Vengeance (SSU Trilogy Book 1)

by Kier, Vanessa

  Niko turned and fired his damp towel at the laundry bin. “You almost did,” he admitted gruffly. “When they kept me in prison after Alvarez’s arrest…that came closer to breaking me than anything in the previous five years.” For five years he’d lived for the day Alvarez was arrested. Whenever he grew desperate to break free of Alvarez’s vicious world, Niko had reminded himself that the evidence was piling up to justify a raid.

  And that any price was worth paying to put Alvarez behind bars for ordering the hit that had paralyzed Pop.

  When the day of the raid finally came, he hadn’t minded being rounded up with the rest of Alvarez’s men and taken to jail. It fit with his cover. But he’d expected to be released within hours.

  Instead, he’d been moved to a solitary cell. His DEA handler walked in and told him he was going to have to serve time for the crimes he’d committed under Alvarez.

  Niko had stood frozen, barely understanding the man’s words. They were going to credit the twelve months he’d spent in jail five years ago establishing his cover. And his handler had petitioned for extra consideration, since Niko had been only eighteen when first approached by the DEA.

  Given that Niko had never been an official DEA employee, but an independent contractor, he wasn’t going to be charged with breaking DEA rules. Still, the men in charge wanted Niko to serve a minimum of five years.

  Niko’s desperation had stuck in his throat, choking off his air so he’d nearly missed the man’s addendum. If Niko agreed to work for the DEA upon release, doing the jobs no one else wanted for at least three years, then it was agreed he’d only have to spend twelve months inside.

  Niko had panicked at the thought of spending another second in jail. He’d started to reach for the man, under some wild idea of taking him hostage and demanding to be set free.

  Maybe the man had read Niko’s intent. Because he’d said the words that made the whole thing tolerable. “Weekly visits.”

  Niko sensed Rafe stepping closer. He turned and met Rafe’s eyes, his throat tight as he said, “If I hadn’t been allowed visitors…If you and Mamá, Maria and Pop hadn’t visited and shown me your forgiveness and love, I wouldn’t have survived prison.”

  “I never stopped believing in you, Niko. No matter what they told me.” Rafe’s eyes shone with everything good and strong that had kept Niko going in prison and the long years after as he sought to put himself back together. Unlike their father, Rafe hadn’t known the truth about Niko while he was with Alvarez. Based on the evidence, Rafe should have hated him.

  “I know,” Niko said past the lump in his throat. “I didn’t deserve your belief in me, but Dios, some days that was all that kept me going.”

  Rafe stepped in and slapped his arms around Niko in a fierce hug. Niko hugged him back, feeling like some weight had been lifted off his chest. Seconds later, they broke apart, both surreptitiously wiping their eyes.

  Damn. Misty-eyed like two old women.

  “So…uh…Rafe, what are you doing here?”

  “Paterson is in Acapulco.”

  “Huh.” Niko picked up the jump rope and tossed it into a bin. It just fucking had to be Acapulco. The one place on earth where simply landing at the airport meant triggering at least a dozen death threats. “That’s damn convenient. Right in Alvarez’s backyard.” Could someone say setup?

  “Maybe Paterson’s been waiting all this time to sell the chip to Alvarez.” Rafe shrugged. “So what’s the plan? I –”

  The sound of cloth scraping against wood floated from the doorway.

  Rafe dove forward.

  There was a whirl of activity, then Rafe fell back. Niko recognized Jenna an instant before they hit the floor. Jenna’s bottom landed directly on Rafe’s groin. She sat partly up and twisted, driving her sit bone deeper into his brother’s crotch.

  Ouch. “Jenna! Ease up. That’s my brother you’re turning soprano.”

  Jenna glanced over at Niko, eyebrows raised.

  “Yeah, I know he grabbed you. He didn’t know I had company. He thought you were a threat.”

  “Sorry,” she muttered and rolled away. As she stood up, she bit her lip and shot Rafe a worried glance.

  “Rafe, man, don’t be a wuss. Get the hell up and say hello to Jenna.” Rafe was curled in a fetal position, hands covering the area Jenna had just mangled. Niko knew his brother was hamming it up a bit and was tempted to kick Rafe himself.

  “Uh…are you sure he’s okay?” Jenna asked.

  “Yeah. Trust me, it’s not the first time someone’s hit him where it counts. Rafe, you gonna lie there all night? Former Army Rangers are supposed to be tougher than this.”

  Rafe responded with a string of curses in Greek and flipped Niko the bird. Niko just laughed.

  But when he turned to Jenna, expecting to see some of his good humor reflected in her eyes, instead he saw eagerness.

  “Is it true? Kai’s in Acapulco?”

  Christ. She was all but bouncing up and down on her toes like a little girl waiting to open her birthday presents.

  Niko stifled the urge to lock Jenna in a box and put her away someplace safe. If she could help draw her brother out of hiding, he had to use her.

  Dammit, Rafe was going to owe him for this. So much for sneaking off to Mexico and leaving Rafe and Jenna behind.

  He could still do it, but they’d both be on his tail. Rafe hadn’t come all this way expecting to stay on the sidelines. His brother probably already had his plane ticket.

  Rafe pushed to his feet and stood up.

  “Rafe, meet Jenna Paterson, Kai Paterson’s sister. Jenna, this is my younger brother, Rafe. He also works for the SSU.”

  But Rafe wasn’t listening. He took one glance at Jenna’s battered face and swung to face Niko. “What the fuck happened to her?”

  Jenna stepped in and put her hand on Rafe’s arm. When he looked at her, she gave Rafe a proud smile. “It’s not Niko’s fault. I insisted on tagging along to The Hole last night.” She shot Niko a sly look out of the corner of her eye. “Then I started a fight.”

  Rafe stared at Jenna’s hands and her scrapped, swollen knuckles. His mouth set in a tight, angry line. “Why the hell would you start a bar fight?”

  “To test myself. To prove that I won’t panic every time I’m attacked.” She grinned proudly. “And it worked. I gave as good as I got.”

  Rafe raised a brow in Niko’s direction. Niko just shrugged.

  “Well, then,” Rafe said. “Pleased to meet you, Jenna.”

  “Likewise.” She held out her hand. Rafe took it very gingerly and shook it without closing his fingers over her damaged knuckles.

  The hope Niko had that he’d distracted Jenna from the news about her brother was immediately dashed.

  “We’re going to Acapulco?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He knew he was going to regret this. He shot a glare at his brother.

  “And Rafe’s coming with us.”

  Chapter 17

  Sunday, Afternoon

  Acapulco, Mexico

  Mark Tonelli used his silk handkerchief to dab at the sweat beading his forehead. Damned Mexican heat.

  He pushed his way through the flow of afternoon tourists, trying not to lose the woman he was tailing. Just before the corner she entered a restaurant. He hovered just outside until he saw through the large window that she’d been seated, then headed inside.

  A blast of cold air hit him as soon as he stepped through the door, raising goose bumps. Ah, this was more like it. He declined a table on the patio, asking to be seated at a table inside, where he could keep an eye on both the woman and the entrance. He didn’t think he’d been spotted, but it didn’t pay to be sloppy.

  After a brief survey of the menu he chose the fish of the day and the white wine as least likely to turn his stomach. When the waiter left with his order, Mark flicked a breadcrumb onto the floor, wishing he was back in Moscow.

  Once again, he could blame Jenna Paterson for his current state of disgrac
e. By scaring away her brother and then disappearing from Moscow with Niko Andros, she’d made him look like a fool. But it was his failure to find Kai Paterson that had caused the most problems.

  Jamieson’s anger had been so frigid, Mark had ground his teeth to stop himself from groveling. He didn’t care how desperate he was to get the name of the man who ordered the hit on his father. Mark was sick of the man’s power games. He’d done his best to find Paterson in Moscow, but the agent had escaped. There’d be another opportunity.

  So he’d ignored Jamieson’s rage. Jamieson wasn’t even his official boss, that honor belonged to another man. And his boss had told him to stay in Moscow and work on a smaller issue the CIA needed handled.

  He’d finished that job two days ago and been enjoying some free time in his favorite city, until another call came in from Jamieson. Paterson had been spotted. Within twenty-four hours Mark was airborne, headed for hot, pathetic Mexico.

  And now here he was. South of the border and all things civilized.

  Mark tapped his fingers slowly against the table. He’d never spent much time in Mexico and hated relying on the CIA’s contacts here. He much preferred to build his own network of informants, but there was no time.

  Unfortunately, none of the CIA’s contacts he’d been in touch with had been able to verify Paterson’s presence here. One of the men had shrugged, pointed out a group of Alvarez’s men, and told Mark to follow them.

  So he had. The men visited the house of the woman now sitting four tables away from him. They’d stayed for only a few moments, and instinct told Mark to follow the woman instead. As they’d approached this restaurant, he’d seen Alvarez’s men waiting in a car half a block down.

  He prayed that Paterson was involved.

  And that somehow he’d be able to nab Paterson, get the chip, and stay out of reach of Alvarez’s men. He’d heard the stories of Alvarez’s brutality and had no wish to experience it first hand.

  He picked up the salt shaker, moved it a quarter inch, and put it back down, turning it slowly in place. His fingers tightened on the shaker, then he consciously relaxed his hand and let go.

  Jamieson’s increased obsession with the microchip worried Mark. A formula that could create extraordinary soldiers? It smacked of myths of the fountain of youth and immortal elixirs. The man shouldn’t waste his time on data that might prove to be no help at all to Kerberos. Instead, Jamieson should put all his time and effort into expanding Kerberos.

  Kerberos’s mission was one Mark wholeheartedly believed in. Protect the interests of the United States at all costs. A businessman interfering with American trade? A nation’s leader opposing the U.S. on a security issue? Buy them out. Blackmail them. Kill them.

  A nation as powerful as the United States shouldn’t have to play by the rules. And Kerberos didn’t.

  Mark wanted that unlimited, unrestrained power almost as much as he wanted the name of his father’s murderer. All things considered, the chip was an easy entrée into Kerberos. He would gladly kill for the privilege of joining.

  #

  Sunday, Afternoon

  Acapulco, Mexico

  Kai Paterson stood in the shadows of a jewelry store, watching the decoy he’d hired enter the café across the street. Through the plate glass window he saw the man look around the room and then start walking toward a woman seated in the far corner. As he passed a table occupied by four men in suits, one of the men suddenly stood up, knocking against the decoy. An instant later, Kai’s man slumped into the suit’s waiting arms.

  Kai pivoted and slipped around the corner. His motorbike was parked at the end of the street and he strolled casually toward it, ignoring primitive instincts screaming at him to run. His decoy was close enough to his own weight and build to fool anyone who’d never seen him at close range. With luck, one of the men at the table would realize they had the wrong man and let the poor guy go. If not—

  Police sirens howled in the distance. Kai had put in an anonymous call to the local police. He could only hope they arrived in time to save the man from being taken back to Alvarez.

  Kai wove in between the pedestrians along the crowded street, ignoring the grumbling of his stomach as he passed his favorite café. The brief scent of coffee and fried dough would have to satisfy him until he got back to his hotel.

  He’d hired the decoy because Dr. Nevsky’s mistress had been a little too willing to meet with him this morning. The takedown in the café confirmed not only that Alvarez knew about Nevsky’s mistress, but that she reported back to him.

  Still, the trip wasn’t a complete waste of time. He’d learned that two men who’d worked briefly at Nevsky’s lab were in Mexico. One was rumored to be in Cuernavaca, not far from Acapulco.

  The men were long shots, but he was desperate.

  Kai reached his motorbike without being followed. A few minutes later he left the bike in back of the rental agency, changed clothes and switched wigs in a public restroom, then walked several blocks to where he’d left his car.

  It was time to get out of Acapulco. Let Alvarez’s men go back to their burrows. He’d check out of his hotel and hit the road for Cuernavaca. And consider whether another approach to Nevsky’s mistress was worthwhile.

  #

  From two tables away, Mark Tonelli watched Alvarez’s men drop the man in the middle of the café. Fools. That wasn’t Paterson. The man wasn’t quite tall enough. Mark shifted in his chair and looked out the window, rapidly scanning the passersby. Paterson had to be close.

  There. A man mostly hidden by shadow, turning away. The height and build were right, even though the hair was dark and curly, not blond.

  He was confident this was the man who’d run from Jenna in Moscow. Mark threw some pesos on the table and hurried from the café, his blood pumping with excitement.

  By the time he reached the end of the street, he was running. But the man was gone. Mark cursed and scanned the busy street ahead of him. Damn. It was like the man had evaporated.

  He mopped his brow with his handkerchief and headed back to the café. He didn’t care what role the woman played in the search for the chip. He needed to talk to her.

  Yet both the woman and Alvarez’s men were gone when he returned and the café was full of police officers. Mark swerved away before he reached the front door. He found a table inside a café on a street four blocks away, ordered a café au lait and pulled out his cell phone. At least this time he had good news to report to Jamieson.

  #

  Sunday, Evening

  Andes Mountains, Peru

  Madalena jumped as Alvarez’s angry voice echoed down the hallway sharp as a bullet’s ricochet. Hands shaking, she laid her book on the table next to her comfortably stuffed chair and went over to the door. She cracked it open just wide enough that she could hear what was being said.

  “Why did you not have men outside the café watching for Paterson?” Alvarez was in one of his rare fits. Usually he expressed his anger calmly, even coldly, but today he spat the words violently, using his voice as a weapon to flay the unfortunate bearer of bad news. “I do not pay you to be an idiot. Must I do all the thinking around here?”

  There was a moment of silence, and she realized he was on the phone.

  “Paterson is not an imbecile. He would have been watching the decoy. Now he knows that we are after him. What do you think the odds are that we will find him again?…No. You and your men return here…This is not over between you and I.”

  There was a crash, as if he’d thrown the phone against the wall. Madalena closed her door silently. Her whole body shook. Whenever he had his fits of temper, it always ended up with extra pain for her.

  She hated the idea of that monster touching her again. She wrapped her arms around her body, clenching her teeth to fight back the fear and loathing. She must think.

  Alvarez wanted this Paterson person very badly. So much so that the price for her freedom was Niko turning over both this man and the microchip. If Pater
son was in Acapulco, Niko wouldn’t be too far behind. Which meant she had less time than she’d thought to kill Alvarez.

  Because she would not allow Niko to make any more sacrifices for her.

  “Madalena!” Her door flew open and Alvarez stormed into the room.

  She braced herself and raised her chin. She was done cowering before him.

  The first blow knocked her into the lamp. As she lay on the floor trying to catch her breath, she considered picking up the lamp and beating Alvarez over the head with it.

  Not yet, she cautioned herself as his toe caught her under the ribs. Have patience. The time will come.

  #

  Monday, Evening

  Acapulco, Mexico

  Jenna accompanied Niko through the opulent hotel lobby, acutely aware that they looked like a couple. Niko’s hand on the small of her back only added to the illusion of intimacy. Unfortunately, the warmth of his hand was giving her libido ideas.

  God, sitting next to him on the plane had been sweet agony. Every inhale had brought his spicy scent into her body, where it wound through her system like an aphrodisiac. Every time his shoulder accidentally brushed hers, or their thighs bumped, she felt a zing of electricity.

  Dammit, this wasn’t right. For the first time since the attack she felt so alive, she had trouble focusing on her goal. Instead of thinking about the questions she’d fire at Kai before she killed him, she found herself fantasizing about making love to Niko.

  She was disappointed that their time in Montana had been cut short. She’d felt safe there. Free in a way she never had at the busy SSU compound, where every time she left her cabin she felt like people were watching and judging her. Pitying her.

  Niko made her feel normal. Still, she knew she was better off away from Montana. She’d gotten used to sleeping part of the night in the shelter of Niko’s arms, sitting on his lap. Dangerous, this feeling of intimacy. She should be glad that last night Niko hadn’t arrived to hold her after her nightmares. It was time to start distancing herself from him. Try to soften the pain that was coming. Both for herself and for him. Because what she planned for Kai was something she had to do on her own.