Russian Connection

by Lakes, Lynde

  She didn’t believe that for a minute. “Did you find a way to access the disks?”

  “Boris did,” Dayd muttered.

  So now Dayd had what he’d wanted all along—the disks and access to their contents. Now he didn’t have to keep trying to seduce her in hopes she might divulge some mysterious code. She looked down at her clutched hands. What was she thinking? Dayd hadn’t pressed her for any information. She rubbed her head, trying to clear it. Nothing made sense. Why wasn’t he happier about gaining access? “I want to see what’s on the disks,” she said, not caring that her tone was demanding.

  Dayd pushed away his half-empty plate. “No problem. Boris can show you. I have to go out. He’ll stay with you until I return.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Boris. But I don’t need a baby-sitter.”

  Boris laughed. “Never been called that. I’d rather think of myself as a bodyguard. Or better yet, a friend, yes?”

  His words and affable wink disarmed her. Dayd had said that women liked Boris, and she could see why. He embodied enough charm, good looks and muscles to win any Mr. Universe contest. Well, if Boris wanted to play friend she’d work that to her advantage. She sent him her biggest smile. “Since you put it that way, Boris, I’d be delighted to have your company.”

  Scowling, Dayd grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. “Watch out for her, Boris, she’ll pull the secrets out of you quicker than Zimsky ever could. And you won’t even know it’s happened until it’s too late.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Autumn leaves, crisp from the morning air, crunched under Dayd’s rapid boot-steps. He wasn’t in an alarm mode—yet. But after Jimmy’s encounter with Godunov’s woman, the sooner he found the kid the better. Agent Nazar reported that Jimmy had entered the park, but was on the move. Was he looking for someone? Had one of Godunov’s goons contacted him? Dayd blew out a strong puff of air to calm down.

  The sun peeked out from behind a cloud. Sunshine always lifted his spirits. An image of Nikki laughing flashed in his mind. His smile faded when an image of Boris followed, brows lowered, eyes narrowed.

  He couldn’t blame The Bear for being dead set against him sharing his penthouse suite with Luke’s widow. The cozy setup was playing with fire. The heat inflaming his penis from merely thinking about her left no doubt about that. But dammit, she was a wounded soul, and his orders didn’t include sticking around to help her heal.

  It made good sense to cool things between them. But how? She’d already gotten under his skin—a crystal sliver alive and smarting just below the surface. So dig her out. He laughed cynically. If only it were that simple. Hell, she was everywhere within him—in his blood, fiery and fierce—in his every thought. Dammit, Nikki, get the hell out of my head.

  He scanned the area. Right now, his priority was the kid. Everything was arranged to send him and his mother out of town. He’d enrolled the kid in a computer-learning retreat in Tampa, Florida. Jimmy’s mother, delighted about the free trip, cleared things with his school. She had accepted the story that her son had won a contest.

  Lies came easily now. If only they had come with such ease that unforgettable night years ago, Lars would be alive now. Dayd’s gut twisted—would he ever stop reliving his part in his brother’s death?

  Jimmy. He had to keep his mind on Jimmy. Then he saw him ahead at the basketball courts and jogged toward him. “Hey, Jimmy. I have some great news for you. I’ve enrolled you in an advanced computer course in Florida. First-class flight. Top hotel accommodations for you and your mom.”

  “What about Nikki and Glenda?” Jimmy asked.

  Dayd expected the boy to jump at the trip—his passion was computers. But since the kid was playing hard to win over, he’d have to lay it on even thicker. “Nikki will be fine, and we’re going to find Glenda. That’s a promise.” If only promising made it true.

  “I want to talk to Nikki,” Jimmy said, jutting out his chin and folding his arms.

  “You can call her from the airport,” Dayd said, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Your mother’s counting on this trip. It’s the first real vacation she’s ever had.”

  “Don’t pull that psychology crap on me. I’ll go only if Nikki says I should.”

  Dayd swore under his breath, but when the kid accompanied him out of the park, he knew no matter how much the boy balked, the deserving-mother card had worked.

  They swung by Jimmy’s apartment, picked her up and headed for the Ontario Airport. At security checkin, Dayd spied Margo Bettmore and pock-faced Peter Ziyakbusky entering the lobby. The hairs at the base of Dayd’s neck prickled. Were they following them?

  Dayd escorted Jimmy and his mother to their gate. “Be back in a few minutes,” he told them.

  He asked the gray-haired woman at the traveler’s aid desk to page Ziyakbusky.

  When the Russian left to answer the call, Dayd slipped up to Margo and tapped her on the shoulder. “Going somewhere, Margo?”

  The baby-faced woman jumped. “Radlavich! I—I, well, no.” She tucked a wisp of platinum blonde hair behind her ear with trembling fingers. “I’m here to meet someone.”

  Dayd suspected that someone was a Russian Mafia courier delivering something illegal into the country. Margo was young and transparent, and he decided her nervousness was due more to his presence than anything concerning Jimmy.

  “Where’s Godunov hanging out these days?” Dayd asked, keeping his voice low.

  Margo scanned the terminal lobby, eyes darting and fearful. She paled. “Go away, Radlavich.”

  “There’s a girl missing—Glenda Hollinger. Where’s Godunov holding her?”

  “Who?” Margo’s squeaky voice assured him she knew exactly who he meant.

  “Is Godunov treating you all right these days?” Dayd glanced down at her feet.

  She lifted her chin. “I still have my other eight toes if that’s what you mean.”

  For a moment he held her gaze. She looked like a frightened fawn, ready to dash for cover. “If you ever want out…” He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and scribbled his cell phone number on it. “…call me.”

  Ziyakbusky was heading their way. Margo’s chin trembled and she pushed the note away. “Please, just go and leave me alone.”

  “Think it over,” Dayd whispered, pressing the note into her hand. Then he blended into the groups of people heading for the security checkin.

  When he returned to the departure gate he saw Jimmy step into a phone booth, no doubt to get the reassurance he needed from Nikki. But who would be around for her if Glenda’s rescue went sour?

  ****

  At the same time, thirty miles away in Dayd’s penthouse, Nikki stopped pacing and rushed to answer the ringing phone, praying it was Dayd. But it was Jimmy.

  “Dayd brought me and my mom to the airport,” the kid said. “He wants to send us to Florida to get us out of town, but I don’t want to leave until I know you and Glenda are all right.”

  Nikki’s faith in Dayd went up a notch. He’d kept his promise to protect the teenager. “Don’t worry, Jimmy,” she said. “By the time you get back from Florida, Glenda will be home.” Oh, dear God, let that be true.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay, Nikki?” Jimmy asked. “Dayd seems to be an all right guy, but…”

  The doubt in Jimmy’s tone sent prickles to her neck. “What’s bothering you?” she asked, glancing toward Boris who sat at the bar on a high stool, intently using the laptop computer.

  “You know that girl who gave me the note at the ballet?” Jimmy said. “Well, she’s here and Dayd’s talking real friendly to her. What if he’s in with the kidnappers or something?”

  Nikki’s breath caught. She gripped the receiver tighter. She’d just started to believe in Dayd and now this. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll talk to him about it.” Although she would rely on her own instincts, Jimmy’s news had unnerved her more than she wanted to admit.

  “
He’s in a awful hurry to get me out of town. Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

  “No. Stick with the plan.” She wouldn’t rest until she knew Jimmy was safe.

  “Watch yourself, Nikki. Dayd is keeping stuff from us, and things about him don’t jibe.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

  Nikki replaced the receiver in its cradle and stared at it.

  Boris turned from the computer. “Bad news?”

  “No. But we have to talk.”

  “Gladly.” He clicked the computer into its standby mode, grabbed a couple cans of Coke from the mini bar, and joined her at the table. His blue eyes twinkled with good humor as he slid a can in front of her. “What is on your mind, lovely lady?”

  “Glenda.” Nikki traced the line of moisture that trickled down the side of the can. “Why isn’t someone out looking for her now?”

  Boris crossed his bulging arms and leaned back in the chair, looking indulgent. “Someone is.”

  “Who?”

  He shifted in the chair. “The less you know the better.”

  “Not for me.” Her voice cracked. She clutched his arm. “Please, Boris, I’m going crazy with worry.”

  Boris raked his sun-bleached hair off his forehead.

  “Who?” she repeated softly.

  He studied her face for a moment, then blew out a gush of air. “Nazar or Nyctak Man. We call him little man because he is the size of a five-year-old. It’s an advantage. No one pays much attention to someone so small. He can slip into places where no adult-sized person can go.”

  Nikki shook her head. A Russian midget. This whole scenario was getting more incredible by the minute. “I caught a small boy looking at me through binoculars. He even took my picture. Was that Nazar…your Nyctak Man?”

  Boris’s folded his brawny arms. “Dayd warned me about you. I must not step deeper into these treacherous waters. Ask him when he gets back.”

  Anger-fueled adrenaline charged through Nikki’s veins. “I’ll do just that.” She planned to ask Dayd a number of things, including if he’d assign this Nazar Man to spy on her. Forcing a normal tone, she changed the subject to one less threatening. “How long have you known Dayd?”

  Boris hesitated.

  She tilted her head and grinned. “Surely that’s not a secret.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Okay, most persistent lady. Since we were small boys.”

  His thick accent was charming, but pulling details from him tried her nerves. “Is holding back an inborn Russian trait? You said we were friends. Friends share things.”

  He only laughed and shook his head again.

  She tapped the table with the tips of her fingernails. “Come on, give. Did you live in the same neighborhood? Have the same nanny? What?”

  The smile lines at the corners of his eyes deepened and he opened his hands in surrender. “Nyet. Dayd came from the elite strata, and I was the son of a street sweeper.”

  She toyed with a strand of her hair, trying to appear calm. “What brought you together?”

  “My mother worked in his house, and we played together.”

  Boris slouched lower on the straight-backed chair, and Nikki sensed a rapport was settling between them. “What kept you in contact all these years?”

  “Our dreams of a safe world.” The words would have sounded hokey coming from another man, but somehow not from Boris.

  “I see,” she said softly.

  Something changed in his wide, blue eyes. A curtain lifted. “Children shouldn’t have to live in fear…” He paused. “Our work is deadly at times, but we accept the risks.”

  “I think Dayd enjoys the danger.”

  “You need to understand about him.” Boris studied his big hands, then wrapped them tighter around the Coke can. “There is a saying in Russia that a Cossack will go hungry to feed his horse and a comrade will die for his friend.” His voice came out choked, and his face flushed as though he were embarrassed by his sudden show of emotion.

  Nikki touched his hand. “You think Dayd would die for you?”

  “Dah. He proved it.”

  Her throat tightened at the fervor in his words. She’d bet Boris had never allowed himself to talk about their private history before, and it was costing him. She fought down a wave of guilt for prying. Sharing this had to be cleansing, too. “What happened?”

  “I infiltrated Godunov’s bunch.” He forced a wry smile, obviously trying to get a handle on his emotion. “If you cannot fight the enemy, join his army. Unfortunately, they found me out. Since Godunov never misses a chance to make an example of his nemesis, he ordered Zimsky to disembowel me at dawn.”

  Her heart pounded. “How barbarous!” Godunov had Glenda. Nikki clasped her fingers so tightly they ached.

  “Headquarters said if Godunov caught me I was on my own. Dayd didn’t go along with that. He came rushing in with an Uzi and a fully packed grenade belt. Everyone scattered. He freed me and we ran. Godunov’s men fired at us. I’ll always remember Dayd’s guttural moan as he took a bullet in the shoulder. But he kept going.”

  Nikki winced, imagining the piercing pain of a bullet ripping into Dayd’s flesh. “I can see why he’s your hero. Heroes take chances, but Dayd takes too many.”

  “Be glad he does. Only a man willing to take risks can rescue your friend.”

  “He’s been lucky up to now. What if his next escapade backfires and gets Glenda killed?”

  “Have faith. Dayd’s not just lucky, he’s combat smart.”

  “I’m trying, but his methods scare me.”

  “You’re meeting him under stressful circumstances. He has another side. He has a quirky sense of humor when he lets himself go.” Boris grinned. “And he can recite the Russian alphabet backwards.”

  Nikki laughed while fighting emotional confusion. She had to keep her guard up. A decision to trust Dayd could have grave consequences for Glenda. And herself. The safer choice might be to get away from him and put her trust in the police. But so far, she hadn’t been satisfied with Detective Sinclair’s efforts to rescue Glenda. Oh, dear Lord, what should I do? She felt an equal pull to stay and to go. Although Dayd made her feel safe in some respects, and she desperately wanted his help, she wasn’t entirely sure she could trust him.

  “Do you know all of Godunov’s people?”

  “Some of them.”

  “What do you know about Margo Bettmore?”

  “Dayd feels sorry for her. Godunov put his mark on her when she was barely thirteen and she’s been his property ever since. When the poor girl tried to run away, he cut off both her little toes.”

  Nikki gasped at the horrifying image. “This Godunov monster is evil. What must Glenda be going through? I want her back now.”

  “We’re doing all we can, please believe that.”

  Boris asked the impossible. Although Godunov’s henchman had ordered her to come to the Oktoberfest alone to trade the disks for Glenda, it would be foolhardy to go without backup. But Jimmy’s report about Dayd and Margo had raised new doubts. What was Dayd’s real connection to the woman and the Mafia? If only Boris would say some magic thing that would restore her faith in Dayd. She shook her head. “You and Dayd are a lot alike.”

  “In the important ways, perhaps. We believe in doing the dirty work no one else wants, and damn the consequences.”

  His words didn’t reassure her—quite the opposite. People who didn’t worry about the consequences of their actions were dangerous. Still, to save her friend she’d deal with whomever she had to.

  “You don’t trust him, do you?” Boris asked.

  “Should I? He lied to me the first time we met.”

  “In our business, sometimes a lie is all that keeps us alive. You must know that.”

  “But I wasn’t the enemy.”

  “How would he know that? Besides, time was against him, and he believed it was the quickest way to get the disks. He didn’t know you would get entangled in all this.”

  “I wis
h I could trust him without any qualms.”

  “In Russia, we say that a heavy burden will leave your soul when you let suspicions take flight.”

  “Do you and Dayd have Russian sayings for everything?”

  Boris grinned. “Dah.”

  “Well, I have a great old American saying for you: show me a man who lies and I’ll show you a man who can’t be trusted.”

  He briefly covered her hand with his. “Everything isn’t always so cut and dried. The reason a man lies is sometimes more important than the fact that he lied. There was a time in Dayd’s childhood when he hadn’t yet learned that a lie is sometimes necessary.”

  “What do you mean?” Her stomach felt hollow, jittery.

  “I’ve already said too much.” Boris’s jaw tightened, and he looked away.

  She gripped his arm. “Please, tell me. I need something to help me trust him.”

  An awareness brightened Boris’s silvery-blue eyes. “We’ll be going back to Russia when this is over…” His deep voice radiated compassion, his unfinished message loud and clear: Don’t fall for Dayd. Anything serious between you two is impossible.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks. “All I care about is getting Glenda back.”

  Boris shook his head. “That isn’t all you care about, Nikki. You lied just now, at least to yourself.”

  Her face grew hotter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her second lie burned more painfully on her tongue than the first, because this time she was fully aware of it. “I just need to be certain that I can count on Dayd.”

  “You can. He would die rather than let you down. That’s just how he is.”

  She folded her arms. “I only know what he’s shown me of himself, and it’s not at all reassuring.”

  Boris studied her face for a moment. “He’s tormented. Like most of us, Dayd was raised to tell the truth regardless of the consequences. A good rule in theory. However, as I said before, when he was seven years old he learned it wasn’t always a good rule in practice. The KGB asked him if his older brother was hiding in the attic.”

  Nikki’s heart pounded. Dayd had mentioned a brother, then quickly changed the subject.