by E. M. Gayle
I shook my head. This was insane. I had no other way to describe it. “You are wrong about one thing, Mr. Sokolov. Neither one will care about what happens to me. I had one night with Ronin and I never heard from him again. There is nothing between us. And as for Alex. Maybe you should have had your men ask me what I was doing standing on the street staring up at Alex’s building.” I fingered the necklace at my throat again. “Both you and I have made a horrible miscalculation about Alex Woodman. He doesn’t care about me either. At least not in the sense that you think he does. I know that for certain because I’m the dumbass that dared to use the word love.”
Viktor chuckled as he stood from the table. “I never said this was about love, naïve girl. And maybe if you survive this, Viktor Sokolov will have taught you important lesson. Stop trying to find love. You should seek power.” He walked up to me and grabbed my hair to tilt my head back until I was looking up at him. “Pussy is power, not love. You could have had it all right between your pretty lush thighs.” With that, he released my hair and walked away. “I will leave some of my men for your protection, but I can make no promises. Brothers have bad blood between them. Not all will survive.”
I sat dumbfounded as I watched Viktor disappear from the grand and expansive pool room. I felt like I should have said something more to stop him, but I couldn’t comprehend his game let alone what questions might give me answers. If he would even answer.
Prick.
I got back on my feet and surveyed my surroundings. In this room alone, there were four armed men keeping guard. And I imagined many more throughout this godforsaken yacht.
Was this really what incredible sums of money did to people? Because Viktor was straight up crazy. I took a seat back at the table because I didn’t know what else to do. How could Alex and Ronin be brothers? They had different names, they looked nothing alike and neither one of them had made a single mention of a brother.
Shortly after Victor left, I heard a low whining sound. It gradually grew louder until the dishes on the table began to vibrate. I surveyed the room for any signs, but in an enclosed space I could see nothing.
“What is that?”
I’d asked the question out loud, but it didn’t surprise me that no one answered. My guards were not talkative. I pushed back and ran for one of the big windows at the back of the room that looked like it might see out over part of the ship instead of the ocean.
Wind whipped around the exterior as pillows flew across the outdoor deck and plants toppled over.
“Is it a storm?”
I flung open a door and immediately heard it. It was definitely not a storm. It was the distinct thwap thwap sound of a helicopter that moments later flew from the back of the ship.
“Was that Mr. Sokolov?”
I did remember reading that his yacht had its own helicopter landing pad. Was he leaving? Is that how he played his fucking games? Just set the trap and then run like a scared jackrabbit?
I take it back. He wasn’t a prick.
He was a mother fucking douche.
It seemed I’d been left alone in the middle of the ocean with armed men to wait for this dumb game to play out. Well, fuck that. I was tired of being a pawn. Bill had used me as one. Then apparently Alex. And maybe even Ronin although I had no idea how. But the fucking cherry on top of this whipped cream shit show was that a goddamned Russian billionaire just thought he could kidnap, drug me and then leave me to die.
Fuck that.
Chapter 7
Alex
He had to give props to Gerard. He’d pulled together one hell of a team in just a few short hours. His intelligence resources had gotten a hit on the GPS of Viktor’s yacht and they were currently headed in that direction to find Harper with a team of private security, all with the specialized military training they needed for this type of infiltration.
If he didn’t fear Harper’s life depended on the success of this mission, he’d be soaking up this experience and enjoying the hell out of it. Every soldier was decked out from head-to-toe in dive gear incorporated with the kind of high tech equipment usually only the military had access to.
Having an unlimited budget for this operation certainly got things done. Now they had to get there before it was too late. Although he refused to believe they were too late. Ronin was a lot of things, even a killer, but he doubted that he intended to harm the woman who’d caught his attention to the point he’d searched for her.
Speaking of…
“Gerard, we hear anything further about the investigation into Harper?” They’d gone back to the investigative team and demanded more. Whatever it took. And as per their request he had Gerard provide them with her fingerprints.
“Yeah, I think so. I got an email notification a couple of hours ago, but have been too busy to look into it. Forwarding it to you now.”
Alex frowned. It wasn’t like his head of security to let anything wait. Especially something this important. What if they were wrong and her background had something to do with her being taken.
When he pulled out his phone he took note that Ronin had still not responded to any of his calls. His gut told him that was by design. Whatever he and Viktor were up to they did not want to be found. Phone calls were too easy to trace, as were emails.
He pushed those thoughts from his mind and pulled up his secure network that only he and Gerard had access to. He opened the email and began to read.
The first line gave him pause. That was where her full name was spelled out along with marital status.
Harper Allison Conrad Bennett, age twenty-six, married at age eighteen, although not legally.
Alex shoved his hands in his hair and blew out a hard breath. One line in and already his gut was so tight it cramped.
Married. His Harper. That was definitely something she should have informed him of.
Half a page into the report and he wanted to fucking punch someone. Ronin for sure, but now he added her would be husband.
No. Him he wanted to hurt far more than a simple punch. That man had a death wish and didn’t know it. His fingers tightened on his phone as he imagined personally choking the life out of the scum. Someone like him did not deserve to live.
It was a good thing he was currently in jail, although that did not make him untouchable by any means.
He read on and by the second page he couldn’t take any more. Harper had fled her old life, disappearing without a trace because her life depended on it. And now, because of him, she was again mixed up in a life or death situation.
“Is this for real?”
Gerard didn’t respond. They both knew he didn’t need to. Everyone on his staff took his requests with complete seriousness. He didn’t have a sense of humor when it came to business and they all knew it.
“She’s been through fucking hell.” He bit back the rest of his comments as he closed the email program and logged out of their secure network. Having this information weeks ago would have been helpful. He would have tightened her security and gotten his attorneys involved.
“Contact my attorney and forward this information to him immediately. Tell him I need options before I return home with Harper.”
Gerard nodded and began typing on his own phone. Alex’s mind raced with all the details of Harper’s life. No father, dead mother, an aunt who left Harper alone all through high school and a predator who took advantage of all of that.
White hot anger coursed through him, making his blood practically boil. He didn’t think he could get any angrier or scared for his woman, but he’d been wrong.
Fuck he’d been wrong about a lot of things. Starting with what she meant to him and what he intended to do about it. But first they had to get her back. Ronin would get no mercy for this stunt. If he laid one finger on Harper it would be his death.
“Sir, we’re almost there. As we discussed, my team and I will be dropping into the water in five minutes. As soon as we have the boat secured, the pilot will bring you in. You are on t
he comm with us, so you’ll hear everything going on as it happens.”
“Do not kill Ronin. I don’t care what it takes, you save him for me. As for Viktor.” He paused as he let the hatred build for the man who liked to interfere almost as much as his stepbrother. “I don’t care what happens to him.”
“Understood, sir.” Gerard and the others stood and grabbed all the gear they had prepared. They would be dropping a rigid inflatable boat from the back of the helicopter a few miles away from the yacht’s location. At which point his wait for them to reach Harper would begin.
He still bristled at the thought of not going in with them. However, these men were highly skilled operators and Gerard had adamantly denied his attempts to join them due to the risks and sensitivity of the mission. Fortunately, he trusted his security chief and after being assured that he would see and hear all of the action as it unfolded via body cams and their communication setup, he’d relented.
As the helicopter descended, men moved into position, one of them lowering the rear ramp they would launch the boat from. The crew chief directed the pilot until the ramp hit the water and the team kicked out the boat and jumped in.
The entire operation took no more than a few minutes before they all disappeared from sight and the engineer began raising the ramp and the helicopter lifted skyward.
He had to admit the precision in which they operated was damned impressive. He could only imagine the rigorous training and real-life experiences these men must have endured achieving this level of effectiveness. He just hoped it was enough. Ronin and Viktor were smart. They had to be expecting him.
Alex made a mental note to double the contract he’d offered them. These men and the rescue of Harper were worth every dollar he had.
A few minutes into the mission, Gerard broke radio silence. “We’ve got the yacht in sight, sir. However, there’s a problem. The helipad is empty. She may not be here after all.”
Chapter 8
Harper
I’d been pacing for two hours trying to come up with a plan when the lights flickered and then went out, pitching me into complete darkness. My throat constricted and my heart rate jumped. Ever since Viktor had left, I’d been on pins and needles waiting for this moment.
At sunset, the guards moved me back to my room with barely a word and now I had no idea what was happening.
I jumped off the bed and rushed to the door. “What’s going on?”
“We don’t know yet. Stay put and move to far side of the room.” His words no sooner got out and a series of loud cracks sounded from somewhere in the distance. It sounded like firecrackers were going off outside, but I wasn’t that naïve.
Gunshots were being fired.
“Unlock the door and let me out. I don’t like this. I need to be able to protect myself.”
I received no response and a burst of fear shot up my spine. Had they left me alone? What was I supposed to do? If it was Alex, I needed to let him know where I was. If it wasn’t, I had no idea how to handle the other.
The idea of Alex and Ronin being brothers had still not fully sunk in. What kind of coincidence resulted in my knowing both of them? I didn’t believe in coincidences. But what did that mean? I had so many questions and no one to answer them—yet.
I backed away from the door. I wasn’t prepared to see Ronin again. Just thinking about him gave me the strange feeling I got around him after I’d watched him transform into someone else during some kind of phone call. A mask of sorts had slipped over his face, and it scared the hell out of me.
It all could have been my imagination. I had just started therapy to deal with the Bill bullshit and my emotions were extremely close to the surface. Either way, it had been a mistake to go to that party and an even bigger error to play with Ronin while feeling so vulnerable.
I’d taken that opportunity to disappear and then worried for a day that he would come after me. It was stupid and paranoid, but I couldn’t shake the bad feeling. Still, I was glad I’d shared nothing more than my first name. What exactly any of that had to do with Alex I didn’t have a clue. Like Ronin, a chance opportunity (Zia giving me my first real client) and being out of my element had resulted in Alex noticing me.
Alex and I should have stuck to a one-night plan. Then maybe I wouldn’t be locked in a lavish bedroom on one of the world’s largest super yachts waiting to find out what came next.
More shots erupted, this time much closer and my imagination went on a wild rampage imagining a complete and total bloodbath just on the other side of my door.
As the seconds ticked by part of my fear morphed into anger. Who the hell lived like this? Kidnapping, armed guards, drugs, sex parties, giant boats with its own helicopter onboard, not to mention the freaking submarine thingy I’d seen. I couldn’t fathom the kind of money it took to support this insanity, but clearly none of them lived in my reality—or any reality.
I knew I was edging closer to hysteria, but I couldn’t stop it. The lines between normal and crazy had pretty much been blurred my entire life.
Another shot went off, this one closer but still muffled and it was closely followed by a thud just outside my door. I had a feeling if by some miracle one of the guards had still been standing there watching over me, he wasn’t now. What the hell was happening?
I glanced around the room for—something. But I already knew there was nothing I could use as a weapon. That had been one of the first things I’d searched for. With no escape either, there was little to do other than wait. Or hide. There was an off chance none of this had to do with Alex or Ronin. I’d seen the movies and read the news. There were real life pirates out on the ocean and they were a lot more vicious than their television counterparts.
Instead my anger flared again and I refused to crawl under the bed or cower in the closet. Someone had some mother fucking questions to answer and it didn’t matter which man was here.
The door to the cabin next to mine slammed and someone shouted my name. My stomach dropped and some of the bravado from a second ago disappeared. I took a few steps back until my legs hit the bed and I fell down on to the mattress.
“Harper!” A voice I didn’t recognize yelled my name again.
I considered answering but the lump in my throat prevented any words from coming out. The doorknob rattled, but it was locked from the outside not the inside, so nothing was going to stop him from coming in.
The door slammed open and light from several flashlights poured into the room as three large men dressed in head to toe black came walking into the room guns drawn and fanned out, one disappearing into the bathroom for a second before rejoining the group.
“Harper?” the man standing closest to me asked.
That damned lump got bigger, so I nodded.
One of the men stuck his head out the door and shouted down the hall. “She’s in here, we’re all clear.”
For a minute they all stood there, no one saying anything until another large, dark figure filled the doorway. His big body blocked what little light illuminated the area, so I still couldn’t see who it was. This not knowing who or what was going on while everyone stood there staring at me made my heart race to the point I thought I might stroke out any second.
“Harper.” The man at the door spoke, his voice smooth and crystal clear. Now that voice I knew.
“Ronin?”
“Yeah, surprised to see me?”
His sarcasm didn’t sound quite right and a shiver worked down my spine. I had no idea what to expect if he’d come first, but right now the hairs standing on end around my neck told me this wasn’t going to be a happy reunion.
“Not really. Mr. Sokolov said you were coming.” God, I sounded like an idiot, but at least I got words to work that time.
“Yeah? And where is that bastard? I’m looking forward to beating some sense into that Russian dick. What kind of game is he playing anyway? Fucker clearly has a death wish.”
I winced. The harsh tone in Ronin’s voice gave little
doubt he was pissed and serious as hell. The men with guns still surrounding me also didn’t hurt that theory.
“He left. A while ago.”
Ronin stepped farther into my space and I got a better view of him in the dim light. While he still looked like the same man I’d met at a party, he didn’t give off the same vibe now that he did then.
His body had filled out a bit more too. Instead of the tall, lean man I remembered, I was looking at muscles on top of muscles that under normal circumstances probably would have made my mouth water. There were some new tattoos too. They now covered every inch of his arms from what I could see. There were symbols, words and numbers mixed in with images that made me curious about what they meant.
“What do you mean he left?” he asked, pulling me away from my perusal of his appearance.
Now I was starting to get a little annoyed. I should be the one asking the questions. “As in he got on his helicopter and left me here with those goons outside. He said you and Alex were on your way.”
“Fucking bastard!” His voice boomed through the room, making me wince again. This angry Ronin reminded me of that tiny glimpse of him I’d gotten at the party that had made me run.
While I was trying to process these changes, the power came back on and flooded the room with light. I had to close my eyes for a moment against the sudden change and took that opportunity to take a fortifying deep breath. My ordeal was far from over and I now had to determine what Ronin’s agenda was in all this and how I figured in some sort of brotherly feud.
