“The media makes such noise.” Dr. Kolov raised one hand and made a gesture like a duck opening and closing its bill. “They pick out worst of worst, to make rating.”
“Well, this should be a story,” Jordan replied. “As a scientist, aren’t you alarmed?”
“Of course.” He looked straight ahead as he answered, and she could see that the question made him tense. “But publicity invites opinions of those who don’t understand.”
“Yes, but it may invite more scrutiny from other scientists.”
“Other scientists do not understand these bears,” he said.
“I know they’ve disagreed with your data,” she said.
The vehicle slowed as it navigated a curve. Ivan Kolov reached over and turned the heat down. Jordan was glad. It was starting to get quite warm.
“You are not here to study bear attacks, Agent Rowe.” There was an edge to his words, a territorial tone.
“No,” she said. “But if politics surrounding attacks are somehow tied to the smuggling of a bear into the United States—”
“Alleged,” he said, looking over at her. “Isn’t that word for something not proven? Alleged?”
“Yes.” She looked ahead as the vehicle began to edge up a slope leading to a small metal building.
“This is our research station,” he said. “Here I have photos of all known bears from region. You can go through them, see if you identify bear in diplomat’s house.”
It was as good a start as any. This time, Jordan donned her coat and gloves before getting out, having learned her lesson. It still amazed her that her companion seemed unfazed by the wind whipping up the slope. Shouldering her duffle bag and computer case, she followed him into the small building.
It was a typical biologists’ lair. A slightly faded topographical map covered half of one wall, some locations marked with yellow, blue, or green pushpins. Post-it notes were stuck here and there, making Jordan regret studying French and German instead of Russian when she was in school.
There was a desk against the wall with a computer. Jordan walked over, her gaze drawn to the photos. There were pictures of Ivan Kolov with tranquilized bears, pictures of him hiking…
“No family photos?” she asked. “No smiling wife and kids?” The questions were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and Jordan felt her face flush again as the handsome scientist turned to her.
“No,” he said quietly. “It is hard to attract woman to Siberian backcountry. No place to shop.”
Her flush grew deeper, this time with anger. “Not all women like shopping, Dr. Kolov.”
“Ones I have met do,” he said, and for the first time shot her an almost playful smile. She felt her stomach flip a little. He had nice white teeth and—she realized—beautiful brown eyes. She turned her attention back to the photos as he turned on the computer and now one caught her eye. It was an older photo taken at what looked like some sort of celebration. Dr. Kolov was hoisting a beer and standing by a man who looked familiar for some reason. Then it dawned on her. She pointed at it.
“Is that Mikhail Barinov?” she asked.
He glanced over. “Yes.”
“You’re friends with him?”
“Friends? No.” The screen came to life now, the background picture a sunrise peeking from behind a mountain. “He is cousin.”
“He’s your cousin?” She felt stupid repeating what he said, but was now wondering what was going on. The Russians knew why the Americans had asked for this investigation. She’d assumed she’d be paired with someone objective. An uneasy feeling washed over her.
“Photos are catalogued here,” he said, stepping away from the computer and pulling out a chair. “You can match your photo to all bears in database.”
Jordan opened her computer case and pulled out the folder with the photos from Adanov’s house. Each bear in Kolov’s database had been assigned a number along with stats. But none of the ones she came across matched the size of the bear in the picture, not that she expected them to. She glanced back at the photo of Kolov and Barinov. Cousins, huh? This database matching exercise was likely nothing more than a diversion.
She closed down the window and swiveled the chair around to face Kolov, who was sitting at a separate desk writing something in a log book.
“I’m going to need to talk to Mikhail Barinov.”
“You found nothing of use in database?” he asked without looking up.
You know I didn’t , she thought.
Jordan was about to ask if he’d ever researched something more useful to the case, but before she could, Dr. Kolov rose from his chair and walked quickly to the window.
He muttered something under his breath and looked back at Jordan who, curious now, stood and walked over to look out the window.
At first she thought there was a mound of earth by the vehicle parked outside. Then the mound shifted and moved.
A bear.
She turned to say something, but Ivan Kolov wasn’t paying attention to her.
“Stay here,” he said. “And keep the doors shut.” It was not a request, but an order, and he didn’t wait for her response as he walked out the door without explanation.
“Hey, don’t…” she began, but he’d slammed the door before Jordan could even finish her sentence. She turned back to the window, watching in disbelief as the scientist walked over to the bear. It appeared to be half grown, but even so it was already at least four hundred pounds. As it raised its head, Jordan realized that the animal was missing one eye.
She stared in disbelief now as the Russian scientist walked toward the animal. She could hear him speaking to it in Russian, his tone reassuring. The bear had slightly turned its head to watch the scientist’s approach with its good eye. It was on the passenger’s side of the Land Rover and now it sniffed the ground by the door and raised its head to sniff the handle. As it did, a growl rumbled in its throat.
Dr. Kolov continued to approach the bear.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she asked aloud. The bear had turned toward Kolov now, opening its mouth to emit a cloud of steam as it showed its teeth. Jordan felt herself grow nervous as the scientist held his ground, despite the fact that the bear was clearly agitated. It began stalking toward him, its posture aggressive, the growl loud enough for her to clearly hear.
“Okay. I get it,” Jordan said. She’d heard that these Russian men were full of machismo, and she was seeing it on full display. So Dr. Kolov was trying to impress her by proving how brave he was? Well, she wasn’t impressed. And he was about to get a surprise. The images of the mauled miners were still prominent in her mind, and she wasn’t about to find herself stranded in the middle of nowhere because he’d gotten himself killed.
Feeling frantic, she began to look around for some bear spray or a weapon. To her surprise, she found neither, but she’d thought to pack bear spray in her duffle bag and now quickly retrieved it.
“Hey!” Jordan yelled the word as she rushed out the door.
The bear, which had given its attention to Dr. Kolov, now turned its single eye on her.
“No! Get back inside!” The scientist yelled the command, one hand pointed in her direction as he took another step toward the bear, but Jordan ignored it.
“You get back inside,” she said.
The bear had risen to its hind legs. Dr. Kolov was waving his arms and speaking to it rapidly, as if it were a pet or a tame animal he sought to control. But it clearly was not. The animal dropped to all fours, and moved around the scientist to sprint in Jordan’s direction with surprising speed. There was no time to get back inside, no time to do anything but aim the can of spray at the charging animal. A thick stream of chemical streamed from the can and hit the bear in the face while it was just six feet away. The beast stopped in its tracks, roaring as it slid onto its side on the rocky ground. It rebounded quickly, shaking its head as it brought its massive paws to its face, rubbing its lone, irritated eye. It was moaning, the sounds almost hum
an.
With the animal occupied, Jordan looked around for Dr. Kolov. Where was he? She was about to panic when she felt a hand close on her wrist holding the can. She looked back, speechless, as the bear spray was wrenched from her grasp and she was physically lifted and pulled back into the station.
Anger replaced confusion as Kolov, clearly cursing in Russian, slammed the door. She’d distracted the bear that had been advancing on this idiot, possibly saving his life, and he’d manhandled her?
He turned to the window, and she looked out as well. The bear had risen and was shaking its head from side to side as it half ran, half staggered over a nearby hill and disappeared from view.
She turned her attention to Ivan Kolov, who, rather than grateful, seemed annoyed with Jordan for saving his ass. Whoever this man thought he was, he was about to get schooled.
“What kind of stupidity was that?” she asked. “You understand that word? Stupidity?”
“Yes, I understand word,” he said. He took a step forward until he was looming over her, his full lips a thin, angry line. “I told you to stay inside. I know these bears. You do not.”
“Well, you may know bears, but you don’t know women,” she said. “Not all of us shop, and not all of us do as we’re told, especially when we see some reckless man walk toward an animal that could easily kill him.”
He made a scoffing noise and turned away.
“You should not be here,” he said in a tone indicating he was struggling to exercise restraint. “You do not understand this place. You do not understand these animals.” He looked back at her. “You do not understand anything, Agent Rowe. And you will not find what you are looking for. This is fool’s errand and a waste of both our time.”
“Dr. Kolov, I was sent here to do a job,” she said evenly. “If there is something I don’t know, your job—as I was made to understand it—is to work with me to fill in those gaps. Your job is to help me understand how someone took one of these animals you know so well and smuggled it out of the country.” She met his gaze and held it, although it made her heart pound in a way that she’d never experienced. “Now,” she said. “If there is nothing to find, then so be it. But I’ll make that determination.” She paused to give her final words more impact. “You will not make that determination for me, understand?”
He didn’t answer right away. When he did reply, Jordan felt her stomach flutter at the steel in his tone.
“I understand that you are very stubborn woman,” he said.
Jordan held out her hand. “Give me back my bear spray.”
But instead of giving it to her, he pocketed it. “No,” he said, and turned away. “You want to go see the man you believe brought this bear into your country.”
“Mikhail Barinov? Yes. Until proven otherwise, I still believe he smuggled the bear into the ambassador’s compound. We don’t know how. We don’t know why. I fully intend to have my colleagues with the agency work all angles based on my findings. The United States does not tolerate violation of wildlife laws, especially violations that put our citizens in danger.”
She’d felt so sure of herself when she’d confronted him, but something in his calm made Jordan feel even more unnerved than ever.
“Then I will take you now,” he said.
Chapter Five
“A woman?”
Mikhail Barinov couldn’t contain his surprise. Like Ivan, he’d expected the American agent to be a man.
He’d been in his home office when Ivan arrived, looking uncharacteristically agitated. Mikhail stood and walked to the door; through the opening he could see across the hallway into the drawing room, where he observed the agent sitting on the sofa. Her face was in profile. Her hair was short, which wasn’t something he preferred on a woman, but it served as a juxtaposition to her feminine features that were almost delicate.
“Yes, that’s a woman all right,” Mikhail said.
“A very stubborn woman.” Ivan shut the door and hurriedly filled his cousin in on what had happened at the research station. Mikhail felt his amusement turn to concern when Ivan mentioned the bear.
“Viktor,” he said.
“Yes.” Ivan ran his hand through his short blond hair.
“Has he joined the Rogues?” Mikhail asked quietly.
“I don’t think so.” His cousin turned to him, concern obvious in his eyes. “He was angry about this American woman. He smelled her on the truck. But he was responding to me. I could see it in his eyes. And then she came out.” He paused, as if reluctant to say what happened. “She sprayed him with bear spray.”
Mikhail shook his head. “She’s a problem. This agent, she is a strong woman, a stubborn woman. We need to get her on a plane before she sees too much.”
“I agree.” Ivan nodded. “Your English is better, and nothing I showed her at the station seemed to satisfy her. She’s convinced that you brought a bear to Yuri’s.”
“I did,” he said. “But not intentionally.”
“So fix this.” Ivan sounded almost stern, which was unusual for him. “Satisfy her.”
Mikhail almost smiled. He knew his cousin meant to satisfy the agent’s curiosity, but as he walked across the hall to greet the woman who rose from the sofa to face him, he couldn’t help but wonder if Ivan wasn’t a little interested in satisfying her in another way. She was pretty, with a pert nose, Cupid’s bow of a mouth, and large eyes framed with long lashes. It was a youthful face, and he imagined that the toughness she displayed to his cousin was the default setting of a woman who likely had to prove herself to men who focused more on her beauty than her skills.
But how could a man not notice a woman like this? The heavy sweater she wore skimmed generous curves. He liked curves. She was wearing boots and blue jeans, and he noted that her legs looked toned.
“Mr. Barinov.” She spoke his name officiously, and when he met her gaze, he could tell by the irritation in her eyes that she’d seen him checking her out. But he’d wanted her to see it. As pretty as she was, Agent Jordan Rowe represented a threat. She was his opponent, and he meant to keep her off balance. If that meant throwing his dominance into the mix, so be it.
“Agent Rowe. Welcome.” He extended his hand and she took it, her grip surprisingly firm for a woman shaking a hand that dwarfed hers. Mikhail moved closer to her so that she’d have to look up at him. She only came up to his chest. But she met his eyes, her look bold. Ivan was right about her. He could sense it. This was a strong woman.
But he was stronger.
He held her hand a split second longer when she tried to pull it away, and then squeezed it before letting her go and turning to gesture toward the sideboard against the wall.
“Can I offer you something to drink? Tea? Coffee? I must apologize for the weather. Spring in Kamchatka is not like spring in Washington, D.C.”
“No. No, it’s not,” she said. “But I’m afraid I’ll decline your kind offer of tea. I’m not here to socialize, Mr. Barinov, so I’ll cut right to the chase.”
“Cut to the chase?” He turned and looked at her, feigning confusion. “I don’t know this expression.”
“It’s…” She looked exasperated at his redirecting her in this manner. “It means I intend to get down to business.”
“Ah. I see,” he said. “But if you don’t mind, I intend to have a drink.” He took his time pouring a Scotch on the rocks before turning back to her.
“So, Agent Jordan Rowe. Cut to the chase.” He smiled his most disarming smile at her. It was a smile that had made more than one woman’s panties drop. But it only seemed to annoy this one. And he was intrigued, and just a bit regretful that by this time tomorrow she would hopefully be on a plane home with just her frustration for company.
“Mr. Barinov. You know why I’m here. We have evidence that a Kamchatkan bear was smuggled into the residence of Yuri Adanov, a diplomat with close ties to you and your company. This incident coincided with a visit you made into the country on a flight that wasn’t logged thro
ugh appropriate channels.”
“Yes, I have heard of this evidence.” He motioned for her to sit down, and she did, her posture straight. He sat opposite her, affecting a relaxed stance as he crossed his long legs and swirled the Scotch around in his glass. “Dr. Kolov contacted me about it.”
“Your cousin , Dr. Kolov?” she said. “I didn’t know you two were related until today.” She paused. “This wasn’t disclosed to us when Dr. Kolov was recommended as the person I’d be working with.”
“Probably because it does not matter.”
“I disagree,” she said, and Mikhail saw her glance at his cousin as Ivan quietly entered the room. “Excuse me, Mr. Barinov, but I believe there’s reason to doubt his objectivity in this investigation.”
“No, Agent Jordan Rowe. I will not excuse you.” He put his drink down and leaned slightly forward. “You are unfamiliar with our ways,” he said. “So you may not realize that to question a man’s integrity is to insult him. And insults here have consequences.”
“So does criminal smuggling of wildlife, Mr. Barinov,” came the reply. “And your integrity isn’t what I’m here to protect. My interest is in seeing that the laws are followed, and that animals are protected.”
Stubborn and forward. He wasn’t sure if he liked this woman who sat across from him with her officious manner. But his intrigue had increased, nonetheless. Mikhail looked over at his cousin, who stood by the door listening to the exchange. Mikhail’s eyes met Ivan’s and he could tell they were sharing the same thought.
You are not the one in control here, Agent Rowe.
“Have you seen the photos?” Her tone was challenging as she reached into the satchel at her feet to retrieve a folder, which she held out to him. Mikhail leaned forward and took them, brushing her fingers with his thumb as he did.
Her Russian Bears Page 4