey crowed.
Felecia muttered under her breath and looked up at the intricate ceiling with its tiles of what looked like bunches of grapes.
“You have to dish. What happened?”
“Nothing,” Felecia finally said.
“Really?”
“Yes.” She shifted uncomfortably.
Kelsey squinted at her. “Okay, walk me through what kinds of nothing happened.”
“He was the one who found me. In the beginning he’s the only one I talked to. I was just surprised anyone was there. He’s been thoughtful. Kind.”
“Yeah, I still think there’s more to this. Do you think he’s hot? Because he does have that summer guy hot thing going on.”
“What?”
“Oh, you know.” Kelsey waved her hand. “In like, every show and movie, the hot summer guy is always blond, buff, blue eyed.”
Felecia nodded slowly. She’d seen plenty of American movies just like that.
“Are you into him?” Kelsey asked.
“Into him?” Felecia knew what Kelsey was asking. Again, her TV education was complete, but she didn’t want to come out and admit it.
Kelsey gave her a flat stare that said she knew what Felecia was playing at. “Come on. I’ll tell you who I like if you tell me more about Evan.”
“What does talking about it do?” Felecia shrugged and found a spot on the floor to look at again.
“Oh, you like him,” Kelsey said in a sing-song voice.
“So?”
“So? So, enjoy it.”
“Who do you like?”
Kelsey laughed and glanced over her shoulder. “I have a total lady boner for Jamie. But he’s very taken and honestly, I think seventy-five percent of the reason I like him is how into his girl he is.”
Felecia considered Kelsey’s answer. It wasn’t what Felecia had expected. The way Kelsey had been squared off with Logan, the body language, she’d expected her to have a different answer.
“So, Evan.” She sighed and looked at Felecia. “You going to do anything about that?”
“What? No.”
“Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand what you’ve been through. All I’m saying is you deserve to be selfish. Look out for yourself. Take what you need. Because it’s rare to impossible to find someone who will look out for you as well as you look out for yourself. It’s never been the things I did I regret. It’s what I didn’t do.”
Felecia nodded slowly. Over the years the things that stuck out to her were the chances she hadn’t taken. Things that might have led to her freedom.
The floorboard creaked under someone’s weight.
Both Kelsey and Felecia turned to look at the main entry.
Evan came into view, his face as unreadable as ever. “Afternoon, ladies.”
“Hey, Ev,” Kelsey said.
“I’m hitting the hay for a bit.” He looked at Felecia, those blue eyes of his sharing no secrets. “You going to be okay?”
“Yeah.” Felecia set the pillow aside and mirrored Kelsey’s pose.
“Okay. Good. I’ll see you later.”
“Sweet dreams,” Kelsey called out.
Evan turned and for a few moments they both listened to his retreating footsteps.
“Damn, girl. If you could see your face.” Kelsey sighed. “You know, there’s no reason to not have what you want.”
The trouble was, Felecia didn’t know what to do with it if she had it.
SUNDAY. HOTEL, ST. Petersburg, Russia.
Obran drummed his fingers on the desk. His man following the team who’d taken his daughter had reported no sign of movement at the flat in St. Petersburg. Obran would have rather not set foot in that city again.
He’d grown up here, in the heart of the city. As a child he’d begged and stole what he needed to get by. His parents had either died or abandoned him. None could say. That city had forged him, made him grow stronger than the average person.
The day he took the job of being a runner for a forger was the day that had changed Obran’s future. Not at first. He’d spent several years being the errand boy, filling out his pockets with what he could steal. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he’d begun helping out.
The rest was history.
He’d taken over the business as a young man, learning how to grow with the needs of his clients. And along the way he’d fallen in love.
It hadn’t been smart, but it wasn’t like he had a choice in who he’d loved. He’d done his best to protect her, doing everything from walking away to taking her with him. In the end, none of it was good enough. She was still gone, leaving their daughter as the only link to that brief time of happiness.
The screen in front of him lit up, a little phone icon wobbling back and forth.
Obran reached out and tapped it.
The display split three ways. In one frame, he saw himself. In another was a red headed American. He appeared to be in a small room. The windows were blacked out and the rest of the space barren of furnishings. The other three former SEALs were clustered together in the third window. From the way the walls seemed to undulate it was clear they were in a tent somewhere. Judging by the sand clinging to their clothes, they had to be somewhere south.
The Middle East?
What was Skilman up to?
Obran grimaced. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He’d have been happy to never see these men again. But the decision was out of his hands. One didn’t just say no to Skilman.
“What’s the job?” Caleb, the red haired American, asked.
“There is a woman. I need you to retrieve her for me.” Obran leaned back in his chair.
Caleb scrubbed a hand over his face. “Christ. What’s so special about her?”
“That’s none of your concern. You just bring her to me.” Obran didn’t want Felecia to become someone else’s pawn. The less these men knew the better.
His frown deepened. “We don’t have time for this bullshit.”
“Would you like me to relay that to Skilman?” Obran didn’t know the extent to which Skilman controlled these people, but he knew the ties ran deep.
Caleb’s face twisted into a soundless snarl. The other three men spoke, but there was no sound. Their microphone had to be muted.
“God damn it,” Caleb finally spat. “Send us details. It’ll take us a while to get into position. You have eyes on her?”
“I have a small team watching her current location, but given the other players, Skilman thought it best if we made use of your services.”
“Understood,” Caleb sneered. “Get everything over to us. I’ll let you know when we’re in position.”
The call ended, plunging Obran back into darkness.
He didn’t trust these men. What allegiance they had was owed to Skilman, and he wanted to own Obran, too. He’d resisted any deeper ties to whatever it was Skilman was doing. Obran wanted to be his own man. That was all he’d ever wanted.
SUNDAY. SAFE HOUSE. St. Petersburg, Russia.
Felecia slicked the cream over her face. Kelsey had left it there for her to use and Felecia appreciated the gesture. She wasn’t yet over the novelty of being able to walk into different rooms, close doors and generally do her own thing.
Despite knowing she was allowing herself to be drawn into a false calm, she was enjoying this. Never before had she escaped her father and been able to relax. Usually it took her weeks to get to a place where she could enjoy her newfound freedom. Sure, she wasn’t exactly free here, but sometimes she forgot that these people were holding her and not just protecting her.
She still didn’t have any new ideas what to do about her situation. With Evan sleeping throu
gh the afternoon for his over-night shift on watch, she hadn’t gotten more information. He hadn’t shared whatever he and Zora had spoken about with her, and that was worrying.
Maybe that was what she should puzzle over while she lay in bed.
Felecia wiped down the sink, hung the rag on the bar and opened the bathroom door.
Evan stood across the hall, a familiar white kit under one arm. His hair stuck up on one side and his eyes still had that fresh out of bed look to them. For a brief moment she could see him lying in bed beside her, looking at her with those sleepy eyes of his and smoothing his hair down.
“Hey.” He pushed off the wall. “Headed to bed?”
She swallowed. “Yeah.”
“Can I check your bandages first?”
“They’re fine.” She both wanted him to touch her and didn’t. It was this confusing push and pull with him.
“I’d feel better if I did. Please? For me?”
She felt herself slipping. She barely knew him and she was willing to do things for him.
A vague sense of certainty twisted her gut. She shoved that sense of knowing things out of her mind.
Not now.
“Okay.” She sighed.
“Great.” He crowded her back into the spacious bathroom that didn’t seem quite so large anymore. “Sit on the vanity, please?”
Felecia boosted herself up onto the counter. She’d changed into loose pants and a T-shirt with sleep in mind. Maybe that was for the best.
Evan went to a knee and placed her bare foot on his thigh. He pulled on one glove from the kit. Using some sort of damp cloth he cleaned the open wounds and sore flesh. She hissed as he came into contact with a particularly raw spot.
“Sorry.” He glanced up at her, brow furrowed. “How do you feel?”
“Fine.”
“I’m going to put some ointment on this.”
She wanted to tell him it was fine, she’d had worse. Instead she kept her mouth shut and watched him. When he was close, she felt things. Warm things that made her want to throw caution to the wind, lean in and do whatever she wanted. It was a selfish desire the likes of which she’d never experienced before. For her, sex had always been about an exchange. With Evan she just wanted.
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