by Lexi Blake
“Which should show you how badly some people out there want you dead,” Taggart pronounced gravely.
Yes, he got that.
“If it helps at all, I think you’re down to one man,” a new voice said. “The rest have either died off or moved on. I think you’re dealing with the father of one of your victims. He owns a bar in Moscow that caters to the Bratva. He’s close to Boris, which is precisely why Boris offered you up and made the deal so quickly.”
Damn. Ezra Fain. He’d hoped to avoid the CIA agent until he went back to wherever it was he’d come from. It wasn’t good to know that Fain apparently kept a close watch on him, but he did know who the man was talking about and it made sense. “Yes, I believe Yuri Gregorov is still offering an enormous amount of money for anyone who is willing to take me apart. I didn’t realize it was known here in England. I didn’t know he had such close ties with Boris.”
Fain grinned as he walked in. It was really more of a smartass smirk. “Oh, it’s known almost everywhere. I do believe he’s got wanted posters in many of the Bratva’s hangouts. Which is why it was truly reckless of you to walk into one.”
“We didn’t walk in and order a bloody drink,” Brody protested. “The bastard we went to see stabbed us in the back. Well, he sent in some people to shoot us in the front. I’m right and sorry we’ve caused Damon trouble with the authorities, but I ain’t going to apologize for what we did.”
“Did you hear the part about Charlie and me being able to get the same job done with no dead bodies?” Taggart asked.
“You don’t know that.” Brody waved him off. “Could have been even worse.”
He didn’t want to get into an argument. “I should have waited. I understand that.”
“You were reckless.” Fain leaned against one of the empty desks. “It’s not terribly surprising. You’re always reckless. It’s why you should rethink your relationship with the woman you’re guarding. I’m not sure why you think it’s professional to screw the woman you’re supposed to be protecting.”
“None of my guys would have found a woman if I outlawed that,” Taggart threw in.
Fain paced a bit. “Fine, has anyone considered the fact that being around Markovic puts Hayley Dalton in more danger than she’s already in, and that’s a significant amount?”
“She’s safe here,” Taggart pronounced. “This is a very secure location.”
“She can’t stay here for the rest of her life.” Fain leaned against one of the desks.
Taggart pointed toward the back of the office. “I don’t know why. Walt did.”
“Hey, I go out.” Walt frowned. “Every now and then. But why would I want to leave? Damon provides me with all the equipment I need and a brand new PS4. We have a massive screen with super comfy chairs. We don’t need to go anywhere. Going places is overrated.”
But it wouldn’t be for Hayley. Still, he wasn’t sure what her other options were at this point. “I was given two names to investigate. According to Boris, these two have talked to whoever put the job out on Hayley.”
Fain snorted. “You mean the man who sold you out? You trust him to give you real names?”
“He owed me a debt. He would not shirk his debt, but he would use it in order to pay off another debt or to make some money.” How was he going to explain this to Hayley? Why was he even trying to figure out a way to explain it? He should tell her the truth. She needed to know how dangerous it was to be around him.
“I might have to have a talk with good old Boris,” Taggart said with a frown.
“You have more problems than Markovic’s fan base. There’s been some movement on your girl’s case.” Fain crossed over to Taggart. “I helped your wife with some tricky politics earlier today. I got her into Seattle PD’s case files.”
“You found something?” Perhaps one thing had gone right today.
“Yes, but I think you should see it for yourself. I’d like to get a look at those names,” Fain continued. “I’m getting worried this is something I should insert myself into.”
“Why?” The last thing he wanted was the CIA involved.
“I’m concerned about the level of cover-up involved in this,” Fain admitted.
Taggart nodded. “As am I. This involves not only manipulation of the police and local government, but also the media. Whoever is behind this is smart and connected and very subtle, since we haven’t heard a whisper. Alex and Eve spoke to some of Hayley’s neighbors and friends. They all said the same thing. They said they didn’t believe that she could be involved with anything criminal, and yet when I watched the interviews they did with local news, they were edited to make Hayley look like an outsider with possible issues.”
“What are you talking about?” Nick had to catch up. It appeared a lot had happened while he was distracting Hayley.
“Charlie got the raw footage of the interviews. Like I said, they show almost exclusively positive comments about Hayley, but when the interviews were edited they focused on negatives,” Taggart explained. “Like one of her students talked about how everyone made fun of Professor Dalton for her need to use her own chalk. She would carry it around with her because she’d found a brand she claimed wrote better and got less chalk on her clothes. When it was edited, they didn’t mention the why, merely that she wouldn’t touch other chalk and how weird and suspicious that was. The reporter talked about Hayley’s mental issues and then made her seem OCD by using the student’s words in a manner they weren’t meant to be.”
“I saw that video, too.” Fain stood beside Taggart. “It was an elegant piece of manipulation. It’s the kind of thing I would do if I wanted to put a target in a corner and leave them with no way out. Someone wants Hayley hurting and they’re doing a magnificent job of it. When whoever this is brings her in, they’ll offer a deal.”
“Give us what we want and we can get your life back,” Taggart continued. “Look at what they managed to do. They can undo it. It’s simple.”
“They won’t undo it.” Now that he thought about it, he knew the play well. He’d used the play against his country’s enemies. “What does the CIA know? Because you’re right. This feels bigger than we thought and because it happened on US soil and the institutions being manipulated are US institutions, I have to wonder if you might know something and you being here at precisely the right time is more than coincidence.”
He didn’t believe in coincidence.
Fain’s face went blank. “I told you why I came and I’ve been trying to be helpful. If you want to give me those names, I’ll tell you what I can. And if I was here for nefarious reasons, I wouldn’t be sleeping on some cot in the basement. I would have come with a unit of my own and full permission of the prime minister and taken Miss Dalton, and there would have been nothing you could do about it.”
“Ask Tennessee how that worked out for him,” Taggart said, his voice low.
Fain’s lips quirked up in a smirk. “Yes, I’m not Tennessee Smith, and you should remember that.”
“Believe me, I will,” Taggart promised. “And you should understand that I’m not some CIA crony who goes by a rule book. I left because there was zero room for loyalty there. Nick, no matter what he says, this is your op. Damon can yell all he likes, but it’s bluster. He’s not going to fire you. He would have done the same thing had it been Penny’s life on the line, and he knows that deep down. So what you choose to do with the information you have is all up to you. Brody, you did a damn fine job keeping your partner alive while he followed his dick around.”
“His dick is very sentimental, boss,” Brody replied.
Taggart nodded his way. “Allowances must be made and I think the Benz works better as a convertible anyway. Nick, it’s up to you. You can give Fain the names or I can run them myself.”
The man was such an ass half the time and then he proved why so many brilliant operatives chose to follow him, why he was so respected. Why his employees loved him.
“What would you do, boss?” He
would give his boss the respect he deserved.
“I would give it to both of us,” Taggart returned. “I would use every resource I had, and if Fain turns out to be doing something he shouldn’t, I would get ready to punish him like the naughty boy he is. CIA agent or not.”
Nick stared at the CIA guy. “I know you think I shouldn’t be the one protecting her, but I intend to do everything I can to do my duty. She’s important to me. If I discover you’re actively trying to harm her, you’ll find out why they call me palach.”
“You have my word that I have no intention to hurt Hayley Dalton.” Ezra Fain put a hand over his heart. “I mean that as an American and my mother’s son. It’s as much of an oath as I can possibly give you.”
He had to take all the help he could get. “Brody?”
The minute they’d walked in, he’d written down the names four times and passed them to Brody. He wasn’t about to lose those names. Brody had taken the notes, promising to pass them around so they could figure out the problem. The Aussie pulled out two of the papers, passing them to both Taggart and Fain.
“And I’ll help him,” Brody said to Fain. “In case you think about crossing him. I don’t care what your agenda is. He’s on my team and I never neglect my duty to back up a teammate.”
“I’ll die if I betray anyone here. Yes, I do get that.” Fain opened the page, his eyes reading the names there. “These are both known assassins.”
“Yes,” Taggart agreed. “I find it interesting that he gave you the names of a Ukranian assassin and an Irish contractor. He managed to not give you a Russian name.”
“Like I said, Boris walks a fine line. I only asked for a few names I could meet with and ask a few questions of,” Nick pointed out.
Fain chuckled. “Yes, you’ll ask a few polite questions. I’ll check my contacts, but I bet both of these men are here in England as we speak. They’ve gotten word that she’s here. They’ll all be waiting for that moment when she steps out of The Garden. Or they’re planning on how to smoke her out.”
“What does that mean?” a familiar feminine voice asked.
Nick winced. Damn it. Hayley was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide. “It means you’re safe here for now.”
She was standing beside Charlotte, both women staring in at the men. “That’s not what he said. He said they would try to smoke me out. Like a damn badger. I’m not completely ignorant, you know. How would they do it?”
“Hayley, there’s no reason to worry. Come here.” He gestured her forward. Damn but she looked good. She looked like home and comfort and stability all rolled into one gorgeous woman package.
She moved quickly to get to him and was in his arms in a moment. He tried not to wince as she held him tight.
It didn’t work.
Hayley stepped back. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
Before he could explain, Fain spoke up. “He got shot. It probably hurt pretty bad. He got stitched up a few minutes ago.”
Hayley’s eyes had gone wide. “Shot?”
Bastard. “It was nothing.”
“You got shot?” Hayley turned to him. “While you were working on my case?”
He couldn’t let her think that, even though it was true. “I miscalculated the danger of where I went this morning. It won’t happen again, but I did get a good lead.”
Charlotte put her hands on her hips. “Tell me you didn’t go into Little Russia.”
“Why would that be a bad thing?” Hayley asked.
“I left Russia and denounced my ties to the government, but even when I was with the SVR, I came up against some members of the Bratva. They can be dangerous and they have long memories.” Maybe that would be enough for her.
Fain huffed. “That’s all you’re going to tell her?”
Taggart shot Fain a frigid stare. “That’s between Nick and Hayley. You stay out of it.”
Fain put his hands up. “Hey, it’s your company. I’m going to make some calls and see what I can run down. Charlotte, you should definitely go over what you found out this afternoon. I’ve got some feelers out in Macau as well. I’ll let you know if they find anything out about Dalton’s accident.”
“Dalton?” Nick was confused. “You think this has something to do with Hayley’s father’s death?”
If something Desiree had gotten into had caused Paul Dalton’s death, how would Hayley forgive him? It was likely something he’d helped Des with at one point in time or another. He would find his fingerprints somewhere in the mess.
Would she be able to forgive him?
Hayley looked away, but not before he’d seen the way her eyes had gone dull. “My father isn’t dead, Nicky. My father is the one who blew up my house.”
He reached for her, bringing her in close. It looked like he wasn’t the only one who’d had a shitty day. She stood in his arms, but he could feel how stiff her body was. She was in shock and no small amount of pain. He glanced at the clock. They still had an hour before the debrief.
He shoved aside all the questions he had. The case could wait for a while. She needed him.
It was time to show her what he could really do for her.
* * * *
Hayley felt like a walking zombie. Her feet shuffled but she didn’t feel connected to them. Her brain was working on a base level, but all she could see was that grainy black and white footage of her father walking away from her house right before he’d blown it up.
But then of course she’d also discovered that he’d been lying to her most of her life. Her father and Desiree had been up to something. Had they laughed at the stupid child she’d been? She’d been fooled by them both.
Was she being fooled by Nick, too?
Why wouldn’t her hands stop shaking?
“Did you know my father wasn’t dead?”
He stopped in front of the door to his place. After she’d made her announcement, Nick had put a hand on the small of her back and led her away from the office. He’d told everyone they would be at the afternoon meeting, but that she needed some time.
Time to do what? Time to realize that her whole life had been one long lie? She’d gotten that. Now she needed to know how deep the lies went.
He loomed over her, his eyes staring straight into hers. “I had no idea your father wasn’t dead. While we’re at it, I didn’t know he and Des lied about your familial relationship. She lied to me about that as well. She never called you anything but cousin. However, you should know that whatever is at the bottom of this, I probably had a hand in. I did Desiree’s dirty work in the beginning and often didn’t care to figure out exactly what I was doing. I did it because I owed Des and I rarely thought about the future. So you should know that I probably am a part of this. I played a part in this and you have to be ready for that.”
“I’m not ready for anything.” Except to scream. To run. God, she wanted to run until she couldn’t anymore, until her legs didn’t work, until she had to stop and breathe.
It was so much.
Her father wasn’t dead. He was somewhere out there and he apparently wished her ill.
He was working with the same men who wanted to take her in and question her about god only knew what.
And now Nick had been shot and the CIA guy kept talking about something Nick was keeping from her.
She put a hand up between them. She knew at least one thing he’d definitely kept from her. “Did you or did you not know that the Seattle PD shifted from looking for me as a witness to accusing me of being a murderer?”
A long sigh passed through him. “Let’s go inside, Hayley.”
No. It was time to take a step back and not only from Nick. She couldn’t let go of the idea that there was someone out there waiting and watching for the time to strike. If they knew where she was, why wouldn’t they come after her here? There were babies in this building. There were people with lives and families who could get hurt.
Nick would have kept that information from her. He wouldn’t have
allowed her to make the choice she needed to make.
It made her antsy. What else was he hiding for her own good?
He swiped his card over the door and it opened. “I said come inside, Hayley.”
She shook her head. “No. I’m going to go talk to the Taggarts.”
She would figure out a better way. There had to be one, one that didn’t involve someone storming in and hurting innocent people. She wasn’t going to be a martyr and walk out and let them take her.
Though at least then it would be over and she would understand.
The impulse was right there. At least she would understand what had gone wrong in her life. She would know why her father had lied. She would know why the people she loved kept betraying her.
It would be awful, but it would be over and she wouldn’t have hurt anyone else.
She started to walk toward the elevator but a rough hand gripped her wrist, stopping her progress.
“I said get inside, Hayley.” His voice had gone dark.
For a second that voice worked on her. Her body softened and she turned, the hours and hours they’d spent in bed working on her. He’d done what he’d said he would do. He’d trained her body to respond to the mere sound of his voice, to know somewhere deep down that no matter how hard they fought he could give her more pleasure than she’d ever imagined. She started to follow him.
And stopped when she remembered that he was a big part of the problem. She planted her feet. “Fuck you, Nick.”
His jaw tightened, but he held on to her. “I deserve that. I’ll take it if that’s what you need.”
“I need you to let me go.”
“So you can talk to the Taggarts?” He stared at her as though he could see through her skin and down to her soul.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s my choice.”