Which might have been the best thing she could have done in that particular situation. Only now Linc wondered exactly who she could have seen. His blood chilled. There had been people from all branches of law enforcement that day. SWAT, FBI, CPD, and more. And all had worn tactical gear.
The footage Henry had managed to get from Annie hadn’t revealed who she’d been looking at, so he would have to approach things differently. “I want to show you some pictures and footage at some point, but right now my focus has to be getting Allie back, okay?”
“Of course.”
“What?” Gregori glanced over at her. “No response?”
Allie hadn’t spoken since he’d stated he was Nevsky’s son. She was still reeling, trying to gather her scattered thoughts and settle her racing pulse—and ignore the pulsing pain in her back. She absently ran her hands over the seat’s fine leather grain and noted the many high-tech features of the expensive automobile. “You like nice things.”
“I do.”
“Material things can’t make up for what you’re doing,” she said softly.
He gave a choked laugh. “They have their comforts.”
She raised a brow. “Not to your soul.”
He laughed. “Shut up.” She fell silent again and he sighed. “That’s all you have to say to my announcement?”
“It can’t be true.”
“Why not?”
“Because . . . because it’s . . .” She rubbed her eyes. “Okay, suppose it’s true, how’d you find out?”
“Nevsky came to me and told me.”
She scoffed. “And you believed him?”
“Not at first, but then he brought me proof.”
“What kind of proof?”
“He approached me one day as I walked off the football field. He said he was an old family friend and he had something that he thought I’d be interested in. He told me he had a job for me and I could make a lot of money. I started doing some deliveries for him. He helped me open a bank account, and I was putting more money into it than I’d ever seen.”
Allie swallowed. While they’d lived in a large house and looked to all the world like they had money to burn, their parents had provided the basic necessities and spent lavishly on themselves. Neither she nor Gregori had ever had much money except when their mother decided to go all out and spend on them. Looking back, Allie remembered her mother’s manic episodes and figured she’d been an undiagnosed bipolar.
“About two weeks later, Nevsky asked me to take a medical test. He refused to tell me what kind, but I didn’t care at that point, I would have done anything to keep the money coming. Later, he came to me and hugged me and called me his son.”
Allie shook her head, but her tight throat wouldn’t allow any words to escape.
“I was still confused, but he promised me I’d understand later that day. He came to the house when Maxim was out, brought me in, and confronted our mother about the DNA test results that proved I was his son.” He referred to the man who’d raised him for the first seventeen years of his life as Maxim. “She fell to the floor, crying, saying she hadn’t wanted me to know. I demanded answers and she said she’d kept me from my father because she hadn’t wanted me growing up in the organization. Apparently, while Maxim was my father’s best friend, he was also in love with our mother.” Although she’d be the first to admit the man hadn’t been much of a father. “So, she married Maxim, and together, they betrayed my real father. And me.”
Allie reeled. Shocked and hurting. “And that was the reason you killed them?” she finally asked, noting that he seemed to be driving aimlessly, with no purpose. Which was fine with her. As long as he was behind the wheel, he wasn’t killing. Her or anyone else.
“Yes.”
“Mom lived for a while, you know. Then killed herself.”
His fingers tightened briefly around the wheel and he shot her a short glance. “I didn’t know. I assumed she was dead.”
“Might as well have been.” And that was that, apparently. Allie’s heart thundered in her ears. He’d become a monster. Grief shuddered through her.
Trees lined the two-lane road and his directionless driving suddenly seemed to have purpose. He was driving them into a deserted area. Why? To get rid of her, no doubt.
“What did Misha and I do to deserve that? Misha, especially.”
He slammed a hand on the steering wheel and she jumped. “Because you were the most loved by him,” he shouted.
Him?
Their father. Or rather, her father. Maxim.
“He never gave me the time of day,” Gregori said. “I didn’t understand it, and when I asked Mom, she refused to give me a straight answer. I just wanted you gone. Both of you. All of you. And my father said that it would be best, that I would be able to start over with a new family. I agreed and made it happen.”
“Daria calls you her brother, but you never saw her or built any kind of relationship with her. How is that starting a new family?”
“She’s not a part of the new family.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “She was never important. She was only two when everything happened and Father ignored her for the most part.” A hard smile tilted his lips. “He told me now that he had his son, he had no use for her and that our family was the organization.”
“So Nevsky made her feel like my father made you feel. Ignored and worthless.”
He stiffened. His jaw tightened and he clamped his fingers around the wheel.
Throat tight, she drew in a deep breath. “And so you started killing for Nevsky. It’s really that simple?”
“Not quite so simple as that.” He paused. “But, yes.”
He braked and turned off on one of the side roads. For some reason, the area was familiar, but she couldn’t think why. She decided to get answers while she could—and pay attention for any opportunity that would allow her the upper hand. She needed a weapon. Needed to distract Gregori so she could act when she had the element of surprise. “So, let me get this straight. Our mother had an affair with Nevsky when they were younger—sometime during college. She got pregnant and Dad married her.”
“Maxim, yes.”
“That’s why Nevsky wanted to cut all ties with the man, right?”
“Yes. My father was very hurt. He couldn’t understand why his two good friends would betray him in such a way.”
She wasn’t addressing that one.
Allie still saw no way to escape. The doors were locked and she had a seat belt on. She slid her elbow back on the center console until her thumb rested on the seat belt latch. Talk. Keep him talking. “So what was his side of the story?”
“He asked her why he should help—he had no obligation and she had made her choice clear. She blurted out the truth and asked him how he would feel about his son winding up living on the streets.”
It had been that bad? Allie didn’t remember it that way.
“After the blood test,” Gregori said, “he gave her the money.”
“And then he told you everything.”
“Everything. He was furious with them. He paced and raged over our lost years together. And I finally saw what I had been missing. My father’s love.”
“You were loved, Gregori. I loved you. Misha loved you!”
“It wasn’t enough!” He snapped his lips shut and made another turn. Allie was desperately trying to note the twists and turns but was getting mixed up.
“It could have been. Our parents may have been wrong. They may have lied and fought and treated us like we were nothing upon occasion, but they didn’t deserve to die. Not like that. Not by your hand,” she whispered. “And Misha certainly didn’t.”
He said nothing, although a vein pulsed in his forehead. “What’s done is done. My father took me in, gave me everything. I would do anything for him.”
“Including kill.”
“Of course.”
She swallowed. “Does he know I’m alive?”
�
��No.”
Did she believe him?
He chuckled. “You think I’m lying?”
Was she that transparent? “Why wouldn’t you?”
“I would if I needed to, but no, he doesn’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have my own agenda right now.”
She stared and his lips quirked in a way she remembered from when they were teens. It sent a shaft of pain through her so strong she gasped. “Your own agenda?”
“To make as much money as I can.”
“You have to be extremely wealthy at this point.”
“One can never have too much money. Did Mother teach you nothing?”
Wow. “And Gerard?” she asked. “Why did Nevsky want him dead?”
“Because he was too close to Daria. Treated her like a daughter. That made his loyalty questionable.”
“She loved him like a father because she desperately wanted one.”
He shrugged.
Allie pressed her palms to her eyes. She was so confused, but something Daria had said rang through her mind. “You helped him kill someone she loved before too, didn’t you?”
He shot her a sharp glance. “What are you talking about?”
“She said her father was a murderer. I asked her who he’d killed and she refused to say, but I’m sure you know.”
“I do. It was one of her former bodyguards. He fell in love with her. Father killed him.”
Gregori was slowing for an old pickup in front of him. Allie leaned forward slightly, letting out a moan and reaching for her back to rub it. She didn’t have to feign the back pain—it was still real. With her left hand still near the seat belt latch, she slid her right hand down the door’s armrest closer to the lock. When he braked for the pickup to make a left-hand turn, she released the belt, unlocked and threw open the door, and dove out of the vehicle. Gregori’s shout echoed behind her as she hit the asphalt rolling. Pain arced through her, stealing her breath once more, but the vest helped protect her.
Tires squealed and Allie continued her rolling momentum until she hit the side of the road. Ignoring the dizziness and pain, she managed to get to her feet and stumble into the wooded area, lurching and scrambling to find cover.
Linc had scanned all of Daria’s belongings looking for a bug or anything that could tell him how she was being tracked—because this latest incident left no doubt that Radchenko had some way of following her.
Which left him no choice but to stash her in a hotel room and ask if the local police would be willing to have two officers guard her room. They’d agreed and he’d darted out to hop on the chopper that had landed approximately ten minutes after Daria let him know Allie had been taken.
Henry was still out of sight, so Linc had simply texted him the situation. All Henry had said was, “Use every resource available and find her.”
Linc settled the headphones over his ears and gave the pilot, Diego Sanchez, a thumbs-up. Annie was connected to the Bluetooth speaker that went directly into his and the pilot’s headset.
“Annie?”
“Here.”
“What have you got?”
“The footage from the convenience store shows a woman being forced into a black sedan. It’s a Mercedes-Maybach S650. That’s a two-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle, people.”
Linc let out a low whistle. “Which way?”
“North out of the parking lot. And since I have the plate number, I can attach it to the vehicle’s info . . .” Keyboard keys clacked in the background. She finally gave a grunt of satisfaction. “Here’s the good news. It’s very high-tech and super hackable.”
“How long until you’re in?”
“Um . . . one second . . . and . . . now. Okay, I’m sending you the coordinates where the Wi-Fi signal is coming from.”
Linc’s phone pinged and he called them out to Diego. The chopper banked and Linc prayed his latest meal would stay put—and that Allie would be alive when they arrived.
“I’m going to need a place to set her down, Annie,” the pilot said.
“Got that coming. Just a sec.” A pause. More keyboard clicks. “Okay,” she said, “the vehicle seems to be stopped at the moment. Here are the coordinates. There’s a landing area about half a mile away. It’s a soccer field and is currently clear to land on. I’ve got backup on the way as well, but you’re going to get there ahead of them and it will be several minutes before the backup arrives.”
“Several minutes that this woman might not have. I’ll take my chances on going in alone.”
“Who is she?”
“Someone very important to a case.”
“Must be.”
“Thanks, Annie.”
“You got it.”
“Got the coordinates programmed,” Diego said. “Heading there now.” He glanced back at Linc. “You okay?”
“Wish I’d had time to down a Dramamine, but yeah, for now.” He hated flying in helicopters. Didn’t much care for planes either, but at least on an airplane, he didn’t feel like his stomach was constantly trying to catch up with the rest of his body. He closed his eyes and decided that made it worse. Hang on, Allie, help’s coming.
20
Allie stayed still. Listening. Barely breathing. She had no phone, she had no weapon, she had no idea where she was, and her brother wanted her dead. Not exactly ideal circumstances. But she’d work with what she had. Which was two good feet and a brain.
Scrambling for a plan, she thought about the fancy GPS unit on the vehicle. Gregori was looking for her. She’d heard him cursing as he threw open the car door.
Could she somehow circle around and get back to the vehicle before he gave up searching for her in the wooded area? It was very possible he had a weapon somewhere in the car. In fact, she was almost willing to stake her life on that.
For now, she heard nothing. Was he far enough away that he wouldn’t hear if she moved? Or was he like her and staying put until she made some noise? Indecision warred within her.
Did she dare pray?
God, please . . .
She had no words. The prayer wouldn’t come.
Allie slipped from behind the tree and crept back the way she came. Her pulse pounded, but she made it back to the road without seeing any sign of Gregori. Vaguely, she noted the thumping of chopper blades somewhere above and wished it was coming for her. However, with no way to track her, she wasn’t going to hold out hope. The car sat where Gregori had left it with the driver’s door open. She approached with caution, the painful bruise on her back a reminder that getting shot hurt. Not that she needed the reminder. The scars in her back from the bullet and multiple surgeries were reminder enough.
Still . . . she had no wish to experience it again.
And this time, he’d probably be aiming for her head in spite of the mysterious “agenda” he’d mentioned.
While the driver’s door was open, she slid into the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment. Just like she figured, the weapon was there. Without hesitation, she removed the Ruger, checked it, and found it loaded. Of course, it would be.
A light footfall behind her sent her diving into the seat and slamming the door behind her. No bullets hit the vehicle and she raised her head with caution. Gregori walked toward her, his venomous expression chilling. She scooted into the driver’s seat and started to shut the door, then decided she didn’t want to be trapped and slipped out onto the asphalt.
A car’s engine caught her attention. “No, don’t come this way,” she whispered. It drew closer and stopped.
A young man in his early twenties stepped out. “Do you need—”
“Get out of here and call the cops!”
Her yell startled him back into the driver’s seat.
Gregori’s bullet punctured the side of his black Charger, and Allie couldn’t get a good shot at Gregori from her awkward position behind the car.
With a squeal of tires, the would-be Samaritan backed up and peeled away.
Allie stepped sideways, keeping the car between her and Gregori.
“Give it up, Alina, you can’t beat me at this.”
“You might be surprised.” She paused. “Why didn’t you kill me when you had the chance? You said you had your own agenda. What is it? Where were you taking me?”
“It doesn’t matter. Drop the gun and get in the car or the next person who approaches will die.”
She was going to have to chance that. “This ends here, Gregori.”
A chopper flew overhead, drawing her attention, along with Gregori’s. Elation filled her. They’d found her. Gregori turned to bolt behind the nearest tree.
And was tackled to the ground.
Linc!
Gregori’s weapon tumbled from his hand—but was still within reaching distance if he moved just right.
While the two men grappled for the upper hand, Allie shot from behind the protection of the vehicle and raced toward them. Gregori’s fingers grazed hers as she snatched the gun. She stumbled back, lost her footing, and landed hard on her backside. Pain shot through her. She ignored it and lurched to her feet, Gregori’s weapon in her left hand, hers in her right. “Gregori! Don’t move!”
Her shout distracted him for a split second. Just long enough for Linc to land a solid punch to the man’s gut. The air whooshed from his lungs and he went still.
Allie stepped up and held the gun on his head. “Don’t. Move.”
He stayed frozen in between his gasps for breath.
His eyes locked on hers while Linc rolled to his feet, breathing hard, weapon pointed at the man.
Allie stared. Gregori stared back.
She could pull the trigger and it would be done. She’d have justice for her family. Her baby sister. This is what she’d been living for so long.
Her finger twitched.
Just remember, justice and revenge are two very different things.
Linc’s voice echoed, but she never took her gaze from the man on the ground. He seemed to sense her inner conflict. “Are you going to do it?” he asked, his voice soft, almost mocking.
“I’ve wanted to. For a very long time. It’s why I became an FBI agent. So I would have every resource at my disposal to hunt you down and kill you like the animal you are.”
Vow of Justice Page 18