by Rachel Grant
Dimitri told the pilot where to land, then returned the radio to its hiding place and made his way up the hillside to the cave entrance. “It’s safe, Ivy,” he shouted before entering the tunnel. “Ulai is here.” He dropped down to all fours and crawled through the entrance. “Which means we’re going to have more company in a few hours.”
He emerged into the upper chamber, blinded momentarily by sunlight that angled through the skylight. He blinked as he stood upright and realized it wasn’t the sun at all. One of the floodlights had been angled to shine on the tunnel entrance. In the darkness behind the light, he could just make out the face of a man who’d spoken with Ivy at the party in Koror. The man had one hand over Ivy’s mouth, the other hand held a gun to her temple.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“It seems your company is already here,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Dimitri asked. He didn’t look at Ivy. He couldn’t. He had to stay focused on the intruder and figure out how the hell they’d been found, and what the man intended now that he had Ivy.
“No one you know.” He ran the gun across Ivy’s temple. “I gotta admit, I was pretty pissed when you took Ivy away that night, but damn, then I did a little digging and decided I’m grateful. I was just there for the mapping equipment and the girl, and then my little Russian Bratva friend identified the Hammer.
“Well, knowing the Hammer was involved, I got curious about what Mother Russia was after. Now I get CAM and a brand-new prototype AUUV. Plus, you got rid of the Russian for me. Fucking jackpot.”
He kissed Ivy’s other temple, all while watching for Dimitri’s reaction.
Only a lifetime of training allowed him to pull off an indifferent shrug.
“You’re good, Veselov,” the man said. “One might even think you don’t care. But I was listening to you fuck like rabbits through those convenient skylights.” He released Ivy’s mouth to squeeze her breast. “So tell me, was your last ‘I love you’ a ploy? Or did you really fall for a honey trap?”
He ran his hand down her side. Ivy remained stiff and mute.
“Ivy was up to her eyeballs in her ex-husband’s business. I should know, I was Hill’s case officer. She’s playing you, man. Imagine that. The Hammer played by an Amazonian computer geek with great tits, but not much else to speak of.”
“Who. The fuck. Are you?” Dimitri asked.
The man shrugged. “You won’t be around to tell my old mentor, Ian, so no harm in introductions. Zack Barrow. Formerly CIA. Now I freelance.”
It brought bile to his throat to hear the scumbag use words so similar to what he’d said to Ivy when he revealed himself.
“I was never in Patrick’s business,” Ivy said, her voice shaking with anger.
Good, she was more angry than scared. That would help her. And Dimitri. “I know,” he said.
“Touching, but we really should get the AUUV,” Barrow said. “So I can take CAM and split before Ian gets here.”
He pushed Ivy forward, toward the computer console. “Show me where the bad man hid it, babe, and I’ll make sure the boys in Syria are sweet to you when you teach them how to use CAM.”
Ivy inched toward the sleeping console.
Dimitri felt the weight of his gun at the small of his back. He knew exactly why Barrow hadn’t taken it from him. He’d listened long enough at the skylight to know seeing a gun to Ivy’s temple would incapacitate Dimitri. Plus, he knew getting close enough to disarm him would be lethal. The Hammer’s reputation in spy and mafia circles was well-earned.
The gun at Ivy’s head was effective. He wouldn’t go for his weapon as long as there was a bullet that close to her brain.
He needed to keep the prick talking so he could find an opening. “How did you find us?”
“You tell him, love. I get tired of repeating myself.” His smug tone told Dimitri all he needed to know about the man’s ego. Barrow was so proud of himself, he wanted to hear his exploits from Ivy. But he also wouldn’t do the talking, like Dimitri wanted.
Zack Barrow wasn’t dumb, but he was narcissistic. Which could make him blind to his mistakes and faults. Dimitri could use that.
“It was RON,” Ivy said. “He guessed we were flying RON at night, and patrolled the islands from sunset to dawn, looking for it.”
“It took a few nights to spot it,” Barrow interrupted. “And then I had the general area. The next night, I had my own drone ready. It followed RON back here.” He tsked. “You broke the number two rule of spying.” His gaze flicked to Ivy. “And the number one rule. One: don’t fuck the girl who might be a honey trap. Two: don’t stay in one place too long. Plus your drone didn’t utilize a surveillance detection route. Sloppy.”
He flashed a grin. “Look at me, giving advice to the Hammer. My mentor will be so proud.”
The sound of a plane landing in the narrow channel between this island and the next drowned out the rest of Barrow’s boasts. Once the noise faded, he continued. “Hurry your ass up, Ivy. If your pal Ulai is coming, Ian is sure to follow, and I really don’t want to see my mentor until after I have the AUUV in hand. Then I can give him the attention he deserves.”
She stood before the computer. “It’s shut down. Startup is biometrically coded to me.”
Barrow stood behind her, his gun at one temple, his mouth at the other. One hand on her belly. He ground his hips into her ass. “So do it.”
Dimitri would rip the motherfucker’s head off.
“It’s a three-part biometric code.”
Ivy was lying. First, the computer was only sleeping, not shut down, which meant no need for biometric login. But also, the biometric security required only one step. The weight of his gun was heavy at his back. He doubted he’d have time to grab it.
“First it must scan my left retina, then my fingerprint, and then my ear.”
Fucking brilliant. Ears were as unique as fingerprints, and this would force him to lower the gun.
“It all has to be done quickly too. Delay too long and I have to start over. Three mistakes and it’s game over.”
Barrow pressed tightly to her back. “Do it.”
She elbowed him in the chest. “Give me room! I have to do this right.”
Barrow gave her a scant inch of breathing space, and Ivy leaned her eye toward the apple-sized infrared scanner built in to the console. Barrow followed her motion with the gun. She reached toward the scanner with her left thumb in the same moment she turned her head slightly to expose her ear. The barrel no longer pointed at her head, and she punched the gun upward with her left hand.
The gun went off as Dimitri lunged and took Barrow in a chokehold, shoving him into the limestone floor. The gun fired again, and Ivy yelped.
Dimitri smashed a fist into the man’s face and kicked the gun from his now slack hand. Barrow slumped. Dimitri checked his eyes. Unconscious. Bleeding from the nose. Possible skull fractures. Breathing. All that mattered was making sure he was out so Dimitri could tend to Ivy.
He turned to see she had blood on her arm and face. Her eyes were wide with shock as she held her forearm.
She gazed up at Dimitri, fear in her eyes. “I think my arm is broken.”
“We’ve got to stop the bleeding.” He lifted her arm above her head. “You okay with this?”
She nodded.
“Are you going to pass out? I have a first aid kit below. I need to get it.”
“Go. Hurry.”
He bolted down the steps and grabbed the kit along with a radio. He called to Ulai as he took the stairs two at a time. “Ivy needs to go to the hospital. Now. Bring the plane as close to the shore as you can and I’ll carry her to you.”
“What happened?” Ulai asked.
“Gunshot wound. I’ll explain later.”
Ivy had slipped to the floor and leaned against the cave wall with her arm raised and resting across her head. Blood seeped between her fingers, dripping over her face. Her pupils were dilated and her breathing uneven.
“You’re going to be okay, sweetheart.” He pulled out a bandage, the kind medics used in war zones because they were packed with clotting powder, and wrapped it around her forearm. “Once the bleeding is stopped, we’ll get you on Ulai’s plane. He’ll radio the hospital. They’ll be ready for you. You’re going to be fine.”
“Good thing I’m right-handed.”
He smiled. “They’ll set the bone, and you’ll be good as new.”
“Volleyball is probably out, though.”
“For a while.”
“That’s okay. I hate volleyball.” Sweat covered her brow and trickled down her neck. She sucked a breath between her teeth. “Getting shot…h-hurts. Even when it’s just in th-the arm.” Her skin had paled. “I feel…dizzy.”
He touched her forehead. Cool. Clammy even. He glanced at the unconscious man slumped on the floor. He needed to tie him up but feared Ivy was going into shock. Her breathing was rapid in addition to the clammy skin and dizziness. He needed to get her out of the cave and to the floatplane, fast. “We’ve got to get you out of here, Ivy.”
“Pack up…pack up CAM,” Ivy said. “And RON. I need to keep them with me.”
Dimitri shook his head. “That’ll take too long. You need to get to the hospital right away.”
“You just want to use it…” She panted with pain. “To find the AUUV.”
He took a deep breath and reminded himself she had good reason to make that accusation. He cupped her face between his hands, the blood on her cheek slick against his palm. “I love you, Ivy. Getting you to the hospital immediately is the only thing I give a damn about right now. You might be going into shock. I need you to try to breathe slower. You need more oxygen.”
She nodded. “’Kay.” She took a long, slow breath. “Not at my best right now.” She winced, and he imagined pain had just pulsed up her arm. “Wonder if labor pains are anything like this?”
“I hope you get to find out in nine months.”
Her smile was more of a grimace, but he’d take it. “Me too.”
He grabbed a fresh bandage from the kit and removed the first one. A glance at the wound showed the clotting agent had begun to work. He wrapped the new bandage around her arm, then fitted a sling around her that held her arm in a snug V-shape against her chest, with her left hand at her right shoulder.
He scooped her up in his arms and headed for the entrance. “Now that the bleeding has slowed, I’m going to pull you through the tunnel.”
“I can crawl.”
He set her down by the opening. “No.” He dropped beside her and lay on his back, then pulled her onto his chest. “Ready?” he asked.
She nodded, and he scooted headfirst on his back, hauling Ivy through the tight space. It took precious minutes to get through the tunnel, but she made it without passing out, and her breathing was steady by the time they emerged. Her pulse had slowed. With the bleeding under control, they might’ve avoided her going into full-blown shock.
Thank God.
He picked her up and slowly descended the steep slope.
By the time he reached the beach, Ulai had the plane close enough that Dimitri could wade out with Ivy in his arms. Ulai helped him position her in the rear seat of the floatplane.
“Stay awake,” Dimitri said, “until you get to the hospital. Breathe slowly. You’re going to be okay, but you need to be conscious so you can tell the doctors what happened.”
“You aren’t coming with me?” Her eyes widened.
He shook his head. “I need to deal with Barrow.”
“You’ll come to the hospital as soon as you can?”
He nodded but deep down suspected he was lying and already hated himself for it. To Ulai he said, “After you get her to the hospital, bring Luke here—if there’s someone who can guard her. She’s still in danger.”
“Will do, Major.”
“I was never an Air Force major, Ulai. I lied.”
“I know. I always knew. You might know a lot about airplanes, but you’re no pilot.” He handed Dimitri a business card and said softly, “Keep in touch.” With that, Ulai waved him away.
Dimitri retreated to the beach and watched the Beaver take off, wondering if he’d ever see Ivy again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dimitri returned to the tunnel entrance and pulled out his gun. This was every operator’s worst nightmare—a blind tunnel with a known enemy on the other side.
He should have tied Barrow up, but Ivy had been in bad shape and she was his number one priority. Now Dimitri had to crawl through the tunnel and hope Barrow was still unconscious. And he wouldn’t mind if the asshole was bleeding out.
He inched through the opening, moving as silently as possible. He paused before emerging and listened. Silence.
Gun at the ready, he exited the tunnel. A quick scan of the chamber showed…nothing.
Fuck.
A blood trail led down the steps. He followed it, scanning carefully, prepared for Barrow to pounce.
Nothing.
The former CIA agent was gone. The blood trail stopped at the pool. He must’ve swum out through the tunnel—knowing it was possible thanks to listening at the skylight.
It would be too much to hope the bastard got stuck in the narrow tunnel.
Once he was certain the cave was empty, Dimitri set to work, moving quickly in case Barrow decided to return. He woke the computer and pulled up the final map Ivy had created, the one with red areas marking seven potential hiding places for the AUUV. He copied the data onto a chart he’d grabbed from the chamber below. He had no intention of being here when Luke or Ian arrived, but he wouldn’t take CAM with him. He couldn’t betray Ivy in that way.
If the AUUV was in one of the other locations that Ivy hadn’t flagged as high probability, he was fucked. He deleted the last map layer and turned off CAM—now it would need Ivy’s fingerprint at startup—and descended the stairs to grab his escape kit.
He donned a wetsuit, then grabbed a dry bag filled with three days’ worth of supplies. There was another cave on a nearby island with supplies and a kayak at the ready. He was moving on to Plan C.
And once again, he was alone.
Ian found the tunnel entrance without much trouble. Veselov hadn’t bothered to erase his passage the last time. The opening was practically neon lit and just as Ivy had described.
He considered calling out to give Veselov warning that he was about to enter, but there was no way in hell the sonofabitch would be there. There might be someone in that cave, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be the Russian spy.
He hoped it would be the American one, and he had no intention of tipping Zack off that he was here. He crawled through the tunnel silently, gun at the ready.
Ivy would be waking from surgery soon, and would want to talk to Veselov. He didn’t envy Luke’s job of telling her that her new boyfriend had taken CAM and fled. Of the two of them, Ian knew her. She’d had dinner at his house and was friends with Cressida.
She was friends with him.
He should have drawn that straw, but Zack Barrow was his first priority. Ivy would understand.
He emerged into the upper chamber—again, just as Ivy had described—and his eyes adjusted to the afternoon sun that beamed down from openings in the rock. First his gaze landed on the spatters of blood on the walls and limestone floor, then he took in CAM and the assembled drone in the corner.
Well. He’d been wrong on one count. Did that mean Veselov was still here?
“Hammer?” he said, his voice bouncing off the cavern walls.
No response.
No sign of Zack, but a blood trail led down the steps. He followed it to the lower chamber where it ended at the pool.
Shit.
He’d expected this, but his anger spiked nonetheless. Too bad Veselov hadn’t used the ball-peen on Zack.
Zack must’ve left in a hurry, or he’d have taken CAM. He probably escaped while Veselov carried Ivy to the floatplane—or Ian would be seeing signs of
struggle, including a more dramatic blood trail.
The boat Ivy had told them about was still hidden in the vegetation near the beach, which meant Veselov had swum to his next destination. He couldn’t have gone very far.
Zack was a different story. He probably had a boat full of allies not far away. The question was, would he go after Ivy or Dimitri?
Ivy had said they’d zeroed in on possible locations for the AUUV. The assassin hadn’t given up, he’d simply moved on. Cold, when Ivy was in the hospital having surgery to repair a gunshot wound, and it was obvious she was infatuated with the Russian.
Which card would Zack play?
Ian returned to the upper chamber and studied the computer. It was shut down, which meant only Ivy could start it. He’d pack it up and bring it to her. They’d use it to find Veselov before he found the AUUV and made his escape.
Ivy was the key. To the AUUV. To Veselov. And to Zack.
He needed to call Luke, the CIA, FBI, and his boss to tell them all what he’d found in the cave. But he had one other call he needed to make first. He stood under the largest skylight in hopes of making a connection and dialed the number on his satellite phone.
Cressida answered on the first ring. “Well?” she asked, the single word as anxious as he felt.
“Sorry, honey. Zack got away.”
“We knew that was likely.” He could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“True.” His gaze fixed on the trail of blood. “The good news is he bled. A lot. And Ivy said it was a head wound.”
“Well now, there’s a reason to celebrate.”
Ian smiled. “He’s still here. He’s after CAM and the AUUV. We’ll get him.”
“You will. But protect Ivy. She comes first.” Cressida paused. “Is Veselov—?”
“Gone.”
“If what you suspect about their relationship is true, that’s going to crush her,” Cressida said.
Ian fixed his gaze on CAM and the drone. “I just hope she’s right about him. Because Dimitri Veselov would make a dangerous enemy.”
