The thought made him ill in the pit of his stomach. Was he still so selfish, so driven to self-honor that he would sacrifice the life of the woman who had turned to him in trust? Oh God, forgive me! Vadeem pressed the crest to his forehead as tears bit into his eyes, ran down his grimy cheeks. Yes, this crest was an emblem of redemption. Vadeem’s redemption from his traitorous past.
And at dawn, the crest Anton Klassen had so carefully hidden, would be used to redeem his great-granddaughter’s life.
Chapter 20
Kat wrestled with the iron fingers clamped over her mouth as Grazovich manhandled her out of the hiding place behind a gravestone. Grazovich dug his fingers into the back of her neck and hissed, “Quiet!” as if he hadn’t been holding her down and gagging her with his gloved hand for the better part of two cold hours, forcing her silence.
Satisfaction swept through her when she managed to connect her heel to his shin. She didn’t care that pain knifed up her leg.
The blunt end of a pistol, an icy finger just below her ear, made her freeze. “Don’t cause any trouble now, or your boyfriend is dead too.”
She couldn’t think of enough choice adjectives for the terrorist as he hauled her, tripping and stumbling, toward the cave where Vadeem had disappeared fifteen agonizing minutes prior.
Her breath caught as she drew closer, and saw Vadeem emerge, a necklace dangling from his grip. Even twenty feet away, she caught the luster of gem and gold.
The Crest of St. Basil.
General Grazovich stiffened, as if shocked by his good fortune. “Be good,” he growled in her ear.
She had no intention of doing anything to persuade him to put a bullet into her skull. On noodle legs, she allowed Grazovich to push her forward until she stood in the ring of light a step outside the cave.
Vadeem looked up, saw her, and jerked like he’d been slapped. The general must have had an “I am serious” look on his face because Vadeem swallowed, audibly. Kat didn’t miss the anger Vadeem tried to keep flushed from his face. She knew him too well, had seen that look used on her too many times not to recognize it.
“You found it.” Excitement strummed in Grazovich’s voice. “Congratulations.”
Vadeem’s chest rose and fell as he glared at the thug. “Let her go. I’ll give it to you.”
“Drop your pistol first,” Grazovich said.
Kat winced when the weapon clattered on the cave floor. Then Vadeem looked at her, full in the eyes, his sorrowful gaze communicating every thing she’d dreaded. I was just trying to keep you safe.
Somehow, she found comfort in those unspoken words. She knew them now for what they were.
I love you.
She would have to be blind not to recognize the truth. Emotion piled in his gaze, spilling out as he stepped forward, his hand outstretched, holding the necklace. As he did it, she knew. . . .
He was betraying his country to save the life of the woman he loved.
She saw it on his agonized expression, and it rocked her to her bones.
She couldn’t let him do it. He would live branded as a traitor for the rest of his life—something, she had a feeling, he already wrestled with. She ignored Grazovich’s threat and let desperation drive adrenaline into her veins.
“No!”
Her outcry startled Grazovich. The kidnapper loosened his grip.
Kat found flesh and bit, hard.
Grazovich cursed. Kat jerked away and stomped on his foot. She lunged toward the man who wanted so desperately to protect her. “No, Vadeem!”
Grazovich caught up fast and cuffed her, connecting with the back of her head. Kat slammed against the lip of the cave entrance. Pain exploded in her shoulder, then down her neck as the General pulled her up by her hair. “Good try.”
Tears burned her eyes as Kat scrambled for footing. Grazovich yanked her head back, and jammed his pistol under her jaw.
“Not a step closer, Spasonov.”
Vadeem froze in mid leap. She saw fury gather on his face and bunch his muscles. He didn’t look at her, and the icy glare he leveled at Grazovich turned her cold.
“One move and she’s dead.” Grazovich screwed the gun into her jaw for emphasis. Kat denied him a whimper, choosing instead to ball her fists against the pain.
“Now, you’re going to put that necklace down. Gently, over there.” Grazovich jerked his head toward the clearing behind them, where the moon turned the grass an eerie yellow. “And then you’re going back, good and far away. When I’m tucked in my car, snug as a bug, I’ll let her go.”
Kat winced as Grazovich shuffled backwards, out toward the light, his hand wound into her hair.
Vadeem spoke through clenched teeth. “You’re not going to get out of Russia. Every FSB agent from here to Kiev will hunt you down.”
Grazovich laughed. “Right. Ryslan wasn’t the only one who understood our cause.”
Vadeem’s eyes narrowed. “Ryslan didn’t believe in your cause. He believed in cold American greenbacks.”
“Well, so do I. Now move.”
Kat cried out as Grazovich let go of her hair and twisted her arm behind her back. Vadeem’s face contorted with her pain. He didn’t hesitate. She watched in agony as Vadeem paced out and set down the necklace in the puddle of moonlight.
Then he backed away, his eyes holding hers with every step.
“C’mon Miss Moore, I have a plane to catch.” Grazovich pulled her toward the necklace, keeping her wrenched arm tight as he scooped up the precious relic and let it drop around her neck. It hit her skin, and made her shiver.
She had no doubt now that Grazovich had every intention of killing her. She’d seen the lecherous look in his eyes, and knew, as that weight of the crest hung on her neck, she’d never see Vadeem again. Grazovich inched away, his hand now fisted in her hair, towing her like a savage.
No, this was not happening. She’d lived her life around men bossing her around, taking charge of her life, making her feel helpless. She wasn’t going to let this terrorist steal everything she’d come to Russia to find, and more. She wasn’t going to let him kill the future she’d once seen written on the now agonized face of her would-be protector, the FSB captain who’d captured her heart. She didn’t care that the muscles in her neck bunched around the death end of a gun, or that her scalp burned from Grazovich’s grip.
God had never left her before. He wasn’t going to do it now, regardless of what happened.
God, give me courage!
Kat erupted in fury. She slammed her boot into Grazovich’s loafer, fell to her knees, and jerked away. She stifled a scream as she left a wad of hair in the terrorist’s hand.
Vadeem leaped like a panther.
The two men hit the dirt with a grunt. Grazovich let go of her as Vadeem wrestled with his gun hand. Kat rolled away, not sure if she should run, or get in a lick.
“Run, Kat!” Vadeem yelled between grunts.
That decided it. Vadeem didn’t need her help, obvious from the way he shook the gun out of Grazovich’s grip, and followed with a one-two punch that made even Kat’s teeth rattle.
Her legs took control. The last thing Vadeem needed in a sudden reversal of fortune would be to have her near enough for Grazovich to threaten.
She sped out toward the road, gulping chilly air into her burning lungs, not daring a look back. One thought drove her—dive into the car, lock it, and wait for Vadeem to show up, her hero.
She never made it.
A bulky figure moved out from beside the car, tall and dark and arrowing straight for her. She veered away, and a scream left her ravaged lungs a second before two timber-lick arms crushed her to a solid, unforgiving chest.
-
Vadeem heard Kat’s scream just as Grazovich pulled out Ryslan’s pistol from some well inside his coat. He shoved it in Vadeem’s face and Vadeem backpedaled, fast. Grazovich, ghost white and bleeding from the mouth and nose, struggled to his feet. A smile creased his face. “I should have done this a long time ago.
”
Vadeem heaved in hot breaths, wondering how fast it would take to dig up the pistol Grazovich had dumped in the tall grass.
The moonlight waxed Grazovich’s twisted face a bone-chilling yellow. The thug smiled and leveled his gun. “With you out of the way, just think how much fun your girlfriend and I will have.”
Rage poured into Vadeem’s muscles as he hurtled himself toward the Abkhazian terrorist.
Shock washed Grazovich’s face. He pulled the trigger.
The shot sent Vadeem wheeling back as the bullet grazed across his arm, burning like a branding iron. He landed in a splash of pain, braced himself for the fatal follow-through shot.
In a blur of motion, Grazovich slammed into the dirt. He swore loudly, dazed and knocked silly by the bear of a man straddling him.
Vadeem blinked, his heart in his mouth.
“Sorry I’m late,” Pyotr said, as he drove his knee into Grazovich’s spine. He easily jerked the weapon from his hand. “I had a hard time finding the place.”
Vadeem gulped back relief. He had never been so happy to see a pastor in his entire life. “No problem. You’re timing is perfect.”
Grazovich suddenly roared in fury. Pyotr shoved his face into the dirt. Vadeem quickly snapped a set of cuffs on the man, ignoring a barrage of Abkhazian curses.
“You okay?” Pyotr asked as he hauled Grazovich to his feet.
Vadeem clutched his arm, exploring the shredded leather where the bullet had grazed him. His hand came back sticky with blood. “Good thing his aim was off. He almost got me in the chest.”
Pyotr grinned even as he wrestled Grazovich into a submissive position. “I don’t know, Pal. I’d say you got a direct hit right in the heart. ” The pastor looked past him, grinning.
Vadeem followed his gaze, and saw Kat, face white, her hair a tousled nest, her amber eyes wide and glistening, holding her breath in with a cupped hand over her mouth.
“Direct hit,” he echoed. He didn’t even have the chance to climb to his feet before she barreled into his arms, burying her face in his neck, sobbing.
He soothed her, crushing her to his chest. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head in the well of his neck. He felt his relief build in his eyes, turning them moist. “Sorry I scared you.”
She sat back and fury filled her expression. “Next time you decide to send me packing, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d do the honors yourself.”
Vadeem’s lips parted in shock.
A smile tugged at her lips. “I missed you.” Her voice broke, and he read everything he’d hoped to see in her wounded eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
He traced her face lightly with his finger. “You just had to have a little faith, Kat. That’s all you needed.”
Her face twitched. “I thought you said faith destroys.”
He leaned close, his forehead to hers. “Oh, no, Kat, faith leads us to the treasure we’ve always longed for. Salvation. Forgiveness.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “Hope.”
She leaned into his touch as the wind tangled her hair and swept her fragrance to him, embracing him with the joyous gift that was Kat. God’s gift. Vadeem nearly cried at the magnitude of it.
“I’m in love with you, you know.” He whispered the words, forced as they were from the darkest corner of his heart.
She smiled at him, a full, encompassing grin that was so sweet it made him ache with happiness. “So, you’re not sending me home on the next plane?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Moore, but you’re not going anywhere.”
She raised her chin. “You know, I hate it when you tell me what to do.” Tease glimmered in her eyes.
“Well maybe that’s more of a . . .request.” He wove his hands into her hair. “Maybe I can give you a reason to stay.” He kissed her, gently, testing, and discovered that she had moved beyond the tentative stage to acceptance. Her lips were sweet and warm, and full of that unconditional love he’d always longed for. Full of Kat.
No, she wasn’t going anywhere.
Epilogue
“Now this is Moscow at night.” Vadeem tucked Kat under his arm. As they walked down the cobblestones of Red Square, he felt mesmerized as much by the wonder of her nestled close as by the star-strewn sky. It glittered like diamond-studded velvet against a jeweled crescent moon. In the lunar light, the church of St. Basil the Blessed glimmered, red and blue, green, and gold—the colors of the crest that had been safely delivered back to the Russian Church.
The glory of it seemed as surreal as the fact that he’d been nominated as ‘Hero of the Motherland.’ A medal of merit pended approval by the duma during the legislative body’s next session.
Except, the hero status Vadeem truly longed for was in Kat’s eyes. Vadeem led them onto the bridge that spanned the Volga River. Kat hummed contentedly, stirring within him a well of emotions still unfamiliar to his thawing heart. Each time, it brought a fresh wave of amazement, and often a wash of betraying tears. He managed a shaky breath and blinked them away.
“Thank you for bringing me to the ballet,” Kat murmured. “The Bolshoi Theater is more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
“You’re welcome.” Vadeem stopped and watched the river as it flowed, its ripples peaked silver as the moon kissed them. He leaned against the rail, pulling Kat close, and played with her hair as the wind teased it. He loved its silky feel through his fingers. He could stay here forever, drowning in her enchanting aroma, surrendering to the magic in her amber eyes. He touched the key, now hanging by a gold chain around her neck, amazed at all it had unlocked for him. For her. “I’m glad you’re here to share it with me.”
Emotion clogged his throat as he drew his arms around her, pulling her close. Her fingers ran through the hair at the nape of his neck, and sent a warm shiver down his spine. Oh yes, he could stay here forever, and longer. He smiled, his gaze going to the heavens in silent gratitude.
If Kat had taught him one thing over the past four weeks—the first week spent trying to keep her alive, the next three enjoying the fact that he did—it was that his darkest moments could be survived if he kept his eyes on God, on the light. Vadeem did that now, smiling at the stars above and the moon in its mysterious, eternal radiance. Like the moon, always there, never absent—even when he couldn’t spot it with the naked eye, God would never leave him. As if to add an exclamation point to that truth, God had given him Kat, his precious Katoosha, an explosion of light in Vadeem’s life. A delightful, invigorating, sometimes exasperating, reminder of God’s love.
Now, if he could just pass muster tomorrow. “What time is your grandfather arriving?”
Kat threaded her fingers through his. “Two o’clock.” She drew back from him, leaving her fragrance in her wake, then she smiled and wiggled her brows. “Nervous?”
Nervous? He was about to meet the illustrious Grandfather Neumann, the equivalent, or perhaps worse, of Kat’s father. Nervous didn’t even begin to describe the way his stomach turned inside-out or the general kasha quality of his knees. “A little,” he said.
“Don’t worry. He’ll love you.” She pressed her forehead to his, her gaze in his, close and hypnotic. “Just like I do.”
He couldn’t help but kiss her. She was so full of life, of hope, and when he pulled away, he felt it all on his tingling lips and the explosion of joy in his heart. He swallowed, still trying to get used to tugging vulnerable words from his chest. “I love you too.”
He kept that moment in the forefront of his mind the next day at Moscow’s Sheremetova 2 airport as he stood, shifting weight from one leg to the next. “Which one is he?”
Kat jumped up and down like a preschooler. “Tall, white hair, lanky.”
Oh, the one holding a brief case, walking like an athlete? The one with piercing dark eyes who looks like he could eat me alive? Vadeem’s courage careened to his toes and he grimaced. Kat didn’t notice, but flung herself into her grandfather’s arms. The old man braced himself well
, obviously used to her exuberance. Vadeem waited until Kat had hugged him enough to make up for her adventure, and the next few Christmases, then extended a hand.
“Vadeem Spasonov, Mr. Neumann. Welcome to Russia.”
The man’s grip clenched his own, and his eyes warmed, despite his curt nod. “So, I guess you’re the one who kept my granddaughter alive, huh?”
Vadeem opened his mouth and wished for words.
Then the old man winked.
Perhaps her grandfather wasn’t so different Kat as Vadeem thought.
Vadeem flagged down a cab, then rode with them to the Hilton, Kat’s hotel of choice, listening to the two catch up, and Kat spin tales of bravery that Vadeem viewed in a completely different light. He’d have to get the grandfather alone and set the record straight. Still, he liked the way esteem seemed to be building in the man’s eyes. Perhaps he’d let things lie.
-
“Okay, Grandfather, I know you’ve had a long trip, but I have lots of questions, and I want answers.” That was what Kat had planned to say to him. Had planned it for a week, since she discovered he wanted to fly over on the pretense of bringing a suitcase of her personal effects to help her get settled as she searched for the Klassen family relatives. The KGB did have files—and Vadeem had promised to help her dust them off and trace them forward. Hope tinged their every conversation. The fact that Grandfather had decided to join the search felt somehow. . .healing. And she wouldn’t have to dig far under his offer to help discover ulterior motives, namely curiosity. Grandfather wanted to run Vadeem through the ringer.
She didn’t care. Not only could Vadeem stand up under the old man’s scrutiny, Grandfather came armed with answers, and if the book in her possession didn’t trigger him to spill them, well, she planned to turn demanding. To ask the Lord for some of that grit she’d unleashed on a smuggler with murderous intent.
Instead, what came out when Grandfather closed the hotel room door behind them was, in a horribly squeaky tone, “Can I. . .did you. . .um. . .I still have some questions.”
Ekaterina (Heirs of Anton) Page 23