by Rachel Dylan
He nodded and opened the door. She exhaled when she stepped foot into the room. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen. The foyer opened up into a large living room. A sparkling crystal chandelier hung over her head. A huge wraparound ivory plush couch was centered in the room surrounded by multiple chairs and a grand piano sat in the corner. The room prominently featured an enormous flat screen TV.
“Mr. Vladimir will see you in the den,” the man said.
She nodded and he escorted her through the living room, and she noted the expansive kitchen that was off to the other side of the living room. She’d never seen anything so luxurious in her life. And thinking about how Igor made his money to afford all of this made her sick.
When they stopped in front of a door, she knew they were at their destination.
The guard knocked, and Igor’s voice rang out loudly inviting her in.
She gave herself one more mini pep talk and walked through the door. Igor was seated at a desk with a pile of papers in front of him. Tonight he wore glasses, which made him look older. He stood up and walked over to greet her.
The guard put her gun down on Igor’s desk out of her immediate reach.
“Ms. Lane. I am so glad you made it.” He kissed her on the cheek, and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to cringe.
“Me, too. Although, I had quite an interesting time getting here.” She eyed the man that had brought her in. She didn’t know what his role was here. “Can we talk alone?”
“Of course, of course. Leave us, Dmitri. I’ll be perfectly fine with Ms. Lane.”
Dmitri raised an eyebrow but did as he was directed. She was now alone with Igor. Completely alone.
“Do you need your gun, Ms. Lane?” His eyes diverted to the gun in front of him. He took the gun and placed it behind him on the shelf.
She laughed. “I always need my gun.” Instead of waiting for him to say anything else, she wondered if she would be able to get around him to get to her gun. Then once it was in her hands, it would only take her a second to pull her gun and shoot him in cold blood—the same way he had shot her parents. Leaving an eight-year-old girl orphaned. But she couldn’t do it. She remembered the Bible verse, “Vengeance is mine...saith the Lord.” She had to remind herself of that all too often.
“Please have a seat.” He motioned for her to take a seat at a very large plush maroon chair across from his desk. “Tell me what is going on.”
“Igor,” she said, purposely using his first name. “Someone tried to follow us to the hotel. It took quite a bit of maneuvering to get away from them.”
His eyes flashed with anger. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m hoping, given our business arrangement that it wasn’t one of your men. I’d hate to break off our business dealings before they even start. But I don’t like being threatened.” She kept her voice steady and didn’t break eye contact.
“I can assure you, it wasn’t my doing.” He removed his glasses.
“Maybe you need to take a closer look at your men. Someone might have gone off the grid.”
He laughed. “Nonsense. My men are loyal.”
“Everyone thinks that, Igor. But we all have a price.”
He slowly nodded. “Where is your FBI friend?”
“Given the circumstances, I didn’t feel comfortable bringing him up here. But don’t worry. I have all the information you need. And then some.”
He leaned forward in his chair. “You have me intrigued, Ms. Lane.”
“There’s an FBI surveillance team monitoring your every move. They think you have business across the border. They’re already gathering evidence of your cross-border dealings.”
“Interesting.”
“I want to assist in these operations in Mexico. You need me.”
He cocked his head to the side. “And why would a strong woman want to get involved in that business? I’d assume you’d have quite a distaste for that enterprise.”
“I’m interested in making smart business deals. That’s it.” She was holding her own. He seemed to be buying it. “I’d like to take a look at your setup down there. I might have some ideas to make things run more smoothly. I’d want an appropriate cut of the business, of course.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“A better operation. And more inside information from my friend Kip.”
“Is he more than a friend?”
“That is none of your business.” She tried to use her best tough girl voice.
“Ah. You are a fascinating woman, Ms. Lane.”
“There’s more.”
“Really?”
“You need to watch out for your brother.”
“My brother? What do you mean?” His eyes widened. She could tell she finally struck a nerve with him.
“My sources tell me that he is making his move against you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one informing the FBI of your dealings.”
He slammed his fist down on his desk. “He would never work with the Feds. Ever. It’s simply impossible. Unthinkable!”
“You can choose to ignore my warning if you want. I’m just providing you with the information.” She leaned back in her seat.
“What else do you know?”
She didn’t immediately respond. Igor walked over to her and pulled her up out of the chair. Then he slammed her roughly up against the wall, his hands closing tightly around her neck. He could kill her right now with his bare hands. He squeezed applying pressure. Fear shot through her. She needed to fight back.
Before she could make a move, he dropped his hands from her body and took a step back adjusting his jacket. She reached up and touched her throat where he’d choked her. His imprint felt burned on to her skin. He was pure evil. She had to keep it together. He had a temper, and he was trying to unravel her. Intimidate her. She was not going to cave to this man. She refused to be hurt by him anymore.
“I don’t have many specifics. I’m working on it. I wanted you to know a little of what I’ve learned from my friend. It’s no secret that the two of you are in a power struggle. What better way to take over than by framing you? Then the family business is all his.”
“Why haven’t I heard any of this?”
“Maybe your men don’t want to give you bad news. Another reason why you need someone objective who has the resources to give you the information they don’t have or won’t tell you. Don’t forget I’m also being paid for my work. Including my help with the Mexico operation. Are you ready to move forward?”
He paused and looked at her. Then he stepped away and took a seat back behind the desk. “You can check out my base in Mexico. Provide me with a report back. We can take it from there.”
“Glad this worked out. I plan to get started right away with a trip across the border.”
“And, Ms. Lane. If you hear any more about my brother, I want to hear about it. Do you understand? No delays. That takes priority over any other work you’re doing for me.”
“Of course.”
“I wonder why you even need your FBI friend? You seem to have it very much under control.”
“He has internal resources that I don’t have.”
“Good enough.” He scribbled down something on paper and handed it to her. “This is where my operations are based in Mexico. But I’m warning you, Ms. Lane. I do not want you to come back complaining to me about the conditions down there. As you said, this is a business deal. There is no time for emotion. I usually don’t work with women—so don’t disappoint me.”
“You won’t be disappointed,” she said sharply.
He nodded. “Also, I have plenty of friends in Mexico. So if you have any bright ideas about moving in on my operation or anything like that. I will simply have them kill you. Makes no difference to me.”
He pressed a button on his phone and within a few seconds Dmitri walked back into the room. Then Igor reached behind him grabbing her gun from the ledge. He handed it to Dmitri who then gave it to her. She tried not to let out a breath. Feeling so much more secure armed. But she wouldn’t be able to breathe normally again until she stepped out of that penthouse.
Dmitri opened the front door for her, and she stepped out in the main hallway and eagerly pushed the elevator button. She’d done it!
She rode down to the lobby and saw Kip right when she exited.
He strode over to her, his eyes wide. “You okay?”
“Yes. Let’s get out of here.”
Kip looked at her. “Sadie, what did he do to you?”
She looked down and although she couldn’t see it, she realized her neck had to be red from Igor’s nasty grip. “He choked me a little. But nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Kip blew out a breath. “This is getting too dangerous. I should’ve never allowed you to go up there alone.”
“It’s over now, Kip. We need to move on and focus on helping Megan.”
“I’ve been doing some recon. I don’t think our tail is still around. But just in case. I’ve called in a favor. We’re going to swap cars a bit down the highway.”
“Someone you can trust?”
“Yes.”
“Are you completely positive about that?”
“I’m sure,” he said.
Once in the car, she leaned back her head and let out a deep breath. She finally felt safe. For now.
He glanced over her way. “Tell me about Igor’s Mexico operation.”
“I have an address in Mexico. It’s outside the city of Chihuahua. Have you heard of it?”
“Yeah, that’s actually where the little dog got its name from. The city is about four hours away from El Paso.”
“We should cross the border tonight. There’s no point in waiting.”
“My friend will meet us about a mile or so from here. We’ll switch cars and be good to go. What else happened at the meeting?”
Thoughts swirled through her mind. “It was a bit surreal. The penthouse was out of this world. He had a security guy at the door. But I didn’t see anyone else. Granted, I only saw part of the penthouse. I’m sure he had more men stationed elsewhere.”
“Where did you have the meeting?”
“In the den. His guard followed me in, but was dismissed after I told Igor I wanted to talk to him alone. I made the pitch about Mexico, and at first he seemed hesitant. But once I gave him the tidbit about Artur selling him out, that pushed him over the edge.”
“That’s when he got violent.”
“You should’ve seen the look on his face. He was outraged. That’s when he came at me. I think we’ve crossed a line into delicate territory for him. A real hot button issue. He’s sensitive about his family. Something we should probably keep in mind going forward.”
“Hold that thought. We’re about to do the exchange.”
“At the gas station?”
“Yeah. If you need anything, stock up. That’s our new ride over there.” He pointed at a dark SUV. “When you come back out of the store just get in the passenger seat. I’ll be there waiting and will have transferred our bags.”
She glanced over at the SUV. A tall blond man with a buzz cut stepped out of the car. Everything about him screamed military. He didn’t even look over their way. Taking her time, Sadie stepped out of the car throwing her purse over her shoulder.
The gas station wasn’t busy. She perused the aisles and picked up a couple bags of chips that she didn’t need. As she stood deciding between energy bars or candy, she felt a strange prickle of awareness. The store was eerily quiet. Too quiet. Before she could act, a man’s strong hand grabbed on to her from behind, covering her mouth. His other hand clutched her arm.
“Don’t say a word,” the deep voice said, his hot breath hit her neck. She couldn’t panic.
“We’re going to walk right out of here. Easy. If you do what I say, I won’t hurt you.” His grip on her arm made her realize he was probably lying. He was already hurting her.
This must’ve been the guy who had been following them earlier. She had no idea what he wanted. Leaving with him was simply not an option. Her gun was in her purse hanging over her shoulder. No way could she get to it. She couldn’t believe she’d let down her guard over some stupid candy bars.
“Walk. Slowly,” he said in a voice gruff.
This could get ugly. She looked over and saw that the cashier was slumped over the checkout counter with blood trickling from his head. This guy had probably knocked him out. Surveying her surroundings, she saw there were no other people in the store. With each millisecond that passed, she knew she had to act. There was no time to waste. She said a prayer and made her move.
She stomped down on his right foot with all of her might. He yelled but only tightened his grip as he cursed at her.
After struggling to get away, she took a few steps. But he was right there. Her hip bones slammed into the checkout counter as he pushed her forward.
“I told you not to do this,” he growled.
But she was far from done. When he came at her from behind and wrapped his arms around her, she kicked backward hard, landing a direct blow to his kneecap.
He howled in pain.
It was time to get out of there. She almost made it to the door when he grabbed her ankle. She hit the linoleum floor with a thud, pain shooting through her right arm that she’d used to brace the fall.
He climbed on top of her back and pulled her to her feet. This was it. She prayed for strength as she elbowed him in the solar plexus. His grip loosened. She quickly turned and punched him in the nose hearing a crunch of bone.
Then she ran.
FIVE
Kip didn’t know what was taking Sadie so long. She should be done by now. He definitely didn’t take her for a female who’d spend time primping in the ladies room. Something was off. He stepped out of the SUV and walked toward the front door of the gas station store. That’s when he saw Sadie running toward him. A large man followed close, right behind her.
With adrenaline pumping through his veins, he ran in her direction, his gun drawn.
“Hurry,” he yelled at her.
Sadie’s attacker stopped when he saw Kip approaching. Not wanting to use lethal force, Kip tackled him to the ground. They both landed on the asphalt with a thump.
A wrestling match ensued, and Kip quickly had the upper hand. Kip held him down. “Who sent you?”
The man shook his head. Not responding.
“Tell me,” he said.
The man let out a deep breath. “I work for Igor.”
“Why did Igor send you after her?”
“He didn’t. I don’t trust her. And I don’t trust you either.” The man spit in his face.
Kip wasn’t deterred. “Why does it matter to you?”
“Because if I can prove my worth to Igor by exposing traitors, I will be his next in command.”
Kip couldn’t help but have a tiny ounce of pity for this poor excuse for a man. He would never be Igor’s number two. Kip could tell that he wasn’t that bright. He was hired muscle. And wouldn’t be anything more.
“If you leave right now, we won’t tell Igor about this. But if you ever, and I mean ever, try to hurt Sadie again, I will track you down. Understood?”
The man groaned and nodded quickly. Kip pulled him up off the ground. “Now, go!”
He watched as the man ran off toward a small truck and drove away quickly.
That was far too close of a call. Kip jogged back to the SUV and opened the driver’s side door. Sadie was sitting there trying to catch her breath.
“I thought I
might need to drive,” she said.
“No.” He shook his head. “Are you hurt? Do you need the hospital?”
“No. I’ll just be sore and bruised. This will not stop us from saving Megan.”
“What happened back there?” He reached out and touched her check.
Her shoulders slumped, and she pushed the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail out of her face, and made contact with his hand. Then, she stepped slowly out of the car and walked around to get into the passenger seat.
They drove in silence for a few minutes.
“I was standing there debating between candy bars and energy bars. I was craving chocolate and wasn’t paying attention because the store was so empty. By the time I sensed him behind me it was too late. He grabbed me. Told me he didn’t want to hurt me, but that I had to come with him.”
“Then what did you do?”
“Well, obviously, I wasn’t going to just go along with that. I couldn’t get to my gun, but I was able to get the drop on him and stomp down on his foot hard enough to loosen his grip. But he got to me again. There was a skirmish. I hit the ground hard. I finally was able to land a few blows. That’s when I ran away. You know the rest.”
“It was one of Igor’s guys.”
“What?” she questioned abruptly. “No, that doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s not what you think. He said that Igor didn’t tell him to do it. He just didn’t like us. Didn’t trust us. He thought he could get something out of you and then show Igor that you were a traitor.”
“Enemies are everywhere. Even when you don’t realize it.”
“Yeah, I know. And this guy was just a bit too close to the truth. He won’t be bothering us again. I made the consequences of future actions quite clear. And what’s more, now we know who was tailing us.”
“I think I recognized him from the meeting the first night at Sala. It didn’t register at the time, but I think that was him. He was one of the men in Igor’s security detail.”
“You still up for this?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I am. It’ll take a lot more than being attacked by one useless thug for me to give up on Megan—and the other girls. Igor basically told me it was going to be a nasty scene. He didn’t want me complaining to him about his business.”