by Lakes, Lynde
“What? Godunov’s mistress?”
“Whatever. To me she was an angel, sneaking around, seeing that I had enough to eat, bandaging my fingers, getting me a sweater, an extra blanket. Margo stood up to Godunov twice to keep him from raping me.”
Nikki closed her eyes for a moment and thanked God her friend had been spared that.
Glenda laughed without humor. “Margo told him she didn’t want to be screwed by a man who’d slept with a black woman, that it was degrading and beneath him. He bought it. Later, she apologized to me for what she’d said. I understood. If she’d said anything else, it wouldn’t have worked.”
“God, Glenda, I’m sorry you had to go through all this.”
“It could’ve been worse without Margo. She even tried to help me escape.”
“I saw her picture,” Nikki said. “Why would a beautiful young girl with that much heart stay with a monster like Godunov?”
“He took her off the streets when she was only thirteen. He’s all she knows. But I set her straight. She deserves better. She told me there’s someone who’ll help her get out. All she has to do is make the call. After the way Godunov punched her around the other night, I think she’s ready.”
Nikki wished she could help the girl. But she couldn’t even help her friend or herself. Dayd was their only hope. It warmed her heart to know he hadn’t left her. She would treasure that thought for the time she had left.
But he was walking into a trap. He’d die, too.
No. No. He had to stay away. How could she stop him from charging in here to save her? By igniting now instead of later. For her, that wasn’t a choice. She couldn’t end a life—not Glenda’s, not her own. Not even for Dayd.
Oh, God, she didn’t want him to die. Even a resourceful man like Dayd Radlavich couldn’t make it into this booby-trapped place and live. Stay away, Dayd. A tear ran down her cheek. Oh, dear Lord, make him stay away.
****
Through his dark glasses, Dayd squinted down at his map, then shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun, scanned the terrain ahead. The cabin had to be in the valley just beyond those scraggly pines.
He crept along the crest of the hill. When he spied the gray, weather-beaten shack with no signs of activity, he half ran, half boot-skied down the rocky incline, kicking up dust and rocks as he went. At the bottom, he hit the level land on the run, zigzagging, avoiding loose dirt that might cover a mine, or any unnatural looking overgrowth.
The shack loomed ahead. A sagging porch extended across the front and partially around the sides. An old rocking chair rocked in the wind, as if rocked by an invisible hand. A chill slid up his spine. The scene looked far too innocuous. He circled the building, noting entry points: Front door, back door, six small double-hung windows and a fireplace.
Without touching the rough wood walls or the warped, time-sanded sill, Dayd peered through an uncurtained window. Two huge spotlights mounted on opposite walls illuminated Nikki and Glenda. They sat bound in chairs back-to-back, wires woven around them, a box in Nikki’s lap.
Dayd’s heart pounded and he could scarcely breathe. He wanted to rush in, cut them loose and crush Nikki in his arms, tell her she was safe, that it was over. But it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
Nikki and Glenda seemed to be calmly talking, as though planning their own escape. Don’t move. Please, don’t move. He wanted to call to her, warn her. But she might get excited and tip the box. Sit still Nikki. Very still.
He wiped the sweat from his upper lip. The windows and doors were probably booby-trapped. He circled the building, looking for rotted wood. At the rear, loosened boards caught his attention. Loosened for his benefit? He had decided to climb a nearby olive tree and drop to the roof when he saw a suspicious wire running the ridge line. It didn’t surprise him. He’d figured the whole damned place was booby-trapped.
Time ticked away. Jesus, I need your help. One wrong move and the whole place would blow. He circled the shack once more, prayed again, then carefully pried off a couple of boards near the end of the porch. He didn’t breathe, waiting for the boom. Silence. He exhaled. The wood hadn’t exploded in his face. He took off his sunglasses and wiped the sweat from his brow. He swiftly tucked the glasses into his pocket. Then, with one hard judo kick he created a sizable hole in the rotted wood, and bent and climbed in. “Don’t be startled, Nikki. And for crissakes, don’t move a hair.”
“Dayd!” Nikki’s eyes widened. “On the floor! A tripwire!”
He froze. He’d almost stepped on it. “Be calm, everything’s going to be all right,” he said, wishing he were as sure as he sounded.
“Get out, Dayd,” Nikki pleaded. “You can’t save us.”
“Don’t discourage him,” Glenda said. “He looks capable to me.”
He’d hate like hell to disappoint her. “That’s what I like, a positive attitude.”
“We’re with you all the way, Big Boy. Are you The Lion or The Bear?”
Dayd gave a humorless chuckle. He winked at Nikki. “I guess I’m The Lion.”
He’d never met braver women.
The snarl of wires and circuitry intertwined around Nikki and Glenda sent terror surging through him. He knew very little about bombs. But it didn’t take an expert to know that if he tried to release the women, he’d blow them all into eternity. The small digital timer among the wires ticked off the minutes. If he could believe it, they had twelve ticks left.
Dammit. Boris knew bombs. Where the hell was he?
As if The Bear had heard a call for help, Boris climbed through the hole.
Dayd exhaled in relief. “Get over here. But don’t step on that wire.”
Boris stepped over the almost invisible thread. “I checked the perimeter.” He raked his blond hair from his forehead. “Not good, repoh.”
Dayd winced. Boris called him hero. He wished to hell he was. “Godunov’s got this shack wired with at least six sticks of dynamite.”
Boris rubbed his jaw. “From what I can see, the brain is right there in Nikki’s lap. If we disarm it, we disable the whole system.” The Bear bent in front of Nikki. “Don’t worry, ladies. I can do this in my sleep.”
Dayd heard a helicopter circling overhead, then the sound faded. Boris drew an all-purpose tool from his pocket and flipped it to the wire cutter.
“Wait!” Nikki cried. “Zimsky did a lot of soldering.” Her voice trembled.
“Whoa.” Dayd expelled a rush of air. Sweat broke out on his forehead. “New info. Let’s talk this through.”
Boris swallowed. “Right. No moves until I’m sure.” He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with his sleeve. “I knew it couldn’t be that simple.”
“This looks like the arming switch,” Dayd said.
“Maybe not.” Boris pointed at the device. “Look how this cover is soldered shut. The real switch might be in the guts. I suspect it’s a Russian Koheh device. If I pry off that cap it could fire.”
Dayd glanced at the digital timer. “Eight minutes left.”
“Get out of here.” Boris’s voice was tight and hard. “I can handle this.”
“I’m staying. You might need another pair of hands.”
“I need silence,” Boris growled.
Glenda let out a sound of exasperation. “Would you two quit jawing and kill that damned thing?”
Dayd glanced at Nikki. She sat rigid. He moistened his lips. “You okay?”
She nodded. “But if you can’t figure this out in the next three minutes, I want you both to get out of here.” Her voice sounded resigned to whatever Fate had in store for them.
Dayd wanted to console her with a touch, but he couldn’t chance it. “It may take a little more time than that, but we’ll all make it.”
“Truth?” Nikki’s voice trembled.
“I made a vow, didn’t I?” His throat felt thick. He held her gaze, hoping to convey a calm he didn’t feel, hoping he wasn’t lying to her.
“From what I can tell,” Boris said, using th
e tip of his cutter as a pointer, “it boils down to one of these two wires.”
“Dammit, which one?” Dayd didn’t want to push a hasty move, but every fiber of his body demanded action.
Nazar crawled through the hole. Dayd motioned to the wire on the floor. Nazar nodded and said, “Sinclair’s landed a helicopter at the dumpsite just over the hill, the bomb squad and EMTs are on their way.”
“We can’t wait,” Dayd said, gesturing to the timer. “Now beat it.”
Nazar hesitated, until Dayd shouted, “Go!” The little man scurried back outside.
Boris traced the wires again, separating the red and black from the white. He shook his head and swore softly in Russian. The timer ticked forward.
“Which one is it?” Dayd growled.
The Bear’s face glistened with sweat. “I don’t know.”
Dayd grabbed the cutters from him, and gave him a shove. “Then get the hell out of here. If we’re guessing, my guess is as good as yours.”
Boris didn’t budge.
Dayd isolated a white wire.
“Not that one!” Nikki’s words tumbled from trembling lips. “Zimsky soldered a white wire to a red one, then he covered it all with white tape. I’d bet on the black one.”
Dayd’s stomach knotted.
Boris stared down at the wire that Dayd had been about to cut. “Damn, she’s right. Go for the black one.”
From her military training Nikki probably knew as much about bombs as he did. And Boris was backing her up.
“It’s your call, Dayd,” Nikki said softly. “I trust you completely.” She held his gaze. “In every way.”
Dayd swallowed. He had one minute to decide. At last he had what he wanted from Nikki. She’d said, in every way. At this moment, he wished he deserved such incredible faith.
“The black one it is,” he said. “Boris, get the hell out of here.”
“He’s right,” Glenda said in a flat voice. “No sense all of us dying.”
“Nobody’s dying,” Boris said. “And I’m staying.”
Dayd moved the cutters to a black wire and positioned the jaws to cut. He lifted his gaze to meet Nikki’s. “I love you,” he said.
Tears flooded her eyes, spilled to her cheeks. “I love you too,” she said softly.
A nerve in his arm twitched. “God be with us,” he murmured and cut the wire…
Chapter Forty-Three
For a moment no one in the room moved. Then Dayd was stripping away the tangle of wires and the bonds from Nikki’s and Glenda’s hands. As the restraints fell from her body, Nikki closed her eyes, reveling in the glorious freedom. She rubbed her numb wrists. Glenda started crying. Nikki had never heard her friend cry before. Tears ran down her own cheeks.
Nikki felt weak as Dayd pulled her to her feet. She clung to him as his arms closed around her. The thundering of his heartbeat equaled the ferocity of her own. She wanted to stay in the safety of his arms forever.
“We’re not out of danger,” Dayd said, releasing himself from her hold. “One spark and this place explodes.”
Nikki’s stomach churned. They could still die!
“Everyone out. Now!” Dayd said. “Watch the wires.”
Stepping cautiously over wires, they made their way to the hole and crawled through. Glenda first, Nikki next, then Boris. But where was Dayd? Nikki’s heart pounded. Hurry, Dayd.
As she bent to check on him, he stepped through, looking strong and sure of himself. Nikki hugged him, weak with relief.
From his watch-spot at the edge of the clearing, Nazar shouted, “Run!” He was pointing at the top of the hill.
They all looked up. “Someone’s pointing a rifle at the shack,” Dayd shouted.
Boris seized Glenda’s arm. “Let’s get out of here,” he growled.
Dayd grabbed Nikki’s hand and ran. They leaped over the edge of a small ridge, the others right behind them. Landing prone and rolling downward, entwined like the bark and heart of a log, Dayd cushioned Nikki in his arms, protecting her from sharp rocks and prickly underbrush.
A deafening explosion rocked the ground. The hillside rumbled and began to slide. Dayd dragged Nikki behind a boulder and covered her with his body. She clung to him as stones, dirt and debris rained down on them. Dayd tightened his hold, taking the brunt of the downpour. He said something indistinguishable against her ear. She buried her head against his chest. Beneath the rough material of his fatigues, she felt his heart pounding in hard thuds, matching her own. Shifting land thundered in what seemed like an endless deluge. Then silence.
****
“Are you okay?” Dayd asked, brushing sand from her hair and clothes, grateful there wasn’t any significant blood. He saw only minor cuts and abrasions.
She nodded. Her body trembled against his. “Where are the others?”
Fearing Nikki was about to call out, Dayd clamped his hand over her mouth. “With a gunman out there, let’s not advertise that we’re still alive. Stay here. I’ll look for our friends.”
The dust began to settle, clearing the air enough to see.
“It’s okay,” she said, sounding relieved. “There they are.”
Boris helped Glenda to her feet. Nazar limped from behind a boulder.
Dayd gave Nikki a squeeze. “All present and accounted for,” he said, fighting a constriction in his throat.
Police and emergency crews rushed up the hill toward them, Sinclair leading the pack.
“Is everyone all right?” Sinclair asked.
“Yes, thank God.” Dayd pulled Nikki into his arms and kissed her, his fingers burrowing deep into her disheveled hair, relief surging through his body.
Sinclair cleared his throat loudly. Dayd felt the detective’s gaze on them. He could damned well wait.
“Finish that later,” Sinclair insisted. “I need some answers now.”
Dayd wrenched his lips from Nikki’s, but he kept his arm around her shoulder.
“How many men were at the cabin?” Sinclair asked Nikki.
“Six.” She lowered her eyes. “One of them was Curt Harrison.”
“He must’ve escaped,” Sinclair said.
Nikki shook her head. “Ziyakbusky killed him. And Luke, too.”
Sinclair jotted something in his notebook. “Then we got them all.”
“There was a marksman on the hill,” Dayd said. “His bullet set off the explosion.”
The detective didn’t blink. “Zimsky. We got him.”
Nazar, Boris and Glenda joined them. Nikki went to her friend and hugged her. Both women laughed and cried at the same time. “Thank God we’re all alive,” Nikki said.
“Amen to that,” Glenda said, her voice strong. “It’s a blessed miracle.”
Dayd bent and hugged Nazar. “Good job, Hero.”
The little man’s face flamed, but his chest swelled with pride.
Dayd turned to Boris, intending to shake hands. The gesture wasn’t enough to express their camaraderie. Dayd walked into the expanse of The Bear’s big arms. “You did good,” Dayd said, fighting the constriction in his throat. “Thanks.”
Boris nodded curtly, noticeably struggling to regain his own composure. He dropped his hands from around Dayd and turned to Nazar. “You saved our lives, Runt.” He hoisted the little man onto his shoulders, and in a voice thick with emotion, he said, “For that I’ll give you a ride down the hill.” He smiled at Glenda. “We can’t forget you.” As though she was a feather, The Bear lifted her, too, and swung her into his arms. “Let’s go, brave lady. The EMTs will be waiting to check you over.”
As they headed out of the small canyon, Dayd noticed Nikki was limping. He swept her from her feet and carried her down the hill to level land, past the panorama of emergency vehicles: police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, a rescue helicopter. Police swarmed the area. From inside a couple of heavily guarded squad cars, Godunov and his men glared at them.
Dayd set Nikki down on her feet but didn’t let her go. He winked at her. A mor
e loyal, gutsy, gorgeous, giving woman didn’t exist. She’d gone through hell to get Glenda back.
The news media arrived with cameras, and reporters began to shout questions. “Did you get everyone out?” one reporter asked.
“Yes,” Dayd said. “Seconds before the explosion.”
“How do you feel, barely escaping with your lives?” another reporter shouted.
“Lucky. Very lucky.” Dayd motioned for Sinclair to come forward. “Detective Sinclair will take over now. I have to go.”
****
Nikki glanced toward the ambulances. A tall Denzel Washington type EMT bent over Glenda. Boris and Nazar hovered nearby like concerned parents. Nikki smiled. Her friend was in good hands.
Dayd took Nikki aside and touched her face, examining it with concern in his eyes. “Are you really okay?”
Nikki nodded and looked up at Dayd, ashamed of her doubts. “You didn’t run off with the money,” she said softly. “You kept your word.”
He kissed her forehead. “Surely there weren’t any doubts?”
“I’m sorry to say—”
He stopped her with a kiss, closing his mouth over hers, gently at first. As his kiss deepened, she became oblivious to everything but Dayd. She inhaled his been-through-hell male scent. Tears filled her eyes. “How will I face it when you return to Russia?”
He kissed her face, lightly abrading her skin with the stubble of his beard as he moved his lips to her ear. “I’m staying,” he whispered.
Nikki’s breath caught. Her heart pounded with joy. She offered her lips, wanting a kiss that backed up his promise of forever. And she got it. Then arm in arm, they walked away from the crowd, basking in sunshine as bright as their future.
****
Back in Dayd’s bedroom in his hotel suite Nikki gladly accepted the bracing glass of wine he offered her. Dayd looked at her with tired eyes. “We’re both dirty and scratched up. How about a soothing shower before we hit the sheets? You can go first or…?”
She laughed. “Or sounds good,” she said, then clasped his hand and drew him along down the long hallway to the suite’s master bath. They shed their torn and dirty clothes quickly, laughing like children. Inside the opaque enclosure, steam swirled around them, wrapping their glistening bodies in enchanting vapors. Dayd drew her closer and claimed her lips. She moaned as his hand skimmed down her side and explored her slippery body while hot water rained down on them. He seemed to know where the scratches and abrasions were and avoided them. He pinned her between the shower wall and his own body. She wound her arms around his neck and arched into him, seeking all the contact he wanted to give. He cupped the swell of her breasts and his tongue delighted her nipples with sweet torment. She gasped at the feel of his strong arousal, pressing urgently against her core.
