CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Wednesday, June 28
Looking over at Stazi, he knew she wasn’t happy despite how they’d spent their morning. When he’d announced that she needed to miss work so they could see where all the players in the Russian drama were, she balked.
Apparently, she thought the whole thing was over and her return to the life she knew before the museum gala was a given.
Which was not even close to what was going to happen.
First off, they needed to have a full update on the location of everyone who ever looked in Stazi’s direction, and then they needed to go to the doctor for the follow-up visit.
A person didn’t get drugged with two different types of sedatives and return to work the next day, and she needed to get that idea through her very thick, stubborn skull. She was going to do as she was told, and he didn’t really care how mad she got because he wasn’t going to take a chance on her health and safety. The sooner she accepted that, the better.
So what if she blew a gasket in the process?
They were far enough into their relationship that he felt confident they could overcome their differences and come up with a compromise they could both live with. Except he didn’t have a lot of compromise in him when it came to her safety. Which might be a bit of a problem if she didn’t get on board with the plan.
By the looks of it, that might be what they were about to face. She acted madder than a hornet and he bet most of that mad was directly aimed at him.
Which was fine because he could live with a mad Stazi. He couldn’t live with a dead Stazi.
That reality had been tested and he knew unequivocally that he wasn’t interested in reliving the hours in which he had no idea where she was and who had ahold of her. Not to mention pulling her drugged body out of a safe room, where she could have very well have died.
Nope.
Not going to happen.
“Will I be let out of captivity by this afternoon or do you plan on keeping me caged up for the foreseeable future?”
He put his hand out and waited until she placed hers inside. When she took a good long minute, he knew this was going to be the fight of his life. “Hard to say. Guess it depends on how much intel we have about the whereabouts of the people who would like to see harm come to you.”
“Pretty sure they’ve all scattered in the wind and my life can go back to its regularly scheduled broadcast.”
“Not good enough. I prefer dead or locked up as an acceptable answer.”
“Everybody has a dream. Doesn’t mean it’s going to come true.”
“Mine is more of a reality. Either you’re safe or you’re not. Right now, your safety is in the not category and until that changes we are…”
“Velcro.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth and gave her a kiss. “I’m glad that you remember.”
“Remembering is not agreeing.”
“So you’ve said a time or a hundred.”
“You realize that I’m not happy or amused with all of this.”
“Yes, honey, the frown and snarky comments pretty much gave it away.” Turning, he winked at her. “Doesn’t really matter to me, though. I’ll give you anything in the world, but I will not take a chance with your safety because you’re irritated.”
“Unfortunately, I already figured that out.”
“The more time we spend together, the better we are going to be together. We’re in relationship boot camp and by the time we’re done with it, we are going to be a winning team.”
“Or one of us will be dead.”
Smirking, he shook his head. “Not a chance, honey. I survived BUD/S and the way I did that was by working with the men on my boat crew. When I was having a hard time, they supported me and vice versa. If I had to drag their asses over the finish line to succeed, then that’s what I did. What you and I are doing is a lot like that. Right now, you have no interest in making it to the next phase, but like a good team member, I’m ignoring it and making sure you don’t ring the bell. If I have to hog-tie you and put you on my shoulder so we make it, I will. No one is going to die on this evolution, despite what you’re plotting on my behalf.”
“I have no idea what you just said, but I feel like it doesn’t bode well for me.”
“Oh, it does. You just might not realize it for a while.”
“Oy vey.”
“Back at you, honey.” The fact that he was on her last nerve bothered him very little. Which was either going to work in his favor or completely blow up in his face.
***
Sam elbowed Hank and spoke quietly. “I thought Stazi would be a lot happier with you.”
“Turns out pulling her out of the house doesn’t forgive my, and I quote; ‘heavy-handed bossy ways,’ which is downright disappointing.”
“But not surprising,” Sam replied as Lucky and Stazi took seats in the conference room.
“Can’t last forever,” he said with more confidence than he felt. The banter they’d had in the car gave him a small bit of hope that she would allow him to make sure she was safe without holding it against him, but that hope was now pretty much dead. Not only was she sitting away from him, her arms were crossed and she was frowning. “Sam, we’re ready when you are.”
Jason and Maddox both gave him questioning glances and he decided to ignore them. What could he say that wouldn’t put him in hotter water than he already was?
Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing.
Sam opened his tablet and gave the women a smile. “First off, I would like to congratulate the entire SAI team for locating Stazi and rescuing her from a dangerous situation. I would also like to thank each and every one of you on behalf of the United States Government for aiding us in the investigation of Sergey Belikov and his associates.”
“That’s a lot of formal ass-kissing. You almost done?” Maddox asked.
“Almost. I may have one or two more sentences,” Sam replied with a laugh. “In all seriousness, I do appreciate everything the team has done. We were able to confiscate over fifty million dollars’ worth of heroin and we took two brigadiers into custody. It was a big win and it wouldn’t have happened without all of your hard work.”
“Lucky and her team did most of the heavy lifting on this one,” Hank replied. “It was her skills and determination that set us on the right path and helped us locate the players.”
Lucky looked down at the table and shrugged. “Not a big deal.”
“Yes, it was,” Stazi said firmly. “Without you, I might still be in that room.”
“We made a pinky promise in kindergarten to always look out for each other and I don’t like to break promises.”
“Knew I picked the right girl to be friends with,” Stazi replied.
“Enlighten us on who was at the top of the power pyramid,” Jason said as he leaned back in his chair. “I’d assumed it was Firtash because of his wealth, but that wasn’t the case, was it?”
Sam sat forward and then folded his hands. “Dmitry Firtash certainly wields a lot of power, but Sergey found his weak spot and exploited it. For billionaires like Dmitry, there is very little that either scares them or motivates them unless it’s a family member under threat. Unfortunately, Anastasia became that for Dmitry.”
“Where did he disappear to?” Maddox asked. “We followed that tunnel under the house and didn’t find any signs of him. We came up at a building across the street and never picked up a clue.”
“The tunnel was probably part of the original construction of the building and Dmitry simply modernized it when he put in the safe room. It’s not a bad idea to have more than one way out and it looks like he used it.”
“Why?” Jason asked.
“My guess is that he either heard you guys come in and wanted to avoid being taken into custody or got word that the United States was about to hand down an indictment. My contacts at Interpol have told me that he’s in Austria and banking on no one being able to extradite him. The Spaniards want him as much as we do, so I imagine the legal fight is going to be long and protracted.”
“How did he fly out of the country if he allowed Belikov to use his jet?” Stazi asked.
“When you’re a billionaire, you have a lot of friends with planes, and getting off US soil is not that hard.”
“As far as we can tell, Sergey’s shakedown of Dmitry couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Lucky added. “By all accounts, he knew the indictment was coming and gambled by staying as long as he did. He should’ve left right after the gala if he was playing it smart, but running into his daughter’s twin seemed to have derailed his plans.”
“Was that all it was?” Stazi asked. “Nothing more complicated than me looking like someone?”
Lucky put her hand on Stazi’s arm and shrugged. “Sometimes, the answers are simple.”
“If he really thought of me as family, why did he allow me to be drugged and left in a room alone?”
“Perhaps he saw it as the best solution to a horrid situation. Clearly, he didn’t want Sergey to get his hands on you and this might’ve been his answer,” Sam said.
“Why did Sergey decide to shake down Dmitry at this point in his career? Why was he so desperate to use the warehouse and plane to transport the drugs? This certainly wasn’t the first time he’d had such a large shipment. He had to have a protocol in place,” Hank asked.
Sam tapped his pen on the table and responded. “The DEA had been leaning on him pretty heavily for the last year and he couldn’t go through his usual routine without a good chance of getting caught. They had shut down every avenue that he’d used in the past, and taking advantage of Dmitry was his solution.”
“Was Sergey taken into custody or did he make it out of US airspace before being intercepted?” Stazi asked.
“Sergey Belikov did not survive his confrontation with federal agents when he attempted to board Dmitry’s plane. Along with five associates, he died at the scene,” Sam said quietly. “By all accounts, his actions suggest he preferred to die on the tarmac of the airport as opposed to living out the rest of his days in prison.”
“So that’s that?” Stazi asked.
“As far as you’re concerned, yes,” Sam replied resolutely. “My guess is that Dmitry left you in the safe room because he didn’t want to take the chance of Sergey coming back if things at the airport went wrong. Despite his fascination with you, he didn’t seem to wish you any harm.”
“Didn’t really feel like that,” Stazi said quietly.
Hank looked across the table and wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her. He could tell she was struggling to process the information and he wanted to be the one she turned to for comfort. Hell, he wanted to be the person she turned to for everything. But it didn’t seem like she was interested and he hoped it was because this was the end of a difficult journey.
After a few days, he bet they would be back on track and begin living their lives just like any normal couple.
***
Stazi walked into her apartment and wondered how long it was going to take for her to feel normal. The heightened state she’d been in for a month had left her feeling out of sorts and…hungover. Which might be a weird way to describe her current emotional state but it was the only thing she could come up with.
Emotionally, she was at the bottom of her reserve and she knew a quiet weekend would go a long way in helping her regain her equilibrium. Hearing footsteps in the hall, she tensed for a moment and then realized she didn’t have to. Boris wasn’t sitting outside in a car, nor was Sergey or any of his other henchmen. No one was interested in using her as a pawn and she had nothing to be scared of.
The scrape of the key in the lock told her Hank was coming in and she tried not to feel disappointed. Truth was, she wanted an evening alone to take a bubble bath and let her mind wander. When he walked through the door with his hands full of grocery bags and a smile, she felt lousy. He was a beautiful, courageous, sexy man and all she wanted him to do was leave.
Just one night alone was all she needed and then she would be okay.
He kissed her head as he walked past toward the kitchen and she heard him whistling. Taking a deep breath, she decided to do her best not to be irritated and appreciate the wonderful man in her life. “I’ll make a salad to go with the chicken,” she said. “How does that sound?”
“Perfect, honey.”
Giving him a small smile, she set to work and got everything together, and soon they were sitting at the dining room table, enjoying their meal. When they were halfway through, Hank lifted his glass and she did the same.
“Here’s to starting our new lives together as a normal couple.”
“Cheers,” Stazi said as she clinked glasses. “It’s going to be an adjustment for us, but I think dating as opposed to living together will allow us to build a solid foundation.”
“What?”
Looking up from her plate, she noticed Hank’s expression and wondered what had set him off. “Why are you angry?”
He plunked his glass down and then crossed his arms. “Why the hell would we date? We’re together in every sense of the word, and pretending like we’re not going to spend the rest of our lives together is stupid.”
Pushing her chair back from the table, she mirrored his posture and shook her head. “Dating is not stupid. Dating makes sense so that we can get to know one another and take our time.”
“Dating is for people who are not sure of what they want. Dating is for people who want to keep their options open. We. Are. Not. Dating. We are together and that’s that.”
Heat suffused her body and her brain felt like it was going to explode. “I pray to God that what’s happening right now is a result of us both being exhausted. Because if it’s not, then I’m going to have to rethink taking you on.”
“No fucking way, Staz.” He stood and paced back and forth. “You are the person that I’m going to marry and spend the rest of my life with, and I’m not going backward and pretending that we’re testing the waters. I know in my soul that you are the one for me and I won’t pretend otherwise. I’m not auditioning for a place in your life. Either you want me or you don’t.”
Feeling her heart beat out of rhythm made her take a deep breath. The doctor had told her that she might experience an irregular heartbeat as a result of the ketamine she was injected with, and it seemed he wasn’t kidding. Placing her hand on her heart, she closed her eyes and decided she couldn’t continue this argument.
She loved Hank Coleman with her entire being, but there was no way she was going to let him dictate how their relationship proceeded. “Hank, I’m exhausted and I think we should table this discussion until tomorrow.”
“No!” He stood in front of her and fisted his hands. “I want to know now where you stand.”
This wasn’t some snappy conversation with one-liners. This was the real thing that sometimes happened when you took away the mask and let another person see you. “Please, Hank, don’t push me tonight.” If he couldn’t see that she wasn’t up for this and didn’t back off then perhaps all the love in the world wasn’t going to be enough to save them. What she needed from him was his acceptance without understanding as a condition. “Why don’t you go back to your place, and we’ll take the night off and then continue this talk when we’ve both had a break.”
“Either you’re in or you’re out, Stazi. If I walk out the door, then we’re over.”
Standing, she lifted her face and looked into his eyes. He was dead serious with his ultimatum and she knew that she couldn’t be with a man who behaved that way. “Goodbye, Hank.”
She walked to the door, opened it, and waited. The look of confusion that crossed his face told her that he was as surprised as she was that they’d ended up in this place. All she had wanted was a bubble bath and some quiet when she walked in earlier, and now she was saying goodbye to the love of her life.
The trajectory of events probably wasn’t something she was going to understand right away and she was okay with it. Hank grabbed his phone off the table, walked out the door, and didn’t say a word. She closed the door, leaned against it, and slid to the ground. Her heart continued to beat out of rhythm and she figured it was because it was broken. Hank Coleman broke her heart.