“He’s trying to make us sweat,” Tuck murmured, and Kadie stole a look at his impatient glare. “We wait thirty more seconds then we get in the car and go.”
TWENTY-THREE
Out of nothing more than her instinct for survival, Kadie wanted to flee. But as soon as she remembered Howie, she wanted to argue with Tuck. Did he want to go because he, too, thought this might be a setup? She doubted that because if he did they’d be leaving now, not after a set period of time. Meaning the only conclusion left was ego. Tuck wanted Sikorski to know who was in charge. They were still vying for power.
Kadie didn’t know why it mattered whose balls were bigger. But Raven made a sound of agreement, so she guessed he was affected by the power play too. Men, sometimes no amount of sense could alter their primitive instincts.
Before the thirty second countdown was up, the front door of the limo opened. The man who got out was one of Sikorski’s more skilled security men, not a driver, and another two got out from the front to move in around the back door as the driver opened it.
She expected Sikorski to come out, maybe with companionship in a show of nonchalance like this was no big deal for him to be here and he didn’t see Tuck or the women as a threat. These men had made a deal with each other. She’d have assumed that they would be civil because each wanted something from the other. Instead, they acted like enemies, proving how thin the trust was that existed between them.
Sikorski didn’t get out first, one security man did, then another. Three men came out of the back of the car when Kadie had never known him to travel with more than one male in the back at a time. If this was a show of strength or intimidation, she doubted it would work. As a female without training, she was concerned about her safety. But knowing what she did about the Kindred, they’d be more likely to take this as a sign of insecurity.
Sikorski was surrounding himself with force, and these men were formidable, but all he was proving was that he had no skills of his own and no way to defend himself. The Kindred were a threat to him and he’d never be able to convince them that he thought otherwise while he was cowering behind a squad of security agents.
Only after the men were in a V formation, did Sikorski get out of the car. He wore a droll expression like he found all of this absurd, yet he was the one who’d just put on a performance. In a face-off, Sikorski said nothing and Kadie wondered how long they would spend standing here, staring at each other.
“Maybe you’ve got all day, we don’t,” Tuck called out. “Show us what we want to see. Let’s get this over with.”
Sikorski was obviously in no hurry because he smiled a slow smile and didn’t move in the direction of the car, as he would have to if he planned to show Tuck what he wanted to see. “Why such a hurry?” Sikorski said. “We have plenty to keep us entertained right here. You’ll get what’s owed to you, Swift.”
He said the name with a layer of sarcasm that Kadie didn’t like, and it helped her to understand Zara’s unease. As much as they weren’t supposed to be acquainted, and as such couldn’t openly acknowledge each other, Kadie did feel herself move slightly closer to Zara. Though she couldn’t identify in that second whether it was because she wanted to protect the woman Sikorski wished to hurt, or because she knew Zara could defend herself and Kadie was worried about her own safety and sought protection.
Tuck was on Zara’s other side and before Sikorski had got here, Kadie had reassured herself about where Raven was and what he was doing. But, somehow, he seemed so far away, so she didn’t feel particularly protected by the sniper. Maybe that was just her lack of experience because she’d never seen his skills in action. She’d been a party to them by proxy when he’d killed the driver and Warta. If that was truly him who took those shots, then he knew what he was doing. He was capable, he could protect them.
Knowing those things intellectually didn’t mean much to her as she stood in this windswept place, staring into the ice-cold eyes of the man she’d feared she’d have to share her bed with. In this position, with Raven on the peak behind them and Sikorski in front, she hoped they weren’t blocking Raven’s shot, should he need to take one.
“Ms. Bandini,” Sikorski drawled.
His satisfaction made her sick. The girls at the mansion had told her what he was capable of and it had disgusted her when she was thinking of him doing them to strangers. But knowing he wanted to hurt the woman standing with her, a woman who Tuck trusted and cared about, who had been a part of his life for a long time, it made her feel protective. She almost wanted to get in front of Zara to shield her, and she was surprised by her own courage.
Kadie could defend herself, she knew how to hold her own, though she did tend to try and avoid trouble because she’d seen how easily it could spiral out of control. In her most recent years, she’d lived quietly, and Tuck was the only drama she knew.
For so long, she’d worried about disappointing Dempsey. Kadie worried about toeing the line and proving she was a good girl for fear that one day, she might be found out as a fraud, that she didn’t belong in the slick office, in the beautiful building in the upscale neighborhood that had been provided for her. She didn’t belong there. She belonged here, in the dirt, with Tuck. She just hoped that he would see that when this was finished.
“You summoned me,” Zara said. “This asshole came, told me you had information for me. So… spill.” That was the plan, to feed Sikorski the story that Tuck had tempted Zara here on the promise of valuable information from an old foe.
“Did he?” Sikorski asked, and almost seemed impressed when he flashed a look in Swift’s direction. “Information. Yes, I have information for you.”
Breaking away from the security men, although he didn’t venture far towards Kadie and her group, Sikorski moved forward a step. Maybe he was feeling cocky, felt a bit more confident that he’d managed to get out of the car and stand tall without being taken out. Maybe he was just ignorant and didn’t realize who Zara was connected to.
Kadie was a bit fuzzy on who knew what and who didn’t, so her instruction for today had been to keep her mouth shut and for now, she was more than happy to go along with that. Sikorski looked at Zara, examined her face, her hair, her clothes, her shoes, and gratification bled to his gaze. Kadie didn’t understand it. Apparently, Zara did.
“You’re pleased to see me,” Zara said. “It’s been a long time, Nykiel.”
Like they were old friends, Sikorski responded with joviality. “The Grand Hotel. You were so refined, so meek that day. I really believed that you were an innocent little desk flunky. I believed you were what McCormack told me you were. Believed that you were on his side, that you understood what was happening, understood business, understood deals, negotiations, and honor.”
“I understand honor,” Zara said. “I understand exactly what went on in that room that day. I know everything there is to know about you and about your intentions.”
“I don’t believe you do,” Sikorski said, tipping his chin up and losing some of his good humor. He took another step toward Zara. “I don’t think you know what I intend to do at all.”
“I know you got yourself mixed up with him,” Zara said, turning a sneer on Tuck and stepping away, which had the inadvertent consequence of nudging Kadie closer towards the truck that they’d arrived in.
Kadie stumbled out of the way, but nobody seemed to notice, she was incidental. She didn’t need to be here. Sikorski wanted her here because he wanted to exert power, pressure, on Tuck. That was how it had been explained to her.
Sikorski wanted her present to prove he could make a demand and force Tuck to comply, making him uncomfortable in the process, which was probably the same reason Sikorski had asked her to come into the office on that morning in the mansion before Tuck took her out of there. Not that she had a problem with being here, Kadie had intended to insist that she was included for Howie’s sake, if not for Tuck’s.
Sikorski and Zara were sizing each other up and while they did, Kadie d
id the math. If all those security men had been in the front and in the back of the vehicle, Howie wasn’t here at all. He couldn’t be. There was simply no room for him. Then her gaze settled on the rear of the limo. Would Sikorski be so cold? So cruel? As to return the boy to them traumatized or even worse: deceased.
Horrified terror made her tense and she desperately wanted to call out to share her thoughts with Tuck. But Sikorski was coming closer to Zara, closer and closer.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Sikorski said. “But I knew you would. I knew he had your ear, somehow you were connected to this. Knew he could get you to this place and I knew you would come because you’re just that stupid.”
Zara wasn’t affected and slowly folded her arms. “Am I?” Kadie couldn’t believe that Zara was smiling, she almost seemed to be enjoying herself. “I am that stupid?” Zara said. “I came here to face you because I believe I’m stronger.”
“Is that right?”
“Because I believe I’m better than you. Somehow, I’m more superior,” Zara said. Kadie could see the humor in Zara’s statement because that was what Sikorski thought of himself. He thought he was superior, so he would probably have done the same thing in coming to a meet after being challenged by an enemy. “It’s ironic.”
Kadie noticed how Tuck began to move in the opposite direction, one small side-step at a time, then forward, closer to the security men, closer to the limo.
“Where exactly is the information I asked for?” Tuck asked, taking Sikorski’s attention away from Zara for a moment when he stopped. “We had a deal. I have shown you Zara. You show me the information. You show me the guy who thought he could get into my business. I want to see his face. Bring him to me.”
“Mm,” Sikorski hummed. “I don’t think I will. My employees rely on a certain amount of anonymity, which I’m sure, Mr. Swift, you can understand as you operate in the same way. I can’t simply trot them out and hand them over because it suits your needs.”
“Actually,” Tuck said, looking surprisingly relaxed given the situation they were standing in. “It serves your needs right now because unless I see the guy standing here in front of me, you get nothing.”
“I get nothing?” Sikorski asked, switching back to look Zara up and down. “You’ve brought me what I want. You’ve brought me the problem. You’ve brought me the woman who caused all of this and who is responsible for the death of a good friend.”
The death of a good friend, who could he be talking about? Kadie didn’t know. “Grant McCormack,” Zara said. “It’s the only man you can be talking about, you’re certainly not talking about Albert Sutcliffe. You couldn’t stand him. Despite both of your desires to rule the world and be worshiped by all, you couldn’t be more different. Of all the men that stood with me in the Grand Hotel, the most interesting and probably the most honest, was Kahlil Samara, and he died a sad, pathetic death because he was greedy and scorned, not because he wanted to rule the world. He wanted to do what he’d been told he couldn’t, which I assume is the reason I’m standing here.”
“Is that why you think you’re here?” Sikorski asked.
“You were told you couldn’t have me and now that I’m here, you feel like you’ve got me. You can’t have been that close to Grant if he snubbed your bid,” Zara said. “And you know nothing of loyalty, you left Kahlil hanging out to dry because Corvi offered you a better deal. You’re not a man of honor.”
Sikorski’s lip curled in disgust. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“You can’t see what’s right in front of your face. You like to play games.”
She and Tuck were forgotten again as Sikorski fixated his hatred on Zara. “I’ve heard stories about you,” Sikorski said. “Kahlil told me you were sarcastic, above your station, confident beyond what was reasonable. You overestimate your ability and underestimate everyone around you, and that is what brought you here and what will get you killed.”
Sikorski spoke like some knowledgeable giant who had experience in the world beyond anything the rest of them could ever imagine.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your pathetic trash talk,” Tuck said, unimpressed and unamused.
He remained as distant as he had before, acting like he couldn’t care less what happened to Zara, that she was standing on her own, or that these security men were eyeing him as if he were some sort of human bomb who could explode at any moment.
They had no intentions of sacrificing themselves. Kadie knew the plan, she’d heard Zara say she didn’t want Sikorski to have his time in the limelight, singing his song about how fantastic he was and how he would triumph. But they had to get Howie before they could cut him off and Sikorski had just admitted that he wasn’t here.
“Where’s my information?” Tuck asked. “Leatt, you’re supposed to tell me where he is? Did you even try to find out?”
“Perhaps,” Sikorski said, taking a sauntering step backwards from Zara. “It’s curious…”
With his focus averted, Zara got closer to Kadie. This was like a dance, everybody moved in subtle motions when the others weren’t looking. One side step, one forward, one back, go left, go right, be ready at all times. Tense, relax, smile, frown, all of these different discreet movements, as slight as they often were, conveyed a message to everybody else who was present.
Men on security stayed tense and alert, prepared to pounce at any moment. Yet, they had too many targets who were spread too far apart. Kadie wondered if that was why Tuck put so much distance between himself and Zara. Surely, he’d know he could protect the women if he was standing beside them. Except by distancing himself, he created a different target, away from the women who would probably be viewed as no threat.
By putting that space between them, he gave them a clear shot to the vehicle and escape. Zara was probably under orders to scamper if things went south, though Kadie hoped that wasn’t the plan because she wouldn’t able to leave Tuck on his own, not with all of these men, even with Raven up on that hill.
“You tell me you’re a man of your word, we made a deal,” Tuck said. “You tell me you don’t have the guy I want and now you’re gonna tell me you don’t have the information.”
“Most people in this situation,” Sikorski said, carrying on with his previous, unfinished thought. “Most people are interested in the money. There should be ten million dollars, sitting in that car, waiting for you right now and you haven’t asked about it once.”
“Some things are more important than money,” Tuck said. “I have a feeling that that’s the most likely thing you’ll have brought. Money is something that you have plenty of, something you can hand over as you see fit. You don’t even need to think about it. Ten million’s nothing to you, it’s a drop in the ocean, you won’t even miss it. But your guy, the one I want to see, you’d miss him.”
“Is that your intention?” Sikorski asked. “Your intention is to kill him?”
“I didn’t tell you what my intention was, just as you didn’t tell me what yours was with Bandini. I didn’t ask, and I don’t care.”
“That’s what you want me to believe. I don’t know how you know each other or how you got your hands on Game Time. But to me, right now, that’s the most important thing. I have Zara right here and you’re going to give me that device. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you pay.”
“And how will you do that?” Tuck asked.
“I’m going to bet that device is in your vehicle. You brought the device and I’m looking at Bandini, everything I want is here.”
“So it was your intention to screw me over all along?” Tuck asked. “You were never going to give me Leatt, never going to let me speak to your minion, never going to pay me? I think we know who we’re dealing with now, what kind of man you are.”
“There’s nothing you can do about it,” Sikorski said. “You’re outmanned and you’re outgunned.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Zara glanced towards Kadie. “Come and stand here,” Za
ra muttered, coiling a tight arm around Kadie’s shoulders.
She only moved them a foot and a half to the left, so Kadie didn’t understand why the movement was important.
“He still hasn’t figured out that the limo shooting was a setup,” Tuck said, sharing a smile with Zara.
Panic made Sikorski’s gaze dart between them. “What?” he demanded. “That was your people? But… you could’ve been killed?”
Tuck shrugged. “Those are the risks we take. Erasing scum like you makes it worth it. Swallow?”
Zara extended the arm that she didn’t have around Kadie to the right and with a wide smile, she opened her fingers to release the glass bottle she’d been clutching since they left the truck. Before the glass hit the floor, a piercing whoosh hit the air and Zara’s hair was displaced.
Sikorski’s body fell, and although Kadie gasped and tried to drop, Zara held her tight. “He’s not through,” Zara murmured from the corner of her mouth. “Don’t move a muscle.”
The security men began to drop one at a time and Kadie squeezed her eyes closed. This was trust unlike any she’d known before. Bullets were flying one at a time, very precise, in every direction. No one knew which way to run because nowhere seemed to be safe. Nowhere except right here, beside this woman standing in the middle of it all.
TWENTY-FOUR
When the shooting stopped and the dust began to settle, Kadie relaxed enough to open her squeezed-tight eyes. She almost couldn’t breathe having never seen so much blood or so many lifeless people lying in the dirt.
But Tuck and Zara didn’t blink. Tuck was already at the limo, searching the trunk and then the interior. Zara made a beeline to help him after giving Kadie a shove towards their truck. “Get in there, Dove,” Zara called back. “Get the engine going.”
Kadie wanted to help, but she didn’t know quite what had happened. Shock still slowed her down. Zara slammed the front door of the limo and the sound shook Kadie from her daze enough that she could stumble towards the truck. Clambering inside, she somehow got the truck running, though it took her quite a few attempts to turn the key because her fingers were shaking so much.
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