Melting Point

by Pierce, Nicolette

  “Why are you doing this?” Liam snapped. He swiped at the blood that trickled down past his eye. “We want to help you and your brother.”

  Dmitri didn’t say anything. Instead, he ducked and blasted Liam in the gut. Liam wheezed, holding his stomach.

  Dmitri stared at Liam. “You’re weak.”

  Liam couldn’t argue with that. He was not built with thick, corded muscles like Dmitri. At the moment he wished he was. He would have spent more time at the gym had he known he’d have to fight a thief in law.

  “You said you wanted to help Marik,” Liam said. “Why would you still follow orders?”

  “Because if he doesn’t, then he’ll find himself in the same predicament as his brother,” a strong feminine voice said behind him. “Isn’t that right, Dmitri?”

  Liam turned toward the voice, knowing who it belonged to. Ever since he found out Sonya was involved, he knew he’d see her eventually. But nothing prepared him for what he saw before him. No longer a teenager, Sonya had transformed into a dark-haired beauty. Thick eyelashes framed eyes that were colder than an ice storm. She had changed.

  In that instant, he was transported back to the time when she had laughed freely, smiled widely, and cherished the world around her. He didn’t even have to hear another word pass her lips to know that that girl was dead.

  Was that his fault? If he had stayed with her, even faced her father, would she still be the same as the girl from his memory?

  “Why so quiet all of a sudden, Liam?” Sonya asked. “Surely you remember me.”

  “I remember.”

  “Then is it because you didn’t expect me to be here?” Sonya moved closer to Liam, each step deliberately pronounced as if she knew he couldn’t do anything with Dmitri right behind him. “Surely you knew I’d be here. Wasn’t it your fear that I’d follow in my father’s footsteps? That’s why you broke off our engagement.”

  When he had given her that ring, he was young, so young. He meant it as a promise ring, something for her to look forward to later. “I never expected you to fill his shoes. I hoped you’d get away from it all, especially when you became an agent.”

  “I did for a while.”

  “What happened to make you change?”

  She leaned in. “Why, Liam, are you worried for me?”

  “This isn’t you.”

  “Isn’t it?” She smiled, lips curling. “I think it’s exactly like me. I’ve been bred for this ever since I was a child. But I was told that I’d never amount to much. Father was always trying to have a son with any bitch that passed through this door. But, to answer your question, I never truly escaped his reach.”

  “What happened?”

  “What do you think happened? With a daughter in the FBI, he began using me as his shield. First it was just a favor, and then two.”

  “Then you were breaking the law for him.”

  “Always the smart one,” Sonya said, motioning for him to follow her. “We’ve talked enough.”

  “Where are we going?” Liam didn’t budge from his spot. Just because she was speaking civilly with him now didn’t mean it’d continue. While he might feel sorry for her, he wasn’t naïve.

  “Some place private.”

  “You have to let Morgan go. She doesn’t belong in your world.”

  Sonya turned on him. “So, I should let her go even though she knows too much? She could turn the tables on me anytime she wants. And I’m supposed to let her waltz out of here?”

  “It’s the right thing to do.”

  Sonya laughed. “Clearly you’ve forgotten all that research you did on my family. We never do the right thing.” She smirked. “Family motto.”

  “Let her go and I’ll do whatever work you want. I have an iron foundry at your disposal.”

  “And what will you do for me in exchange for Trace and Reed?”

  Liam closed his eyes, willing himself calm. When he opened them again, she smiled slyly at him. He wanted to yell! He was so sure he could talk his way into getting her to release Morgan, but now Trace and Reed?

  Sonya would never let them all go.

  Chapter 18

  Piper was astonished when Greer stepped out of her room, wheeling a suitcase only ten minutes after they had arrived at her place. This meant Greer was serious, relieving Piper of any doubts she might have had. They were ready to hit the road without further delay.

  Lights dashed through the room, skating across the walls and ceiling.

  “Did someone just pull into the drive?” Greer asked, heading to the front window to peer out. “That looks like Grandpa’s car.”

  Piper raced to the window to look over Greer’s shoulder. “What is he doing here so late at night?” She hoped it wasn’t anything serious. Grandpa rarely left the house after dark. Was he worried because she hadn’t come home yet?

  Greer opened the door as Walter hurried up the short walkway. “Grandpa, what are you doing here so late? Is everything okay?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing is okay. Hasn’t been for a while now.”

  Piper didn’t like the sound of that. And now that he stood in the glow of the living room lamps, he looked thinner, his skin grayer.

  “Sit down and tell us what this is about,” Greer said, ushering him to the couch.

  He sat gingerly on the edge, his shoulders slumped over. “Girls, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I have to stop you from going to Vegas.”

  “You don’t understand,” Piper said. “Morgan is in trouble.”

  “I know. I put her there. I will go to Vegas alone.”

  Greer and Piper exchanged worried glances.

  “What do you mean?” Greer asked. “According to Papa Bear, this started with Dad.”

  He shook his head. “It started with me, but your dad didn’t help matters.” Walter rubbed his arm, his skin wrinkling and smoothing with each pass. “Did your dad ever tell you your heritage?”

  “Irish and Norwegian, right?”

  He nodded. “That’s from your grandmother’s and mother’s side. What your dad didn’t tell you is that you’re Russian as well.”

  Piper sat on the edge of the chair next to her grandfather. “Does this have anything to do with the Ivankovs?”

  “Partly.”

  “But our last name is Brennan,” Greer said, confused. “If you’re not Irish, how did you get the name?”

  “I met your grandmother when I was twenty-five and on a boat headed to America. We married, and I took her name to protect us.”

  “Protect you from what?” Piper asked.

  “It is better if I show you. But you won’t like what you see.” Walter stood, unbuttoning his shirt, but then he stopped. “Promise me that you won’t go to Vegas. Let me handle this. You don’t know the world you’re trying to enter. You’ll only get yourselves and Morgan killed.”

  “But, Grandpa —”

  “Your promise. I will have it now.”

  Greer glanced at Piper before nodding. “If it’s this important to you, I promise.”

  “Piper?” Walter asked.

  She huffed. “As long as you don’t get yourself killed, I promise.”

  When he proceeded to unbutton his shirt, Greer asked, “Why don’t you have an accent?”

  “Because I’m no longer Russian, nor will I ever be again.” He pulled the shirt off, revealing faded tattoos and jagged scars.

  Piper had never seen her grandfather without a shirt, not even at the beach. Now she knew why.

  “I can see the questions in your eyes,” he said, pulling back on his shirt. “I will not burden you with my earlier life. But these tattoos represent it. I’m marked with a past I can’t escape. It doesn’t involve you, nor should it have involved your father or Morgan.”

  “What do you mean you can’t escape your past?” Piper asked. “What did you do?”

  “Stole a loaf of bread for my mother.” Walter sat back down, taking Piper’s hand. “I know none of this makes sense to you right now. I
promise to explain when I return. There is too much to dredge up now.”

  “Will you be okay?” Greer asked.

  He smiled. “I’m a Pavlovich. We are survivors.”

  * * *

  Liam had two options at the moment. Follow Sonya on his own two feet or have Dmitri drag him. He preferred walking on his own. Liam didn’t want to go another round with Dmitri unless he had no other choice. So far, Sonya hadn’t threatened him. However, she had no plans to release Morgan either. So, without a protest, he followed Sonya up the stairs to the second floor.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  Sonya didn’t respond, only led him down a hall. Liam made sure to pay attention to any rooms with an open door. He wanted to remember the layout of this house.

  The guard that had taken Morgan didn’t come up here; he had gone to the south wing before Liam lost sight.

  “Do you like her?” Sonya asked.

  “Who?”

  “Morgan.”

  Liam didn’t know how to respond. Of course he liked her. He more than liked her. Ever since he had dinner at her house he thought about her nonstop. And ever since their first kiss mere hours ago, he hadn’t stopped craving more. But did Sonya really expect him to confess such feelings? Ex’s rarely wanted to know.

  “We’ve been working together for a few days,” he said, dodging the question.

  “But do you like her.”

  So much for dodging. “Yes, she’s hard working and organized.”

  Sonya stopped at a door at the far north wing. She turned to him. “You’re evading the question.”

  “Maybe it’s not something I wish to discuss.”

  She stepped to him, splaying her hands across his bare chest. “Do you know, I never expected to see you again. But you came dressed just the way I like my men.” Her fingers curled as she raked her nails against his skin.

  He wrapped his hands around her wrists. “I don’t suppose you have a shirt I can borrow.”

  “Perhaps.” She opened the door, leading him into a lavish, red bedroom with gold trim. “Perhaps not.”

  Liam didn’t follow her inside. He couldn’t. What was she thinking by bringing him here? He turned to Dmitri, only to find he was gone.

  “Come inside and shut the door.”

  Liam didn’t move. “I’ll wait out here while you find a shirt.”

  “I think not.” Sonya placed a hand on her hip, her robe slipping open slightly. “Just because I didn’t kill you doesn’t mean you have a choice about what I do with you.” Her voice never raised; she just told him exactly what he needed to know.

  Liam tried not to shiver in response to her cool tone. He remembered her father spoke in a similar fashion. No anger, just calculating with soft words. That was what he had feared most about Mr. Ivankov. It was as if he had no remorse for his deeds.

  Liam stepped into the room, hoping to look as if he wasn’t affected. Sonya circled around him, closing the door and coming back to face him. He didn’t want to bring up welding at the moment, but the way she was looking at him, he needed a distraction, one which she’d be moved to talk about.

  “Aren’t you concerned about the welding not being done in time?” he asked.

  “No. It’s of no consequence. One day won’t hurt.” She began untying the satin belt that held her robe together.

  “I thought you were in a hurry.” He winced, hoping she didn’t think he meant in a hurry to get to her bed, which was only a few yards away. Because now that her robe slipped off her shoulders and slithered to the ground, he was pretty sure what she had in mind.

  “One of the perks of this mansion is a spacious walk-in freezer.” Her hand traveled the length of his chest, down to the button of his jeans. She leaned in, whispering, “We have plenty of time.”

  He took a step back, holding her by her shoulders so she couldn’t reclaim that space. Sonya was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. But he felt nothing for her. Well, nothing good. All he had left was a sadness that she’d followed this path — and a resentment that she hurt people without remorse.

  “Why so many coffins?” he asked.

  She slipped from his grasp and circled him, the peaks of her breasts skimming along his back. “Just part of the cleanup.”

  “What cleanup?”

  Her hands caressed down his back and around his waist, her quick fingers popping open his jeans button. Liam turned to move from her reach but ended up with her against him.

  “Father’s legacy.”

  “You mean to kill the people working for you?” He took her arms, pinning them down to her side so she could no longer touch him.

  “Want to play rough?” She grinned.

  “No, I want answers.”

  “Some will die, some will not.” She wrapped a leg around him. “And if you’re lucky, I’ll keep you around for a bit.”

  He allowed her leg to stay because his hands were busy holding her in place.

  Had she lost her mind? With every word she uttered she became more of a stranger to him. Did Reed not see this change in her before she turned against him?

  “Why will they die? What have they done to you?”

  “You remember the code of the vory v zakone.”

  “Yes, but I don’t remember it saying to kill your workers.”

  She shrugged. “They are not my workers. The vory v zakone view women as nothing but a possession. Their archaic laws do not suit me.”

  “Then stop this and go back to a normal life, the life you’d wanted before all of this.”

  “You mean the life with you?” She looked into his eyes. “When I am done, they will know me and fear me.” She swung her other leg up. Liam caught her shifting weight, keeping them both upright. “And I will have you, Liam, or you will die tomorrow with them.”

  * * *

  Morgan’s head hurt. So did her wrists. She contemplated why that would be as she slowly awoke from what she could only liken to a vat of Greer’s thick, lumpy gravy. It wasn’t until she finally cracked her eyes open to an unfamiliar room that she realized she was still at the Ivankov mansion. She scrambled to stand but was stopped by handcuffs linked by a short chain to a reinforced wall.

  Where was Liam?

  She looked around, her unfocused gaze falling on three men she’d never seen before, all with bruises and cuts. The third one farthest from her seemed to be healing, however. The other two had more recent wounds. Slowly, she brought her hands to her face, wondering if she was in the same battered state. It didn’t seem so as she softly ran her fingers along her jaw and brow. Only her skull hurt, not her face.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “Ivankov’s,” the man in the middle said. He was sitting with his back against the wall. His auburn hair was matted with dried blood, his nose in a similar caked state.

  “I know that, but where in the house?”

  “The dungeon,” the younger man nearest to her said. He was wearing a tuxedo but had stripped off the bowtie and unbuttoned the collar. “My friend tossed me in here himself.”

  Morgan pursed her lips. “This looks nothing like a dungeon. Are we in the basement?”

  The middle man shook his head. “Holding room off the south wing. They tend not to like dragging bodies up and down flights of stairs.”

  Morgan studied the man for a moment. Could this be Reed? Liam never gave a description of him, but he seemed to know things. “You’re Reed.”

  “And you’re Morgan.”

  “You’re Morgan?” the young man questioned.

  She nodded.

  “Christ, now I understand his sudden need to help. I’m in a Russian dungeon because of a pretty face.” He shook his head. “I always thought it’d be me falling into a dangerous liaison; hoped for it, really. And now it turns out Liam’s one-upped me again.”

  “I doubt he thinks it a competition, Trace,” Reed said.

  “Trace?” Morgan looked at the young man, trying to find a resemblance to Liam. S
he couldn’t. They were like night and day, light and dark. “You’re Liam’s brother?”

  He shrugged. “Brothers from another mother and all that. Unfortunately, same father.”

  Morgan nodded, letting it sink in. She was now face-to-face with Liam’s brother and his FBI friend. But who was the man on the far side of the room? “Who is that?” she asked Reed, motioning to the man who had turned his back to them.

  “Marik. Not sure why he’s in here.”

  “I do.” Morgan settled herself against the wall, mirroring both Reed and Trace with stretched-out legs. There wasn’t any furniture in the “dungeon,” no mattresses to sleep on. Not even a bathroom. “What happens if you have to go to the bathroom?”

  Trace groaned. “Don’t even bring that up. It’s degrading.”

  “What is?”

  Reed pointed to the drain in the middle of the floor.

  That was the toilet? Thankfully, she never ate on the job, and she hadn’t had any liquids for a while. She’d dehydrate before she’d have the need to use it. But still, that didn’t mean she wanted to be around when the others had to relieve themselves.

  “What did he do?” Trace asked.

  “Who?”

  “Marik. You said you know what he did to land in here.”

  “He was ordered to weld, and he didn’t have the supplies needed.”

  “Rough management here.” Trace crossed one foot over the other.

  “You don’t seem to be worried,” she said.

  “Liam’s still out there. If nothing else, he’ll come to rescue you and find the rest of us.”

  “He was taken to Sonya.”

  Reed sat up straight. “He’s here? With Sonya?”

  Morgan shrugged. “I think he was taken to Sonya. We were split up as soon as we entered the house.”

  Reed muttered a curse, rubbing his hands across his face.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  When he didn’t answer, she let it go. Personally, she didn’t like the fact that Sonya had Liam God-knew where, but he should be safe, at least for the moment. Morgan had no illusion that Sonya wouldn’t turn on every single one of them, especially after the coffins were finished. But surely Sonya wouldn’t split them up just to kill Liam. Sonya seemed smart, perhaps even smarter than her father. Whatever she was up to, there was a reason behind it. She knew Reed and Liam were friends, and that Reed was down here. Was it as simple as making Reed jealous? From the looks of Reed, she might have accomplished her goal.