“Let’s go, woman.” Sergei grabbed Ava by her upper arm and began dragging her toward her front door.
It was a relief to realize that she could sort of hear him. That meant her hearing was coming back. “I don’t have keys.” Ava held out her hands to show that she had no reticule, no purse, and no belongings.
“Right. Shit.” Sergei now scratched the side of his head with the gun barrel. Had the man learned nothing?
Ava wondered if her neighbors could see any of this going on in her front yard. It was so dark outside. Only the glow of her carriage lamps kept it from being pitch-black. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, and even the streetlamps seemed dull and ineffective tonight. It was just an ominous, dreary sort of night. Ava would not have been surprised to see the thick mist of a Boston fog begin to fill the air.
Sergei’s expression brightened. “Do you have a key hidden?”
“Around the side of the house.” She smothered a smile. How was it that thinking about Jason Nash’s failed attempt to break into her home the other night could make her smile in the midst of this horror? Perhaps that was good. Perhaps it meant that she was going to make it through.
“Then, let’s go there!” Sergei dragged Ava toward the path that led to the kitchen door. He was waving to Aloysha as though he wanted the other man to hurry up. Ava had a feeling that this was about to go from bad to worse.
She stepped into the flowerbeds on the right side of the door and dug a little for the little hollow rock she kept there. The nail of her index finger sheared off, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. If that was the worst real injury she sustained this evening, she should consider herself the luckiest woman on the planet.
Ava produced a key, and Sergei plucked it right out of her hand. He eagerly opened her kitchen door. Ava was half hoping he would barge right in and the alarm would go off. Unfortunately, Sergei was not quite that foolish. He grabbed Ava and shoved her into the house ahead of him.
“Alarm,” he ordered. “Punch in the right code or you’ll be sorry.”
She didn’t argue. This man wasn’t just mean. Sergei was demented in a way that was almost insidious. One minute, he could be quite reasonable, and the next, he could blow off a man’s head and laugh.
Aloysha entered the house behind them just as Ava finished punching in the code. The men shut the door, turned on the kitchen light, and then faced Ava with matching expressions of greed on their face.
“Where is it?” Aloysha demanded.
Ava sighed. There was really no point in lying. “It isn’t here.”
“What?” Sergei shrieked. “You lie!” He started waving that gun around again, and Ava could not help but flinch away. The man was a disaster with a weapon, and it had nothing to do with skill.
“She’s lying,” Aloysha decided.
“I’m not,” Ava countered. “After Sergei showed so much interest in the book the other day, I sent it via courier to my son, Ralston.”
“No!” Now Sergei was stomping up and down like a petulant child. “No. No. No!”
Ava watched in fascination as the Russian mobster pitched a full-fledged tantrum in her kitchen. He grabbed the utensil holder from the island and flung it to the floor. Bamboo spoons and spatulas flew everywhere. He grabbed the ceramic pot of flour and threw that against the wall. A white cloud filled the air and coated everything, including them.
“Sergei!” Aloysha shouted. “What the fuck?” He began rattling off epithets in Russian. At least Ava thought they must be epithets, because they didn’t seem to mean anything else.
Sergei was unaffected. He overturned her barstools and picked up a chair in order to smash it against the table. Ava felt her insides freeze at the magnitude of his anger. Was it really proportionate to the situation? It seemed excessive. What was going on?
Then Sergei grabbed Ava’s arm and dragged her to the table. He threw her down and pressed her head to the side so that her cheek was pressed to the smooth, flour-covered wood. He put the muzzle of the gun to her temple.
Ava took a deep breath. This was it. She would never have the chance to tell Jason Nash that she loved him. She would never see her children again or watch Tegan walk down the aisle to marry Wrath. It was a sad thing to realize that you had so much life yet to live when some madman with a gun was just about to snuff it out.
Ava squeezed her eyes closed and prayed she would not humiliate herself.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nash had never been more afraid of anything than the sight of Sergei Yurevich with a gun pressed to Ava’s head. Nash and his men had entered the house through the front door, with their guns drawn. Since the alarm was off, they were able to quietly make their way to the kitchen. They had been drawn there by the crash of kitchen utensils and furniture being thrown about as though a storm had hit.
There were too many options and too little hope of success. Nash could have tried to shoot Sergei, but even a headshot would not guarantee that his finger wouldn’t pull the trigger as he fell away. If Nash screwed up and Ava died, he would never be able to live with himself. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled down his spine. This was by far the worst thing he could have imagined happening. Or perhaps not the worst.
Nash’s indecision cost him the element of surprise. Sergei glanced up, saw the marines, and shifted his position to put Ava between them. “Don’t come any closer!” he shouted.
Aloysha was already inching toward the door and escape. Nash snapped his fingers at Wrath. The quick marine moved the sights of his weapon to Aloysha and gave a warning whistle. The Russian cursed and stopped moving. His hands inched into the air, and they were all officially at an impasse of sorts.
“Let her go, Sergei,” Nash growled. “Ava has nothing that you want.”
“She gave the book to Ralston!” Sergei’s tone was just below a shriek.
The man sounded as though he were about to lose it completely. Nash could not let that happen. They had already seen Stedman’s lifeless body in the SUV. To lose Ava the same way was an unacceptable result. Nash would not let it happen. He couldn’t.
“Let her go,” Nash said again. He lowered his tone to coaxing. “She gave the book to Ralston, but there’s nothing she can do about it now. She’s useless to you. There is no point in holding her hostage or killing her. She has no value to you.”
“What do you mean?” Sergei’s brain seemed to latch onto Nash’s words, which moved his focus away from Ava.
Nash took a deep breath. This was either going to diffuse the situation or make it explode with colossal collateral damage. “Ralston works for the bank, Sergei. You know this.”
“Yes. So what? His father worked for the bank,” Sergei reminded Nash impatiently.
“No.” Nash’s tone was flat and completely unemotional. He could sense his men beginning to fan out. They were shifting in small degrees exactly as they had been trained. Nash continued to hold Sergei’s attention. “Ralston actually works for the bank. He isn’t just on the board of directors. He works in the IT department. It didn’t take him long to decode the cipher in the book. But then, he’s also been working things from his father’s end for several weeks now.”
“You bastards!” Sergei shouted. He pressed the gun so hard against Ava’s head that she squeaked in pain. “What did you do?”
Nash held his breath. “Ralston put the money back. Every bit of it. Each account was reset to the balance that it was before Stedman’s very first transaction. You might say that Ralston hit the reset button. So, whatever money was stolen from you has been returned.”
It took every ounce of Nash’s self-control to keep from lunging at Sergei. He wanted Ava away from that man. The fear and dread on her face were horrible to behold. She had been through too much already. He wouldn’t have her hurt anymore. Not ever.
Sergei looked as though he could not decide if this was good or bad. His indecision gave Nash a new case of heartburn. What was he missing here? Aloysha had started lau
ghing. That didn’t help. Sergei whipped around and started yelling at Aloysha in Russian. That only seemed to make the other man laugh louder.
“What?” Nash used the same stern tone of voice he used for immature marines that were new to his unit. “Tell me what the joke is.”
It was Aloysha that answered. “Sergei should be satisfied with that. No? I know that I am. It means that the Sokolov holdings are in Sokolov hands once again. Our funds were siphoned off by Stedman because he claimed that he and Anton were investing.” Aloysha shrugged. “I think we all know that wasn’t the case. There were never any returns on those investments. Now, I can go back to my life.”
Aloysha started to move, but Wrath gave a sharp whistle. “You’re not going anywhere just yet, buddy.”
Aloysha raised his arms but gave Wrath a dirty look. “It’s Sergei you want. He intended to use the codes in the book to steal all of the money for himself. It wasn’t about getting it back for his New York Bratva brothers. He was going to blame the theft on Stedman, execute him, and then say the money was lost.”
“You bastard!” Sergei spat.
It happened all at once. Sergei whipped the gun away from Ava’s head and did an abrupt about-face all at once. Nash lunged for Ava. He wrapped his hands around her arms and dragged her away from the table and into his arms. Wrapping her body in the protective cover of his, Nash dove for cover behind the other side of the island.
Nash’s body hit the polished wood floor at the same exact moment he heard a shot rip through the room. Ava shuddered in his arms. He wrapped her tight and pressed his face to her hair. She was battered and bruised and hurt, but she was alive. Right now, that was the only thing that mattered.
AVA DREW IN a deep breath, and with it, Nash’s scent. She was trembling all over and could not seem to stop. He was murmuring softly to her. She could not understand the words, but somehow, that didn’t matter. She was lying beneath him. It didn’t feel like being crushed though. He was protecting her. There had been a shot. Someone was dead. But who was it?
“Boss?” Quentin’s voice was filled with caution. “You all right down there?”
Nash cupped Ava’s face and gently touched her lower lip with his thumbs. “We’re going to be just fine,” he said without looking away from Ava’s face. “How about all of you?”
“We’re good,” Carson called out. “We need a body bag though.”
Nash nuzzled Ava and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. The unusual bit of affection nearly shattered her composure. She had thought this was over. She’d thought her life was over.
Nash managed to get up without squashing her in the process. He took her hands and helped her to her feet. Then they turned around to view the carnage in her kitchen. She felt her bile rise and had to cover her mouth with her hands to keep herself from retching.
“Sorry about the floor,” Wrath muttered. “And the refrigerator.”
Sergei lay half on and half off the kitchen table. Blood dripped slowly from a gaping wound in his head, to the floor. A thick puddle had coagulated and continued to gather.
Ava turned away from that gore and noticed that there was a bullet hole in the refrigerator. It had pierced the ice and water dispenser. Water slowly trickled down the stainless steel door and collected on her wood floors.
Aloysha was standing by the door. His hands were at his sides, and he looked shaken. Ava could guess why. She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. “You should go,” she told Aloysha. “Before the police get here.”
For a moment, he looked as though he might hesitate, but that didn’t last. Nash added a nod to Ava’s encouragement. Aloysha wasted no more time wondering. He bolted. She heard the tires of that SUV out front squeal as they sped away from her house.
“He took Stedman’s body,” Ava observed. She felt so detached for the moment. It was as though her mind could take no more. She was done. And anything else that happened was going to be viewed like a bad movie playing on the big screen.
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing, sweetheart,” Nash said softly. He took her hand and led her into the living room. “Let’s get away from that for a minute. All right?”
“What about Stedman’s body?” Ava was starting to panic. She could feel it taking over. “He has to be buried.”
“He will be.” Nash wrapped her in his embrace and very gently rubbed her back. He held her so tenderly. “Aloysha will take care of the body. It’s better that way. Stedman will just disappear. At this point, the police and the feds will want to talk with him, but the FBI is going to have a hard enough time trying to explain why they sent him out of state for questioning and then seemingly lost him.”
“It will be like he ran away,” Ava said softly. “Is that for the best?”
“Just to forget him?” Nash seemed to consider her statement. “Yes. I think so. This way everything can just sort of move on. There will be no funeral and no chance for anyone to believe that he was some kind of martyr. You and your family are safe, Ava. It’s over.”
She shuddered and saw once again the mental image of Stedman’s lifeless body hanging from the SUV’s overhead handle. “I don’t think it will ever be over for me.”
“No.” Nash’s tone was dead certain. “I love you. I love you like crazy. I will be by your side every single moment of every day from now until eternity, and if I say that things are going to get better, you’d best believe me.”
“You love me?” She whispered the words. She could hardly take it all in. He loved her. Jason Nash loved her. “I love you.” She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest. “Oh, I love you so much! I thought I would never have the chance to say it. I thought I had missed out.”
The tears caught her by surprise. Even after everything, she had not cried. Not yet. Now they spilled unchecked down her cheeks and soaked the front of Nash’s black T-shirt. She sobbed against him, and somehow, that made her begin to feel better.
“That’s it, baby,” he whispered. He rubbed her back and ran his hands over her tangled hair. “Let it all out. You’ve been through hell. I never meant for this to happen. I am so sorry, baby. So very sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she managed to choke out. “It happened so fast that I didn’t even know what was going on. But I knew you would come. I knew I just had to hold it together long enough for you to get here.”
“I’m glad,” he whispered. “I will always come for you, Ava. I will always be there for you. I promise.”
“I love you so much.” She could not believe she had waited to tell him how she felt. Never again. “I thought it was all over. I thought that crazy man was going to kill me and you would never know how I felt.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve loved you for so long now, and I’ve been a complete ass about it.” Nash sighed. “I was so worried about money and status, and the fact that I don’t really have any.”
“I don’t care!” she declared firmly.
“I know that.” He sighed. “I think I just needed to stop being an idiot and realize that it doesn’t matter. None of it does. Besides, now that you work for me, I suppose it’s all good.”
“Wait one second here.” She straightened up. “I work for you? Since when?”
Wrath’s voice came from the direction of the kitchen. “Uh, guys? Not to interrupt, but the police are here. I think you’re probably going to need to explain the body.”
“You’re right,” Ava said abruptly. “Every time Wrath says you need to explain a body or tells you that he just totaled a rental car, I’m going to be gloating that I work for you and not the other way around.”
She laughed and held him close and managed to just be glad that she could still do both. Maybe things were going to work out just fine after all the cleanup was done.
Chapter Twenty-Five
One year later…
“You know, we are way too old to act like teenagers sneaking around behind their parents’ backs,” Ava told Nash
.
He made a noise but didn’t answer. He was far too busy kissing her neck and making her moan with delight. The mottled light filtering through the thick leafy trees cast their tiny little hideaway in equal parts light and shadow.
The patio furniture tucked into the private space became the perfect place for Nash to lay her down and gently inch her skirt up above her knees. His hands settled on her thighs and stroked the fire within her body. Ava whimpered as his fingers danced ever closer to the apex of her legs.
When he finally brushed his fingertips over the thin layer of satin covering her mound, Ava nearly lost her battle to be quiet. She flung her arm across her mouth and bit her own skin to keep from crying out. Nash gently worked the elastic waistband of her panties down over her hips and then her legs. When she felt them near her ankles, Ava kicked them off. Right now, she wasn’t even concerned with finding them later.
Nash leaned over and kissed the inside of her thigh. Ava’s legs spread wider, almost as though she had no control over them. The reaction was involuntary. She was too busy anticipating the moment his fingers would spread the swollen lips of her pussy wide open. Then he blew a stream of air over the hot flesh of her folds. She sucked in a quick breath.
“Stop teasing,” she begged. “Please?”
His low laugh made her belly tighten with need. Then his tongue slid through her pussy, and she groaned with satisfaction. Nobody had a mouth as talented as Jason Nash. When he wasn’t using it to say asinine things that pissed her off or made her laugh, he was making her scream with delight.
Nash began working her clit with his tongue. He circled the tiny nub before sucking it between his lips. The pressure was incredible. Ava whimpered and squirmed as she felt her orgasm coming on fast. It would not take long. The heat built between her legs, and she felt the pinprick of awareness deep inside that let her know she was nearly there.
“I’m—I’m—I’m…” She gave up trying to speak and just climaxed.
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