Annoyance flickered over Katie’s features as she watched the huge yacht grow closer through the window of the helicopter. She really didn’t like yachts anymore. Trust her benefactor to park his in the Mediterranean and insist she come meet him for her next assignment. She just wanted to get this meeting over with so she could get back to her apartment in Sidney and start researching with Source. Maybe digging up the details of her new assignment would give her something to look forward to. These days, even the rush of a good escape didn’t do much for her.
The helicopter landed seamlessly on the yacht’s landing pad. Katie sent the pilot a distracted smile, unbuckled herself, set the headset aside and slipped from her seat. As usual, the boss himself met her, taking her hand in his. “Guten Morgen, Katerina,” he greeted her in a deeply accented voice, bending to brush his lips across her cheek.
“Good morning, Ivan,” she said pleasantly, taking his proffered arm and allowing him to lead her down the winding stairs from the helicopter pad. She stiffened a little when she heard the helicopter lift off again. Apparently, she was staying for an extended visit. “And how long am I to be your guest this time?”
He chuckled and led her toward the breakfast table under the shadows of a canopy. Pulling a chair out for her, he leaned over to speak in her ear as he seated her. “As long as it takes to sort a few matters out.”
He took the chair beside her rather than across from her. Katie glanced at the food spread across the table and, seeing a wide array of fruit, breads and cheeses, was reminded sharply of her breakfast with Roman. No popcorn though. Of course not. It was a silly detail only those closest to her knew. A sharp pang nearly stole her breath and she almost wished for the familiar numbness. She raised her eyes to Ivan and watched him fill a plate for her. He preferred to do the honours, no matter what she or any other woman in his life wanted. Why were all the men in her life such controlling jerks?
She wrinkled her nose a little when he set the plate in front of her and she saw a pile of grape tomatoes. Roman wouldn’t have put them on the table, let alone on her plate. He knew how much she hated tomatoes. Ivan neither knew nor cared about such things.
“What matters would those be, Ivan?” she asked coldly, picking up a strawberry as far away from the icky tomatoes as possible and taking a bite. “I was under the impression you wanted to discuss my next heist.”
He sighed and shook his head in silent admonition. She smiled ruefully. He considered the American word ‘heist’ to be crude and preferred she moderate her language. He’d head-hunted her from her university graduation at the age of twenty-two. He’d groomed her, lifting her from her rough beginnings to become one of the most renowned international players on the market. For a while, he thought he was grooming her to become his partner in all things until he realized he could not penetrate the ice encasing her heart. Now, she was much the same as the paintings she captured for him. Beautiful, cold, unattainable. To be watched and protected, but never touched.
“I want your XSource.”
She stiffened under his laser sharp focus and dropped the strawberry top onto her plate. She dabbed her napkin carefully against the edge of her lips before speaking. “This conversation is getting old, Ivan,” Katie reproved lightly, as though she weren't speaking to one of the most powerful criminal players on the international market. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. “XSource works for me and pretty much does his own thing outside of that. He takes the occasional contract in the States, but he chooses who he wants to work for. He doesn’t want to work for you because he understands what that entails. You can’t have him.”
She lifted icy azure eyes to meet his grey ones. She could see the storm building and knew what was coming. No one denied Ivan. Katie had sold her soul to him seven years earlier. She felt she had nothing to lose. But she hadn’t realized she’d be dragging others into her sordid life. The agreement she made with Ivan at the time extended safety to her family, but not her business contacts. And not Roman.
Though Ivan was Swiss, his dark brown hair and swarthy skin were more reminiscent of the Baltic nations. She wondered if perhaps his family tree extended closer toward Russia. Of course, she would never ask. The sinfully wealthy man was unpredictable and a little psychotic on a good day. He was downright sadistic when pissed off, which his current expression was leaning toward.
“You have been a good pet for over seven years, Katerina,” he said cruelly, stroking his wide jaw. “It would be a shame for you to outlive your usefulness now.”
She stiffened, more in annoyance than fear. She shot him a look, much like a school teacher admonishing a particularly naughty student. “And it would be a shame for you to lose your steady stream of artwork because you murdered her in a fit of childish rage,” she said steadily picking up her cup of coffee and taking a sip. She set it down quickly with a look of disgust. She did not enjoy Greek coffee.
He waved an arm around the luxurious room in which they were seated. “You think I couldn’t do without the income you bring me? Don’t be absurd.”
She smiled coolly and replied, “No, Ivan, I think you can't live without the paintings you keep for yourself.” She watched the slight flare of surprise on his handsome face before the shutters came down. “Don’t think I don't know exactly which commissions you keep for yourself. We both know I’m a curious kitty. I watch the market, I know which paintings sell and to whom. I also know which ones stay with the master.”
He studied her for a long moment, in which she wondered if she finally went to far with him. She just admitted to knowing he had at least eight priceless works of art hidden away worth millions of dollars on the black market. And she was a very accomplished art thief.
“Touché, my dear,” he said finally. “And you are correct, I would never lay a hand on you. It would be like slashing the Mona Lisa. Impossible, to say the least. You are wrong about one thing though. I would not harm you myself, but I would let you go… for a price.”
Katie frowned, toying absently with the food on her plate. Had she underestimated him? She thought she’d come to know him well over the years. Though he was often cold, and even brutal, he was her mentor, even a father figure, though he was only fourteen years older than her twenty-nine years. He was world weary in a way even she couldn’t touch. Like he’d seen and known things she couldn’t possibly understand. It made her ache whenever she saw the war building within him. Whenever she saw him punishing himself physically in combat training so he wouldn’t punish the world around him. In a way, it was how they’d come together. He recognized the girl that felt nothing, while she recognized the man that felt too much.
“What would you sell me for?” Katie asked, betrayal burning hot within her. It was hard to imagine her friend selling her out that way. Was that why he had brought her here and sent the helicopter away? Was he sending her on her final assignment?
He smiled gently and reached out to bring her hair over her shoulder. “You know me better than that, Katerina. There is only one thing I would sell you for.”
“What is that?” she demanded, brushing his hand away impatiently.
“Your happiness of course.”
She laughed bitterly. “Then I guess we don’t have anything to worry about, do we? I’m not going anywhere.”
He studied her for several long moments until, uncomfortable, Katie began eating again. She even choked down a disgusting tomato without realizing until it was too late. He chuckled low in his throat at the look of horror on her face when she realized what she was eating and then he joined her, wolfing down the contents on his plate.
“We will discuss your hacker friend over the course of the next few days, Katerina. I’m afraid I am not satisfied with this conclusion. He has been extremely useful to you over the years and I am convinced would be an asset to my organization. I have given you both the benefit of the doubt thus far and asked politely. I have accepted his ‘polite’ refusals to work directly with me and have not gone hunting. I will not remain so patient for long.”
Katie dropped her eyes to her plate so he wouldn’t read the panic that flared to life within. Damn it! She did not need this complication. She’d gone from fearing for Source’s life a year ago when Roman grabbed her, to now fearing for her friend’s freedom. One did not just go to work for Ivan in a typical sense. No, the man was a slave driver. Or more accurately, a slave owner. And as an elite hacker, her friend was not even remotely willing to become part of any organization. XSource worked freelance or not at all. The only reason Source became involved with Soloman and Roman was as a favour to Katie, so she could keep an eye on the home front. And, apparently, Soloman Hart paid extremely well and didn’t mind the tech expert’s insistence on anonymity.
Katie was forced to enjoy the perks of Ivan’s yacht over the following few days. She had a bedroom complete with private ensuite and stocked wardrobe, so it wasn’t necessary for her to bring any clothes or toiletries with her. Though Ivan grilled her a few more times on her best cyber friend, he didn’t press the issue too hard. She wasn’t sure why, but he seemed to be biding his time, as though he’d made a decision already. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but she felt as though she should get a warning out to Source and then leave it up to the hacker what to do with the information. Source was perfectly capable of going to ground and had, from Katie’s understanding, done it many times before. They both knew how to run and hide. It was the world they chose to inhabit.
Katie spent most of her time on the yacht sunbathing in the gorgeous Mediterranean sun and researching her next job. “Mexico,” she sighed out loud, regret and yearning evident in her voice. She had only ever done one job there about five years ago and was not really looking forward to going back. It was a beautiful country, but somehow, being in the same country of Roman’s birth and the death of his parents, felt too intimate. There wasn’t much she could do, though. She didn’t get to choose the jobs.
Ivan dropped onto the lounger next to hers and she glanced over at him with a raised brow. “Bit overdressed for the weather, aren’t we?”
He was wearing a tuxedo complete with black bowtie. His dark curls were smoothed back from his broad forehead tipping his already handsome appearance into the breathtaking category. Or it would, if she had eyes for anyone but Roman Valdez. She was stretched out on her lounger wearing a bright patterned bikini and wide-brimmed sun hat with a laptop open on her thighs. He was sitting on the lounger next to hers with his knees stretched wide and his hands clasped loosely between his legs.
“We’ll be making dock in a little while,” he informed her. “I have an event in Athens this evening and you, my dear one, have a plane to catch.”
She studied him, wondering what was different about the tone in his voice. She wasn't surprised about the casual way he was telling her that she would be leaving. He always arranged her life like this. She was used to jumping at his bidding. The only times he didn’t casually mess with her life was when she was at home with her family, knowing how much that time meant to her. Although, she hadn’t been able to visit them for a year now. She knew Roman would be watching them, expecting her to show at some point. She had made the excuse that her current job was extremely demanding and that she just couldn’t get away. She tried to soothe her mother’s hurt by Skyping with her as often as possible.
Unable to pinpoint what it was about Ivan’s demeanour that was setting off alarm bells within her, Katie impulsively leaned forward and brushed her lips against his cheek. Before she could settle back in her chair, he took her face between his hands and held her face close for a few seconds.
“You will call if you ever need me for anything, my dear one, yes?” he demanded, pressing his lips firmly against both of her soft cheeks before releasing her and standing to tower over her.
She sat back in surprise. “Of course, Ivan," she assured him, “don’t I always?”
He studied her for a moment. “Not nearly as much as I’d hoped,” he muttered, before striding away.