Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4)

by Nancy Haviland

  When Sacha’s soft laugh came, Lekzi turned, and both he and his daughter took in the beauty of the woman next to them.

  “When she gives me this advice later, I will be sure to listen closely.” With a lingering touch to his waist, she went to the table and grabbed two plates. As she filled them, exchanging a few words here and there with the others, Alek openly watched her.

  If they could get past the shit still wedged between them, and if he could ditch the goddamn apprehension he continued to feel over hers and Lekzi’s safety, perfect would be right around the corner.

  But that sense of unease wouldn’t go away. Not with Sergei out there. His looming presence was riding Alek’s ass hard when it came to his females.

  And, for some reason, even harder when it came to his uncle.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  It was dark by the time Sacha finished unpacking the last of hers and Lekzi’s things. When she’d come up to the bedroom after everyone had left, she’d found the missing duffle bags, and a dozen boxes that she’d opened up to find full of clothes and all her personal mementos.

  The bedroom now had her pretties scattered around. Carousels, figurines, dancing couples in full ballroom garb. Some had been her mother’s, but most were things Sacha had bought because she had a small problem that made it impossible for her to pass on baubles that stirred a memory.

  Feeling as if she’d accomplished something, she showered before collecting Lekzi from Yana, who bid them goodnight and went home. Sacha spent a relaxing time feeding and chatting with her daughter before putting her to bed and tiptoeing from the room with the baby monitor in hand.

  She went downstairs and spent a few minutes wandering around, looking for Alekzander. When she didn’t find him in the kitchen or living room, she went to the rec room where Vasily had an ornate pool table and a row of dart boards along the far wall. They looked conspicuous amid the stunning landscapes, one of a Russian church in Dunilovo, and another of a gorgeous chapel in Vuoksa.

  She turned the large TV on and flipped through the channels as an odd feeling tightened her nape. It was unsettling. And familiar. She remembered this from when Lekzi was very young. Sacha would worry when putting her to bed because she’d made the mistake of reading an article on crib death.

  Tapping her foot, still standing, she tried to watch Family Feud, but couldn’t find an interest. She clicked the TV off and went out to linger in the foyer. She looked up the stairs and brought the monitor to her ear. Maybe she would take Vasily up on his offer and put the video system in Lekzi’s room that he’d purchased for Eva’s son.

  She chewed on her lip and glanced toward the hallway that led to Alekzander’s office. She could barely hear the rumble of voices, but caught enough to know Vasily and Yuri must still be in there with Alekzander. They’d gone in with a stack of files under the doctor’s arm over an hour ago.

  After fighting a chill, and remembering her doctor telling her the best thing she could do when she felt like this was to check on the baby, she gave in and went back upstairs.

  Her heart was pounding by the time she rushed into Lekzi’s room, attempting to be quiet as she approached the crib—

  “Lekzi!” she screamed, lunging for her daughter. She snatched her up into her arms without hesitation. “Alekzander!”

  She raced out the bedroom and down the hall, taking no care on the stairs whatsoever. She screamed for Alekzander again and again.

  When she hit the foyer, he, Vasily, and Yuri flew in from one end while Anton, Grigori, and Lucas came from the other.

  “The baby,” she panted, going directly to Yuri. English was a thing of the past. It was all in Russian “She’s blue. She’s blue, Yuri!”

  Looking at Lekzi, the MD ripped her from Sacha’s arms and brought her to a long padded bench against the wall. He placed her on her back and bent to put his ear to her chest, and then mouth.

  “What the hell happened?” Vasily went down with Alekzander, both of them landing on their knees. A tattooed hand touched the baby’s face. Vasily’s.

  Yuri cursed and lifted Lekzi again. Sacha had to run to keep up with the men as they aimed for the infirmary.

  “What the hell is wrong?” Alekzander demanded as he took hold of Sacha’s arm and helped her along. She couldn’t feel her legs.

  “Her heart rate is…weak. Breathing shallow. Where was she?” the MD barked at Sacha. “Was there anything around her face that could have smothered her? Was she lying near a pillow?”

  “No, of course, not. She was in her crib. I do not even use a blanket on her. Do something, Yuri. Please…” She tried to slow her breathing because she was seeing fireworks.

  They entered the fully equipped rooms, and it was as if they’d been transported to a hospital. Yuri went directly to a stainless steel table and laid the baby down. He immediately pried her tiny mouth open.

  Sacha whimpered at the sight of those two white teeth. “Oh, God…what’s happening? Alekzander…please help her. Please. Be careful, Yuri! Her neck! You’re going to hurt her!”

  “Get her out of here,” Yuri said in a clinical voice that scared the life out of her. “She doesn’t need this as a memory.”

  All Sacha heard was the word he omitted. She doesn’t need this as a final memory.

  “No!” She shook her head violently and ripped her arm away when Alekzander grabbed her. “Oh, my God, no! Are you fucking crazy? I am not leaving my daughter!” She jerked away again as she watched Yuri continue his examination. He tipped Lekzi’s little head back and stuck something into her throat. Bile rose in Sacha’s, and she gagged in sympathy.

  “Hey.” Alekzander came in front of her, getting in her line of sight. He snagged her chin. She tried to wrench herself away, but he wouldn’t release her.

  “Let me go!”

  “No.”

  She strained to see around him, struggling like mad. “Alekzander!”

  “I’m not letting you go no matter what you do, so stop this before you hurt yourself.”

  “Shh!” She covered his mouth with her fingers so she could hear Yuri. “What did you say? I did not hear you, Yuri.”

  “Thank you,” he said, clearly speaking to Vasily. “There is nothing lodged in her throat. A good thing. Hand me that package.”

  Sacha had never concentrated so hard on a sound. Plastic rattled. A small pop. Rubber squeaked.

  “Hold her arm straight.”

  The sound of Yuri’s calm tone startled her into blinking her blurry eyes. That’s when they focused. She was looking into the face of a man capable of unapologetic cruelty, and Sacha wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anything so beautiful in her life. Right then, she fell in love with her Russian’s darkness. Appreciation was born for this side of him she’d always secretly feared. But would no longer because it existed to protect her and their child.

  She felt herself being moved. It was only steps away, but it seemed as if it were miles. She whimpered, and the moisture in her eyes overflowed to join the tears already trailing down her cheeks.

  “We’re staying right here,” Alekzander promised. “She’s two feet away. I swear we won’t go any further. We’ll be right here.”

  Feeling as if she were about to shatter, Sacha held his stare, unable to let the connection go. If she did, she knew she’d lose her mind. She knew it. “Our baby, Alekzander,” she whispered. “What’s wrong with our baby?”

  She was yanked into the tightest of hugs and spun around so that he could see what was happening to their daughter. She couldn’t, but it was okay. She could feel every twitch and tremor in Alekzander’s muscles. Yuri whispered something to Vasily that made Alekzander turn to stone. Her fear grew exponentially. Yuri murmured something else. The sigh Alekzander released got caught on something in his throat, but Sacha recognized it as relief. A fraction of her tension eased.

  “Very good, Lekzi,” Yuri whispered.

  The rigidity in Alekzander’s back lessened slightly. So did Sacha’s. Until she heard Vasily’s v
oice in the corner. His tone had the hair on her nape springing straight, his instructions making her soaked eyes widen.

  “I need to touch her,” she whispered.

  Alekzander immediately walked her backward, took her hand, and placed it on their daughter’s tummy.

  Sacha’s composure smashed to pieces.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “Poisoned? I do not understand. Poisoned from what?”

  Sacha’s voice was hoarse from the display of a mother’s love and terror they’d all witnessed an hour ago. Alek had known before, but now knew without a shred of doubt, he could never, under any circumstances, take his child from this woman. It didn’t matter what she’d done, or what she ever did. Her love for the baby resting comfortably in her arms right now was the most incredible thing he’d ever witnessed, and he would do nothing in his lifetime but honor and revere it.

  They’d just come out to the waiting lounge outside the room where Yuri had recently finished pumping Lekzi’s stomach. Sacha’s hair was once more a wet mass hanging down her back, and she was wearing a hospital gown.

  Alek tightened his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. His hand was still resting across his daughter’s legs where she lay, sleeping peacefully. Breathing. Pink.

  “I am assuming you fed her last?” Yuri said.

  “Yes,” Sacha answered. “Was it something I did that made her sick?”

  Yuri shook his head. “Not directly.”

  Alek had heard Vasily’s instructions earlier. He questioned them now. “What was it you were talking about earlier? You told someone to get the stuff out of our bathroom? Why?”

  Yuri got to his feet. “The only thing a baby this age puts in her mouth is her hands, her few toys, and the things her mother feeds her. I also had her toys brought downstairs and had Lucas swab those while I did the same all over Lekzi’s skin; no residue of any type was found.”

  “You swabbed my skin, too,” Sacha said with a deepening frown.

  “Yes. And I’ll compare what I find on those swabs with what I suspect I’ll find in what you put on her body. This could very well have been you we just treated.” He patted a confused Alek on the shoulder and went to the door across the room. There were two sets of stairs leading to the sprawling basement. One here, and another off the hallway behind the kitchen. “I’ll be up as soon as I have confirmation.”

  “Fuck that,” Alek scoffed. “How about you share your suspicion, and then let us know later if you were right.”

  Yuri paused and gave Sacha an apologetic look. “Forgive me. This might make you uncomfortable.” She nodded and shrugged. “Obviously, I am thinking something was put into her hygiene products. Plant extracts keep coming to mind. Maybe something in the same family as Hemlock or Oleander, but neither of those because Lekzi’s reaction would have been different. Since I have seen no baby bottles, I am assuming she is primarily breastfed, and I noticed Sacha’s hair was wet when she brought the baby to us. I assumed you showered?” he said to Sacha.

  With her cheeks turning pink, she nodded again.

  “And I am also assuming you fed her directly before putting her to bed, as is the normal way of things?”

  “Yes.”

  Yuri went on. “Since Sacha is in no way affected, as she would be if this substance had entered her blood stream, Lekzi had to have ingested it at the point of contact. Her mother’s skin. And seeing as Sacha doesn’t feed her child from her elbow, I can only deduce it came from her nipple.” He looked at Alek. “Had you been at her breast—or her elbow—after the shower, you’d have sickened, too.”

  Alek glared over when his uncle had the nerve to chuckle. It was a relieved sound, but the humor was still not welcome here.

  “How would this substance get into her toiletries? No one has access to our bedroom or en-suite. And you only just unpacked that bag today,” he said to Sacha.

  “Then it was tampered with before it came into the house,” Vasily reasoned.

  “Reynard.”

  They all looked at Sacha when she dropped the name.

  She rubbed her cheek on Lekzi’s hair. “That man, Reynard. He and Sergei were waiting when I came out of the bathroom in my apartment the night we left. Sergei sent Reynard in to pack that room. He was very anxious to get in there. Could he have done this?”

  Alek met Vasily’s gaze, and a death sentence was handed down right then. It wasn’t right, but he felt of rush of anticipation.

  Sacha didn’t seem at all embarrassed when she handed the baby to Alek. She was horrified. “So, I was poisonous to her? That is why you insisted I shower with that awful soap? What if I did not get it all? What if it is in me?”

  Yuri shook his head. “There is nothing I know of that can seep into our skin to be released at a later date. I’m sure much of it rubbed off on your clothes. I will test those, too.”

  Alek didn’t mind admitting the excitement in Yuri’s voice was fucking irritating. Guy was a scientist through-and-through.

  “If you would feel more comfortable pumping once, and then feeding her after that, I certainly wouldn’t stop you. But I do not think there is a need. After all, perfume and lotion does not seep into your breast milk, so why would this?” He inched toward the door. “I am thinking it worked so quickly on the little one because she ingested it directly after it came into contact with your skin. Now, allow me to go down and make sure I am not wasting our time with this conclusion.”

  Yuri left, and when Sacha looked at Alek, he was alarmed to see something familiar. The return of the fear he’d seen in her eyes when she’d first learned who he was.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Alek sat back in his seat, tired of pushing the late snack of cold meats and cheeses around on his plate. Sacha was next to him, playing with a cooling cup of tea with her free hand. Vasily was across the way, his gaze constantly straying to Lekzi.

  All heads turned when Vincente walked into the kitchen. He had his long coat on, his hair was down, and his expression was blacker than a pit in hell.

  He nodded a greeting that encompassed the table, his eyes hooding when he saw the baby in Sacha’s arms.

  “You mind if I take Alek out for a while?”

  The rumbling question V posed to Sacha had the baby turning to look at him. Lekzi’s sleepy smile had him cursing under his breath. He came forward to chuck her gently under the chin.

  “Hey, kid,” he said in Italian. “I’m taking your father out to rip a new asshole into the stupid motherfucker who already tried to hurt you. The world will be well rid of him in a couple of hours. I promise.”

  Having learned Italian while Gabriel and Vincente had studied Russian, Alek understood every word. V obviously knew where to find Reynard. Popping to his feet, Alek kissed his girls then sprinted upstairs. He changed his clothes, threw his harness and an array of weapons on, and was hoofing it back down in under five minutes.

  Anton was waiting at the front door with Vasily and Vincente. Sacha must have been instructed to remain in the kitchen. Alek felt bad for that but got it. She didn’t need to know where he was going. But he’d damn well tell her a gory tale when he returned.

  “It’s gonna be a quick in and out,” V was saying. “No offense intended, but the fewer of us, the better.”

  “Then three it is because Anton is now an extension of Alek.” There was no room for argument in Vasily’s voice, though V didn’t look as if he wanted to offer one. “You’ll call me the minute you’re on your way home,” he said to Alek, then turned back to Vincente. “You’re lucky I’m not sending an army with you.”

  V looked at the ground, ran his tongue across the front of his teeth, then lifted just his eyes to narrow one on Vasily. He cursed. “Fuck. I might as well come clean since you’re gonna find out anyway. We’re heading to a Baikov safehouse.”

  The temperature in the room plummeted, but Alek ignored it and opened the door. All he could see was that blue ring around his daughter’s lips. He needed to replicate it around Reyna
rd’s.

  Vasily glared at him as he came over and slammed the door again. “From the beginning, Vincente.”

  “Maks got a ‘tip.’ Thinks in a roundabout way it came from Sergei because it’s Reynard’s exact location. To be safe, we had a crew comb the area around the specified building to see if it’s a set up; they found nothing. Sweepers are inside now. Maks assumes Sergei is doing away with a loose end by giving us the maggot.” He turned to Alek. “He said to warn you they won’t be able to get into the apartment without alerting Reynard and causing him to bolt, so we’ll be going in blind. As of ten minutes ago, there were three women and three men inside, including Reynard.”

  “That’s doable. Let’s go.”

  “Who knows about this?” Vasily asked.

  V made a circle with his finger to encompass them and Dmitri, who was standing off to the side, scowling like a fucker. “And Maks. He’d be here, but he was elbows deep in something with Micha—”

  Vasily nodded. “I know where he is.”

  V nodded and went quiet as Vasily slipped his hands into his pockets and started pacing, chin near his sternum, his brows down low. He ended up in front of Dmitri. “Tell me what you think.”

  “I agree with Maksim. Sergei wants to be rid of his garbage, and he is giving him to us because deep down he knows Reynard deserves whatever it is we do to him. But I do not trust Sergei not to fuck with whoever shows up.”

  “Me either. Would you consider going with them?”

  Dmitri looked between Vasily and Alek a couple of times. “You know I love and respect you, Alek,” he said. “But not even for you will I leave my Pakhan open.”