Haley crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you thinking?”
“I’ll think of something.”
“That’s not going to work,” Konstantin said.
Haley held up both hands. “Okay, where does Natasha have you meeting her at?”
Leonid gave them the address.
Haley glanced at Konstantin. “That’s the house where she held us. We know the layout.”
“She’ll have everyone out front to impress you.” Konstantin wasn’t sure if he should dare hope. “We could come in through the back?”
Haley nodded. “She’s down a few people. Do you think you could convince her to meet with just you?”
Leonid glanced from Haley to Konstantin and back to Haley. “What are you getting at?”
“I want to catch her in a pinch move. You on one side, us on the other. She’ll be in one of the front rooms we didn’t see. If we come in through the back or the garage, we catch her between us.”
Konstantin grimaced. It wouldn’t be that easy. “Or we start a shootout.”
Leonid held up his hands. “Leave Natasha to me. You get the girl. We have to go. We’re late and you know how your mother is about being late.”
“Yeah,” Konstantin muttered.
He stood there watching his dad get back into the car, then drive off.
In all his years, he’d never thought to see the day he’d work with his father.
“Hey?” Haley put her hand on Konstantin’s arm.
He glanced down at her. “Am I doing the right thing?”
“With Zasha? Of course.”
He wrapped an arm around Haley’s waist and hugged her tight. She laid her head on his shoulder.
“We’ll get her back,” she said.
He had to believe they would.
Konstantin bent his head, letting his brow rest against Haley’s.
“Keep telling me that?” he whispered. “I need to hear it.”
She looked up at him, a pillar of strength in his darkest hour. “That’s what I’m here for.”
He’d thought he loved Haley. He’d been afraid of it. But in that moment he knew there was no other woman he’d want at his side.
He cupped her face, but couldn’t find the words.
She lifted up on tip-toe, as if she understood his need, and kissed him.
When this was over and he had Zasha back, he was going to win Haley over. Their lives weren’t complete without her.
MONDAY. ROSE HOUSE. Arlington, VA.
Tasha paced the front room.
They had the child.
Her son was missing, but she could deal with him later.
Where was Leonid?
She was right, damn it. He had provided for their son. There was a heart in there somewhere, even if it was withered and defective.
“There’s a car approaching, ma’am,” Nikolai said.
“If it’s not him, I don’t care.”
The house was almost empty.
She could have ensured Oleg was there with more men to take Leonid by force, but she would rather play this according to her husband’s rules.
Tasha would show him that she could play this game better than he could.
She would make him regret that night she’d come to him, begging to be involved. He’d told her things would be different, but it had all been a lie. He’d shunned her and now she didn’t need him. She simply wanted what she was owed.
“The car is slowing,” Nikolai announced.
“God damn it, Nik. Shut up,” she snapped.
She crossed to peer over his shoulder.
The car had stopped.
They both watched the driver get out and open the rear door.
She held her breath.
Leonid stood, unfolding himself from the back seat.
Despite the years, he still stood tall and cut quite the picture.
Tasha had never loved Leonid. Their marriage had nothing to do with feelings. It was business. Just that, nothing more.
Her connections had given him legitimate avenues to work through. Arguably, she’d brought more to the union than he had. And now it was time to pay the piper.
“Get back.” She pulled Nikolai away from the window. “Get ready to answer the door. Make sure to leave him waiting for ten seconds. We do not jump at his command.”
She pushed Nikolai toward the door.
Her heart fluttered in her chest.
The plan was working perfectly.
She turned and suddenly didn’t know what to do with herself.
Tasha had intended to let him walk in, see her regal and in charge. But she no longer wanted to sit.
She should stand.
But queens sat.
A sharp tap sounded at the door, then it opened and Leonid stepped in.
Nikolai scrambled, trying to shut the door too late.
Tasha could only stare as her husband glanced right then left before looking at her. His gaze left almost as soon as it landed, moving on to take in the rest of the room.
Treating her like more set dressing.
She grit her teeth and mustered a sneering smile.
“How kind of you to join us. I almost thought you wouldn’t come.”
“Why am I here?” Leonid sounded almost bored.
She snorted and waved Nikolai away. “You came because somewhere under those iron plates you have a heart.”
Leonid laid his hand over his chest. “Of course I have a heart.”
She narrowed her gaze.
“I will tell you why I’m here.” Leonid slid his hands into his pockets and took two steps toward her. “I’m here to tell you this is a dangerous game you’re trying to play, Tasha. It won’t turn out well for you.”
“For me?” She laughed. “You’re the one that walked into my home.”
He shrugged. “If you want to kill me, go ahead. Do it. I’ve lived a long life. But you? You turn over the wrong rock and you’ll wish you were dead.”
There was something about the fierce, cold stare he leveled at her. She almost shivered.
She waved a hand. “What rock are you talking about? Seriously, have you gone senile?”
“You know what I’m talking about. Certain secrets that should remain secret?”
The pictures.
Damn him.
It didn’t matter if he knew she was trying to use that information. She could still make it work.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said with a smile.
“If you go that path, they will come for you.”
She smiled.
Let them try. Whoever they were. Probably more washed up KGB discards.
“I just realized you haven’t met your granddaughter. Nikolai?” She snapped her fingers.
Leonid continued looking at her, his face impassive as always.
By the end of today he would be dead, but not before she got to make him see her for what she was, what she’d built. He’d regret not making use of her. Not appreciating her.
In the silence they heard the thump of small feet on hardwood floors.
Nikolai led Zasha into the room dressed in a cute, designer shift dress Tasha had purchased for this occasion.
Tasha tilted her head. “She’s a little simple minded, but I suppose that’s what happens when you breed with whores.”
“Really?” Leonid scowled at her.
“What? Talk to her. She’s like thirteen or something and talks like she’s much younger. I’m honestly surprised at Ivana.”
Leonid went to the girl with her too large eyes and too pale skin.
“Hello,” he said in a kind voice.
Tasha frowned, vague memories of Leonid speaking to Konstantin in the same voice surfacing.
“This woman and I are going to have a chat. Would you like a piece of candy?” Leonid held out some mystery candy in a clear plastic wrapper.
Zasha took the candy and opened it at Leonid’s urging.
Her husband was
going soft. The man who’d inspired so much fear. It was hard to see him like this.
“That’s a good girl. Does it taste yummy?”
Zasha nodded.
“Will you sit right here?” Leonid took her hand and led her to an armchair in front of the windows.
The little girl nodded and sat, her little cheeks moving this way and that as she sucked on the hard candy.
“You have a very pretty dress.” Leonid brushed the hem with his fingers briefly before pulling his hands back.
Zasha’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t like it.”
The ungrateful brat.
Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. She knew what Leonid was up to.
“Leonid Titov,” she snapped.
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Just one moment more.”
She grit her teeth.
The insufferable man. He was drugging the child to sleep right in front of her.
He waltzed in here like he owned the place, and now this?
It was time to show him who was in charge here, and it wasn’t him.
MONDAY. ROSE HOUSE. Arlington, VA.
Konstantin couldn’t hardly believe that they were about to storm back into Natasha’s DC home.
What were the odds?
And to rescue his father and daughter, of all things.
Haley had come through with more information about the property thanks to her boss back in Seattle. Armed with photographs of the property and a blueprint, they’d chosen to make their approach on foot via a rear drive that serviced the homes. A sort of utility entrance.
“This is us,” Haley said as they got to the rear gate.
“This is over if they have cameras.”
“I never saw a camera here before,” she countered.
He prayed she was right. If she was wrong, it would be more than just their lives on the line. Zasha’s future hung in the balance.
Haley grunted and something metallic popped, then the narrow gate swung open. She caught it and slipped inside, holding the gate for him to join her on the other side.
He checked his phone and his adrenaline spiked. “Driver just texted, he’s in there.”
“Then let’s move.”
It was on.
He hadn’t noticed much about the back yard when they’d fled the house. It had been dark and they were focused on getting to the street. It was much different in daylight.
Tall, old trees lined the spacious back yard perimeter. Someone had planted hedges to obscure the view of other houses or fences, preserving the illusion of a backyard getaway. The pool was pristine and inviting. There were two pergolas offering limited shade to lounge seating.
The only guard Konstantin could see sat on the edge of a lounge chair, elbows on his knees and engrossed in his phone.
Haley and Konstantin slid between the privacy fence and the hedges, using the greenery as a shield.
What was going on inside? What was being said? Had Natasha already killed his father? Or had his father finally killed his mother?
It was hard to wrap his head around the fact that his father wasn’t entirely the monster Konstantin had believed him to be. Leonid was still guilty of a host of crimes. His hands were drenched in blood. But he wasn’t after Konstantin or his family. If anything, Leonid had provided a way out.
That changed everything.
Konstantin wanted time after this to work through it. Talk to his father. Understand what changed and when.
They were almost to the end of the hedges, a mere twenty or so feet from the house. Haley paused, her focus on the man engrossed in his phone.
So damn close.
He hunched down farther, their target blocked from view, and focused on Haley. How she held herself perfectly still, and yet ready.
He didn’t want to admit it, but working with her, having someone to shoulder this burden, made it possible to keep going. There was no doubt in his mind that things would have gone very different without her in the picture. She was his rock, and after this he wanted to do something for her. Something to show her that he cared.
Haley bolted forward without warning, heading for the oblivious lookout.
Konstantin scrambled after her.
Haley was halfway to their target before he glanced up.
The man never had a damn chance.
Haley hauled off and decked the guy, using her momentum to add strength to the blow. The man’s phone went flying as he toppled backward.
Konstantin barreled into the reeling man, knocking him onto the grass and pinning him there.
“Gag him. Gag him now,” Konstantin whispered with urgency.
Haley shoved a bit of torn cloth into his mouth then bound it there using what looked like an extra-long zip tie around his head.
“Hands.” She produced a pair of plastic, flexible handcuffs from the bag slung across her body.
“Next time warn me, maybe?” Konstantin rolled the dazed man to his stomach and held his hands for Haley.
“We need him out of sight.” She tightened the cuffs on the man’s wrists.
Though Konstantin wanted to rush into the house, he knew they had to tackle each obstacle they came to completely before moving on. If they weren’t thorough, it could be the end of everything he loved.
Konstantin hooked his arms under the man’s shoulders and dragged him over behind the hedges. If he came to, he could still get away, but Konstantin hoped they’d be done by then.
He turned back toward the house to find Haley on her knees at the back door, trying to peer inside the house. Part of him couldn’t believe she was there. That he’d let this happen. Then again, he’d never really let Haley do anything. If he said that to her, he fully expected she’d kick his ass. Still, he would always want to protect her.
He just had to remind himself that both Haley and Zasha’s life could depend on them sticking to the plan, playing it safe and proceeding with caution.
Konstantin held tight to that line.
Haley twisted the doorknob gently and pushed the door open.
“Leonid Titov!” The sound of Natasha’s voice made Konstantin’s blood chill.
He took a step past Haley and over the threshold. Everything except the hall in front of him faded from his awareness.
He wanted to end this.
“Lower your voice, woman,” Leonid replied, his voice only slightly raised.
Konstantin drew his weapon and strode forward.
“Hey!” someone shouted from the kitchen.
Too late Konstantin glanced left and saw two men dropping sandwiches.
Haley reacted faster than the rest of them. She shoved Konstantin aside and fired, sending the closest man reeling back and sitting down hard while clutching his arm. His gun clattered and skidded away from him.
It was suddenly chaos. Their plan evaporated, because he’d lost his head.
Konstantin dove forward, grabbing the downed man’s dropped weapon. The other man crouched behind the island and blasted off a shot, sending a chunk of the drywall and some ceramic sailing through the air.
Haley leaned out just long enough to fire, aiming right over Konstantin’s head.
He scrambled to the edge of the island.
A foot struck out, narrowly missing his head.
Konstantin brought the gun up and fired without aiming. The man shouted, clutching his chest as he staggered. Konstantin pushed up, grabbed the man by the shoulder and threw him on the ground. He ripped the gun out of the man’s grasp.
“Kon, come on,” Haley yelled.
He bolted after her, tearing down the hall.
Movement on the stairs caught his eye. He lifted his weapon and fired at the same moment as Haley.
A figure pitched forward, tumbling down the stairs.
“I’m going to kill you,” a shrill woman’s voice shouted over the rest of the din.
Haley and Konstantin skidded around the opening into the front room.
A decorative vase of flowers
lay on the floor as if someone had tossed it. And standing there as if the rest of the world didn’t exist were Natasha and Leonid, each pointing a gun at the other.
“Zasha!” Haley rushed to a chair just under the window where Zasha lay with her head lolled to the side.
“Is she okay?” Konstantin kept his gun up, though he didn’t know who to aim at.
“She’s breathing,” Haley said over her shoulder.
“She’ll be just fine,” Leonid said in his low, calm tone.
“What did you do to her?” Haley demanded.
“Just made sure she wouldn’t remember this moment.”
Konstantin stared first at his father, then Natasha.
He’d lived most of his life believing one was a victim and the other a monster. In the last few days he’d learned that even he wasn’t above being fooled.
Natasha didn’t care for anyone except herself. She was power hungry and willing to kill the people who loved her for the sake of her bottom line.
His father was far from being a good man, but he’d ensured Konstantin could have a future of his own making. And when it mattered most, Leonid had shown up to protect his family.
Konstantin pivoted, just a little, and aimed his gun at Natasha. Her assistant, the young looking fair haired man, cowered in the corner behind her.
“Seriously? This is how you say hello to you mother?” she scoffed. “Look at this ungrateful child you’ve raised. I knew I should have taken him with me.”
Leonid chuckled. “I would not have allowed it.”
“Allowed it?”
“That doesn’t matter anymore. You are not my mother. Put the gun down,” Konstantin said. It was surreal to think he was siding with his father, but in this room? Leonid was the lesser monster to worry about.
“Not your mother? You ungrateful brat.”
He stared down the gun at her and felt nothing for this woman. “Being a mother is more than biology. You were never a mother to me. Now, put the gun down.”
“I will not!” she shouted and fired.
“No!” Konstantin squeezed the trigger on a reflex. He saw Natasha’s body jolt with the hit out of the corner of his eye.
He was already turning toward his father. Leonid staggered a step, then went to his knee.
Natasha gasped, as if she couldn’t believe she’d just been shot. She looked at Konstantin, then down at herself.
Just Business (Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies Book 1) Page 20