by Dana Marton
Chapter One
Chapter Two Reese stood, and she cringed, even though there was nothing threatening in his movements. If anything, he seemed an island of calm and strength. Even the bad-tempered look that she’d thought permanent was replaced by a softer expression. “Take it easy.” A part of her was staring at the transformation, at how handsome he was without the drawn-together brows and his mouth set in a flat, displeased line, how even the gray of his eyes changed. But the rest of her couldn’t help backing away a step. In a moment of conflicting emotions, instinct honed by years of bad experiences trumped everything. Goose bumps she couldn’t control rose on the bare skin of her arms. A muscle jumped in his cheek. “Is that why you ran away from home?” Then, when she didn’t respond, he said, “I read your file.” She nodded and they stood there like that, a foot or so between them. He wouldn’t take his eyes off her. And God, that felt good. Because when you lived on the streets and became one of the “un
Chapter Two
Chapter Three Even with her heart doing backflips in her throat, she had enough presence of mind to lock the door behind her exactly as she had found it. Then she took off down the hallway. She didn’t make it to the end room. As Sam turned back, she could see the tops of the heads of the men who were coming up. The cleaning closet seemed her only option. She practically hurled herself inside. The space was dark and tight, smelling like bleach and citrus-scented cleaning solution. She stayed still, not daring to make any noise. The door didn’t block much. She could hear everything the two men were saying. “Saw the blonde? Man, she’s stacked. Wouldn’t mind if she tripped and fell on top of me.” “What’s stopping you from tripping and falling on top of her?” The other one laughed. “Her husband is here.” “I bet Philippe had her already.” “So what?” The first guy sounded annoyed. “He’s the boss. He always gets what he wants.” Dissent in the ranks? She stored the information for later. They n
Chapter Three
Chapter Four In the end, the following night they ended up investigating the boathouse. Cavanaugh had some business emergency and excused himself from his guests, sequestering himself in the mansion. They couldn’t very well break into his office while he was in it. “Tell me again what we are doing here?” Reese asked. “Looking for evidence of drug running. I’m thinking it would be best if when Tsernyakov went down, Cavanaugh went with him.” “And your team doesn’t have enough on him yet?” “White-collar crimes.” She made a face. “Real-estate speculation and money laundering. His connections would cover that up too easily. He is friends with just about every important person on the island. It would take something more serious to put him away for good.” “And Anita and Brant think Cavanaugh is in the drug business?” She nodded, keeping to the shadows as they crept toward the building. “They did seaside surveillance a couple of weeks ago and saw a ship dropping off suspicious packages.” “I st
Chapter Four
Chapter Five Tsernyakov looked down at his list of close associates and thought long and hard about each. Which ones did he want to keep and which ones should he let be victims of the terrible attack to come? He didn’t trust a single one of them; he would have been a fool to do so. But he didn’t think any of them worked against him, either. If he had, he would have taken care of those already. When this was over, would he need a bigger organization or a smaller one? Would the shake-up strengthen any of his subordinates enough so that the man might rise to become a worthy rival? He was good at planning, but the magnitude of what was about to shake the world was, to a degree, disconcerting, even to him. He couldn’t afford to miss anything. No mistakes this time. He looked at the list again. Could everyone there stand up to that kind of stress? He picked up a pen and crossed off one name, then another. He was poised over the third when a knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. “Come i
Chapter Five
Chapter Six Reese stared at the ceiling, listening to Sam’s soft breathing next to him, watching her outline in the dark. She was so far over, if she leaned a smidgen, she would fall to the floor. He made a point to always keep the distance she set, not wanting to make her feel any more uncomfortable than she already was. They’d decided against taking the WaveRunner out in the night, as Philippe’s men had seemed to set up night surveillance. Did they think the kid might still be hiding somewhere on the property? Sam had suggested that they could hook up with Brant at the festival the next day. He’d agreed. The few hours they would have gained by making the drop-off tonight weren’t worth the risk. He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. That seemed unlikely, just as it had since they’d been sharing a bed. And when he did sleep, it was the usual nightmares, fighting bad guys, searching the darkness for the people he was supposed to save. Natalie. A small sound coming from Sam made his
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven That night there was a bonfire party arranged by Philippe so his guests could view the fireworks the city put on for the festival. Eva chatted incessantly, having had too much rum punch. She entertained them with horror stories from her line of work as a Realtor. “And then we go in. And right there on the living-room floor is the owner going at it like crazy with a woman in the most awful, gaudy dominatrix outfit. So my client just falls on them, shouting and swearing, grabs the whip and beats them like a madman. It turns out the woman is his wife. He was looking to buy her the beachfront condo as an anniversary gift.” Her audience laughed with her. “No, no, that’s not the worst part. So then this strange calm comes over the guy and he grabs me and says if the wife could do it then so can he. We should all four of us have fun together.” “So did you do it?” One of the guys shouted out the question from the other side of the fire. “You pig,” Eva admonished him. But then she
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight “Has he been caught?” Tsernyakov asked, a last test for the man about whose fate he was still undecided. “Not yet,” Cavanaugh responded with the truth. “But it’s only a matter of time. It’s a small island.” Tsernyakov already knew about the hustler from another source. He had wanted to know whether Cavanaugh would try to cover up his own incompetence. The fate of the hustler would not matter long anyhow. “You still have that property in Belize?” “For now. I’m considering selling it. A large lot is coming up for sale on Little Cayman and I might need the extra capital. Why? You know anything about Belize?” The interest was clear in his voice. Cavanaugh was always game for a good bit of business. “I know something about the Caymans.” “You think property prices will go down?” He sounded pained by the very idea. “Next year this time, you can buy that lot for a dime on the dollar. In the meantime, go to Belize.” “It’s impossible. Everything I have is invested here.” Tsernyakov
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine Tsernyakov’s body hummed with adrenaline as he walked through the doors of his suite. He’d been in the business for so long he had thought he’d seen just about everything. But this current deal topped it all. He was about to change the course of history. He loved the heady rush that came with the thought. He set the box he’d been carrying by the door and kicked off his Italian-leather loafers, tossed his silk tie on the back of the Louis XIV chair in the foyer, his suit jacket on top of it. Alexandra came from her room, wearing the cream-colored silk pajamas he had picked out for her on their last trip to Marks & Spencer. “It’s you.” Her face brightened at the sight of him. “Can’t sleep?” It was two in the morning. “Are you well?” She took a deep breath and pushed her hair behind her ears. “Fine. Just restless.” So was he. He smiled. “I have a present for you.” Her full lips stretched even wider as she came to him. “You don’t have to give me presents all the time.” “I like
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten “What are you two doing here?” Philippe watched them from the door with cold calculation. “David won’t leave me alone.” Sam rushed to him. “I came in here to get away from him and he followed me. He’s being a complete bastard about this.” She threw a loathing look at Reese while pressi
ng her body to Cavanaugh’s. “I know you would never be rude to a guest, but can’t you make him understand that he’s worn out his welcome?” She was giving an award-worthy performance. Reese watched Cavanaugh. His features didn’t soften. His right hand was fisted. The cold feeling in Reese’s stomach said this was it. The jig was up. But it wasn’t in him to give up without trying to salvage the situation. “You shut your mouth,” he yelled at Sam like a man at the end of his rope. “You came with me, you’ll leave with me. That’s the way it’s done. I love you.” His heart skipped a beat as he said those words. “What do you think he wants from you?” He glared accusingly at Cavanaugh. “How long do you t
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven Sam walked without hurry, smiled at the guards who were now lounging outside the front door. Everything looked normal. She wouldn’t let the relief show. “Philippe ask for me yet?” She twirled her handbag, as if her heart wasn’t beating a mile a minute. One of the men shook his head. She just sashayed into the house. Roberto was in the living room, watching TV, the only guard in there. He looked up as she came in, and a dark little gleam entered his eyes. “Come keep me company.” He patted the couch next to him. “Philippe is waiting for me.” She headed for the stairs. He was up, moving faster than she would have expected of him, cutting off her passage, grabbing for her wrist. “What’s the hurry? You think you’re too good for me?” The smell of alcohol hit her. She tried to tug her hand free, but he held tight. “We were discussing business. He is going to look for me. I told him I wouldn’t be long.” He sneered at that. “You can discuss business with me first.” He yanked her
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve “You have to leave already?” Sam watched as Reese packed his duffel bag, leaving behind the “lawyer clothes” he had borrowed from his brother. They had spent the ride from the office to her apartment in silence, Reese so deep in thought she couldn’t budge him out of it. Maybe he was switching gears, focusing on his next mission. “I have the information I needed from the FBI. It gives me the rough location of the people who most likely took my client. My team is already on their way there. I’m flying in tonight.” He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt, the set of his mouth as grim as when he had arrived. “I don’t know how to thank you. Without you—” He looked at her and his face lightened a fraction. “You would have done just fine. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.” She shook her head. If only he knew. She was about to fall into his arms and beg him to stay. “About—” She wanted to talk about what had happened between them beyond the missio
Chapter Twelve