Russian Connection

by Lakes, Lynde

  He wasn’t surprised when she shook it instead. “We can do this the hard way,” he growled, “gagged and hog-tied. Is that what you want?” Fortunately, she didn’t know he could never do that to her.

  Again she shook her head, slower this time. However, there was nothing remotely submissive in those flashing emerald eyes. Unlike Luke’s other women, she was a fighter.

  Dayd warily took his hand from her mouth, but retained a grip on her upper arm. “Good. As long as you cooperate, you have nothing to fear from me.” He tightened his hold on her, digging his fingers into the soft wool sweater sleeve and the tender skin underneath. Playing this rough game with her made him cringe. An unwelcome contradictory heat rushed to his loins. “If you don’t…Do I have to spell it out?”

  She glared at him. “Do you know how to spell, Mr. Radlavich? I’m surprised.”

  Dayd felt her trembling against his body. For all her bravado, she wouldn’t do anything stupid. She was too smart for that. He slowly released her. He recoiled inside when she rubbed her arm where he’d gripped it.

  “You’re not a cop,” she said, “so exactly who are you?”

  He stayed close to her, tensed for any wrong move. “The less you know the safer you are.”

  “I don’t believe that. What do you want with me?”

  “Your cooperation. I want to see all of Luke’s computer disks this time.”

  She didn’t try to back away as he expected. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and stood her ground, trying to stare him down. Her light floral fragrance floated around him, making him drunk with it.

  “Disks? Are you with one of Luke’s rival companies, hoping to steal secrets?”

  “Are there secrets to steal?” He watched for her reaction.

  She shrugged. “How would I know? Most companies have secrets, don’t they?”

  He saw nothing to indicate that she might be part of Luke’s operation or one of Godunov’s plants. “Just show me every disk in the place,” he growled.

  Stiff-backed, Nikki led him to the extra bedroom Luke had set up as his office. On the wall was a painting of St. Basils, Moscow’s monument to the final victory over the Tartars in 1552. Dayd had been so intent on Nikki yesterday that he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Today it struck a tender cord. His grandmother had a larger version over her fireplace in her San Diego family room. He felt a warming in his heart at the thought of the place he’d spent his teen years, surrounded by Russian artifacts and immersed in Russian history, and so much love. He shook off the dangerous sentiment. He had been forced to sever all ties to protect his family.

  “Luke has just these five storage cases,” Nikki said. “Thumb through. Take what you want. And get out.”

  “It won’t be that easy. I’ll have to call up the contents of each disk on the monitor and read them line by line.”

  “Why? They’re all labeled.”

  “Might be misleading tags on the ones I want.” Radlavich pointed to a chair beside him. “Sit here and hand me the disks.”

  She frowned, but complied. As he took the disks from her, their fingers brushed and she quickly averted her eyes. Her reaction wasn’t fear. That knowledge sent heat to his loins again. While staying alert to any movement of her luscious body that might indicate an attempt to escape, he locked his gaze on the monitor.

  The first disk contained letters, not all of them business. Nikki was getting a painful insight into her ex-husband’s affairs. To her credit, she said nothing, but the fact that she squirmed in her chair spoke volumes. He wished he could spare her this, but she needed to know the kind of man she’d been married to. It might make her divorce and his death easier to live with.

  They’d checked about twenty-four disks when Nikki sat back and rubbed her shoulders. Every time she moved, he’d get a whiff of subtle lavender, deepening his desire.

  She let out a breath of weariness. “I’m only helping you because—”

  “I know why—to get me out of your life.” He didn’t blame her. To Nikki, he was someone who’d lied to her, someone who’d broken into her house, someone dangerous.

  Several hours later, Nikki leaned past him and clicked off the monitor. Her quick movement sent that light womanly fragrance spiraling around him again. He couldn’t have stopped it from invading his senses even if he’d wanted to. He flicked the monitor back on. “We’re not through yet. Check the drawers and closets. Luke may have hidden the disks I want.”

  “If you’d just tell me what’s supposed to be on them, maybe I can find them. If they even exist.”

  “Keep digging.”

  She searched through the closet muttering. She moved aside a green aluminum box.

  “What’s in the box?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Income tax papers, I think. Luke always kept it locked.”

  Dayd shook it. “Where’s the key?”

  “I don’t know. But it doesn’t contain disks, that’s for sure.”

  The shuffle of paper verified the truth of her statement. If necessary, he’d check it later.

  She moved a copper antique chest. “It’s not in here, either. We never had a key for this. Before we married, Luke bought it for me at an auction. He promised to get a key made, but never got around to it.”

  Nikki sounded disappointed, like it was another in the string of broken promises. Something stirred inside Dayd. She’d just shared something personal with him. He was surprised, and even more surprised at how good it felt.

  Finally, behind the box and chest she found another container with about a dozen disks in it. Dayd felt a surge of hope until they read them—they merely contained backup programs.

  Nikki stood and stretched. “That’s it,” she said. “I’ve brought you every disk in the place. Admit it, Radlavich. The ones you want aren’t here.”

  She was right. It had to be in Luke’s suitcase, wherever that might be.

  Nikki headed toward the living room. He followed, planning his next move. She went to the front door and opened it. “You’ve had your fun,” she said. “Now get out and let me get back to my life.”

  “Not yet. Grab a jacket.” He needed air to clear his head and he wanted her with him.

  She stiffened. “Forget it. I’m not going anywhere with you. It’s eleven o’clock at night, for heaven’s sake.”

  When intimidation failed, veiled threats usually worked. “Know a kid named Jimmy Addison?”

  “What about him?”

  “Let’s just say the boy would want you to go with me.”

  Nikki glared at him. “Do you make a habit of threatening women and children?”

  “Does it matter?” he asked, knowing she wouldn’t take chances with the implied threat against the boy dangling before her.

  She struggled to slip into her jacket. He’d tried everything except charm. He circled behind Nikki and assisted her with the collar. His fingers lightly touched the back of her neck, and he discovered that her skin was as soft as her hair.

  Nikki spun around. “Did you kill Luke?”

  Her direct question felt like a skin-burning, head-jerking slap, and it caught him off guard. “No, but I doubt you’ll believe me.”

  “If you didn’t, who did?”

  “You don’t want to know. It isn’t healthy.”

  How would she react to the truth? He couldn’t risk it. It had been a stupid mistake to lie to her before. At the time, it had seemed to be the quickest way to get what he wanted. Now the lie worked against him.

  “He was killed because of his connections in the Russian market, wasn’t he?”

  Something deep inside Dayd twisted—he had to find a way to protect her. She’d never leave it alone, digging until she dug her own grave.

  Chapter Ten

  Nikki faced Radlavich from across the coffee shop table. Who was he? Her hope that he was someone she could reason with faded the moment she noted the stubborn set of his jaw. His blue shirt was opened at the collar, exposing a patch of dark, curly che
st hair. Her pulse quickened. He fascinated her almost as much as he frightened her. He’d said he didn’t kill Luke, but how could she believe a liar?

  “What about Jimmy?” she asked.

  “Probably in his own bed sound asleep.”

  “But you said—” She stopped mid-sentence. He hadn’t really said anything. He’d just let her jump to the wrong conclusion. “Misleading is just another form of lying, Radlavich.”

  “Perhaps,” he said, agreeing too quickly to be sincere. “How did you get mixed up with Luke?”

  “That’s none of your business.” And why did he care, anyway?

  He stared at her with a closed expression. “It might be.”

  She rubbed her aching head. He could drag this out all night. “If I tell you, will you take me home?” She could make a run for it and get there on her own, but she had a hunch she wouldn’t make it as far as the door.

  He gestured with his coffee mug. “Sure. Soon as I finish my coffee.”

  It wouldn’t hurt to tell him, and if it got her home sooner… “I met Luke at a political fundraiser at mayor Reed’s Reche Canyon ranch.”

  She sighed, remembering the night they’d met. He’d strode right over to her like he owned the place and introduced himself. His tailored western shirt and shiny boots fit the cowboy theme of the evening perfectly. He showed all the signs of being attracted to her, hanging onto her every word, making her feel like fascinating company. His attention was a boon to a self-image that, thanks to her dad, had a tendency to droop.

  “I suppose you told him you worked on the Norton flight line?” Radlavich asked.

  “Why wouldn’t I? It wasn’t a secret.” She chewed her lower lip. Obviously it wasn’t a secret to Radlavich either.

  “Didn’t you wonder why your job as an air traffic controller deeply impressed Luke?”

  Nikki frowned. How did Radlavich know that? How did he know lots of things? “Look, I have to get home. I’m expecting company for a midnight breakfast.”

  Radlavich raised a brow. “Sounds cozy, Divorcee Brown.”

  “It’s not like that. My girlfriend is coming by.” Darn. She should’ve said a cop friend. A big, burly cop friend.

  “Glenda Hollinger?” His intense eyes probed Nikki’s like a laser.

  She swallowed. This man knew too much about her. Her neck prickled. “Are you a detective? A spy? What?”

  Radlavich stirred his coffee and ignored her questions as though they were inconsequential. Then he met her gaze. “Tell me about the Addison kid. Is he into drugs?”

  “Of course not. He’s a great kid.”

  “A friend of mine saw him with Luke and a blonde. Who is she and how is the kid connected to her?”

  “What did Jimmy tell you?”

  “Nothing, yet. But he will.”

  “Don’t hurt him. Play your stupid spy games if you must, but leave the rest of us out of it.”

  “It’s too late for that. Luke’s already dealt you in.”

  ****

  On the short drive toward her apartment Nikki couldn’t get Radlavich’s words out of her head: “Luke’s already dealt you in.”

  Damn you, Luke. Even dead, you’re messing up my life and bringing trouble to my door. The past months before the divorce kept going through her mind. Months wasted. The love scale had been out of balance from the very beginning. Once he’d spent her inheritance money all pretense of love disappeared.

  Nikki felt the speed bump as Radlavich pulled into the driveway behind her apartment. She grabbed the door handle. “It’s been hell, Radlavich. Feel free to never come back. I’ve had quite enough of you.”

  “I’d like to meet your friend.”

  Nikki forced herself to meet his probing gaze. “Well, she doesn’t want to meet you.”

  “Don’t be so sure. Some women find me charming.”

  “Charming as a snake, I’m sure.”

  He took her arm as they walked through the darkened parking lot to her front door. The warmth of his fingers seeped through her sleeve. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly.

  Nikki spied Glenda’s car in the guest slot. Now she waited inside, probably starving for the promised midnight breakfast.

  “I’m late, thanks to you,” Nikki tried again to jerk away.

  The front door stood slightly ajar. Nikki’s breath caught. Something is very wrong. She pushed the door open. All the lights were on. Her heart pounded at the sight of the overturned chair and the broken lamp on the floor. Panic crawled up her spine. “Glenda!” she called. No answer. She raced through the apartment to the bedroom.

  Radlavich followed right behind her. “Are you sure she was here?” The concern in his voice surprised her.

  With a trembling finger, she pointed to the rumpled bed. “It was made when I left and the bedspread’s missing.” She rushed to the phone.

  Radlavich’s hand closed over hers. “No cops. I’ll call someone.”

  “Forget it, Radlavich. If you hadn’t blackmailed me into going with you, I’d have been here when Glenda arrived and she wouldn’t be missing.”

  “Right. You’d be missing instead.”

  ****

  Ivan Godunov stared at the gagged and blindfolded female. He shouted “idiats,” which meant idiots in Russian. “You grabbed the wrong woman. She isn’t even white like Luke’s ex.”

  “It was dark and she was in the ex’s bed,” one of his men whined. “I wrapped her in the bedspread and—”

  “Silence. No excuses.”

  Damn it. His men had called him away from a delightful late night cocktail party held in the honor of Belinda Petrovna for this.

  Ivan stomped across the floor in his shiny, patent-leather dress boots until he was close enough to kick the female at his feet. She flinched, then straightened her spine and lifted her face in his direction as though she could see him through the thick muslin blindfold pulled tight across her eyes. He sensed a simmering outrage. He laughed and reached down and curled one of her long dreads around his fingers. She ducked. He laughed again. Maybe the mistake could turn out to be amusing. He’d never done a black woman. He licked his lips at the sight of her long-limbs and smooth mocha skin. Dah, later. Right now he had to remedy the mistake. “So, how do we fix this?” He glared at Peter Ziyakbusky.

  Peter rubbed his jaw. “Use her as bait,” he said with a malicious flourish.

  “Do not even try to make this stupid error look planned and clever.” Ivan paused and thought a moment. “Still, it might work.” And it could be amusing to humor Peter. He forced a deep belly laugh. “Dah, I like it.”

  “We start with a simple phone call,” Peter said. “If what Luke claimed about his bleeding-heart ex-wife is true, she’ll rush to her friend’s aid. And into our trap.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Nikki had mixed feelings about being alone given her desire to get Radlavich out of her life. The thought of being alone in her apartment where a kidnapping had just occurred prickled her spine yet her palms ached to shove him out the door. She glanced at the clock, feeling her tension building. The longer she waited to call the police the colder the trail would get. “I know you don’t want to be here when the police come, so go.”

  “Give me five minutes,” he demanded. “You need me.”

  “Perhaps in your upside down spy world you believe that. But I don’t want your help.”

  He punched numbers into her phone. “Like it or not, lady, you’ve got it.”

  “This is about those disks, isn’t it? What’s on them, anyway?”

  Radlavich’s steely voice deepened. “I told you, the more you know the greater the danger.”

  She felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “Glenda knew nothing about any disks and look where she is.”

  His eyes remained hard and unyielding. “Accept it. They meant to take you.”

  She faced his cold toughness with as close to equal strength as she could muster. “I can’t protect myself or my friends if I don’t know
what’s going on.” She hated the waver in her voice, but it seemed to work in her favor. Suddenly his eyes softened.

  “I can’t tell you everything,” he said, raking his fingers through his inky hair. “Hell, I don’t know everything. But I can tell you this much, the missing disks contain information that will tie Luke to the head of a splinter group of the Russian Mafia.”

  Her breath caught. “Russian Mafia! Good Lord. Then Luke was killed because of his connections in the Russian market.”

  Radlavich nodded, his expression grim, dark.

  “Are you with the CIA or something?”

  He held up his hand as if someone had answered the line. After a minute he said, “Yes, I can hold. But make it snappy.”

  He hadn’t answered her, but the question wasn’t forgotten and would lurk in her mind until she got an answer. Damn him. It was impossible to trust this man, yet what choice did she have? “Who are you calling?”

  He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Boris Mussorgsky, a friend with underground connections and an uncanny instinct for finding people.”

  Her stomach knotted. “Another Russian?”

  “Don’t say Russian like it’s a dirty word. Russia and the U.S. are business partners now.”

  “Maybe the U.S. trusts you and this Boris character, but I have no reason to trust either of you.”

  His dark eyes held hers, their solemn steadiness chilling her to the bone. “If you ever want to see your friend alive again, you’ll have to trust me.”

  What if she couldn’t? She was caught between the devil and quicksand, and either could draw her down further into this hellish nightmare.

  Nikki’s pulse quickened as she noticed Dayd’s grip on the phone tighten. Although wary of everything about him, she met his somber gaze without wavering. His eyes never left her face as he explained to someone named Boris that Glenda Hollinger had been kidnapped and that they had to find her fast. Dayd spoke as if this Boris character knew Glenda. A chill whipped through Nikki. Was her life an open book to these people? She and her friends must have been under some kind of surveillance. For how long?