by Jasmin Quinn
“I know you are a cop. Why do you think I chose you?”
Finn raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I have no idea why you chose me. But if you force me into my car at gunpoint, then I become your hostage and you have effectively kidnapped me. Which generally results in a long jail sentence in a high-security prison. On the other hand, if you give me the gun, I’ll be happy to let you get in my car and we can drive off the ferry together, no laws broken.”
He watched her lovely face as she mulled over his words. He could almost see her brain working. Then she flipped the gun around and passed it over by its barrel. “Kelsie Scott said you could be trusted.”
He almost dropped the gun when she uttered Kelsie’s name. “You know Kelsie?”
She scowled. “You have the gun. Can we get in your goddamned car now?”
Finn unlocked the SUV with his key fob and pulled open the back door. She didn’t wait for an invitation, scrambling past him and pulling the door shut behind her. He stood beside the Jeep looking at the gun in his hand, a Colt 1911, like the one he had at home. He pulled out the magazine. Yes, and loaded. He shivered. Another mystery, he thought as he reached for the car door. How could it not be if Kelsie Scott was involved?
CHAPTER THREE
Nika slumped down in the back seat of Finn McQueen’s SUV, crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing at them in an attempt to warm up. She sat directly behind Finn, partly because that was the side he let her in on, but also to prevent him from looking directly at her. As he slid into the driver’s seat, he leaned over and opened the glove compartment, dropping the gun into it. “Lock the doors,” she demanded as he straightened up. He gazed at her through the rear-view mirror, irritation knitting his brow.
“I’m being patient with you because you’re obviously afraid and running from someone. But you’re in my car and under my rules now. If you want me to do something for you, try saying please.”
Nika furrowed her eyebrows at him, glaring into the dark brown eyes that were looking back at her through the mirror. “If you do not lock the car doors, and they find me, they will take me.”
Finn continued to stare into her eyes, hard and unmoved, until she relented. “Fine,” she snapped, “Please. Finn McQueen, would you please lock the doors.”
Finn threw her a small wry smile. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He reached over to the door and flipped a switch. All locks engaged and Nika immediately felt safer. No one was getting in unless they broke a window.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Nika uncrossed her arms and dropped her hands to her lap, studying them with her eyes. What had she been thinking when she took this vacation? What a fool she was. She lost her sense of caution when Kelsie told her about Vancouver and all it had to offer. And when she told Nika about Finn McQueen, why didn’t Kelsie also tell her how big he was up close? And how hard and intense, how good looking? Nika was attracted to him the moment she saw him; a heat she’d never known before in her life. Even the male operatives that she worked with didn’t make her heart speed up like this Finn McQueen did. When she’d pressed the gun into his stomach, there was no give at all. It was like she hit a solid brick wall. She was sure that if she punched him, she would have bruised her knuckles.
And he wasn’t afraid of the gun, which annoyed her. How was she going to maintain control of the situation if the man she needed help from wasn’t afraid to die? She had no other leverage. But he was helping her off the ferry anyway. She allowed herself a quick peek up with her eyelashes and saw that he was still watching her through the rear-view mirror. She couldn’t read his expression; his brown eyes were flinty and impassive. Then he said, “Move over to the other side of the seat. I want to be able to see you while we talk.”
“I would rather not,” Nika replied stubbornly. She knew in her heart that she was being unreasonable, that if she was going to get back to the compound safely, this was the man to help her. But she’d been through too much the last couple of days to fully trust him. She needed to stay wary and on guard. She needed to assert herself, not let his size and demeanour intimidate her.
“That’s irrelevant!” Finn snapped, his patience clearly fraying. “My car, my rules. I figure we have,” he paused and looked at his watch, “twenty minutes before the ferry docks. You have that much time to tell me what the fuck is going on or I’ll be driving off alone.”
“Fine,” she snapped back at him. She would concede this time, she didn’t want to be kicked out of his car. As she slid over to the other side of the seat, she crossed her arms again in front of her chest and lowered her chin so that her long hair fell around her face, acting like a veil, making it hard for Finn to get a good look at her. He turned in his seat so that his back was almost pressed up against the driver’s side door and she sensed his quiet gaze on her.
She didn’t look up to see what he was doing, just kept her head lowered, her arms crossed. He said nothing, just studied her. She knew she was losing this war of patience with him. What was wrong with him anyway, just sitting there not talking? It was making her nervous and self-conscience. Is this what cops did, toy with their suspects like they were mice? The men she knew were not this patient – they would be peppering her with questions, demanding she answer them. His silence and quiet perusal of her was more unsettling than being shouted at. It seemed like he was playing a game, waiting to see how long it would take for her to bend to his will. Did he know how cruel it was?
But it was effective, Nika felt herself folding. She couldn’t stand the silence and rationalized her loss of the standoff by telling herself he didn’t seem like he was bluffing when he said that he would kick her out of his car. And also, because she had no one else to turn to and Kelsie said he would help her if she was in trouble.
“What do you want to know?” she asked him, dropping her hands to her lap and plucking at one of her sleeves with her fingers.
“Let’s start with your name.”
Easy. “It’s Eleanor Foster.”
Finn sighed heavily. “Your real name.” Nika mulled this over. Eleanor Foster had been the name she used to book her flights, her hotel room. She liked the sound of it, thought it sounded mature and even elegant. And she was not supposed to tell anyone her real name.
She glanced up at him, startling at her emotional reaction as she looked into his coffee-brown eyes. “How do you know it’s not?”
Finn scowled at her, impatience creasing his forehead. He pointed to his watch. “You’re wasting time. “
“Fine!” She glared at him – she was about to break Mr. Jackman’s rules and she’d never done that before… well, except for taking this unescorted vacation to Vancouver. She didn’t know the consequences, had no practical experience regarding the judicious use of real and fake information. She had to trust this Finn McQueen, had to trust Kelsie. Had to believe he would protect her. “My name is Nika Petrova.”
“You’re Russian.”
She nodded stiffly. “Yes.” Silence again. Nika almost squirmed under his scrutiny. “What else should I tell you?”
Finn didn’t immediately answer; his eyes raked over her, assessing her. She watched as his gaze shifted from her face to her breasts to her waist and lower. And as his eyes scrutinised her body, they seemed to lose focus, grow darker. She felt the heat in her belly again and she shivered in response to him. She didn’t understand her reaction, could not figure out how a single look could elicit such a physical reaction. She had been looked at by men before, but their looks never caused such a yearning in her. Then as Finn looked back to Nika’s face, his eyes cleared.
“Tell me what’s going on. Who’s after you, Nika?”
His said her name like a caress and her nipples hardened of their own accord. But his eyes were hard and unyielding, and the sudden shift of his mood helped steady Nika’s heart. She plucked at the fabric of her jeans, thinking about what she should tell him, what she could tell him. Finally, she leaned forward towards him, looking intently a
t him. “If I tell you, I am breaking the rules of my organization. I do not know what they will do to me if they find out. I might never be able to go back.”
“Nika, how can I help you if you don’t tell me?” She saw another flash of heat in Finn’s eyes quickly replaced by a mask of professional impassivity.
“You are right,” she nodded. “Kelsie said you could be trusted.” But then who was Kelsie anyway? According to Mr. Jackman, she was an albatross. She didn’t quite understand the reference at the time, put it on her list of things to research and then never got around to it. The truth of it was that she was in trouble and could not see a way out. She had no choice and this man seemed willing to help her. “You must not tell anyone.”
“I can’t promise you anything until I hear your story.”
Nike took a small breath. “Okay, here is as much as I can say. I work for an organization.”
“What organization?”
Nika dropped her eyes and rolled the sleeve of her jacket through her fingers. “I cannot tell you,” she whispered.
Silence again. She looked up at him; could he see her fear? Did he understand her constraints? Maybe, as he finally said, “Okay. We’ll park that for now. Keep talking.”
“I have worked for this organization for… well, this will be my 12th year.”
“You’ve worked for 12 years?” Finn asked her, a hint of skepticism in his voice. “How old were you when you started?”
“I was 11.”
“What?” Finn growled. “What kind of work does an 11-year-old Russian girl do?” She saw him shiver as his eyes raked over her body, this time though the only emotion on his face was outrage. When she didn’t immediately answer, he gruffly asked, “Nika, what exactly do you do?”
Her eyes stared into his, steady and solemn. “I cannot tell you that.”
“Did someone buy you to use you?”
Nika’s eyes widened with surprise and confusion. “How did you know that?” she whispered.
She watched as Finn’s body stiffened, his face suffused in red, his eyes flashing darkly. He wasn’t just annoyed, he was furious. Nika shrank from him as fear stole through her body, consuming her courage. It wasn’t the same kind of fear she experienced when the Russians were chasing her. This fear of Finn McQueen was different – it strangled her breath and clawed at her heart. She knew her vulnerability keenly in that moment. Finn was supposed to help her, keep her safe. She was supposed to be able to trust him.
She crossed her arms over her chest again and leaned back further against the seat, trying to create some distance from his fury. She didn’t know why he was so angry, but she needed to understand how not to provoke him. Not only did she fear his wrath, but she also feared his abandonment. She needed him.
“What did they do you?” he asked hoarsely. She could tell that he was trying to settle himself as his face shifted from anger to something else – something more primitive. And then tension drained from her body as she suddenly realized that his rage wasn’t directed at her; he was angry at what happened to her. She exhaled a breath of relief. He was her protector after all. But she was also embarrassed – her understanding of emotion and human interaction was so inadequate.
Nika thought back twelve years to her life before she was bought by Mr. Jackman. She’d been poor, her parents were difficult – a father who drank too much, who beat her mother too often. Two surly older brothers who worked alongside her father to bring meagre earnings home. Her mother, angry and bitter, always yelling and shoving at Nika. All of them knowing that Nika was unusual, had a gift, had potential, but none smart enough to know how to exploit it. Until Mr. Jackman came calling, offering a large sum of money in exchange for her.
She remembered it so clearly. One of the operatives in the little run-down shack she called home carrying a box of money, more rubles than any of them had ever seen, plunking it on the rough wooden table. Showing it to the family, talking to them in fluent Russian. The deal was that they would take the money and Mr. Jackman would take Nika. And that would be it. Nika would never come back, never see them again. There was not a second of hesitation by her parents, they handed her off to this stranger. And he took her away by the hand. She arrived at Mr. Jackman’s compound several hours later. So many firsts that year; her first ride in a train, her first flight in an airplane; her first shower, her first new clothes, her first opportunity to learn.
She looked at Finn, hoping he would not get angrier when she told him. “They gave me this little apartment with a nice soft bed, and some books, and a doll. I got new clothes too. The apartment has a bathroom with a shower and a tub. A small kitchenette, but I never use it. They have a dining room and I take all my meals there. They hired a teacher for me because I had never been properly schooled. We worked together three years. And they introduced me to this old man – he was dying – he taught me his job, told me everything I needed to do. And when he became too sick to do the job, I took over.”
Finn stared at her hard, trying to process what he was hearing. Confused. “What’s the job, Nika?”
“I am sorry, Finn. I cannot tell you that.”
“Did they hurt you?”
Nika was also confused. “Of course, they didn’t, Finn. They call me their most important asset. In fact, if anything they spoiled me a little too much in the early years.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Finn tried to shake off the emotional rollercoaster he was on as a voice on the loudspeaker interrupted them, telling everyone to return to their vehicles. The ferry was docking in Swartz Bay. They waited until the announcement was over, then Nika said, “Have I told you enough, Finn? Will you keep me?”
Finn almost choked at her choice of words. Would he keep her? Such a loaded question? She was the first woman he’d encountered over the last two years that made him feel a spark of something. Made him want to find out if his life was still worth the trouble it took to live it.
But that was far too deep for today. Instead, he said, “No, you haven’t told me enough, but yes, I will keep you.” The caveman in him grunted.
Nika’s relief was palpable. “I should lie down back here. If they followed me onto the ferry, they will be looking for me when we disembark. They will think I will come off on a bus or as a foot passenger. It’s bad luck that you ended up down here as this will be the level they will be watching. But they will not think I am in a vehicle.”
“Who?”
Nika shrugged. “I don’t know their names.” She dropped down on the back seat, her head laying where she’d been seated so she was still facing him. “They tried to take me yesterday - I got away from them. But I couldn’t go back to my hotel. That’s how they found me. I have nothing, literally, except for 36 Canadian dollars and the clothes that I’m wearing.
“Then we better not go to the U.S. or you’ll only have $20.” Finn muttered as he faced forward, wondering what he’d gotten himself mixed up in.
“I do not think that is right, Finn,” her soft voice floated from the back seat. “Although I do not know the exchange rate for today.” He heard her yawn.
Finn grinned slightly as he started the SUV and shifted it into drive. The motorhome in front of him began creeping forward and he followed suit, slowly rolling off the ferry, and merging into the bumper to bumper ferry traffic that crawled down the single route to Victoria. It was still raining hard, compounding the driving the conditions and slowing traffic further. Finn sucked in his breath, trying to stoke his patience.
“So, then what, Nika?” he asked as the traffic finally started flowing in a somewhat orderly pattern. And got no answer. As he slowed and then stopped for a red-light almost too far away to see, he glanced back.
Nika was sleeping. Her breathing measured, her eyes closed and her full dark lashes fanning the curves of her cheeks. She was beautiful, Finn thought. Exotic. Seductive. And innocent, all at the same time. A range of emotions swept over him – possessiveness, lust, fear, anger. He thought that if this wasn�
��t the 21st century, if this was a different time in history, where he could just take what he wanted, he would take her. He would take her home, and keep her, just as she asked.
A small polite beep from the car behind him jarred him back to the present. The light up ahead was green. He inched forward slowly, then picked up speed as the traffic started to flow. As he approached the Mackenzie street turn-off that would take him to the trans-Canada highway, which would take him to parents’ home in the Highlands, he knew he had to make some quick decisions. Why not take her home? he thought. No one had any idea she was with him. The only person in the world that could connect them was Kelsie Scott. And Kelsie Scott was gone. They hadn’t talked since February, when she called him to tell him goodbye. It had hurt a little to lose her, funny because he wasn’t sure he even liked her. They lived in different worlds, but they had one undeniable thing in common. They were both damaged and they both needed fixing.
He merged to the right off Highway 17 and then merged again onto Mackenzie Street. Yes, he decided. He was going to take Nika home. Well, home to his parents. That would give them three days to talk, for him to understand what he needed to do to keep her safe. Mackenzie was also backed up. He cursed at the traffic – Vancouver traffic, Victoria traffic and all the other traffic in the world. He wished he lived somewhere up north where the closest neighbour was an hour’s drive away and there was no reason to go outside in the winter.
Then he forced himself to settle down. At the end of this trip was his mother, and he would need all his reserves to deal with her. She would be over the moon that he brought a girl home. It didn’t matter that the girl in question was younger by 8 years, or that she was Russian, or that she was slightly unusual, which was putting it mildly. She was a girl! Finn grinned a little. It might be fun to watch Nika and his mother interact. The problem was that Nika had nothing in the world right now but 36 Canadian dollars and that wasn’t going to get her very far. As he approached the Veteran’s Memorial interchange he merged into the flow of traffic heading into the Westshore. He needed to get her a change of clothes, a hairbrush and some toiletries before he took her home to his mother.