Goddamn it. She was going to run. I saw it in her eyes.
I locked down my expression. “Shower. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” As I turned toward the door, Hunter went to her side.
“Dane?” Desperation filled her voice.
The mission, I reminded myself, the fucking mission was still the same. Fedorov was dead. I turned. “What?”
Her hair fell over her face as she looked down. “I wouldn’t know where to go,” she quietly admitted.
I didn’t give her an in. I fucking wanted to. I wanted to tell her to stay, but I’d meant what I said. I wasn’t going to cage her in. “Whole world out there.” And I hated most of it.
“I don’t need to see the whole world.” She held the clothes that fucking tool bought her in front of her naked body.
I didn’t want her to dress in them any more than I wanted her to think about him, but she was so damn small, I couldn’t put her in anything of mine. “You need to get ready.” I didn’t want to fucking talk to her about where she was gonna go.
She sucked in a breath and nodded. “Give me a few minutes.”
Taking only a few minutes was an accommodation for me, but I didn’t care. Somewhere I’d lost the battle. Maybe I’d never won. Maybe I’d never gotten through to her. I didn’t fucking know. But now I was going to have to deal with the fact that there was a woman walking around who could be carrying my kid.
Pissed at myself for not seeing how this could play out, I snapped my fingers at Hunter. Instead of coming, he lay down at her feet.
God-fucking-damn it.
Now she’d stolen my fucking dog too.
I stalked to the kitchen and put on the tactical vest I’d retrieved from the barn this morning. I disassembled my McMillan CS5 sniper rifle and packed it into a backpack. I checked the magazines on two of my untraceable handguns and holstered them. I was scrambling eggs when she walked into the kitchen with Hunter on her heels.
She paused when she saw me at the stove. “You’re cooking.”
I plated the eggs. “You’re eating.”
She stared at the food.
I put a fork on the plate and shoved it across the island to her. “Eat.”
She didn’t move.
I poured a cup of coffee, put cream in it and set it in front of her. “We don’t have much time.”
“You made this for me?”
If I wasn’t so fucking pissed off, I would’ve taken her mouth. She looked fucking gorgeous standing there with no makeup and her hair down. “Yes.”
“Thank you.” She reached for the mug.
“Food first,” I warned. “You didn’t eat last night.” Nothing in my fridge had been touched, and I knew from the security feeds what time she’d gotten to my house.
She picked up the fork. “You’re bossy this morning.”
“I’m bossy every morning.”
She glanced at Hunter. “Your dog is following me.”
“I noticed.”
“Why is he doing that?”
“He likes you.” He was protecting her. From me.
She looked down at him and he wagged his tail. “Last night he wanted to bite me.”
“Now he doesn’t.”
She didn’t look convinced. “What will he do if I pet him?”
Give up his last ounce of loyalty to me. “Lick your hand.”
She didn’t pet him. She took a small bite and slowly chewed like she hated it.
I stared at her. “Something wrong?”
She set the fork down. “I’m not sure what’s right.”
She was. For me. “Eat. Then we’ll discuss it.”
She looked at me over the rim of the coffee mug. “Why are you angry?”
I picked the least inflammatory reason from my growing list. “You’re in his clothes.”
Slowly, as if she understood something I didn’t say, she set the mug down and nodded. “Thank you for making me breakfast.” She picked the fork back up.
I wasn’t going to watch her eat. It’d make me want to fuck her again. Everything she did made me want to fuck her. Like her cunt was my own personal redemption. “I’ll be in the garage when you’re ready.” I didn’t wait for a reply. I gave Hunter a hand command to stay before I walked out, but I didn’t know why I bothered. The traitor was lying at her feet.
I loaded my shit in the truck, cursing myself for not getting a rental under one of my aliases. I was closing the door when she walked into the garage followed by Hunter.
“Hunter, stay.”
She looked over her shoulder as Hunter walked back into the house with his head down. “Why can’t he come?” She crossed her arms protectively around herself. “What if we don’t come back?”
“He has a dog door.” I’d trained him to unlock it and use it if he needed to. He could get out, but he couldn’t get back in. “If I don’t come home, he’ll go to the neighbor’s house.” I knew she said we, but she never said she didn’t want an out.
She looked out the open garage door at the surrounding woods. “You don’t have neighbors.” She didn’t mention coming back.
“Seven miles to the north.” Hunter had made the trip a few times. The old man who lived on the next property north of mine always fed him and brought him back.
“And the neighbor will what? Keep him?”
“If he has to.” We had a deal. If Hunter showed up at the neighbor’s and I didn’t contact him within three days, Hunter was his. “Get in.” I opened the door for her.
She stepped up on the running board and gracefully got in.
Refraining from touching her, I closed her door then got behind the wheel.
She didn’t speak until we were miles from my house on the county road. “You know Viktor can find any properties you have.”
Not this one. “My condo is under a holding company.” I’d bought it from a guy I’d met downrange. Ex-Danish Military Special Forces, Neil Christensen was the only fucker I knew who was deadlier than me. He’d taken an early retirement and come to the States to raise a nephew after his brother had died. Neil didn’t do anything half-assed. He’d gone into commercial construction and now his company was the number-one builder of luxury high-rises all over Florida. I’d kept the condo in his company’s name. If I died, he could have it.
“Where are you meeting Viktor?”
“I’m not.” I watched the rearview mirrors and road ahead for any signs of a tail.
She turned toward the window. “Do I get to know anything?”
I hated that I couldn’t see her face, because her tone wasn’t telling me shit. I debated not telling her about Luna but she’d figure it out sooner or later. “Luna’s taking the meet. I’m the trigger.”
She didn’t comment.
I forced the issue. “Anything you want to tell me? Now’s the time.”
“I don’t care what happens to Viktor.”
She should. “He tried to eliminate you.”
“And he’s blackmailing you. You know he’ll kill you the second he gets a chance.”
“He won’t get a chance.”
She didn’t reply.
Fifteen minutes later, she still hadn’t said a word. I made two extra loops and pulled into the underground parking of the condo once I was sure we weren’t being followed.
I cut the engine and scanned the lot then grabbed my backpack. “Wait for me to come get you.” As I got out of the truck and walked to her side, I cursed myself for never putting in any of my own security cameras for the building.
I opened her door and she silently got out.
One hand on my weapon, the other on her back, I led her to the elevator and punched in the code for the top floor.
She glanced at me. “Penthouse?”
“It was a good investment.” The doors opened on the top floor hallway, and I entered another code to get into the condo. Pushing the door open, I gestured for her to enter first.
“It’s dark.”
“I keep the hurricane shutters closed when I’m not here.” I flipped a few switches and the recessed lighting in the entryway lit up the space.
She walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. “I’ll open them.”
“Leave them.” Impact-resistant windows weren’t bulletproof.
She paused halfway to the windows and crossed her arms, but it wasn’t in defiance. She looked scared as fuck. “I wanted to see the view.”
Turning on the phones I found on the counter from Luna, and checking the batteries, I spared her a glance as I walked to one of the side windows and pressed the switch to open that shutter. “One window. No more,” I warned.
She nodded and quietly moved to the window as I checked the phones for preprogrammed numbers to make sure Luna had put the numbers in for each phone.
I handed her one. “Here. If you need to call me, the number is in the contacts.” I pocketed the other phone.
She took the cell. “Where is your friend meeting him?”
I tipped my chin toward the window I’d just raised the shutters on. “Indigo.”
Tension radiating off her, she looked out at the view.
It took an act of God not to touch her or say a damn word.
“That’s right next door,” she said quietly.
Not technically. “It’s across the street.” It was a fucking stroke of luck I owned a condo here. Or it wasn’t and Fedorov was one step ahead of me and already had someone on the roof. Either way, I was about to find out. “I need to go. Lock the door after me. Call me if anything comes up.” I put the earpiece com in one ear and my Bluetooth in the other.
She didn’t acknowledge me. She just stood at the window.
I reached for the switch to close the shutter. “You don’t need to watch.”
Her hand briefly covered mine and determination filtered into her voice. “Leave it.”
If she wanted to watch, I wouldn’t deny her. “Lock the door after me.” I could’ve locked her in, but I was giving her a sense of control. “Don’t let anyone in.” I set my second handgun on the counter. “Shoot first, call the cops second.”
“You said he wouldn’t know about this place.”
He wouldn’t. But the second I set up on the roof, I’d be visible. If Fedorov was smart, he’d have his own man nearby with a similar vantage point, and it wouldn’t take much to send a team to sweep the building. “He shouldn’t.” I checked my watch. “I have to go.”
“Where?”
“I won’t be far.” The less she knew, the less she could be questioned about if this went south. I hoisted my backpack.
She nodded once but she didn’t make eye contact. “Be careful.”
I didn’t put stock in words. I studied people’s expressions, actions, tells, tone, and body language. But she hadn’t said the words with any inflection, nor did she give a tell. Both of which was a tell in itself, except I didn’t want to fucking acknowledge it.
“See you soon.” I didn’t kiss her, or hold her or even touch her. I walked out the fucking door because I wasn’t her hero. I was half her problem.
Fifteen minutes later, I was looking through the scope with the sun beating down on my back.
I scanned the perimeter for the fiftieth time. “Anything?”
“Not yet,” Luna answered through the com. “And it’s hot as fuck up here. Where’s the breeze?”
“Taking a day off and giving me an advantage.” I checked the distance and the lack of wind again then made a slight adjustment on the rifle.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re more talkative when you’re looking through a scope?”
“No, because they’d be ly—”
“Oh shit,” Luna whispered. “South entrance.”
I trained the scope to the south.
“Who the fuck is that?” Luna asked.
Goddamn it. Fedorov walked across the patio with four guards and a blonde. “Don’t know.” But I could guess. White-blonde hair, middle aged.
“We got a problem, amigo.” Luna kept his head down. “He’s right up on her.”
I saw. Fuck, I saw. “Play it out.” There was no way from my vantage point to get a shot in on him.
“You’re not gonna get a clean shot, amigo.”
“I know.” God-fucking-damn it. “Turn away. Buy me a few seconds.”
“He’s seen me. His whole fucking entourage is heading right at me.” Luna swore in Spanish. “You got two, maybe three seconds, bro. Take the fucking shot if you’ve got it.”
As if Fedorov knew where I’d be, as if he knew the exact fucking projection angle, the blonde was mirroring his every step, blocking him from my line of fire. If I shot at him, I’d be shooting through her.
My cell vibrated. I hit the Bluetooth.
“Oh my God,” Irina said in a panic. “That’s my mother!”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. “I see.”
“What the fuck is going on, amigo?” Luna hissed.
“That bastard is going to take her!” Irina shrieked.
I heard her footsteps.
“Stand down, Irina,” I warned.
“Stand down?” Hysteria filtered into her voice. “I’m not some military soldier. You stand down! She’s wearing my dress! He’s going to…” The connection cut in and out. “…wait around… to get… stand in…” The phone went dead.
Goddamn it. “Irina is on the move. Possible breach,” I warned Luna.
“Copy,” Luna whispered.
“Who are you?” Fedorov’s voice filtered through Luna’s com.
Luna picked up his glass of water and took a sip. “No habla ingles.”
Fuck, I didn’t have a shot. “I don’t have a clear sight line. Get out of there, Luna.”
“Bullshit,” another voice spoke. “That’s André Luna, boss.”
The guard closest to Luna settled his hand on his gun.
Motherfucker. “Watch the guard on the left, Luna.”
Luna held his hands up. “No comprende, amigos.”
The same guard spoke again. “He’s a marine, boss. He knows Marek.”
“Really.” Fedorov chuckled. “How about I make you a deal, marine?”
The blonde woman looked side to side.
Fedorov leaned toward Luna but not enough for me to take the shot. “You tell Marek to give me my wife and I won’t fucking kill you.”
The blonde took a step backward, and one of the guards was on her in a second. His gun jammed into her side as he pushed her back into position as Fedorov’s human shield. Then he leaned toward another guard and said something I couldn’t hear. They both glanced in my direction.
I held my aim.
Luna slowly pushed his chair back and stood. His hands still raised, he smiled and told me in Spanish to take the shot. “Trata de acetar, hermano.”
I aimed at the guard who had the gun on the blonde’s back.
Fedorov scoffed. “Do you really want to play this no-English game with me?”
I breathed out and readied to pull the trigger.
“Viktor!” Irina ran across the patio.
Six heads turned toward her and three of the guards drew their weapons.
“Dios mio,” Luna muttered, drawing his 9mm and aiming it at Fedorov’s head.
Irina froze as every other customer on the patio either hit the ground or fled.
Rage consumed me. “Do not let them take her, Luna,” I barked.
Luna dropped the pretense and switched to English. “What are you going to do, Fedorov? Your men shoot her, I shoot you.”
“No one’s going to shoot anyone,” Fedorov calmly replied, his gaze intent on Irina. “Well, pet, quite a spectacle you’ve caused.”
“You stupid girl,” her mother bit out. “Viktor gave you everything and this is how you repay him?”
“Shut up, Mother.” Irina’s hands went to her hips. “Let her go, Viktor, or he’ll shoot you.”
Viktor laughed. “Really, pet. Do you think I am so stupid that I would allow that to happen? Do you really think he has a clean shot? Would I show up unprepared to such a standoff?”
Goddamn it. I scanned the other roof lines.
“Talk to me,” Luna whispered.
“I’m looking. I don’t see anyone.” I trained the scope back on them and a red dot appeared on Luna’s chest. Fuck. “You’re targeted.”
Luna glanced down at his chest.
“Ah, there we go, Mr. Luna. It’s seems you have lost this round.” He grabbed Irina by the back of the neck like a disobedient dog. “Come, pet. I think it’s time we go home and you show me how sorry you are.”
“Fedorov,” Luna called.
Fedorov paused and spared Luna a glance. “Really, Mr. Luna. You are out of choices.” The red dot moved to Luna’s forehead. “If you shoot me, you die. Is my life worth yours?”
I pulled my cell out and dialed her.
Fedorov spun Irina to face Luna. “Tell your new friends, if they want to live, they’ll forget about you.” Fedorov gripped a handful of her hair. “Go ahead. I’m sure your new marine fuck toy can hear you through this one’s earpiece.”
The phone still ringing, I cataloged.
I shoot Fedorov. His sniper shoots Luna, Irina and her mother. He could pluck off the three shots as fast as I could take out the guards. They’d all be dead.
Irina threw the cell phone I’d given her on the table. “Take me home, Viktor.”