In moments, he realized they were headed for his apartment, the one he shared with Ivan, Alena, and Sergei.
The man from the FBI pulled up to the front door and skidded to a halt. He twisted around to speak. “Go directly to your apartment. Stay inside. Someone will contact you later.”
Nikolav nodded. He popped Belinda’s seatbelt after his own, yanked open the door, and slid out, pulling Belinda by the hand.
The man waited for the two of them to step into the lobby before he hauled ass, peeling away from the curb and hooking a U-turn to get back to the scene.
Belinda was breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide, and she licked her lips. “Oh my God,” she repeated.
Nikolav took her hand again and headed for the elevator. He waited impatiently for it to open, turning around to stare at the front door of the lobby. No one approached. If they had, he wasn’t sure he could avoid clobbering the person before asking questions. Irrational, but he was under a lot of stress.
The elevator pinged and opened, and Nikolav tugged Belinda inside and pushed the button for the ninth floor. He breathed easier the moment the door shut and they started to rise.
Belinda said nothing.
It seemed like it took longer than usual to reach his floor, but when the doors reopened, Nikolav headed to the left, not slowing down until he reached the apartment, tugged his keys out of his pocket, and let them inside.
Alena was leaning against the back of the black leather sectional.
Ivan was pacing the floor. He stopped moving. “Jesus. You guys scared us to death.” He glanced over Nikolav’s shoulder. “Where’s Mikhail? And Haley?”
“We separated. How did you know we were in trouble?”
“Leo called.”
Nikolav nodded. Leo could have spoken to his contact.
Belinda made a small noise at Nikolav’s side, and he turned to find her yanking her hand out of his. “I can’t be here.”
“What? Why not?” Nikolav turned around to face her.
She turned toward the door. “Need to get back out there.”
“What the fuck, Belinda? Of course not. What are you talking about?” He set a hand on the door, holding it shut as she reached for the handle.
She spun to face him. “I’m a reporter, Nikolav. This is my story. I can’t be here pacing while the story unfolds. I need to be out there, watching, paying attention, gathering information.”
“Like hell.” He flattened his body on the door now, as if somehow she might slip out through the crack if he didn’t pay attention. His heart raced faster. This woman was going to kill him.
She set her hands on her hips. “You aren’t my keeper, Nikolav. It’s a free country. This is what I do. I write. I can’t write a story about a scene I am not at.”
“Were you with me for the last half hour? Did you by chance miss the fact that four men chased us through the streets in black masks with guns? Do you think that was a coincidence?” Yeah, she had a death wish.
She rolled her eyes. “I was there. I saw everything. And I’m still a journalist. If I cowered in a corner every time there was danger, I’d never make it in this industry. I know the stakes. I’ll put on a hoodie or something and blend in with the crowd. No one will ever know I was there.”
Nikolav shook his head. “Not going to happen. Can’t let you. Hell, the FBI would have a fit. They have enough on their plates. They don’t need a lone woman out running around in the streets getting herself into trouble.”
Ivan stepped closer and held out a phone. “It’s Taylor.”
Nikolav smiled as he took it from his friend. “Hey, Taylor.”
“Ivan says Belinda Gallo is insisting on leaving your apartment.”
“Yep.”
“Give her the phone.”
Nikolav pursed his lips as he handed the phone to Belinda. “Taylor wants to speak to you.
She glared at it for several seconds before snatching it from him and putting it to her ear.
Chapter Six
Belinda forced herself to smile at the petite woman leaning against the couch. Her clear blue eyes were mesmerizing. “You must be Alena.”
Alena smiled back. “Yes. Welcome to our world.” She scrunched up her nose. Her eyes expressed her sorrow. She lived in a world no one wanted to be welcomed into if she was as stuck in this same nightmare as Belinda now seemed to be and Haley certainly was. She tucked a long lock of pale blonde hair behind her ear as she rounded the couch and held out a hand.
The other man in the room stepped forward with his hand outstretched to take Belinda’s right after Alena released her. “Ivan.”
Belinda shook his hand, noticing the sharp contrast between him and Alena. His hair and eyes were dark brown, and his skin was tanned from time spent in the sun. He was also tall, a few inches taller than Nikolav.
Alena was tiny. Maybe five two. A few inches shorter than Belinda even. She rounded the couch, took a seat, and tucked her legs beneath her, appearing younger than her age. But her eyes told a different story. If Belinda wasn’t mistaken, this woman had been through more in twenty-eight years than most people endured in a lifetime.
“Now what?” Belinda asked Nikolav. She wasn’t happy. Not by a long shot. She’d never met the woman she’d just hung up with on the phone. Taylor Brown. FBI agent. She’d insisted emphatically that Belinda not leave the apartment. She would be over as soon as she could to speak with her.
“I need to call Leo. And also make sure Haley and Mikhail are safe.”
She nodded. Her head was spinning. How had things gotten so out of control? Two days ago she’d been a regular person who picked up a story about missing homeless people. Now she felt like a woman on the run with an unknown enemy chasing her.
“You okay for a minute?”
She nodded again, crossing her arms under her chest and shivering.
Nikolav pointed at the couch before he strode from the room. “Sit.” He returned moments later with a dark blue sweatshirt and handed it to her. “You’re cold.”
She was. Or maybe she was just stressed. In either case, she shrugged into the hoodie and padded toward the couch, not wanting to obey Nikolav’s command, but also dead on her feet. She breathed in Nikolav’s scent from the soft cotton and closed her eyes briefly.
“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Wine? Soda? Beer?” Alena smiled next to her. “You must have a million questions.”
Belinda shook her head. “I’m okay for now. Thanks.”
“Let me know if you change your mind.”
Nikolav caught her attention again as he spoke into his cell while pacing the living room and running a hand through his hair. “Leo, what the fuck was that?” He paused, staring at nothing in the corner of the room while he listened. “And you think Yenin would go to that much trouble in an effort to kidnap Haley or Belinda?”
Belinda shuddered, tightening her arms around herself again.
Nikolav stood still while Leo spoke again, and then he turned his gaze toward Belinda. “Yeah. She’s not going to like it, but yeah.”
Belinda stiffened. What am I not going to like?
Another long pause and then Nikolav ended the call. He glanced at Ivan and then Belinda and Alena. “Someone picked up Mikhail and Haley, but not before several shots were fired. One of the men chasing us was killed by an agent. Two were injured, but they both got away.”
Belinda tried hard to put the pieces together. “So you really believe the explosion was meant for us?”
“Not a doubt,” Nikolav said.
“But how did they know where we would be and when?” She shuddered again. This was intense, but at the same time, she hated being trapped in the apartment while the story was out there.
“That’s a great question. So many people knew the four of us were heading to that area, it’ll be impossible to narrow it down. Apparently, that’s Haley’s first stop every week, so it wouldn’t take much for someone to figure out where we would be.”
Belinda
set a hand on her chest. It was pounding. Her world felt like it had flipped upside down in less than two days. She stared at Nikolav, unable to blink.
Ivan took a seat on the arm of the couch next to Alena.
Nikolav rounded the coffee table and sat on it facing Belinda, his knees straddling hers. He leaned forward and took both her hands in his.
“What happens now?” she managed to croak out.
“You move in here, first of all.”
“What? Why?” She glanced around. “I can’t just move in.”
“Of course you can. And you don’t have much choice. It’s too dangerous for you to return to your apartment. The FBI doesn’t have the manpower to put extra detail on you alone. So you have two choices, move in here where we’re already being watched or go to a safe house.”
“Not a chance in hell, Nikolav. I’m not discussing this with you.” She knew she had to speak to the FBI agent, and she’d sort things out with the woman, but she wasn’t taking orders from Nikolav. In her brief phone conversation with Taylor, the agent hadn’t insisted on anything yet except that Belinda wait at Nikolav’s apartment to speak with her. Until then, she didn’t want to make rash decisions. Especially not concerning her living arrangements.
He sighed. “Until they figure out what Anton Yenin is up to, find his lab, and catch him, your life is in danger.”
“That could be a long time.” She licked her lips, suddenly feeling light-headed. Was every second going to be a battle with this man?
“Yes.”
She tried to jerk her hands from his grip unsuccessfully.
He held tighter. “I’m sorry.”
“I have to go to work. I have a story to write. People to interview. This is my career we’re talking about.”
A knock at the door made her jump. Her heart rate picked up again as she twisted to stare at the door. She hated that she was jumpy. It wasn’t like her.
“It’s Taylor. Relax.”
He let go of Belinda’s hands and pushed to standing, heading toward the door in a few strides. After looking through the peephole, he disarmed the alarm and unlocked the door to open it.
Belinda was shocked to find out Taylor was a regular-looking person she would never suspect was an FBI agent if she passed her on the street. She wore dark blue jeans and a black, V-neck T-shirt. Her long brown hair hung in loose curls down her back.
Taylor smiled at Nikolav and then turned her brown eyes toward Belinda and strode in her direction. “You must be Belinda Gallo. I’m Agent Taylor Brown.” She held out a hand.
Belinda took it and scooted around the corner of the sectional to make room for Taylor.
“Thanks.” Taylor glanced down at herself and apologized. “Sorry. Short notice. I wasn’t on duty when I got the call to come over.”
“It’s okay.”
Taylor turned to introduce herself to Ivan and Alena next, and then she returned her attention to Belinda. “I’ve been assigned to make sure you understand what’s going on with this case and keep you safe without jeopardizing the big picture.”
Belinda nodded. It was a struggle to breathe normally, let alone listen intently. But she knew she should.
“I’m sure Nikolav has given you a rundown of what we’re up against, but I want to ensure you’re totally informed.”
“Okay.” Belinda cleared her throat. Her voice didn’t sound like it belonged to her.
Nikolav resumed his perch on the coffee table facing Belinda and Taylor.
“There are a lot of agents working this case, many of whom have been deep undercover for years.”
“Nikolav mentioned that. One of them has been Leo’s contact for a few years.”
Taylor nodded. “Yes. And that sort of information is kept so buried even I don’t have the details. None of the agents assigned to your detail have any idea who might be working undercover on this case.”
Belinda nodded again.
“What we suspect is the leader of the Russian Mafia in the western half of the country—Anton Yenin—has been developing some sort of drug over the course of many years. Perhaps decades. He must be getting closer to perfecting it because he’s using people he picks up off the street as guinea pigs.”
Belinda wrung her hands in her lap. “Haley was mistaken for homeless and drugged herself.”
“Right. And we feel confident Yenin will do anything and everything in his power to get her back. Our own lab techs are working around the clock to figure out what she was drugged with.”
“That’s so insane.”
“It is. And we’re walking a fine line trying to keep Yenin from folding his local operation and moving it elsewhere. He has to know we’re watching all of you, but we need him to believe it’s all precautionary and not become overly concerned with our presence and what we know.
“He’s already moved the bulk of his operation once—from Vegas to Chicago. It will set us back if he moves again. Which means you can’t run this story.”
Belinda opened her mouth to speak, but Taylor held up a hand. No way in hell was she going to abandon this story. It was career altering. If she didn’t cover it, another journalist would. Hell, six others were probably already working on it.
“At least not now. Not yet. We’re prepared to make a deal with you and your boss.” Taylor hesitated a second and then continued. “We need you to keep this entire case to yourself until it’s over. Everything is classified. Years of hard work will be ruined if you run a story before we have Yenin behind bars for life. In exchange we’ll give you exclusive access to the information after the case is solved.”
Belinda chewed her lower lip, wondering what her boss was going to think about this. Dale Sherwood was a fantastic man to work for at Chicago Multimedia, but he wasn’t known for easily backing down from a story. Belinda winced, hating the idea of facing him with this news.
Taylor smiled. “I’ve already spoken to Mr. Sherwood, if you’re worried about him.”
“Oh.” She widened her gaze.
“Yes. Met with him earlier today. I’m afraid this is more than a request. There’s a gag order. Judge issued it this morning. You or your boss could be arrested if you leaked any information pertaining to this case before it’s over.” Taylor pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Belinda.
Jesus. This was serious.
“I gave a copy of that to your boss also. We had hoped to draw Yenin’s men out into the open earlier this evening when you and Haley went to that underpass, but unfortunately the operation ended up being much more intense than expected. Of the four men who took off after you after that explosion, the only one we have in custody is dead. He’s not offering up much information.”
Belinda gulped. Was that supposed to be a joke?
Apparently not because Taylor didn’t laugh. She kept right on talking. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea and assume you were used as bait. It was a lot more extensive than that. We didn’t take it lightly for one minute. Dozens of agents spent the day planning around your public appearance.
“In the end we decided it was in our best interest to let you and Haley head out to that underpass with Mikhail and Nikolav without making a huge deal out of the number of people who were watching you, hoping to make an arrest.”
“Jesus,” Nikolav interrupted. “How on earth is that not using us as bait?” He straightened his spine as he frowned at Taylor.
She shrugged. “Strategic decision based on the information we had at the time. Belinda was insistent about going. Haley was chomping at the bit to get back out there. The two of you were diligently on their tail. We had no reason to expect an explosion, and although we assumed Yenin would have people watching, the likelihood of them succeeding in capturing one of you was nil. Too many agents were out there.”
“And yet, somehow four men in masks chased us down the street with guns.”
“True. Unexpected.”
Nikolav inhaled deeply and let out his breath slowly.
Belinda thought he was barely containing his anger. She reached out a hand and set it on his over his knee. “No one is hurt.” She hoped her voice would calm him. Though she wasn’t at all sure why she cared.
He shifted his gaze to her. “Yet.”
“And we’re going to do everything in our power to keep it that way,” Taylor continued. “But we need your cooperation on this case. It’s imperative you follow our instructions from here on out. Your safety depends on it. Until Yenin is captured, none of you can breathe easily.” She glanced at Ivan and Alena to include them.
Taylor’s words sank in. This was serious.
Taylor looked at Belinda again. “I’m aware this story is meant for a one-hour special on prime time television that won’t air for several months, and that’s fine, as long as the case is wrapped up well before then. In the meantime, nothing can leak. Not a word.”
“She’ll do whatever you need,” Nikolav responded.
Belinda shot him a glance. Was he seriously answering for her? She released his hand and crossed her arms. “Really?” She lifted one eyebrow and then turned her attention back to Taylor. “I’ll cooperate in any way I can, especially if it helps stop this bastard from hurting any more people. But don’t expect me to sit on this. I’ll be working this story from every angle imaginable. Nothing changes for me. The story isn’t meant to air until it’s finished and verified anyway.” She struggled to keep from piercing Nikolav with a glare for speaking for her. And she wanted to slap herself for finding his overbearing tendencies hot. She should not be aroused by his firm stance with regard to her actions.
Why the hell was she? Because it’s damn sexy that he cares.
Taylor responded. “Thank you. And it would be helpful if you would stay here in this apartment. Is that going to work for you?”
Belinda hesitated. She knew this was coming. Nikolav had already insinuated so. But the testosterone in this place was thick. And the reality was she didn’t know how she could spend another night in the same space as Nikolav without attacking him.
And that thought scared her more than anything because it was unlike her to feel compelled to put herself out there so blatantly. She had no idea if the man even returned the level of sexual attraction she felt for him. He seemed interested, but maybe she was telling herself that to boost her ego.
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