“Any idea who did it?” Niko asked. “Tonelli?”
“Doubtful. He’s not known for his computer skills. It’s more likely one of his CIA colleagues.” But no one beat Ryker’s computer security. His experts worked slightly ahead of the curve of new technology.
“We’re trying to locate the hacker, but it’s likely a dead end,” Ryker continued. Truth was, he’d ordered his people not to look too hard into the breach. The intruder had intimate knowledge of the SSU’s computer systems, including the back door Ryker had left open. If the hacker was who he thought, the information on Jenna wasn’t going anywhere.
Still, “I’m more concerned than before about Jenna’s safety,” he told Niko. “I don’t want her away from you.”
“But—”
“That’s an order, Andros. Jenna’s your responsibility. You can’t bring her back here, and if I hear that you’ve dumped her on someone else? You’re fired.” Ryker took a deep breath. “She’s the daughter I never had. Keep her alive.” He hung up before Niko could protest.
The threat of losing his job probably wasn’t enough to keep Niko with Jenna, but reminding him that Ryker considered Jenna family should do it.
Niko understood protecting one’s family.
#
Monday, Morning
Outskirts of Helsinki
In a small café on a bustling street on the outskirts of Helsinki, Kai Paterson watched as the information on his laptop screen blurred then swam into focus, blurred then focused again.
It took his tired brain several seconds to realize the screen wasn’t malfunctioning. No, he had tears in his eyes. Tears he couldn’t afford, because he couldn’t draw attention to himself.
He read the words again.
Name of deceased: Jenna Paterson. Time of death: 11:03 a.m., May 14th.
The damn words wavered again and Kai closed his eyes against a wave of grief. It had been foolish to hope, but the amber eyes of the boy in the Moscow bar wouldn’t leave him alone. He’d dreamed that Jenna was alive and woke with an urgent need to check for himself.
So he’d hacked into the SSU’s computer, searching for the truth. His Ph.D. might be in biochemistry, with an emphasis on bioterrorism, but he also held a masters in computer science.
His hope had doubled when he discovered Ryker had left open the computer system’s back door, the one set up to help agents who were so deep undercover they couldn’t access SSU files through legitimate channels.
He hadn’t checked the files two years ago after the attack, because he’d accessed the police files directly. But the minute he’d opened Jenna’s SSU file, his heart sank.
The truth was that whoever that boy had been in Moscow, it hadn’t been Jenna in disguise.
Jenna was truly dead.
And God, he wanted to kill the assassins all over again.
#
Wednesday, Afternoon
Rocky Mountains, Montana
Jenna completed another lap in the pool, either oblivious of Niko or ignoring him.
With a grunt of disgust, he threw his towel on a bench and settled in to wait for her to come out. No way in hell was he sharing the pool with her.
He scrubbed his hand over his hair and reminded himself that he wasn’t the bad guy. Jenna was the one who’d been sulking around the past three days. From breakfast to lunch they enjoyed a truce, working together to sift through SSU reports about Paterson’s activities before the night Nevsky died. Looking for something that the other agents assigned to find her brother had missed.
Searching for clues as to why he’d worked with Alvarez to have his family killed.
Each day, Jenna’s tension grew with every hour, until by lunchtime he was afraid she would break. The second lunch was over, she bolted. And avoided him the rest of the day.
Or tried to. Somehow he always ended up where she was at least once an afternoon. Which meant he was fully aware that she was putting herself through grueling workouts.
That pissed him off. Every time he came across her working out, he had to turn away and bite back angry words. Fight the instinct to lock her in her bedroom and force her to rest until both her head and her arm were fully healed.
A fucking chauvinist reaction, but one he couldn’t deny. Besides, there was only one reason she was pushing herself. She planned to go after her brother. With or without him.
And that terrified him.
Jenna performed a sleek underwater turn and pushed into the middle of the pool. He watched her slight form cut gracefully through the water.
Christ. Talk about an innocent among devils. What the hell had Ryker been thinking, letting her enter operator training? The program had two purposes. Sharpen the skills of operators coming in from other special ops organizations, and give new recruits a strong foundation before seasoning them on real-world missions with experienced agents.
It was not intended to take a frickin’ art history student and turn her into Rambo. He didn’t care how high Jenna had scored on marksmanship. He didn’t care where she ranked in her class. Just because she’d survived a brutal attack didn’t mean she had the heartlessness to succeed in this mission.
She wasn’t capable of taking on Alvarez, the CIA, and whatever other organizations were now gunning for Paterson. And he’d meant what he said the other night.
He didn’t trust Jenna to watch his back. He still wasn’t sure if she was after her brother to keep him safe, or for some darker purpose.
He worked his jaw, knowing what he had to do and feeling the familiar burn of acid in his stomach. He had to prove to Jenna she was out of her element. Agree to train her, then frighten her so deeply, she’d give up any idea of going after her brother.
Dammit. He hated violence against women. The thought of hurting Jenna made him want to howl in denial.
It’s for her own good. Think what will happen if Alvarez gets his hands on her. You want her to end up like Aunt Madalena?
Niko closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and once again prepared himself to violate his own code of right and wrong in order to get the job done.
Chapter 13
Wednesday, Night
Washington, D.C.
“You still have no idea why Paterson was in Moscow?” Niko demanded when Ryker answered his phone.
Ryker rubbed the top of his head. “No. He was alone when our guy spotted him, just like last year when we caught sight of Kai in Egypt.”
“You think he’s looking for a buyer for the chip?”
“At this point, I’m not ruling anything out. But it doesn’t make sense. Why wait this long? Interest in the chip was highest right after Nevsky’s death. He won’t get as good a price today.”
“Well something or someone in Moscow was important enough for him to risk having his eyes uncovered.” Niko paused. “Jenna got the impression he was looking for someone at the bar, which gels with the bartender’s story. Was Tonelli able to track Paterson out of the city?”
“No.” Tonelli hadn’t even mentioned finding Kai’s apartment, which made Ryker wonder what else the man was holding back. So much for interagency cooperation.
Ryker sighed. He needed a break. Just about every government agency was jealous of private organizations like the SSU. And Ryker had more than his share of enemies from his time in government service. Enemies who plotted to bring the SSU down. Those enemies had launched an investigation of Nevsky’s death and the fire that destroyed the scientist’s lab and concluded that Kai, and therefore the SSU, were culpable. Fortunately, Ryker had powerful supporters who had fought by his side and kept the SSU alive.
With Alvarez actively seeking the microchip, the race to locate Nevsky’s data had reignited. Too many organizations salivated over the prospect of using Nevsky’s notes to create their own program for developing soldiers with extraordinary strength and spies with mental processing skills that rivaled a computer. Even Ryker’s supporters had upped the ante. They wanted him to turn over the chip in exchange for not shutt
ing the SSU down.
Ryker shook his head and refocused on the conversation with Niko. One thing at a time. “The last reliable sighting of Kai in Moscow was the receptionist you talked to at the eye clinic. I’ve increased the reward for any news on his whereabouts. But now that he’s hiding his eyes again, he’ll be harder to spot.” At first, Ryker thought Kai’s reappearance was a sign he was ready to turn himself in. But when Kai didn’t contact him, there was nothing Ryker could do but order his men to bring the younger man in, even though Ryker didn’t want to believe the evidence pointing to Kai’s guilt.
Didn’t want to believe that the hatred he’d seen in Kai’s eyes the night of the attack meant Kai had gone rogue. That truth would destroy Jenna. Because despite her conviction that she’d both heard her brother’s voice during the attack and seen him leaving the house, Ryker believed she secretly hoped to be proven wrong.
“Has Jenna remembered anything new to help you find Kai?” Ryker asked. She’d reported her observances right after the attack, but there was always a possibility that seeing her brother again would trigger new memories.
“No. She’s having a hard time of it. She won’t admit it, but it hurts her to remember how things were before the attack.”
Ryker shifted the phone to his other ear. The psychiatrists had decided that Jenna had repressed certain memories in order to cope with her grief. He hated that it was now necessary for Niko to probe her into remembering. But they had to find Kai this time.
“Keep an eye on her,” Ryker warned. “Don’t push her so hard she snaps.” Before Niko had a chance to reply, Ryker ended the call. He was afraid that if he stayed on the line, he’d be tempted to tell Niko to forget the whole thing and just let Jenna heal in peace.
Dangerous thought.
He picked up the small rake from the miniature Japanese garden sitting on his windowsill. He raked the sand into a pile, then smoothed it out, waiting for his mind to fall into similar order.
Until Kai reappeared, Jenna was safest with Niko. But as soon as Niko brought her out as bait, protecting her would be more than one man could manage.
It was time to determine how many others among his agents he could trust with her life.
#
Thursday, Afternoon
Rocky Mountains, Montana
After her usual post-lunch run, Jenna went searching for Niko. She finally found him in the gym.
He lay on a weight bench doing chest presses. His shirt was off and for several minutes Jenna just watched his muscles contract and release as he smoothly raised and lowered the bar.
As a dancer, she’d seen plenty of half-naked men in prime athletic condition. Even her SSU teammates had often been shirtless. Yet even so, Niko was superb. Mature in a way her classmates hadn’t been. Hardened. Scarred. So compellingly male that she itched to touch the silky line of hair bisecting his abs. Wanted to run her fingers over the thick band tattooed around his right biceps. Even the tufts of hair under his arms seemed sexy.
From the speakers in the ceiling, Mick Jagger bemoaned a lack of satisfaction. Oh, God, for the first time in two years, she knew exactly how he felt.
The quick twist of desire in her belly held her a prisoner trembling at the door. She grabbed the doorframe on each side of her, holding herself up while her knees turned to putty.
No! This couldn’t be happening to her. She didn’t…she couldn’t…She shook her head and took one terrified step back. Men were dangerous…She…She had to get out of here.
She backed up another step, hoping she could escape before Niko noticed her. She needed to get away. Figure out why her libido was suddenly back to work, when that was the dead last thing she wanted.
Before she could take another step, Niko settled the weight bar on its holder and sat up. She froze as he swiveled to face her and wiped the sweat off his face with a towel. His eyes were dark with concern as he searched her face. “What’s wrong?”
She shrugged, hoping she was too far away for him to see the confusion that must be showing on her face. Afraid to look down in case stiff nipples were giving her away.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she mumbled, trying frantically to remember why she’d come to the gym in the first place. Oh. Right. She’d been looking for Niko.
“I just wanted to talk to you.” She forced herself to meet his eyes. “I don’t want to lose my training. I want you to fight me. I…”
Come on, you can do this. Just tell him. You can’t improve if you don’t admit your weaknesses. “In Moscow, I froze in terror when the man assaulted me in the hallway. It threw me back to the night my family was killed. I need to keep training, and fighting dirty, to make sure I don’t freeze again. To work through situations with a sexual threat so I don’t get trapped by fear and memories.”
Niko stood up. She couldn’t read his expression. Was he going to help her or not? After the way she’d been lusting after him, was it even wise to spend more time with him?
Yes. She’d just have to control herself. Finding Kai was all that mattered.
Niko turned his back to her and wiped down the bench, then the weight bar, before tossing the towel toward a laundry basket.
Then he swung around, fist flying toward her face. She barely ducked in time to avoid being hit in the eye. She overbalanced and stumbled backwards.
“Is this what you want?” he snarled.
Niko kept coming, the speed and ferocity of his blows almost too much for her to block, never mind counter. She’d never fought anyone as fast.
Don’t think about the pain from your arm. Sidestep. Watch it, his leg!
She pirouetted out of the way of his roundhouse kick. But there was no way she could win standing up. His reach was longer than hers.
There, an opening.
She slid underneath his swinging arm and tackled him. But Niko was ready for her. He grabbed her in a hug as he fell, twisting so that she ended on her belly beneath him.
Niko straddled her torso and yanked her head back by her hair. She felt the cold pressure of dulled steel against her throat, and suddenly she was back in her parents’ living room as the assassin’s blade bit into her skin.
The knife sliced along her skull. Tears mingled with blood, forming a watery mess on the carpet.
“Run, Jenna!” her mother yelled, her voice hoarse with pain, her skull a shiny red mess.
Jenna twisted and bucked, trying to get her attacker off her. But he had her arms and legs pinned between his powerful thighs. He was pressed along her lower body, making her struggles ineffective.
Please, no, she thought. I don’t want to die.
“Easy, Jenna. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Her attacker’s weight lifted.
Jenna scrambled away from him, bumped into a wall, and used the hard surface to push herself upright. Then she ran. Believing herself at home, she dodged what should have been the sofa. Instead, she bumped into something solid that shouldn’t be there and almost went down to her knees.
No! Have to keep going.
She dashed forward and crashed into another wall. Her breathing hitched. She was trapped. They were coming for her. When they caught her, they were going to hurt her.
“Jenna?”
She jumped sideways at the voice and nearly fell over. Her hands patted the wall in front of her. Where was the door? She had to reach the door. She had to get into the backyard before the men caught her.
“Easy, Jenna. You’re safe. It’s okay. Everything’s okay.” She sensed the man walking toward her, but his words didn’t make sense.
He was lying. He wanted to hurt her. She had to get away.
Her hands finally hit a door release bar and she stumbled into the sunshine. A few steps further and she collapsed onto her hands and knees, sobbing in relief.
She’d made it. She was safe.
A dog’s excited barking snapped her back to reality.
This wasn’t her family’s backyard. She was on a long, sloping lawn. With woods on
one side and the mountains beyond.
Niko’s place.
Oh, God, what must he think of her, totally losing it like that?
Callie raced down the hill from the house and danced enthusiastically around her, wanting to play. When Jenna didn’t respond to her wriggled invitation, Callie whined and pressed her nose into Jenna’s hair.
Jenna turned, wrapped her arms around Callie and buried her face in the fur at the dog’s neck.
Safety. Warmth. Acceptance.
Jenna squeezed Callie tight and waited for her tears to stop.
#
Thursday, Night
Minsk, Belarus
“Listen.” Kai leaned forward and lowered his voice. He’d finally tracked the man he’d been searching for in Moscow to his sister’s house in Belarus. Now they sat at a table in a tiny restaurant at the center of town. “I have to find the chip with Dr. Nevsky’s notes before Alvarez does. Can’t you remember anything that might help?” His voice thrummed with desperation. There were precious few names left on his list of associates of Dr. Nevsky. He needed answers from this man.
The man across from Kai glanced over his shoulder, but they were alone in the restaurant, the owner having disappeared into the back room fifteen minutes ago. “I don’t know what else I can tell you. He was secretive. Trusted no one. None of us knew what the overall goal of the project was, or what the other groups were working on.”
But Kai knew. He’d been in the restricted section of the lab. He’d read the notes recording amazing increases of physical strength and mental agility and the subsequent side effects. He’d seen men reduced to little more than raving beasts, mindlessly battering their heads against the walls of their cells trying to knock themselves unconscious to escape debilitating pain. Men whose bodies had been pumped so full of steroids, they resembled cartoon monsters. Men who weren’t insane yet, but knew it was coming, their eyes pleading with Kai to help them.
Vengeance (SSU Trilogy Book 1) Page 13