Anna let out an exasperated sight. “It’s a little thing called fun. You were familiar with it, once upon a time!”
She wheezed as her sister tightened the hug. “Very funny, smart ass!”
Though she was laughing, Anna was serious about the comment. They’d had a long talk earlier in the afternoon, and some of Natasha’s admissions had truly shocked her. Partly because she couldn’t believe there was an entire area of her sister’s life that she’d known nothing about, and partly because of the unusual circumstances that had now arrived at their door.
Anna thought the drama surrounding Cyrus’s arrival was thrilling enough. But while there was finally some excitement in the building, Natasha had seemed anything but curious. Rather than rally with enthusiasm for the recent intrigue, the more that happened, the more Natasha grew quiet and withdrawn.
Though she knew her sister well, better than anyone actually, Anna had never seen Natasha’s mood fall to such an extreme. Though, there was precedent. When she’d gone away to college, she’d left as a spirited and carefree girl. But when she had returned, dropping out less than a year later, a dour and serious young woman had replaced the sister she’d known. Something had happened while she was away. Whatever it was, it had been enough not only to convince her normally self-assured sister that she didn’t want to return to school, but it had also changed her overall disposition from a wide-eyed, carefree person, to a grounded adult who took the world much too seriously.
At the time, Anna gave her sister the space she needed. Then, she provided moral support when Natasha decided against returning to school. And though she always intended to get around to addressing the cause of her metamorphosis…in time, Anna had chosen the path of least resistance and let the subject drop. Her sister was home, and she’d once more found a balance as well as a way to be happy. She wasn’t the same person who had left a year earlier, but at least the sister she loved was back. At some point, that had become enough.
But now Cyrus was here—presumably someone none of them had ever met before. But that didn’t match what Anna saw in her sister’s eyes when she looked at the would-be stranger. And it didn’t track with the sudden pall that had fallen over Natasha’s demeanor since his arrival. While Natasha didn’t admit to knowing the stranger, Anna was becoming certain that there was some sort of recognition between them.
One thing was painfully clear—Natasha had been irritable and frustrated from the very moment she’d first seen Cyrus lying unconscious in medical. But it was the times when Natasha thought no one was looking that truly fascinated Anna. It was the way she looked at Cyrus in those brief moments. She let her guard down when she felt sure that no one could see her. There was something different in those moments—something Anna couldn’t quite define. Was it caring? Concern? Suspicion? Heartache? Whatever it was, it was deep-seeded and visceral. And it pained her.
It would be so much easier if you would just explain it to me, Anna thought, as they entered the open dining area at the end of the common space on the building’s ground floor.
Her father was already in his chair at the head of the table. Anna flashed him a smile and slid into her seat to his left. Likewise, Natasha assumed her normal position opposite her sister, at her father’s right.
“Good evening, girls,” Voss said. “How was your afternoon?”
“Uneventful,” Anna offered in a sarcastic tone.
“Fine,” Natasha said simply.
Voss smiled. “Excellent!”
Anna glared at him. “Only you would take uneventful as a positive assessment,” she grumbled.
“You’re young,” he smiled. “Someday you’ll find that the uneventful days are the ones you cherish most.”
Seeing two additional place settings, Anna perked up. “We’re having guests?” The hope in her voice was unmistakable.
Finishing a sip of wine, Voss nodded. “Cyrus and Dargo will be joining us,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“What?” Natasha sputtered. Somehow she’d managed to fit an entire protest into a single word.
Anna, for her part, was grinning so widely that she held a napkin to her face in order to mask it. It was an interesting turn of events, and one that might yet pry some answers from her reluctant sibling.
As far as Dargo’s presence at the table, Anna found that far more interesting. He never ate with them—and not for lack of invitation. Dargo had been with the family for decades. He was such a constant presence in their daily lives that she and Natasha felt that he was more like a quiet uncle, rather than their head of security.
Then again, if Cyrus was joining them, it was likely in spite of protests from Dargo. Dargo would insist on keeping a personal eye on their guest under such circumstances.
It didn’t matter. Based on the look in Natasha’s eyes, sparks were going to fly one way or another.
“Ah! Cyrus, thank you for joining us,” Voss said, as Cyrus suddenly appeared and approached the table. Not surprisingly, Dargo was close on his heel.
“No problem,” Cyrus said, offering a warm smile to all three of the Voss’s at the table. “I appreciate your hospitality. Most of all, I’m glad to be out of your infirmary…no offense.”
Anna laughed, and so did her father. Natasha offered only a weak smile and focused primarily on her empty plate.
Cyrus looked at the two empty seats and was trying to decide where to sit when Dargo made the decision for him. Without a word, Dargo pointed to the empty spot beside Anna. Cyrus’s brow rose at the odd gesture, but he offered only the tiniest of shrugs before rounding the table and taking a seat.
A quick glance at the table confirmed Anna’s suspicion. She was the only one to notice the odd interaction play out between Cyrus and Dargo. Anna knew it meant that she would have an unobstructed view of her sister, just as Natasha had an unobstructed view of Cyrus. It was an ideal configuration for an impromptu social experiment.
When Cyrus had first arrived, Anna thought he was interesting, even attractive. He was certainly the first bit of excitement to come into the building in…forever. So, from the beginning, she had hopes that he might have cause to stay a while. It seemed like a long shot, but she wondered where things might lead.
But she saw her silly schoolgirl fantasies for what they were the night she brought Natasha to see him in the medical bay. Natasha hadn’t needed to say anything; judging by her reaction, Anna knew that there was some kind of connection there. At that moment, Anna had realized that her relationship with the young man would never be what she’d first hoped. Instead, she would devote herself to uncovering the cause of the complex reaction she’d witnessed in Natasha’s eyes that first moment in the infirmary.
The silence surrounding the table was thick and unpleasant, so Anna took it upon herself to fix it.
“I didn’t think to ask, what’s for dinner?” she shot a quizzical glance at her father.
“Ah!” he chuckled. “In honor of our young friend,” he said, tipping his glass toward Cyrus, “we’re having good, old-fashioned American cooking!”
As if on cue, two servers emerged from doors at the back of the room, each pushing a wheeled aluminum cart, and began filling the plates.
Anna watched in rapt fascination as a meal their cook had never before prepared was quickly assembled before them. Each plate contained a gigantic cheeseburger on a toasted sesame seed bun, complete with a side of thick French fries and a pickle spear. Next, a large bowl of Texas chili was placed beside each plate. Finally, on the last pass, the servers circled the table and placed a frosted beer stein and a bottle of some strange microbrew in front of each plate.
Cyrus watched the presentation by the kitchen staff with a grin on his face. Once the meal was assembled, there was no question that her father took great pride in the eclectic rally of American cuisine. He eyed Cyrus nervously, waiting for some sign of whether the meal met with this approval.
“This is amazing,” Cyrus said finally, offerin
g up a sincere laugh. “A truly first-class spread, Doctor Voss! I’m honored by your generosity.”
“Please, call me Rutger,” Voss said, with a proud smile. “I’m so glad you like it!”
When he looked around the table, Anna saw a rare twinkle in her father’s eye as he beamed with pride. She realized that this dinner was very important to him, and she found it odd. She wondered how he would feel if he knew that Cyrus had a secret. Because, while Anna knew that Cyrus was here to deliver something to her father, the longer she thought about it, the more certain she felt that there was far more to unearth.
Natasha hadn’t offered much of a reaction to the odd display of food. She seemed so intently focused on the place setting in front of her that someone could’ve set the chandelier on fire and it wouldn’t have garnered her attention.
While Natasha had stepped out in some small corner of her mind, Anna noted that her sister wasn’t the only one who was failing to take the evening in stride. Dargo sat stiffly in his chair with his hands folded in his lap. He was paying greater attention to everything in the room, rather than the food.
Anna knew Dargo well enough to know he wasn’t comfortable having Cyrus at the table. It was a safe bet that he wanted Cyrus tossed outside the gate or locked in his room for the remainder of his stay. It was a good thing her father had taken a liking to him, or that might have ended up being the case. Still, it seemed an extreme reaction, even for Dargo. His hackles were up, and they were only having dinner.
“While I greatly enjoy these meals,” Voss said, after they’d all begun eating. “The truth is that we don’t take enough time to dine together, or enjoy one another’s company.”
He took a moment to look at each person at the table. “Tonight we needed to take time due to special circumstances,” he continued. “I know you girls have both spoken with Cyrus briefly, but I wanted to sit down together as a group so we could become better acquainted. For obvious reasons, Cyrus will be staying with us until his recovery is complete. But beyond that, he has agreed to aid me in my research. As such, he will be staying with us for the foreseeable future.”
Anna grinned. That explained why Dargo was more on edge than usual. But looking across the table at her sister, she saw Natasha’s previous vacant stare immediately replaced by one of concern. Anna watched her gaze shift momentarily to Cyrus, before it fell on her.
Natasha reached out abruptly and picked up the stein of dark beer. Tipping the mug back, she drank, and didn’t stop until it was empty. Without any acknowledgment, she placed the empty mug back in its original place and returned her gaze once more to the center of her plate.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, so Anna cleared her throat. “It seems like my wish for a little excitement has finally been granted,” she said, with a not so subtle laugh.
“You could be more correct than you know,” Voss explained. “The truth is that someone attacked Mister Cooper—” he stopped himself. “I’m sorry—Cyrus—on his way here with Professor Ragsdale’s prototype. Those responsible may have been after Richard’s work as a way of collecting on some outstanding debt, or they may have been after it in connection with my studies. Either way, Dargo’s team will be stepping up security until we better understand what has happened.”
“Will this affect my charity tournament in November?” Anna asked with concern.
Natasha’s eyes finally rose and shifted to her father. Anna knew that her sister had a vested interest in the tournament, as well. While Anna would be the one competing, Natasha was her training partner. They trained and practiced together six days a week. Natasha wanted to see Anna compete every bit as much as Anna wanted to participate.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Voss said reluctantly.
Both girls instantly set upon him in a verbal onslaught—the likes of which no father could ever defend against.
“Wait—Wait—Wait!” Voss raised his voice. “We simply don’t have enough data with which to make an educated decision at this time,” he said, as if clinical analysis would support his point of view. “Gretchen is already in Atlanta making final arrangements. If all goes well, you’re registered and ready to compete.
“In the meantime, we must remain patient and give Dargo’s team time to gather evidence and sort out what happened to Richard, and young Cyrus, here.”
Anna found her mind overcome with a litany of reasons why she should be allowed to compete in November, regardless of the state of Dargo’s investigation. Completely gone from her mind was the rational fact that, only 36 hours previous, she’d been entirely noncommittal about participating in the event.
She would force the issue with her father, hopefully snapping Natasha from her funk in the process. Even as she drew breath for the argument that would be her opening salvo, she stopped when Dargo placed a finger at his ear. He spoke for the first time since taking a seat at the table.
“Say again, Talbet?” Dargo said, in his baritone Russian accent.
Whatever was being relayed to him though his earpiece, Anna knew it wasn’t good news. She watched Dargo’s eyes darken as he listened to information transmitted from the security center on the fifth floor. Her heart grew cold when Dargo’s gaze shifted, slowly circling the table. For a moment, he stopped on the empty chair at the end of the table, and Anna was suddenly terrified that something was wrong with Gretchen. She was the only member of their extended family who was not present.
“Understood,” Dargo responded finally. “Scramble our American assets to provide support for Fuller and Stills. I want Hummingbird back on board and in the air immediately.”
He listened as a response came back over his earpiece. “Da. Double guards on the front gate and rotate shifts every three hours until further notice.”
The big man slid out of his chair and buttoned his suit coat. “Gretchen’s team was attacked in Atlanta,” Dargo stated simply to Voss. “She is unharmed, but I have men missing and need to attend to the matter. Gretchen will be airborne and on her way back within thirty minutes.”
Without another word, the gruff Russian stalked from the room on his way to the elevator. Anna knew that he would quarterback the situation from the security office on the fifth floor.
Suddenly, all of her wishes for thrills and excitement seemed foolish and simple. They were now getting more than she’d bargained for, and she was terrified for her friend. Her eyes fell on Cyrus as her mind searched for answers. First, he’d been attacked, and now Gretchen. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
Chapter 42
The Voss Compound
10:55 pm
After dinner, Cyrus returned to his room. The compound was in an uproar. What little he knew of the inciting incident was sketchy at best. There had been some sort of attack on Gretchen while she was attending a business meeting in the United States. Apparently, there were casualties, but Gretchen wasn’t among them. She was on her way back to the island aboard Voss’s private jet. At the same time, Dargo had left with a small contingent of men to launch a thorough investigation of the crime scene.
The entire scenario bothered Cyrus, but without all of the details, he couldn’t put his finger on the part that was causing concern. Still, it was a kerfuffle with security, and something he could leverage. Step one was to lower his own visibility. He’d returned to his room and stayed there for some time.
After things had a chance to calm down, he decided to test the limits of his newfound freedom. No one had given him a tour of the facility yet, so if he was stopped by security he could legitimately feign ignorance. Hopefully, it would be enough for him to get away with a little trespassing.
He set out to explore the compound. Many of the doors were locked, requiring a keycard in order to access restricted areas. He soon understood that security had little reason to hassle him since the building was so compartmentalized that he couldn’t accidentally wander into an off-limits area. Few outsiders were allowed into the building in the first place. Those who were, wo
uld’ve been cleared for the appropriate access zones.
When he’d first read the mission brief back at Coalition Command, Cyrus had nearly overlooked Natasha’s involvement in the case. Back when he’d known her, she was attending school and using her mother’s maiden name rather than the surname of Voss. It wasn’t until he’d read the full name of Voss’s late wife that he put things together and realized that Voss’s daughter, Natasha, was the same Natasha Schroeder he’d known at school. Since that moment, he’d been able to think of little else.
According to his mission parameters, he should’ve been looking for a way to communicate with the outside. He’d walked into the installation knowing that would be an uphill battle. Given the level of security, he wasn’t disappointed. Still, while his mission objectives dictated what he should be doing, those parameters had absolutely nothing to do with his actual goals.
Though she’d made it clear that she had no desire to speak with him, Cyrus only wanted to find Natasha. She was the reason he’d taken the mission in the first place. She was his primary objective, regardless of mission parameters.
But after nearly forty-five minutes of searching the open areas of the compound, he hadn’t found her. His search included two stops at her room, at which point he could only ring the doorbell and hope she would answer.
When plan A; checking her room, and, plan B; scouring the common areas of the building, both failed, Cyrus resorted to plan C. That led him straight to Anna’s door. He’d noticed the way she’d looked at him very early on and worried about complicating matters. She seemed like a sweet girl, she just didn’t know what it was that she didn’t know.
Things were already more complicated than he would like, but he had to press on.
He glanced at his watch and hoped he wouldn’t be waking her. The hour had grown later than he expected. In retrospect, he realized he should’ve started with Anna. There was a good chance she would know where her sister was, and it would’ve saved a lot of time.
Rogue Faction Part 1 Page 24
