Time to call Maia. He was prepared to grovel. In a moment of anger he had hurt the person he loved the most and that was unforgivable. But hopefully, she'd hear him out. But he was going to demand that she meet him halfway. If they were going back into a committed relationship she should prepare him for when she needed to take off, not just disappear like she had.
Taking a deep breath, he punched her number and waited for her voice. It went to voicemail. Shit. Either she didn't want to talk to him or she really was not available.
"Maia, babe, it's Jack. I've been a monumental ass. I was angry. I was angry at you for making me worry, for making me feel impotent to protect you from anything that would cause you harm. I'm in love with you, babe. I can't believe I hurt you like that. I know words are not enough, but please let me show you how sorry I am. Call me."
Jack got up and paced around the room. He proceeded to clean up the things he had thrown around, but after half an hour, pulled out his phone and called her again.
"Maia, I promise I won't pull this crap again. Please call me. I love you so much, babe."
He ended the call and glared at his phone willing her to call him back. Maybe she had changed her number. Maybe the voicemail didn't go through.
Jack groaned. He was exhibiting pathological, neurotic behavior.
He lay on his bed and stared at his nightstand's clock watching the minutes go by. It was then he had a moment of clarity. He was not as morose as he had been and his chest had felt lighter than in the past few weeks. And he knew then that he had accepted Maia wholly for whatever she was—well they still have to talk about a few ground rules. But he was not going to lie to her any more. He would tell her exactly how he felt about the risks she took. Derek told him that she said she was done with him, and that blew, but he was going to win her back at all cost. Any other outcome was unacceptable. She loved him too: she couldn't just turn it off like that. If he had to kidnap her again and keep her until she accepted that she was his, he'd do it. Jack smiled. There it was: clarity.
***
It had been a week. Jack was getting annoyed. He was willing to be patient, but this was ridiculous. How was he supposed to show Maia how sorry he was if she didn't call him back? He ran the gamut of all stalker behavior. He left her over twenty voice messages and just as many text messages. He had Derek call her, Laurie call her, his mom—yes he had his mom call her—but nada. No answer. He had driven to her Georgetown home three times and waited for her. But she did not show up. And then he worried that she had hooked-up with someone new or worse gone back to Lee Isaac—who made no secret that he still wanted her. That would kill him or make him commit murder.
"Sorry we missed Derek Lockwood today," Colonel Dalton's voice snapped Jack out of his ruminations. They were wrapping up some contract negotiations.
"Yes, he said he had a case of the flu," Jack replied. Derek had been acting strange lately. If Jack didn't know any better, he'd say his friend was avoiding him. And now he had filed for one week emergency leave. Was he thinking of leaving the company? Surely this mess with Maia had not prompted his friend to do business elsewhere.
"Well, I'm off to another meeting," Dalton said in a resigned voice.
"It's one of those days, huh?" Jack replied, making small talk.
"Actually, this meeting with the State Department should be interesting," Dalton said as he walked Jack to the elevators of the Pentagon. "One of our contractors ran into trouble in Russia and had some of their people taken hostage."
"Those are sticky diplomatic situations," Jack replied sympathetically.
The elevator doors slid open and, to Jack's shock, Viktor Baran stepped out together with Taylor Bess, the Assistant Secretary of State. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching dread gripped Jack's entire body.
"Mr. Baran, welcome. So sorry to hear about your people," Dalton said.
Viktor's eyes flickered over Jack in surprise. Jack grasped Viktor Baran's arm and asked hoarsely, "Is it Maia?"
The older man sneered, "What do you care?" He shook free from Jack's grip and spun away. The others looked at them with interest before they turned away to head into their meeting, leaving Jack reeling.
Jack burst into Derek's condominium, his face a mask of barely controlled fury as he stabbed a finger at his friend.
"You knew! You fucking knew Maia was taken and you never told me!" Jack accused angrily.
His friend's face was taut and drawn as if he had been carrying a burden for days.
"Yes, I fucking knew," Derek replied wearily. "I felt like crap this past few days seeing how determined you were to win her back, at the same time knowing that she and a couple of Guardians had been taken by Gavlik's men."
"This happened three days ago, didn't it? When you started avoiding me?" Jack rasped as he observed the black duffle bags that were packed. His friend was leaving for a mission.
Derek nodded. "How did you find out?"
"I ran into Viktor at the Pentagon with the Assistant Secretary of State. Prior to that, Dalton mentioned a hostage situation in Russia."
"What are the odds of that?" Derek mused.
"What happened?" Jack asked, finally calming down.
"I'm not sure. Viktor hasn't exactly been forthcoming with information," Derek admitted. "I expect him to brief me in the upcoming meeting. Maia did tell me a little about her mission before she left."
"I think she confided in you more than she ever did me," Jack said bitterly.
"Don't pull that pathetic shit on me, Jack," Derek said tersely. "Are you really ready to hear about how a sniper nearly took her out in the last mission?"
"What?" Jack whispered in horror.
"You cannot handle the not knowing and you broke up with her. Can you blame her for keeping things from you? Now that you know what shit storms she goes through, can you honestly say you'll be there for her, be her anchor through all this craziness? Can you handle that, Jack? That at any time, a sniper could take her out? Because that's her reality," Derek finished off almost in a shout.
"Damn you, Derek!" Jack snapped.
"Do you still want her back? To be with her? Because there's no guarantee that if she gets out of this alive, it's not going to happen again."
"I want her back. But things are going to change. I'm managing her and making sure she doesn't get into shit like this again," Jack stated resolutely.
"You're managing her," Derek let the words roll on his tongue as if Jack had lost his mind.
"I fucking am. Viktor cannot keep her safe so I'm taking over. She doesn't like it? Tough. I'm through letting her have her own way. I'm reining her in whether she likes it or not," Jack growled.
"This I've got to see," Derek muttered to no one in particular.
"So what's the plan on getting her back?"
"Jack, you're not going. One of us needs to run the company," Derek said. "This is a high-risk mission. Gavlik has an army guarding that compound where he's holding Maia and the other Guardians."
"You stay."
"The hell I will. You have too much at stake here, you are too close to Maia to think rationally!" Derek argued angrily.
"I bet you Viktor is going," Jack stated grimly. "The stakes are high, Derek. If I lose Maia, I lose everything. There will be no company. There is no going on without her. Do you understand that?"
"Man, since when have you become so maudlin?" Derek muttered in resignation.
"Since I fell in love with her."
CHAPTER TWENTY
The room didn't look all that bad. There was a bed with clean sheets, a side table with a plastic pitcher of water, and a plastic tumbler. A sheepskin rug was on the tiled floor, a minimalist bathroom off to one side of the bed. No not bad at all, except for the fact that one of her ankles was in a shackle.
Maia looked at the bed apprehensively and saw more shackles attached to the headboard and the foot of the bed. This was a kink room.
They had been ambushed on their way to the Volynksy stronghold of Samara. They
had no idea how Gavlik's men knew they were coming. Fortunately, none of the Guardians were killed. Manning had been injured, but she was assured that he was receiving medical treatment. Maia called a ceasefire when she realized they were outnumbered and that it would be suicide to fight back. Better to live to fight another day.
The door opened and Mikhail Gavlik walked in. He had silver hair and was a couple of inches taller than Maia. He was in his mid-fifties and had a slight paunch in his stomach. He was dressed casually in corduroy and a wool jacket, but Maia caught a glimpse of a sidearm.
"Ah, my lovely houseguest. I trust your accommodations are to your liking?" he said in a slightly-accented, cultured voice. His dark eyes coldly appraised Maia's body which lent credence to the rumors that she had heard that he was gay. There was no lust in those obsidian eyes, just a calculating malevolence.
"I've seen better," Maia replied sweetly.
"You can learn to curb your insolence," Gavlik warned scathingly. "You have a beautiful face, it would be a shame to ruin it. Now, I have been told that the DEA has something that is mine. I believe your dear friend can procure it for me."
"In exchange for our release?"
"Just your three friends. I think I'd like to keep you to trade for something else," Gavlik replied, again appraising her body.
"For what?" Maia's eyes turned wary.
"The timing of your arrival is impeccable. You just solved a pressing dilemma. I have a sheik who loves redheads, and you have the most amazing skin." Gavlik lightly caressed her face as she tried hard not to flinch.
"I think I'm a bit past the bloom for the perverts you do business with," Maia retorted.
Without warning, Gavlik grabbed her throat painfully. "I do not want to mark your lovely body, but I have little patience for your backtalk. Ilara will come in and get you ready."
"Get me ready for what?"
"A little incentive I'm sending Viktor Baran."
The situation room at the AGS headquarters was filled with analysts and Guardians.
When Jack showed up for the meeting, Viktor pulled him into his office.
"Look, McCord, I'm not surprised that you wanted to take Lockwood's place. I'm used to working with Derek and we're familiar with each other's play. I trust that your years as a SEAL will come in handy, but I will not let you play heroics and get any of my men killed."
"I know what's at stake here," Jack replied curtly.
"Just as long as we're on the same page. We both want to get her back. I know you two were having problems, but I expected that. The question is, is your shit sorted out?"
"It is, Viktor. I'm 100% committed to her," Jack said. "But know this: after we get her back, I'm going to persuade her to leave this life. It'll be easier for her if I were to make the decisions on her safety next time. The further away she is from your influence, the better. But whatever she decides, I'm with her. Got it?"
Viktor smiled wolfishly and said, "Fair enough, McCord."
Viktor was standing at the head of the table with an image of a three-level building on a widescreen monitor behind him.
"Mikhail Gavlik's compound is in the city of Orenburg Oblast, which is on the Ural River, 918 miles from Moscow. The plan is to take a Gulfstream 550 to Germany and from Germany to Kurumoch Airport in Samara, Russia. From there we're using three modified Black Hawks to fly into the Volynsky stronghold to pick up their commandos. There we refuel and fly into Orenburg. The Russians agreed to turn a blind eye to our incursion. But the less time we spend in their airspace, the better."
"How do we know for sure our people are there?" a Guardian spoke up.
"Thanks to McCord Defense Industries here," Viktor pointed to Jack. "We were able to inject our people with tracking serums. They function like a biological beacon that binds to the person's blood stream. It is untraceable by any device right now except the proprietary one made by MDI. We have assets on the ground right now with the tracking device and they confirm that all four of our people are in that compound."
"Viktor," a voice came over intercom. "I have a live feed from Mikhail Gavlik. He wants a meeting with you."
Chatter exploded in the room. Jack felt himself tensing up as he anticipated catching a glimpse of the man who had taken Maia.
"Quiet!" Viktor ordered, and told everyone, except one analyst and another Guardian, to leave the room.
"I'm staying," Jack said stonily.
"Fine," Viktor barked. "But you keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking."
Jack nodded as Viktor gave the go ahead.
Mikhail Gavlik appeared on the widescreen.
"Viktor Baran," Gavlik purred. "I believe I have a couple of your people."
"I want proof of life," Viktor said steadily.
"You are in no position to make demands," Gavlik snapped. "You're as arrogant as that redhead."
Jack's mouth tightened. Damn Maia, probably mouthing off again.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to get me the formula for the Rave-IX from the DEA."
"And you'll let my people go?"
"I'll let three of them go. I'm keeping the redhead."
"The hell you are!" Viktor responded acidly.
Jack's hands tightly gripped the arms of his chair to keep from reacting.
"Ah, she is important to you," Gavlik noted with interest.
"All my people are important to me. How do I know they're even alive?"
Gavlik nodded to someone and the screen split. One showed a cell-block with three of the Guardians whom Jack recognized as Edmunds, Manning and Chavez from Brett's protective custody. Maia was on the other screen and appeared to be in a regular room, but with shackles on one of her ankles. She was wearing harem pants and swaths of silk fabric covering her breasts, but her midriff was bare. Her gorgeous red hair was crowned with intricate beads of a harem headdress. She was shivering, obviously feeling cold in what she was wearing.
"What the fuck?" Viktor bit out, exactly echoing Jack's sentiments. The screen switched back to Gavlik. "Why the hell is Agent Pierce dressed that way?"
"First of all, she is being punished for her insolence," Gavlik said with a sadistic curl to his lips that made Jack's blood run cold. "Second, if I don't see any proof that you have the formula in your hands in 24 hours, I have a very rich sheik who has been after me to find him a redhead. I must say your Agent Pierce fits the bill perfectly. A little older than our standard virginal offerings, but she more than makes up for it with her exquisite beauty and spirit. My client will enjoy taming this one, such fire... I must warn you, once he gets his hands on her she shall disappear into his harem forever."
With that, the videoconference connection was severed.
Viktor swore violently while Jack exploded out of his chair and started pacing the room barely restraining himself from putting his fists through the wall. He stopped in front of Viktor.
"We have to leave now!" Jack growled.
"Calm down. We have to run through a tactical exercise first with everyone involved," Viktor said, although his voice was far from calm—Gavlik had obviously rankled him.
"He better not touch her, I'll kill him."
"He won't touch her," an analyst spoke up. "At least not in the way you think he will. Gavlik prefers young boys."
Jack's mouth fell open. "He's a pedophile?"
The analyst nodded.
"Sick fuck," Jack muttered.
***
The three Black Hawks landed in a huge facility near the outskirts of Samara. Jack, Viktor and six other Guardians alighted from the imposing military choppers and met their Russian host, Alexsey Volynsky. He was flanked by an Italian-looking commando.
"Viktor, I am so pleased to finally meet you," Volynsky greeted them with an anxious look on his face.
As they made their way towards one of the outbuildings, Viktor made the introductions as Volynsky introduced Erik Costa, the leader of their faction.
"I am troubled to hear about Agent Pierce," V
olynsky said gravely. "I fear it is my fault that she got into this mess. But she is one of the best I've seen. Fearless, that one."
Jack grunted in disapproval.
Erik glanced sharply at Jack. "I've had the pleasure of working with her, I think you need to show some respect."
It had been a long, tedious trip, and Jack's patience wasn't exactly all there, so he got into Erik's face and snarled, "Look, man, I've worked with Maia and I know her more than you think I do, so back ... the... hell... off!"
"Jack..." Viktor admonished.
Before Erik could retort, Volynksy said, "Jack, Maia's Jack?" Alexsey walked back and clasped his hands.
"Maia mentioned me?" Jack whispered dazely.
Volynsky nodded. "I wanted her to stay longer so we can plan our offensive against Gavlik which would take another few weeks, but she said she had not quite left things right between you two and asked for a week to..." Volynsky saw Jack's stricken face. "It wasn't fixed?"
Jack shook his head, unable to speak. He felt sick. Maia left in the middle of a mission to set things right with him and he broke up with her. How could she forgive him?
Erik clapped Jack on the back, "We'll get her back, man."
Jack didn't expect to get any sleep with all the anticipation thrumming through his veins, but he managed to disassociate himself and find that zen place to regroup and take a restorative break. By the time the men gathered in the courtyard at 1:00 am, his mind was sharp and his heart rate steady.
Viktor was able to keep Gavlik at bay by showing him that he had a copy of the formula of the Rave-IX. After that, he had cut off all communication as they made their way across the Atlantic in the Gulfstream 550.
The choppers were fired up, ready for the rescue mission. There were approximately thirty armed men at the Gavlik compound. Erik Costa was adding twelve men to Viktor's eight. They were slightly outnumbered, but it was believed that the incursion team was better-trained.
Fire and Ice (Guardians) Page 30