Hostile Ground

by Cara Carnes

  “Okay.” Shep dragged out the word, making his confusion known without saying anything more.

  “They were children when the arrangement was made. Olaf was four. She was two. They met when she turned thirteen. They were to be married three days after Olaf tried to kill my father.”

  Zoey’s eyes widened. She paled. “Stacia.”

  Kristof fisted his hands. “Ivan was my father’s personal guard back then. He stopped Olaf’s attempt. Father was livid to say the least. Ivan would’ve killed Olaf that night, but Father decided he’d be an example for anyone else who might try to kill him.”

  “By imprisoning him,” Cracker said.

  “He was beaten. Severely. His tongue was removed so he couldn’t spread lies about Father,” Kristof said. “The true punishment was when Father kidnapped Stacia and sold her into slavery after…”

  Zoey clasped her hands over her face. Gage cursed and reached up. He pulled the woman into his lap.

  “He raped her while Olaf watched,” Kristof ended. “Then he sold her into slavery.”

  Kristof forced the rest of the words from his mind. They’d heard enough.

  “He keeps what matters in this recounting out,” Maksim said.

  “No. That’s what they need to know,” Kristof argued.

  “What isn’t he saying?” Nolan asked.

  “Kostya sold Stacia through Kristof’s underground network, or so he was led to believe,” Maksim said. “That is when Kristof began sending data to you, Zoey. We’d discovered your intrusion before that.”

  “You…” Zoey looked at him. “You…I don’t even know where to start with this.”

  “I’m think we’re missing a few talking points about your network,” Edge said.

  “More than a few,” Jesse replied.

  “Exactly what is your network doing?” Addy asked. “We all know what it’s supposedly doing. What is it really doing?”

  “I am no saint,” Kristof said. “I have done many terrible things. I’ve executed people for The Collective. I’ve sold information, weapons, drugs, identities, anything of value. All the monies from my endeavors were supposed to feed into my father’s syndicate through secret accounts so that none of the other syndicates were aware of our connection. He’d disavowed me from being Sidorav when he killed my mother. For all intents and purposes, Kristof Sidorav died that night.”

  “And you became Kristof Lavrov,” Zoey said. “That’s why we couldn’t find history on you before the underground started. Wait. How did you find him, Mary?”

  “I dug into Kostya’s history via data in international databases. Interpol had an extensive file, a very old one buried within an archive. A friend of mine unearthed it and scanned it to us. It recounted there being a son. There were also rumors of him killing his wife the same night Kir Sidorav died.”

  “Everything you’ve earned the past however many years has gone to him?” Addy asked, her voice loud. “Why the hell would you do that?”

  “He didn’t,” Maksim answered quickly.

  “It’s complicated,” Kristof said. “Father had no idea what the true value of what I did was. I siphoned just enough funds to him to not raise suspicion. Everything else was set aside and used toward the true plan.”

  “Which was? To overthrow him?” Edge asked.

  “Yes.” Kristof’s jaw twitched. “My strategic abilities aren’t anywhere near all of your capabilities, but I played the game Father expected. I was the dutiful son he’d disavowed when he was paying attention. But over the years I’ve forged alliances and mounted strategic favors for when the final battle comes. Killing the bastard won’t end his reign. The entire empire has to be collapsed on itself.”

  “We suspect that Kristof’s plan was perhaps more successful than we realized,” Maksim said. “That is, perhaps, why he’s tried to kill Kristof recently. We didn’t have access to all of his accounts. We knew we were bleeding him out, but we thought it was a slow leak.”

  “It wasn’t,” Edge said. “He’s insolvent in most every account we’ve uncovered so far. HERA is still chasing transactions and finding accounts, but from what we’ve found, he began bleeding heavily four years ago.”

  Maksim shook his head. “I shouldn’t have allowed you to step up your plan. You were too angry to think about the end game.”

  “He enslaved Stacia and destroyed Olaf,” Kristof growled. “He will pay. For them. And Mama.”

  He cut his gaze to Addy. For you.

  “Wow.” Zoey sat up from her seated position between Gage’s legs. “So, is there maybe a spreadsheet of all these connections and favors and all of this?”

  Maksim chuckled. “She didn’t waste time.”

  “They never waste time, comrade.” Kristof regarded the woman. “We have everything semi-organized. I take it you’d like access to this information.”

  “Yes,” Edge said. “We can feed it into HERA and combine it with what she’s retrieving. We’d get a better visual of where your plan succeeded or failed.”

  “And then what?” Beast asked.

  “Then we strategize how we can use this for our current mission,” Jesse said.

  “So his war is now ours,” Johnny said.

  “It is,” Addy answered. She looked over at her teammate. “You have a problem with that?”

  “I’m honestly not sure,” the man said. “Fuck if I know what I’m thinking right now. This was all a lot to take in.”

  No shit. Try living it. Kristof focused on Addy. “None of you were supposed to ever know about this. We didn’t expect to be within strike range until a few months from now.”

  “Clearly you either did a better job than you realized or something else you didn’t know about happened,” Marshall said. “How long before we get some data from HERA on all this, Mary?”

  “That’ll depend on how much there is to scan in.”

  “I’ll start immediately,” Zoey said. “Do you have it here?”

  “We have access to it,” Maksim said. “There’s a laptop. I’ll get it for you.”

  “You weren’t ever going to tell me,” Addy said. “Were you?”

  “No.”

  She looked down. Guilt punched Kristof harder than he expected. He’d been prepared to kick everyone’s ass for cornering her about whatever shit they’d mounted, and he’d just done worse. Son of a bitch.

  “We’ll need a recon team to surveille Kostya’s compound,” Jesse said. “Gage, we’ll send your team.”

  “Maksim can forward the schematics we’ve created based on my recent visits. My access is extremely limited, but I’ve obtained enough intel from a few friendlies within my father’s operation.”

  “Do you trust them?” Edge asked.

  “Honestly? I did before the carjacking. Now? I have no idea.”

  “Dima was a surprise to us both,” Maksim said.

  “Where is he?”

  “I have him secured,” the man said.

  “Good. He’ll need to be questioned. Ivan’s murder surprised us. He was Father’s trusted right-hand man, one he forced on me after Olaf’s attempt. We’d tolerated his existence and kept what we were doing from him. We hadn’t expected him to be killed.”

  “Dima would’ve been a smart replacement since we trusted him,” Maksim said. “This means your Father knows our plan.”

  “He likely does,” Kristof admitted. “We’ll need to find out what Dima shared with him. His knowledge of what we did was limited.”

  “When was the last time you were at this compound?” Nolan asked. “Did you see any additional personnel?”

  “The place is large,” Kristof said. “It’s hard to describe how large. I didn’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I was always escorted directly to where Olaf was kept. It was never the same location.”

  “He last went five weeks ago,” Maksim said. “The visits were typically once a month.”

  “He offered another visit after the first attempt,” Kristof said. �
��Perhaps I should contact him, feign ignorance of his involvement.”

  “Let’s see what HERA finds out first. That’s a risky move,” Edge said.

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I want those missiles located so you all can return home.”

  “And you want your father taken down,” Marshall said.

  “One doesn’t necessarily translate to the other,” Kristof said. “I’ve shared what I’ve kept from you out of necessity. If you’re hitting that compound, I need Olaf to be safe.”

  “He will be,” Nolan said. “Let’s let Edge and HERA do their thing, then we can go from there. In the meantime, you and Addy need to get some rest. We all do.”

  15

  Addy didn’t bother closing the door to her room. She’d sensed his silent prowl behind her down the hallway as soon as the meeting disbanded. She was scraped raw emotionally, but so was Kristof. Or so she assumed.

  She removed the com from her ear and turned it off. It thudded onto the dresser as she toed off her boots she hadn’t bothered to lace up. Kristof entered, then stood in the doorway a moment. His graze tracked to the com. His eyebrows lifted.

  “They’re giving me eight hours off it every night.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s night.” Even though early morning light splayed into the room. “You coming in or not?”

  Kristof entered and shut the door. He leaned against it. Cracker had assured her none of his injuries were serious. Or had it been Shep? Fuck if she remembered.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you hearing it, not like that.”

  “Or ever.” She looked down at the carpet, then back up at him. “You should’ve told me back then. Why didn’t you?”

  “I wanted to forget.”

  Yeah, she understood that. She’d wanted to forget a lot of what’d happened to her too. Still. “You were forced to watch your mother’s murder. I…”

  He grasped her hands and tugged her against him. “Don’t. Not now. You need to rest. This’ll wait.”

  “No. It’s waited long enough,” she whispered. “You should’ve told me.”

  “It hurt too much to voice at first,” he said. “By the time I was ready, your hatred for him was so strong. I didn’t want to risk our friendship. You were the fire that fueled my rage. You kept me going.”

  God. She swallowed and peered into his turbulent gaze. “You kept me going too. I would’ve understood. Our families aren’t of our choosing. What our blood did doesn’t define us. Isn’t that what you said?”

  “I did.” He released her hands. “A couple weeks ago, I said that. Back then I was too lost in my pain and rage to think beyond that. All I saw was the evil bastard who’d destroyed my life. I didn’t want anything to do with him, but his blood was in my veins. He owned me.”

  “He never owned you.” She touched his jaw, ran her finger beneath the cut on his lip. “They never owned us.”

  “They want you out of this mission.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I think they’re right. I don’t want this touching you any more than it already has.”

  She grasped his face. “I’m not leaving this mission. Mary knows where I stand. I’ll talk Marshall around if I have to, but after what you just shared, I doubt that’ll be necessary. No one understands avenging family like the Masons. Family is their life.”

  “The Arsenal isn’t part of my plan. You aren’t. This is my mission, not yours.”

  “They’re intersecting,” she argued. “I’m not leaving until that bastard isn’t breathing. That argument isn’t happening.”

  “I’ve see-sawed back and forth on whether I should resist what I feel for you.” He threaded his fingers through her hair. “We shouldn’t explore this right now with everything so up in the air.”

  “No. We shouldn’t.” Her stomach somersaulted and her chest tightened with the admission. Her pulse quickened as he traced her lips. “But I’ve never done what I should.”

  “Neither have I.” He ran his lips across hers.

  The feather-soft contact cast heat throughout her. Although she wanted nothing more than to deepen the contact, she remained all-too aware of the cut on his lip. She didn’t want to hurt him.

  “I shouldn’t have come in here,” he whispered against her ear. “But I couldn’t rest thinking about you after what I just shared. I should’ve told you before. When we were alone so you could yell and scream or do whatever you needed.”

  Addy couldn’t deny she’d been both hurt and pissed at what she’d just found out. Hurt because he hadn’t told her. Pissed that his father was the same monster who’d run that vile camp and helped Peter destroy her life. Pissed that he’d kept everything from her.

  “I’m not a fragile flower you have to protect,” she said, giving voice to some of the anger she’d harbored.

  “I know.” He tightened his grip on her neck. “But I’m not the kind of man who can stand aside and let you get hurt. I’m damn sure not a man who can let his past hurt you. I don’t want you anywhere near that bastard.”

  “He wouldn’t remember me. I was one of hundreds. Thousands. I was a nobody.”

  “You haven’t ever been a nobody,” Kristof whispered. His gaze collided with hers. “Tell me you know that.”

  She pulled away, but he dragged her back, wrapping his arm around her waist.

  “Don’t retreat, not now.”

  “I’m not,” she said. But she was. She couldn’t tread these waters with Kristof right now. “I just…I’m tired. I can’t think about anything else right now.”

  The excuse was lame, but truthful enough. The real reason was much deeper and too much for her to admit right now—even to herself. She didn’t want to win this battle with Kristof. She wanted to explore the attraction she had to him. To hell with the consequences.

  She wanted to ask questions, find out more about what he’d shared with everyone.

  “I never should’ve turned you away that night,” he whispered. “It’s haunted me every night.”

  “Kristof, don’t. Please.”

  “I’ve never wanted anything more than I wanted you that night. Turning you away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I didn’t want the surface level Addy you were offering. The trained, seductive operative created in that camp.”

  “What if she’s all that’s left?”

  “I know she’s not,” he whispered. He trailed his fingers along her arm.

  Tingles ignited along her skin. Need warmed her insides and hardened her nipples. She leaned further into his embrace and ran her hand across the T-shirt he wore. “I tried to keep her in place that night, you know. But I…”

  “But what?”

  “She wasn’t there, not at the end. You kissed me and…” Addy looked down. He captured her chin and pulled her head up until their gazes locked once again. Determination illuminated within his eyes, on his face. He wouldn’t let her get away without finishing the sentence, and for once, she didn’t want to escape. “You kissed me and I forgot about everything. Peter. Hive. The camp. All that was there was you. And me.”

  “Addison,” he whispered.

  “When you rejected me, I realized I’d screwed up. I made that moment into something it wasn’t.”

  “You don’t shy away from going after what you want,” Kristof said. “There’s nothing hotter than a woman who’s not afraid to take charge.”

  Anticipation quickened her pulse. “I won’t ever be that Addy with you. The operative. I don’t know why, but she retreats whenever I think about you.”

  “You think about me.” His lips upturned into a grin. “Tell me more.”

  “Next time.” She traced along his mouth. “Maybe I’ll even show you.”

  “Fuck.” He sighed heavily. “Now I need a cold shower.”

  “Don’t turn me on any more than you have. We’re both too tired to go there. And I don’t think either of us is ready. Are we?”

  “No,” Kristof admitted. “But I can rest easier knowing you don’t hate me for w
hat you learned.”

  “Why would I hate you for that?”

  “I should’ve found a way to kill that bastard long ago. To hell with his legacy remaining.”

  “What would’ve happened if you’d killed him? Who would’ve taken over?”

  “Ivan possibly. I’m not sure. It wouldn’t have been me,” Kristof said. “I would’ve likely been killed. Or worse.”

  “Then you made the right choice. You focused on a long-running op that will work.” Addy cupped his face. “Will you stay here with me? Sleep beside me?”

  “You’re a temptation I shouldn’t chance, but I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.” Kristof took her hand and guided them toward the bed.

  Addy stretched out on the bed. Her pulse quickened when he settled beside her, then drew her against him, her back to his front. “Your injuries.”

  “I feel nothing but you right now,” he whispered in her ear. He chuckled. “We didn’t even bother turning the bed down.”

  “I’m so damn tired I won’t miss covers.”

  “I’ll keep you warm.” He draped an arm around her waist.

  “Is this direction okay for you? It won’t hurt your shoulder? Are you sure you shouldn’t be on your back because of the injuries?”

  “Calm. There’s nothing wrong with me that sleep won’t heal. Rest and time are what we both need.” He threaded his fingers through her hair. “Care to lay a bet on which of your guys storms in here first when they realize I’m not in my room?”

  “I’ll be lucky if they let me keep the coms off if they find out.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “What?”

  “I’m glad you have them. The Arsenal. You deserve this new start.”

  “You deserve it too.” She swallowed and grasped his hand. “I’ll want to know more about your network. Your real plans for after your war is over.”

  “It’ll wait.” He kissed her neck. “Sleep. I’ll keep the monsters away.”

  Her eyes burned as she forced a deep breath.

  I’ll keep the monsters away.

  How many times had he made that promise at the camp? He always had.