A Silverhill Christmas (11 page)

“I'm sorry, officer. My guests enjoyed the party and then left. The caterer did not report anyone missing.”

After a few more questions, which Alexi stonewalled, the officer snapped his notebook shut and pocketed it. “I suggest you find another caterer to use, Mr. Zherkov, one that more carefully screens its employees. The victim, Hugo Holloway, was a small-time drug dealer and big-time user.”

Tori bit the inside of her cheek. Could Hugo's murder have been unrelated to Rio's infiltration of the catering staff? Tori checked her watch. Six more hours to go be fore the nine o'clock meeting. With Alexi packing up Max to send him home next week, Rio had to pull this off tonight.

As the officers left the library, Tori followed in their wake.

Alexi laid a hand on her shoulder. “We're not done here, Victoria. In fact, I have a second proposition for you.”

Slipping from his hold, she aimed a shaky smile over her shoulder. “It's time for Max to wake up from his nap. I'll come back later.”

Alexi's lips tightened, but he nodded and stepped back, gesturing to Melvin to follow him back to his desk.

Tori sighed as she snapped the library door shut. She took the stairs two at a time, putting as much distance
between herself and Alexi as quickly as possible. Another kiss from her ex-husband and she'd hurl her delicious lunch.

Only one man could claim her kisses.

 

A
T
8:23
THAT EVENING
, Rio narrowed his eyes as he slumped in the seat of the rental car and pulled the cap low over his forehead. Two men exited the Escalade and slipped through the gate to Grant's house. Game time.

Rio clicked open his car door and hunched forward. Grasping the tracking device in his hand, he hurried across the street to the rear of the car. He ducked beneath the chassis and smacked the device against the inside of the tire well. He crawled on his belly back to his own car and slid inside.

Grant Swain.
He hadn't been too hard to track—ambitious drug dealer on the move to the big leagues. The CIA already had him on its radar, and Rio's information had just turned him into a big blip on that radar. Tori's in formation.

Rio had faced one of the hardest decisions of his life last night, leaving Tori in that nest of vipers. But it wasn't his decision to make. Now that she had Max back in her arms, she'd never leave her son. Rio had seen it in her eyes, a fierce light of protective motherhood.

Something he'd never seen in his own mother's eyes.

And what if Alexi escaped with Max? Would Tori follow him back to Glazkova? Risk her own life to be with her son? Rio clenched his teeth as hard as he clenched the steering wheel of the car. He knew the answer to that. But he'd never allow it.

He rubbed his jaw and took a sip of lukewarm Kona coffee. He'd been following Swain all day, and the man
obviously anticipated a big score. He'd been on a shopping spree with not one, but two of the lovely ladies from the hot tub last night.

Even if the CIA didn't plan to put a crimp in Swain's career trajectory tonight, the guy wouldn't have lasted long in this business. A successful drug dealer, one in it for the long haul, had to have cold, calculated viciousness on his side. Kind of like Mad Prince Alexi.

Minutes later, the two men, with Swain in the lead, strode from the house and jumped into the Escalade. Rio released a long breath. He had figured Swain wouldn't take his own car. He tilted the collar of his shirt toward his chin. “Target tagged and on the move, heading north.”

“Roger that,” Jake Burns, the CIA's leader on this task force, responded.

Rio waited until the Escalade turned the corner before starting his engine and pulling forward. Two agents up ahead would pick up Swain's trail, and if they happened to lose him or if they couldn't follow him to a deserted location for fear of being spotted, they'd catch up with him later. Rio patted the GPS device on the passenger seat, now following the Escalade's every twist and turn.

After twenty minutes on Maui's main highway, Swain pulled off on the road toward Hana. They couldn't chance following him past the last town on the rough, inhospitable road.

Rio's earpiece crackled and Burns's voice sounded loud and clear. “We're pulling off in Paia. Is that GPS working?”

Rio glanced at the screen. “Yep. The little red dot is moving through Paia as we speak. Is the helicopter ready?”

“Just as soon as you tell us when and where that fish lands.”

Rio pulled into town and swung off the main drag, parking in front of a T-shirt store. The dot representing the Escalade bleeped and blinked along a path heading away from the ocean. Then it stopped. Rio noted the location and coordinates and relayed them to the team of anxious CIA agents waiting in the wings. He knew his words had just sent them scrambling into action.

He grabbed the GPS and his gun, abandoning his little rental car. He zigzagged through some back streets until he spotted Burns's Jeep and vaulted into the cramped back seat.

Burns gunned the engine. “Let's do this.”

They were going in with eight agents in three cars, with Rio along for the ride and four more agents in the helicopter. Rio didn't know how many men Alexi would send, but if Swain had just two others beside himself, they'd disrupt this little party easily enough.

They'd link Alexi's men to him, and that should be good enough for an arrest. Maybe Tori would have enough time to take Max away. Rio would do his best to make it happen that way.

They pulled the Jeeps off the road and began the hike to the drop location on foot. They'd call in the chopper once they secured the location and disarmed the men.

The Escalade and one other car had pulled up to a small house. Rio rolled his shoulders. Alexi couldn't have sent too many men in one car. This should go smoothly, thanks to Tori.

Rio crept up to the house, gun drawn. Blinds covered the windows, but a steady light glowed inside. Rio, Burns and another agent, Ted Phillips, took the front, while two agents had the backdoor and the other two took up
positions on either side of the house to watch the windows. The remaining two agents waited by the road.

Burns contacted the chopper and then held his hand out toward Rio while he leaned in close to the door. A hum of voices carried through the front door. Rio's muscles coiled, ready to spring on Burns's command.

Suddenly, the voices inside rose to shouts. Burns and Rio exchanged a glance. The same thought must've crossed Burns's mind as Rio's—take advantage of the situation inside. Burns gave the order to move.

Rio and Burns kicked in the front door, while the two agents in the back crashed through the rear. Chaos erupted. A few of the men in the room scrambled for the windows, but an announcement from the chopper stopped them cold.

Burns shouted, “Place your weapons on the floor and put your hands against the walls. All of you.”

The agents streamed into the room, collecting weapons and handcuffing men before pushing them to the floor. Swain stood in the middle of the room, arms held high. “We didn't do anything. We don't have anything.”

“Shut up.” Burns grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved him against the wall.

Rio grabbed the edge of a duffel bag on the floor and peeled it back. Rows of neatly stacked cash lined the bag. His gaze shifted to the bags in the other corner of the room. Alexi's drugs—probably heroin culled from the poppy fields of Afghanistan where he still had connections.

One of the agents snorted. “Hey, Mad Prince Alexi has a chick working for him.”

Rio glanced in the direction of the agent's voice. The agent had his hand between the suspect's legs, and then he reached up and pulled off the black knit cap.

The room reeled beneath Rio's feet as the suspect's hair tumbled around her shoulders.

The agent growled, “On the floor, sister, with the rest of your comrades.”

The woman turned and her back slid down the wall until she landed in a puddle on the floor. She brushed her red hair out of her face and raised her green eyes to Rio's. Choking, she reached out a hand to him.

“Hey, don't try anything, sister.” The agent smacked the side of her head with the butt of his gun.

And Tori slumped into a heap.

Rage burned through Rio's veins, and he lurched toward the agent looming over Tori. He bunched his fists, ready to take the man's head off, until Tori shot him a warning glance before squeezing her eyes closed in obvious pain.

He flexed his fingers and put a hand out toward the pumped up agent. “Hold on. I don't know about you, but I'm old school and we don't treat women harshly even if they are the scum of the earth.”

The man flushed as he lifted a shoulder. “I thought she might be going for a weapon.”

Rio crouched in front of Tori, dressed all in black, and asked gruffly, “You okay?”

She righted herself awkwardly with her hands cuffed behind her and smirked. “I'll be okay as soon as you give me that guy's name so I can report him for brutality.”

The agent huffed behind Rio. “See? You're wasting your time. This one's no lady.”

“Maybe not.” Rio pushed up, wondering how in the hell Tori had gotten involved in this mess. “But we'd better have a female agent or officer at the police station when we book her to do a full body search, or we will be in trouble.”

A commotion across the room drew Rio's attention.
A couple of agents pawed through the bags in the corner while Burns hovered over them and Swain screamed obscenities at Alexi's men and Tori, lined up against the wall.

Burns shoved Swain out of the way and stomped across the room toward Rio. “We have a problem, McClintock.”

Burns had no idea. Rio raised his brows. “What?”

Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, Burns said, “There aren't any drugs here.”

Tori's presence here tonight had nearly floored him. This news was about to finish him off. He charged past Burns. “What are you talking about?”

Burns kicked one of the bags and several colorful
matryoshka
dolls tumbled onto the floor. Rio scooped up one of the dolls and pulled off the top. “These are nesting dolls. Did you check them all?”

Burns pointed to a pile of rounded pieces rocking on the floor. “That's what we've been doing. Apparently, it's a big surprise to Swain, too, although he won't admit it.”

The murdered waiter last night. Tori's presence at the drop. Dolls instead of drugs. Alexi knew the CIA had him within range. Rio pounded his fist into his hand. They wouldn't nail him this time. What did that mean for Tori? For Max?

Who was he kidding? He knew exactly what it meant. His gaze wandered toward Tori, shoved into line with the others heading out of the house, hands shackled. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes wide and glassy.

She knew exactly what it meant, too.

 

T
ORI DUCKED INTO THE
van and inched her way along the bench in the back to make room for the others crowding
inside. The side of her head throbbed where that idiot had smacked her with his gun.

Rio's fierce expression had both frightened her and given her hope. She'd had to stop him in his tracks before he blew everything, but the fact that he'd wanted to come to her rescue meant that he knew Alexi had coerced her participation in the so-called drug deal.

And that created a warm glow around her heart, despite the blow to her head.

When Alexi had come to her room after dinner, she'd been afraid he wanted to renew his passionate kisses. He'd had something worse in mind.

To prove her loyalty and willingness to work with him to return to Glazkova with Max, he'd invited her to go with his men on a business trip. He'd made it clear that if she refused, she wouldn't be winning the all-expenses-paid trip back to Glazkova.

Now what? Alexi had fooled them all. Discovering the possibility that a mole had infiltrated the catering staff, he had swapped the drugs he was going to sell to Grant for those little nesting dolls. What could the CIA prove from that? Only that Grant was stupid enough to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for some babushka dolls.

Now Alexi had free rein to leave Maui…and take Max with him. And he expected her to go along.

One of the agents stuck his head into the back of the van, now rank with sweat and fear—mostly hers. “Just because your drug deal didn't work out how you planned it, boys, doesn't mean we can't keep you in jail for the night to trace that money…and those guns.”

He slammed the door shut, and Alexi's men mumbled among themselves in Russian. Tori could understand enough Russian to realize the men hadn't known about
Alexi's switch. They were all breathing sighs of relief now, though.

The van jostled over the rough road before hitting smooth pavement. In less than an hour, the vehicle jerked to a stop, and the doors creaked open. The agents hustled them out of the van, yelling orders. Frantically searching for Rio, Tori scanned the law enforcement personnel waiting to greet them.

The agent in charge shoved Tori toward a female officer. “She's all yours. Bring her to room two and then leave her there for one of our guys to question.”

The woman pressed her hand against Tori's lower back, guiding her forward. “I'm Officer Garrett.”

Tori kept her head down, her hair shielding her face. She'd been a fool to trust Alexi, but what options had he left her?

Officer Garrett pulled a key ring from her belt loop and unlocked a metal door and then unshackled Tori. “In here.”

Stepping into the stark, chilly room, Tori clutched her upper arms. A solid table dominated the center of the room, three uncomfortable straight-back chairs crowding its edges. The airless space had no windows, but a large mirror took up almost one wall. Who lurked on the other side of that mirror?

“Have a seat. Someone will be right with you.”

What, no strip search? “Thanks.” Tori rubbed her arms and plopped onto a wooden chair.

A sharp rap sounded on the door and Officer Garrett opened it a crack before swinging it wide. She whispered a few words and then slipped out.

When Rio clicked the door behind him, Tori almost rushed into his arms. Instead she glanced at the two-way mirror and murmured, “Is it safe?”

“Safe enough.” Rio pulled out the chair across from her, his back to the mirror, and placed a cup of tea in front of her. “The other agents know who you are now, and we didn't tell the local cops any more than they need to know.”

Tori buried her face in her hands. “I'm so sorry, Rio.”

“What for?” He shoved the tea toward her. “I'm guessing Alexi strong-armed you into going out with his guys.”

She nodded, curling her fingers around the cup. “Max. It's always Max. He uses our son to control me. I'm sick of it.”

“He found out we had him made.” Rio ran a hand through his long hair. “Do you think he knows you had a hand in it?”

“I don't think so. He wants me to go back to Glazkova with him…and Max. To prove my loyalty to him and my commitment, he ordered me to go on this drop. Since he sent the dolls instead of the drugs, he knew I wouldn't get into any real trouble over this.”

“True enough.” Rio rubbed the stubble across his jaw, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, Tori, but he's going to use this opportunity to spirit Max back to Glazkova.”

Fear leaped like a flame in her chest. “What opportunity?”

“Your incarceration.”

“My incarceration?” She flattened her sweaty palms on the surface of the table, trying to steady her hands.

“We're holding these guys for a few days. The circumstances of the meeting permit it—the weapons, the cash. If we hold them, we have to hold you, or at least
pretend to hold you. You can't return to Alexi's estate or he'd suspect your involvement.”

The meaning of Rio's words hit her like a sledgehammer, and she dropped her head to the table. She'd feared this scenario, had warned Rio about it. If the CIA couldn't bring down Alexi fast and hard, he'd disappear and take Max with him.

Her head shot up, and she narrowed her eyes. “It's like I told you before, Rio. We have to rescue Max.”

“How?” He tapped his long fingers on the table, close enough to her hand that she felt a whisper of his touch.

All too aware of the two-way mirror, she ignored the feelings that touch ignited. “I know the layout of the place, and I know Max's routine.” She drew her hands into fists and straightened her spine. “I know when Ivan goes to bed, and I know who's there with him.”

“Are you suggesting a kidnapping?”

She twisted her hair around her hand and threw it over her left shoulder. “I always knew it would come to this. Didn't you…cowboy?”

Tori held her breath waiting for his protests. She need ed him, but she'd attempt the rescue with or without Rio McClintock.

He nodded slowly. “I suppose so. Protective custody will be the safest place for you while I carry out the rescue.”

“Oh, no, you don't.” She smacked her hands on the table. “You're not rescuing my son without me. There's no time. As soon as we have him, we need to leave. I'm not going to risk the CIA getting involved and using Max as a pawn to lure Alexi into some kind of trap.”

By the way Rio's spiky, dark lashes fell over his eyes, Tori knew she'd hit the target. She scooted her chair
closer to the table, allowing her knees to bump his. She hooked her foot around his ankle. “Please, Rio. I need to be in on the abduction. I won't slow you down. I know how to handle a weapon. I'm in good physical condition. And I'm motivated.”

She could feel the pressure of Rio's knees against hers as he studied her from beneath lowered eyelids. “Can you row?”

Her leg jerked. “What?”

“A boat. Can you row a boat?”

“Hell, yes. I grew up in the great outdoors.”

She had?
He'd always figured her for a princess through and through. “We take a Zodiac in to keep it qui et. Stay close to the shoreline. I can get one of my bud dies from the Agency to meet us around the bend with a power boat and another to pick us up via helicopter farther out once we have Max.”

She blinked several times and licked her lips. “How do we get into the house?”

“We'll figure it all out once we get you out of here, but we have to move fast. Alexi will probably hightail it off Maui before the police release his guys and you from jail.”

She shoved back from the table and hunched forward. “What are we waiting for?”

“We need to sneak you out of here so none of Alexi's men see you. With a few of his guys in the slammer, Max's rescue should be easier.” The comforting words rolled off Rio's tongue. Nothing about this operation would be easy. Tori's tight mouth and narrowed green eyes showed she didn't buy a word of it.

Crossing her arms, she asked, “Where are you going to stash me until game time?”

Rio raised his brows. “You're coming home with me.”

 

T
ORI GRIPPED HER UPPER
arms as a creeping warmth spread to her cheeks. Why had this sudden modesty flashed through her body? She'd been waiting to hear those words from Rio's lips ever since he dragged her down that hill and she got a look at his deep brown eyes. Dropping her arms, she tilted up her chin. “Not the hotel. I'd be a little conspicuous there.”

“No. My former digs before I upgraded. I gotta warn you though, where we're going you can't order a massage on demand…you might have to wait five minutes while I find my hot oil.”

Tori grinned for the first time in hours. “What are we waiting for?”

Working with the local cops, Rio spirited Tori out of the station and into his rental car. Tori slumped in the passenger seat with a hat pulled low over her eyes while Rio checked his mirrors and wound his way through de tours to make sure no headlights suddenly appeared be hind them.

Tori slid a sideways glance his way. “That drug-bust-that-never-was made life a lot harder for you, didn't it?”

He shrugged as he adjusted his own hat. “Blew my cover, but then I don't intend on hanging around too much longer.”

Rio swung his rental car off the main highway onto a smaller road where the headlights from the car illuminated lush vegetation. He turned onto a dirt road that climbed a sloping incline before parking the car in front of a small house set down beneath an old, twisted banyan tree.

Tori hoisted herself up and leaned forward. “This is beautiful. Why would you ever want to leave this place for that soulless resort in Kaanapali?”

“To look after you.” Rio pushed the car door open and swung his keys around his finger. “Come on. We have a lot of planning to do.”

Hours after midnight, as the moon touched the crest of the hillside with gold, Tori sat curled up in the corner of the sofa, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. She'd just listened to Rio on the phone with his two CIA contacts discussing powerboats, Zodiacs and helicopters. They made it sound so easy, but she knew better.

The furrow between Rio's brows told her the truth.

“He'll kill you.” She gazed into the brandy-colored tea, unable to meet Rio's eyes.

“He has to catch me first.” Rio kicked his legs onto the coffee table, folding his arms behind his head, and yawned. “I've been doing this kind of work for a while, Tori. Trust me.”

“I do trust you, Rio.”

“Do you have enough faith in me to take my advice and stay out of this? You can go with Derrick on the helicopter. I'll bring Max to you.”

“Max will never go with you.” She clinked her cup on the table. “I have to be there or he'll put up a fuss. Who knows? He may even put up a fuss with me. I haven't had enough time with him to gain his trust.”

“You're his mother. That's a bond that can withstand the toughest test.”

“You sound like you speak from experience. Did your relationship with your mother withstand a lot?” Tori hadn't heard much about Rio's mother from the McClintocks—just that she'd left Silverhill when she found out about her pregnancy.