They hurried him towards the house and he took in the sight of the sprawling mansion, visible between old elm, birch and ash trees spread over manicured, rich green lawn. There was a neat, low hedge around the house which was white, with gabled roof and dormer windows.
Eddie was awed by the beauty and wealth, and remained so when he was taken inside. The historic dwelling had been well preserved with shiny timber floors and fifteen foot ceilings with elaborate white ceiling roses and chandeliers. He would have been happy to see more of it, but he was taken straight to an enormous room, which must have served as a ballroom in its history. Two burly, suited men stood at the closed door, which was instantly opened for Eddie. The loud Russian voices inside reminded him that its occupants were not there to dance.
The conversation stopped immediately as eyes were turned towards him and everyone rose from their seats. He took a quick survey of several unknown faces, men in suits and a few young girls standing back behind them. He was relieved when Yuri strode towards him with a smile and outstretched hand.
“Uncle.” He beamed and gripped his hand, laying a kiss on each cheek. “It is good to see you again. We had hoped you would come to us sooner. You dismissed the car we sent for you.”
Eddie nodded. “I wanted some time alone, to adjust back into the world. It’s been a long time.”
“Of course.” Yuri put his hand on Eddie’s back and drew him further into the room. “Everyone is anxious to meet you.”
“But none more than I.” The soft female voice had Eddie turning back to see the woman off to his side.
His eyes widened to see familiar features in a beautiful, feminine face. Asya Ivanchenko had her father’s dark eyes and sharp nose, but her mother’s average height and figure. She wore a simple black, sleeveless dress and he could see that her arms were muscled and toned. Only the hair was different, being dark rather than the blonde of her brother.
“Asya,” he smiled.
She gripped his arms and tiptoed to kiss him on both cheeks, before studying his face shrewdly. “My father’s brother. It is a pity we have not been reunited sooner.”
Eddie detected the slight criticism in her comment. “We do what we have to do and we accept the consequences.”
“Maybe if you had remained in Russia.”
“Not if I wanted to live.”
“So we run away,” she smiled thinly. “And live to fight another day?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, that day has come, Uncle.” Her smile was gone as she stepped aside to circulate a glare at the men in the room. “Perhaps we’ll get somewhere now.”
Yuri stepped in next to Eddie and urged him towards the seated men. One rose from his seat and offered his hand with a smile. He was dressed in a grey uniform with blue and red striped epaulettes, and red insignia on the lapels. He looked much like Yuri, but several years older.
“Uncle.”
Eddie shook his hand, peering in recognition of more familial features. He shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry…”
“Semyon, Uncle. I was Pavel’s eldest boy.”
Eddie clapped his other hand over the one he was holding and nodded. “Your father and I were very close. Two years between us.” He looked at the uniform. “Militia?”
“A Colonel no less, Uncle,” Yuri interjected. “Semyon is based in Moscow, a core member of the Siloviki who reports directly to the President.”
Eddie arched an eyebrow. “I can’t remember there being any love between our family name and the Kremlin.”
“Our Russian Federation is not how you remember it, Uncle, and the name of Ivanchenko is not despised by all. However, my mother remarried and I took the surname of my stepfather, and a personal friend of the President.”
“A wise decision.”
Asya scoffed. “A cowardly decision that has been forced upon us all. I alone retained our family name at home.”
Eddie frowned at her. “And here?”
“I am proud, not stupid. I was based in the Netherlands for four years and I took the identity of a deceased student. At the moment I am Sophie, personal trainer and lover to Vanessa de Veer, co-owner of Silver Dreams nightclub. Unlike other useless males in this room, I have put my alias to good use.”
Yuri and Semyon exchanged glances, before Yuri took Eddie’s arm. “Come and let me introduce you to our host.”
Eddie was brought to a man who looked to be the youngest and shortest in the room. He looked to be in his twenties with a smooth thin face and small, dark eyes. He was grinning and shoving his hand forward, with an air of false confidence.
“Eddie, great to meet you. I’m awed, man. Constrictor. You were the best. You’re like some Russian legend.”
The comment made Eddie want to gag. He took his hand reluctantly but didn’t return any greeting, impassively eyeing an appearance that reminded him of a weasel.
“This is Leo Ashrukov,” Yuri told him. “He has been assisting us…”
“And I am the one with the girls,” Leo interrupted. “Fucking stunning, young girls and a new one set aside just for you, Eddie, a virgin with a cunt you can barely get a little finger into. Remember what that was like?”
Eddie had a vision of his arm around Leo’s thin neck, watching his weasel face turn red and purple, with his beady eyes bulging from their sockets.
“In good time, Leo,” Yuri said quickly. “We have more pressing matters.”
Before Yuri could lead him away, a young, skinny blonde girl approached, holding a tray with drinks. Her pretty youthfulness captured Eddie’s attention, as did the faraway stare in her shadowed eyes. Leo grinned to see him studying her.
“You like Bree?” He chuckled. “She is nothing. Her cunt has been too well used and she is drug fucked. You just wait until I’ll show you the prime material.”
Eddie took a drink, as he continued to study her. “How old is she?”
“Eighteen, nineteen maybe.” Leo peered into her face and spoke to her in heavily accented English. “Bree, how old are you?”
“I’m seventeen, Sir.”
“Seventeen.” He switched back to Russian. “She was one of my first girls. Twelve years old when she first came here. Now she’s more like a house pet, sentimental value, though we still make good money from our less fussy clients. She’ll do a lot of dirty, nasty things to get a syringe in her vein.”
“She’s from here?”
“She is,” Leo laughed. “Her brother sold her to me for a few grams of coke. Since then she has made me a lot of money, but her time is coming to an end. She gets weepy now until she can get her next fix. It’s costing too much, but we’ll make her last one very pleasant for her. I have a soft spot for her.”
Eddie took another drink from her tray, still unable to look away from her vacant expression, until another female voice was intervening.
“Leo, get your fucking girls out of here,” Asya demanded. “There is business to conduct.”
“Of course.” Leo nodded his head at the girls, who quickly left the room.
Eddie could see that Asya was in charge, something else that was new to him. His early days of family business would never have seen a woman in the room, let alone leading the proceedings.
While the men took their seats, Asya remained standing. “I wish we could welcome you under better circumstances, Uncle, but that is not the case. First, we would like to acknowledge the success of your recent assignment and your release, of course.”
There was applause, but Eddie frowned and waved it off. “I did what I was asked.”
“And accomplished it well,” Asya added, directing a glare to Yuri. “Unlike that which my brother has failed to achieve. At this time, we have lost many men to Zaleski, and we are no closer to finding him. We have also managed to lose our only connection to him, though I am hoping to rectify that soon.”
“Your man told me what happened,” Eddie commented. “Instead of securing Zaleski, you managed to let him and the others esca
pe and lost several men if I am not mistaken.”
“We’ve lost ten men to date, Uncle,” Asya replied bitterly. “Eight at the warehouse, one who is missing and the one who was left at the embassy, right under my cousin’s nose.”
Semyon scowled. “And it could have turned out worse, if I had not eliminated the gardener and destroyed all identity to our man.”
“And this lawyer?” Eddie asked. “What’s happened to her?”
“We believe Zaleski has her,” Yuri replied. “No doubt she is dead by now.”
“No.” Eddie shook his head. “He wouldn’t kill her. Jahn Zaleski is a complex man. I’ve seen him commit the most brutal acts upon men, but never upon a woman or child. How much did she know?”
“Very little, Uncle. She knew nothing of this place or of our family or our activities. After her initial assistance to us, her purpose was to die along with her parents and incite this government to bring Zaleski out of hiding. Unfortunately, Zaleski got to her first.”
“And you are now no closer to finding Zaleski than when you began.” He smiled mirthlessly. “I’m looking forward to hearing your next move.”
Asya stepped forward. “They have none, but I do. On Wednesday afternoon at four pm, Mairead Vaughn is coming to my apartment to meet with my girlfriend, Vanessa.”
Leo emitted a snicker and sat with a grin on his face. Asya eyed him angrily. “Get that fucking look off your face, you piece of shit, before I fucking tear it off. I do what needs to be done, which is more than anyone else in this room, and unlike them, I will not fail.”
The tension in the room was thick as Leo sat up. “I meant no offence, Asya…”
“I know perfectly well what you meant. I might lick cunt to do my job, but I am not a fucking useless one like you.”
“Asya.” Yuri looked furious. “Leo is our host. It is his girl who has brought us vital information…”
“And where is his girl now? Another fucking disaster which allowed Brendan North to live. Another girl that can’t be found, despite all the male fucking intelligence in this room.”
Leo was up out of his chair, taking a few steps towards her. “You don’t fucking get to talk to me like that…”
He froze, as Asya swiftly had a cutthroat razor to his throat. Her voice was calm and quiet. “I talk to you anyway I fucking like.”
Eddie sat back silently watching their dramatic exchange, until he suddenly stood up. “Put the razor down, Asya, sit down and shut your fat, fucking mouth.”
She didn’t move, still glaring into Leo’s face.
“You don’t want to defy me, Asya,” Eddie told her quietly. “However you regard the other men in this room, I am not one you want to make angry.”
Asya slowly lowered the razor. Leo breathed again and backed away as she turned to Eddie. Her angry eyes probed his face. “I apologise, Uncle.”
He smiled thinly and nodded. “You are your father’s daughter. There is no doubt in that. He had a temper and he also liked the razor.”
“I know,” she replied, her mouth curling upward on one side. “And like him, I know how to use it.” She closed it and returned it to the sleeve of her jacket.
“Now take your seat and tell me your plan.”
She complied, keeping her eyes on him. “We know that Mairead is close to Zaleski and our best chance at finding him.”
“How do we know this?”
“In the time I have been with Vanessa, there have been several phone conversations exchanged between her and James Vaughn that have mentioned our enemy; nothing of any value, except in establishing that a friendship exists between them, Zaleski and a certain Esther Manning, who was at the Vaughn wedding, and is indeed one of his whores and a good friend of Mairead’s. It was through one such conversation that I learned that Mairead and Esther were going to be alone together, visiting Esther’s mother. Yuri might want to explain what happened, since he botched it up.”
Eddie looked at his nephew who was frowning and shaking his head. “Yuri?”
“It didn’t go the way we had hoped. I thought if we could get both of these girls, we would have Zaleski. I had two men following them after they left the mother’s house. At the first opportunity, our man made his move to capture both girls and commandeer the car, but it seems Mairead suspected something and drove straight into the oncoming traffic. They escaped.”
“And Zaleski was now alerted to our presence,” Asya added. “Which is why we had to up the ante quite dramatically. We made another attempt to secure both James and Mairead at their club, but only James made the journey. Vanessa and I were called to the Vaughn’s house later that night to comfort Mairead over her missing husband. I was quite surprised when he returned, bruised and battered, but definitely not in our possession.”
“I don’t understand,” Eddie frowned.
“I didn’t either, Uncle,” Asya replied angrily. “Until I was informed by Semyon that we aren’t the only ones after Zaleski. It seems the Kremlin has taken an interest as well, though Semyon chose not to share that information with us until that night.”
“I had my orders, Asya,” Semyon stated angrily. “You should understand that.”
“Fuck your orders. I didn’t spend my whole life searching for this man for him to wind up in a Russian prison cell. I want to hold his bleeding heart in my hand, after I’ve listened to his screams for days on end.”
“Would someone fucking explain this to me,” Eddie demanded.
“Of course, Uncle,” Semyon nodded. “Zaleski is more than an enemy of our family. He is an enemy of our country, having stolen vital technology that would have made the Russian Federation a formidable leader in global communications and surveillance. We believe he is still using this technology, right here in this country. My orders are to secure him and bring him home.”
“Not if I get to him first,” Asya commented.
“Which would be a direct violation of your superiors,” Semyon replied. “And an act of treason.”
She glared at him. “I see only one traitor here.”
Semyon launched from his chair, his face furious. “You fucking bitch…”
“That’s enough.” Eddie got up and stood between them. “I didn’t come here to listen to your differences of opinion. None of you have Zaleski yet, and from what I’ve heard, you never will. I alone know this man personally, and I tell you, if you keep fucking up, Zaleski will find us first and then we’ll all be dead.”
“He’s one man, Uncle,” Asya stated. “Not a fucking army.”
“You stupid bitch.” Eddie turned to look at her. “He was only one fucking man when he killed your father and uncles. I’ve seen what he can do. Your father and I watched him tear five men apart with his bare hands when he was only sixteen. There’s a reason I ran when I did, and now you’ve dragged me right back under his nose.”
“There will be no more fuck-ups, Uncle.” Asya shot an angry glance to Semyon. “And we will co-operate, despite our differences of opinion, under your guidance of course.”
Eddie sighed inwardly. He thought of Lena and their future dinner date. “You said this latest operation will take place on Wednesday?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
He nodded. “Alright, but first, get me back to the city. I have business of my own to conduct and you can pick me up Wednesday morning. Just be sure you know what you’re doing, because one more mistake could be your last.”
“This time we won’t get it wrong, Uncle,” Semyon said. “And you will finally have your chance again to look into the eyes of your brothers’ killer.”
Eddie forced a smile, even as a chill went through him, along with a memory of icy blue eyes, staring out wildly from a blood covered face.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
When she heard the door being unlocked, Adele was quickly off the bed and standing there as Dylan entered with a tray. He glared at her. “Get back to the bed.”
Adele backed up a few steps and watched him put the tray down on a
table just inside the door.
“Please,” she said. “I just want to talk. I’ve had time to think about what you said, about my own responsibility for what has happened. I believe you and I’m ashamed, I’m mortified and I can’t take it…”
“That’s not my problem.”
“You saved my life,” she added quickly, her voice high pitched as her emotions began to crack again. “I wanted to say thank you.”
“I don’t need your thanks.”
He went to walk off again, but Adele went after him and grabbed his arm. “Let me help you, somehow. Let me do something, anything...”
“I don’t need your fucking help.” He glared at her hand on his arm before eyeing her angrily. “And you’ve done enough. Let go of my arm.”
Despite her fear, she shook her head. “No, I can’t. Please, please talk to me. Five minutes, anything, just another human being to talk to. I can’t take it in here. Please, just five minutes.”
She broke down again and fell to her knees, her face on his boot as she tried to clutch the leg of his jeans. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Adele gasped as Dylan hauled her up and swept her up in his arms. He strode to the bed and dumped her onto it. He grabbed the hair at the back of her head and pulled her up, so that she had to look at him.
“What do you want, Adele, to be able to live with yourself?”
“I want to confess,” she cried. “If you take me to the police, I’ll confess everything.”
Dylan smirked. “Yeah, sure, and I’d like to believe that if I didn’t know what a fucking manipulative bitch you are.”
“There are diaries in my father’s safe, and there are other illegal transactions I have made. I’ll give them all to you. Either that, or just end it for me… just something merciful, please. I don’t want to suffer.”
He released her hair and stood up. “I didn’t save your life to fucking end it.”
“It’s already over,” she uttered. “I’ve lost everything I ever loved. I’ve thought about what life will be like beyond this room, and there’s nothing but people hating me. My brother will never forgive me, and I’ll never forgive myself, so you would be doing me a kindness, unless… unless, you have something else planned for me.”
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