by Lietha Wards
He may have seemed disinterested to anyone who didn’t know him, but Ryan did. The man was always thinking, strategizing in some way.
“Where’s the drop?” he asked.
“I don’t know yet. There’s a reason for that.”
“Fill me in.”
He did. Mario listened intently from the back seat. It was rare that his brother talked about his friends, in fact, never. Nick just told him they had to fly to Miami tonight and an hour later they were on a plane. He was ecstatic to see Ryan Casey again. He’d met him before when they took the building in Beirut and rescued some government officials. It was a relief to see it was him they were working with because he trusted him and his brother Nick, who only trusted family, also trusted him. He enjoyed the way the two men interacted. Nick wasn’t a very sociable, or a talkative man. Hell, it took him two years to actually talk to him and he was his brother. Well, he’d found that out later, but still, he was with him just about every day until then. He couldn’t imagine what Ryan had gone through for Nick to be the way he was around him.
It was refreshing to him to see that he wasn’t the only one that knew Nick had human qualities. Well, Jordan, Nick’s wife knew, and their other brother, but as far as Mario was aware, he had no other family or friends.
Mario was usually a talker, but he kept silent through the drive. He was always eager to learn, and learning about his secretive older brother was always fascinating for him.
***
Katya stood at the top of the stairs when the three men entered. She watched as Ivan met them. There was a brief discussion in deep male voices before they all followed Ivan, more than likely to her father’s office. Ryan never looked up at her, but the taller of the three did. He paused and turned his head toward her like he knew she was watching the whole time. It startled her. Not that he knew she was there, but at the coolness of his stare. It actually made her back up a step. He was a good looking man, but that look was felt through to the bone.
That man was as scary as hell. Where did Ryan find him? Could he trust him? Her anxiety was through the roof already.
Then he suddenly winked and a wash of relief flowed through her. He was definitely on their side. She smiled a little unsure, and he finally nodded once then followed the other men. It was like he was waiting for some reaction from her first. It made her realize that Ryan had confided in the man about her. He was seeing for himself if he could trust her. Well, he could.
She promised Ryan she’d stay at the house, but she had a lot of difficulty obeying that when the men left an hour later. Again, she watched as her father’s men, including Ivan, left with Ryan and his two companions. Her father even went with them this time. That was uncommon. She was going out of her mind because Ryan never disclosed anything to her and she was feeling so helpless.
She turned the keys in the ignition.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The procession consisted of two black Range Rovers, led by Peter’s personal black limousine. He insisted Ryan, Nick and Mario ride with him.
The three were dressed all in black. Combat wear.
Peter sat across from them with two of his men sitting on either side. Ivan was driving. It wasn’t common for Peter to go, but tonight was important to him. He needed to know who was leaking information. He wasn’t worried about being harmed.
First of all, he could take care of himself. Secondly, across from him sat two of the best assassins he knew. The younger brother was an added bonus.
Peter had met with the men beforehand and Nick Castile had yet to say a word to him since the introductions. He’d come to see that it was the way the man was. The younger brother was a different story he hadn’t stopped talking. Nick had spoken to Nick a few times and his answers were either a gesture or an indiscernible deep voiced whisper.
Two hours later the car turned down a dirt road. The ride was rough, showing that it was rarely used.
Finally Nick spoke. “Let me know when we’re within a mile.” It was casual, and his attention wasn’t even on anyone in particular. It was on his side arm as he was plugging bullets into the clip.
“Ivan?” Peter said over his shoulder.
“Yes boss,” Ivan answered that he’d heard him.
After about another half an hour, Ivan stopped the car. “Were about a half mile now.”
“Pop the trunk,” Ryan said before getting out followed by Nick and Mario. They started pulling long duffle bags out of it.
“What are you going to do?” Ivan said coming up beside them.
It was Ryan that answered. “Wait a half hour. Then go in. We’ll be set up by then.”
“What’s the GPS location?” Nick asked pulling out an electronic device from his pocket. Mario was busy strapping the duffle bags to his back.
Ivan reluctantly told him while watching the men silently and quickly get organized. Then he looked around at the blackness. “How are you going to find your way there? It’s black as hell out here.”
At that moment Nick took off at a run with Mario on his heels.
“What the fuck?” Ivan splayed his arms.
“A half an hour,” Ryan repeated before he disappeared into the blackness behind his friends.
“Boss!” he turned toward Peter who was lighting a cigar and leaning against the side of his limo. “No one can find their way through this terrain in the dark.”
“I wouldn’t underestimate them Ivan.” He took a long drag off of his smoke and looked at his watch.
***
“How many?” Nick asked.
The three of them were lying beside one another, Nick on his back facing the sky, and Mario and Ryan on their bellies, on a hill about five hundred yards away from an open field and Ryan saw that it was an old private airstrip. It looked like it had been abandoned at least two decades ago. There were a couple of planes next to a hanger that looked as though they’d seen better days.
“Five,” Ryan answered while peering through the night scope of his sniper rifle. “Two snipers in the brush on the far side of the meadow, and three on foot.” He pulled the trigger. There was a pop as the bullet exited the silencer. “Four.”
Nick chuckled and removed a silencer from his front pant leg pocket. He was screwing it on his handgun when another pop disrupted the silence.
“Three. They’re on foot gone in the building. The snipers are taken care of. You’re up.”
Nick pushed the earbud into his ear and rolled onto his stomach. “Mario?”
He was peering through a thermal scope that detected body heat. This was something that could see things that Ryan couldn’t with a night scope. “Three at the back of the building, inside now like Ryan said. There’s another big vehicle out of sight in the brush about four hundred yards behind the hanger with what looks like another two—no, three men. I’m thinking that’s our hijackers. Inside, there’s another half dozen men, most likely the drop—wait a minute—we got five bodies piled along the back wall.”
“Dead?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Heat signature is fading. It looks like twisted sister already took the coke, but is waiting to surprise daddy.” It was obvious they were tipped off about the shipment way ahead of time. Ryan was right about it being an inside job.
Nick backed out of sight and was gone into the darkness with barely a sound.
“I wish I knew how he did that,” Mario said in awe.
Ryan smirked keeping one eye peering through the scope.
“And here comes villain number two.” Mario spotted Peter’s convoy just coming into sight along the road.
As soon as the vehicles stopped, the doors slid open from the inside. The men in the Range Rovers exited and splayed out clearly showing that they were armed.
“Show’s on,” Ryan murmured. He and Mario stood up and rushed forward. Peter would be ambushed thinking he was meeting his contact for the drop.
They dropped in the grass about fifty yards off. He pulled out his phone and messaged Peter. Then, Ryan se
t up his rifle again and Mario picked up his binoculars this time. There was enough light from the open hanger doors that he could see what was going on. “Oh shit. Is that your girl?”
Ryan looked through his scope then dropped his head. “Fuck.”
“How—?”
“She must’ve tried to follow us. I don’t know what the hell she was thinking.” He peered through his scope again.
Anna’s men had gotten there first and taken out Peter’s drop men. He could see birthmark clearly but didn’t have a clear shot because he was the one with his fist twisted in Kat’s hair. His other hand held a gun to her head. Her eyes were wild and searching her father’s men. She was looking for him. Well, he could see her clearly and she was terrified.
Peter held up his hand so none of his men would shoot. Ryan couldn’t hear the conversation.
“Nick, they got Kat,” he said softly.
“Copy that. Distraction coming.”
“Mario.” Ryan’s voice shook but his finger was steady on the trigger of his rifle.
“I’m on it.” He got to his feet and rushed through the darkness toward the hanger. Toward Kat.
A few seconds after that the vehicle hidden behind the hanger blew up.
That’s all Ryan needed. While everyone else ducked and ran for cover, he was as steady as a rock. Birthmark twisted around at the sound as flames burst up through the trees behind the hanger. That left him exposed.
Pop.
Down went birthmark. He wouldn’t be getting up again.
Kat stood there in shock looking around as men started firing. Then out of nowhere came a man who jumped on her shoving her to the ground. “Stay down!” He got up on one knee and started shooting.
She was shaking so bad that she doubted she could stand again.
He reached down and grabbed her arm. “Time to move honey. Now!” he half dragged her out of the line of fire. Ryan was covering him from the field. Once around the side of the hanger, Mario shoved Kat behind him and reloaded.
She screamed as another man appeared beside her from out of nowhere. Turned out it was one of Ryan’s men. The one with the icy stare.
“No one’s going to hurt you,” he said calmly.
“How many left inside?” Mario asked.
“None. The girl isn’t there.”
Kat stared at him. He meant Anna. “My sister?”
He nodded, but didn’t speak.
“She wouldn’t be. She’d have people do her dirty work like when she tried to murder Ryan.” Somehow that made her angry again.
A man came around the corner, then fell to the ground dead. He was shot just as he lifted his gun.
The line of fire came from the darkness. Ryan. It had to be. She remembered the elite sniper rifle he had in the aluminum case. Well, now she knew what he used it for.
Suddenly, there was the deafening sound of helicopters.
Peter and his remaining men jumped in the limo and tore out of there.
“They won’t get far,” Mario said.
“He left me.” Not that Katya expected her father to save her, but seeing the reality of it, really hit home.
Nick covered his earpiece. Then lifted his head and pointed to the field. “He’s coming in.”
“H-he?” she stammered.
“Ryan.”
She followed Nick’s line of sight and suddenly saw him. Out of the blackness came a figure all in black with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He was jogging. She bit her lip. Although she couldn’t see it, she could feel the heat of his anger from where she stood. “Oh oh.”
When he came up to her he just stared down at her furiously. Then he cupped her head and kissed her hard. She could feel the relief flow through him.
He released her suddenly.
She lifted her hands. “I—”
“Save it. We’ll discuss this later,” he cut her off just as a helicopter zoomed overhead and landed in front of the hanger. He grabbed her upper arm and led her toward it. “Get in.”
“What? No!”
He shook her. “Dammit Kat, I’m not done here and you are in the line of fire. You could have been killed for christsakes! How the hell can I do my job with you running around like that? You were supposed to stay at the estate!”
He was angry and shouting at her. Well, it was probably due to the noise of the blades but he was still enraged. “I know—I was stupid, but—”
He looked past her. “Mario, get her the hell out of here!” He shoved her backwards toward him.
Mario didn’t hesitate and actually scooped her up carrying her toward the helicopter kicking and screaming.
Just then, Nick pulled one of the Range Rovers next to him screeching the brakes. Ryan hopped in the passenger seat. It spun around and sped after the Limousine.
Mario plopped her into one of the helicopters seats and when she tried to get out he actually had the nerve to handcuff one of her wrists to a bar on the inside wall.
“Are you kidding me?”
He sat beside her and shrugged. “Hey, I have my orders. The last thing I want to do is piss off my brother and his best friend.” He placed the headset on her head and one on his and pointed to the ear piece. “It’s better to speak through these.”
Well, she was done talking. She looked out the window as the copter lifted off the ground. The spotlight lit up the landscape below. There were a dozen men, that seemed to come out of nowhere and scatter throughout the grounds. “Who—”
“—They’re mine, Miss Nickolov.”
Kat looked across from her. All along there had been another man sitting there. She must’ve looked like an idiot fighting the way she was.
“It’s finally nice to meet you. I’m Ned.” He leaned forward and held out his hand.
She absently shook it. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ryan’s handler so to speak.”
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“He’ll be fine. Ryan can handle himself.”
“What about my father?”
“I’ve given orders for him to be taken alive. It’s not him Ryan’s after. It’s Demetrev.”
She turned her head to look out the window at nothing in particular. She should have known that Ivan would have murdered Ryan’s brother, but it was on the word of her father.
“Miss Nickolov?”
She turned her head to meet Ned’s eyes again.
“Your sister wasn’t there.”
She tilted her head.
“Do you have any idea where she would have gone?”
Kat shook her head.
He reached forward and patted her leg. “Don’t you worry. We’ll find her. We always do. Every airport, train station and bus depot is under watch.”
She didn’t know how she felt about that, all of this. Did she want her sister caught and tried for her crimes? Yes, she abused her, near killed her, and treated her with less than indifference, but was that the fault of her father’s loveless upbringing? Well, she turned out all right, didn’t she? And what about Ryan? Did he really want to be with her, or did he use her to get close to her family? She didn’t know anymore.
About forty five minutes later the helicopter landed on the roof of a building in the city center. She wasn’t sure where she was, but it didn’t matter anymore. Mario uncuffed her and actually took her hand to help her out of the copter. She accepted it because she wasn’t sure if her legs would hold. Things started to finally hit home and she was a nervous wreck. Ned led the way to a set of doors. There were two heavily armed men guarding them. One of them opened the door as they walked through. It led to a long hall, then into an elevator.
Once inside Ned spoke again. “Miss Nickolov, you are not under arrest, and we are not holding you, but we ask that you stay with us until my men return with your father.”
His voice was actually quite soothing, and calm. She knew that’s probably a practiced technique because these were not normal men and everything they did had a purpose. “That doe
sn’t sound voluntary.”
Ned smiled. “I’m strongly recommending it.”
“I see.” She didn’t have a choice. She leaned back against the elevator wall and shut her eyes. The ding of the doors made her open them again. Mario held out his hand and she stepped forward. It was like an office building layout. There was a long hall full of offices.
Ned led the way down the hall to a pair of double doors. “This is my office.” He opened one of the doors. “You are more than welcome to wait here. As soon as I have news, I’ll come and tell you.” He stepped inside. “There’s a mini kitchen behind that wall.” He pointed to an opening. “Help yourself.”
She never said anything as he left with Mario and shut the door behind him. She turned and walked toward the windows and ran a hand through her hair. What the heck has she gotten herself into? God, she hoped Ryan was okay!
She would hate for the last words they shared to be in anger. She’d never forgive herself. It was all her fault that she was there in the middle of it all, after he’d warned her to stay in the house.
She’d returned to her room after the three went down the hall to her father’s office and saw Ryan’s keys on his bedside table. She snuck out one of the servants entrances and climbed in the jeep watching the men pack the trunk of the limousine a short time later. When it went through the gates, she followed them at a distance. Unfortunately she lost them at a set of traffic lights. A black truck pulled up next to her, the passenger got out and rushed her door. Before she knew what was happening she was staring down a barrel of a gun.
“Move over.”
Terrified she obeyed. It was that man! The birthmark.
The truck sped off and he followed driving Ryan’s jeep. She scratched him and he hit her—hard. That’s the last thing she remembered until she was woken up with a hard slap. He twisted his hand in her hair and hauled her out of the jeep just as the hanger doors opened. She cried out as he dragged her toward men waiting outside the doors. Oh my God, it was her father! He looked just as shocked as she did.
“What the fuck!” he pulled a gun
Then an explosion. So loud it hurt her ears.