Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (11 page)

Floor-to-ceiling windows occupied the front of the room, framed by heavy silk drapes that pooled on the floor. The crush of people hid most of the back of the room. But she did see some closed French doors and a swinging door that waiters moved in and out of.

Dani’s heels clicked on the highly polished floor as they moved farther into the room.

“Do you see anyone?” Jake asked.

Agent Koven had shown them updated photos of Dmitri and Vladimir Rusakov and their known henchmen. Dmitri hadn’t changed much, just a bit more silver at his temples.

“No,” she said. “You?”

“Negative.” He held out his arm. “Let’s mingle.”

She took his arm and felt the muscles beneath his tux. She’d seen some of the weapons he’d planned on bringing tonight and wondered where he’d hidden them all. He was an incredibly dangerous man, and no one knew it but her.

Well, maybe not. Jake looked amazing in a tux, the jacket defining his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He moved with an athlete’s grace through the crowd. Confidence and danger emanated from him like an aura and it attracted attention. Mostly female attention.

Dani felt the eyes on them, even if Jake didn’t. They weren’t the gazes of an enemy, but still, they stalked him. The women who glanced their way took second and third glances. A few openly stared, sensual avarice highlighting their faces. Dani glared at one woman whose breasts looked as if they were about to pop out of her dress. The woman just shrugged at Dani and kept watching.

Jake stopped them by the far wall, which held a marble fireplace. No fire burned, but some designer had laid out perfectly cut logs. From this position they could watch both entrances and their backs were protected by the wall.

“This was a bad idea,” Dani muttered.

“What?” Jake asked. “You coming here? Do you want to abort?”

Dani suppressed her eye roll. “You won’t be able to move without half the people here tracking you.”

He stiffened slightly. “What do you mean?”

“Seriously?” She tilted her head back the way they’d come. “Look at the women, Jake.”

He did another slow scan of the crowd, and this time multiple women caught his eye and smiled their invitations. He cleared his throat and faced her.

“Are you blushing?” Dani asked. She covered her mouth to stop the laugh that threatened to escape.

Jake pulled his shoulders back. “No.” He shifted his stance and went back to surveying the crowd. His lips twisted. “You’re right. It’s going to be difficult to slip out of this room.”

“I can do it.”

“Not on your own,” Jake said without a trace of humor in his voice.

“It makes the most sense, Jake. I’m your partner. Trust me.”

“You’re my
untrained
partner,” Jake muttered.

She forced a smile. “You’re the one who wanted to come with me. So stop complaining.” She waited a moment. “And could you smile a bit? We’re attracting attention. It looks like we’re having a fight and some of those women are salivating.”

He smiled at her and nodded, playing his part, his gaze continuing to roam the crowd, scanning for threats. He placed his hand on the small of her back again, causing her to shiver.

“Cold?” he asked.

She shook her head and smoothed her dress down. She had to take care of it, since she’d borrowed it from Tass.

“So when did you learn Russian?” Jake asked.

“My father was Russian. I learned as a child.” She smiled and watched the crowd, but she could feel his scrutiny.

“Your last name isn’t Russian,” he observed.

“My last name is different than when I was a child.” She decided to change the topic. “How long have you been…doing what you’re doing?”

“Eight years,” he said. “How’d you meet Chuck?” he asked, apparently undeterred by her topic change.

“What is this? Get-to-know-Dani night?”

His lips twitched. A waiter passed them carrying a tray of food and he snagged two tiny shrimp skewers. He offered one to her. “We have to pass the time somehow.”

She took the shrimp. It smelled of garlic and something spicy. Her stomach rumbled. “We’re not here to enjoy ourselves.” She ate the shrimp in two bites. She’d been too nervous to eat much dinner.

Jake motioned to another waiter and took a napkin and loaded it with bits of steak, shrimp, and a fancy cracker dabbed with creamy cheese and chopped peppers. He avoided the caviar. He held out the napkin to her, his eyes serious. “Eat while you can.”

She wanted to glare at him, but her stomach rumbled again. She selected the bit of skewered steak and tried not to moan in appreciation at the flavor. Jake nodded his approval and her lips quirked.

She’d almost finished the selection when Jake stilled, eyes on the front of the room. The chiming of a bell drew everyone else’s attention to what he’d already noticed.

Dmitri Rusakov stood between two of the large windows at the front of the room, holding a champagne glass and smiling. The waiter with the bell withdrew to the edge of the room.

“My favored guests,” Dmitri said. “I appreciate you all coming to my humble gathering. We are here to celebrate my son’s return from Russia. It’s been a long five years, but he has achieved much in that time.”

He turned to the main entrance, swept out an arm, and Vladimir strode over to take his position beside his father. Dani stopped breathing, her body paralyzed as she saw the tall, magnetically handsome man who still featured prominently in her nightmares. She couldn’t hear Dmitri’s speech past the buzzing in her ears.

She became aware of Jake’s arm around her, holding her close, his mouth at her ear whispering her name. Warmth seeped back into her and she pulled away slightly to meet his eyes.

“You scared me,” he whispered, continuing to hold her tight. “You don’t have to do this, Dani.”

“I do if I want to find Tassia,” she said, pleased that her voice came out calm and even.

A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Fine,” he said. “Remember, I’ve got your back.”

She nodded, and actually believed him. It was a nice feeling to know she wasn’t alone. She didn’t move away from his arm and Jake didn’t take it away. After a moment, she could feel her heartbeat steadying. If it thumped a little harder than usual, that was understandable.

“I implore you all to partake of the food and drink,” Dmitri was saying. “This is an evening for fun.
Santé
.” He raised his glass.

The partygoers all raised their glasses and echoed the toast to their health. Everyone watched Dmitri and Vladimir. Jake scanned the area.

“I’m going to slip away now,” Dani whispered.

Jake looked at her sharply. “Alone?”

Dani nodded and discreetly touched her ear. “I’ll let you know if I need anything. I’m just a woman who’s had too much champagne and needs a quiet moment.”

Jake grabbed her arm before she could move. “Be careful. Keep us in the loop. If anything happens, anything at all, then use the safe word and I’ll come for you.”

Dani’s nerves evened out. She nodded and smiled widely for anyone watching. “I’ll be fine.”

With all eyes still on Dmitri and Vladimir at the front of the room, Dani made her way to the swinging door the waiters used, carrying her still-full champagne glass.

She stepped into a formal dining room with a door at the other end that, based on the smells and sounds, led to the kitchen. The room was stately, with a long, polished mahogany table and a dozen chairs around it. A Persian carpet done in reds and blues protected the floor, while oil paintings of landscapes adorned the walls.

Near the kitchen entrance was an open door leading to a hallway. She aimed for it. The plush carpet muffled her steps and she walked with a slight sway, champagne held high as if she were concentrating on not spilling it. Hopefully she could pull off a tipsy lady, even though her nerves were edged like swords.

The team back at E.D.G.E. had found the builder’s plans for Dmitri’s house, and she knew from them that there was an office on the first floor. But the plans had also shown a smaller room with ethernet connections near the master suite upstairs.

That was Dmitri’s personal office, and where she was headed now. She’d never make it up the grand stairs in the front of the house without discovery, which was why she was heading for the servant stairs in the back.

A petite blonde waitress, her ponytail swinging with each step, came out of the kitchen carrying a tray laden with food. “Excuse me, miss. Can I help you?”

“Where is the washroom?” Dani asked in Russian.

The woman’s eyes widened uncertainly.

Dani pointed to the hall she wanted. “Bathroom,” she said in a heavy accent and moved past the waitress, adding just a bit more sway to her step.

As she suspected, the woman didn’t say anything more and kept on with her job. No one wanted to interfere with a drunk Russian. Especially one who seemed to know where she was going and therefore must have been a guest at some point.

Dani moved into the hallway and ahead of her was a narrow staircase leading up. Her heart began to pound harder.

“At the stairs,” she said quietly, knowing the mic tucked into her bodice would pick up her words. Jake and the others would know where she was.

“Copy,” Jake’s voice said in her tiny earpiece.

Her heart slowed a bit at hearing his voice. She wasn’t in this alone. It was an unusual feeling for her.

One she shouldn’t get used to.

A quick glance showed an empty hall and she darted up the steps, her heels sinking into the carpet. She wished she could have worn her boots. Running and fighting would be severely hampered by the stilettos, but her Doc Martens just didn’t cut it with the slinky dress she’d borrowed from Tassia.

The stairs opened onto another hallway with plush gray carpeting, creamy walls, and closed doors. According to the plans, the second door on the left was the master bedroom overlooking the back gardens. The next door should be the office.

Her breathing was too fast as she put her ear to it and listened for a moment. Nothing. She slowly twisted the knob. It stopped. Locked.

“Zero. Outside location.” She’d remembered not to say any names.

“Copy, Bravo, over.” Rhys’s friendly drawl echoed in her ear. She found she missed Jake’s low, curt tones.

She set her champagne down on the floor and pulled two pins from the hair piled on her head.

She’d specially designed these lock picks as a teen. She inserted them into the keyhole and jiggled them until she felt the tumblers. Twisting the picks together, the knob turned and the lock sprang open.

She opened the door and peeked inside. Dark, except for the moonlight streaming through the windows, highlighting the large desk. Bookshelves covered one wall, opposite the closed door leading to the master suite. A small couch and coffee table completed the room’s layout.

Dani grabbed her champagne and closed the door behind her, slipping the picks back into her hair. She set her flute glass on the desk, sat in the chair, and pulled the keyboard toward her.

The monitor came to life, asking for a password. From her clutch, she pulled out a mini version of her hacking program. It was amazing the technology E.D.G.E. could get their hands on. She’d modified the program last night and hoped it and her code could crack the password in minutes.

She attached it to the USB port of the hard drive and tapped a few keys on her device. She set it on the desk and waited for it to do its magic.

“Zero, I’m waiting for the shell to crack.”

“Copy, Bravo, over.”

Again it was Rhys’s voice. Why wasn’t Jake answering like the first time? Was he okay? Should she ask?

The blue computer screen in front of her dissolved into a normal PC desktop. A picture of a Siberian tiger floated in the background, its piercing blue eyes cold and predatory.

She wiped her damp palms on her dress. “Sorry, Tass,” she muttered and started typing.

“Say again, Bravo, over.”

“Oh. Nothing to worry about, Zero. Just talking to myself.”

“Protocol, Bravo.” That was Koven. Her lips twisted.

“I’m working,” she said. “Don’t annoy me.”

A soft snort came over the line and she knew it was Jake. He was okay. She smiled as she started to scan the files on Dmitri’s computer. She stuck a flash drive in the system and started copying everything she thought might be relevant. Some of it was in English and some in Russian. He must have a Cyrillic keyboard somewhere.

“The shell is cracked and spilling the goods now. Should be done in a few minutes,” Dani said.

Koven sighed and Dani smirked. So what if she didn’t have great radio protocol? She could do this. She could be an operator or a spy or whatever they all were.

A door closed. Voices spoke in Russian. Her blood iced in her veins. The voices were coming from the bedroom next door. It had to be Dmitri.

“There’s someone next door,” she whispered. “I think it’s Dmitri.”

“Exfil to extraction location, Bravo,” Rhys said in a calm and too-even voice.

“On my way, Bravo,” Jake said.

She swept her hacking device into her clutch and hesitated over pulling the flash drive from the computer. She hadn’t gotten all the files. What if she missed something that would help find Tassia?

The voices next door rose in an argument. One was female. A slap sounded.

Dani’s blood fired at the thought of a woman being beaten, but she couldn’t help her. “Come on,” she whispered.

“Bravo, sitrep,” Rhys said.

The voices were quieter now, but the male’s was no less harsh.

“Eighty-five percent,” Dani whispered.

“Exfil means get out,” Jake’s voice said in her ear. “Now.”

“I know what it means,” Dani said.

“
Shit
. Wait out,” Jake said. A small grunt sounded through the earpiece.

“Get out, Bravo,” Rhys’s voice said, still calm.

A small window popped up on the computer screen.
File transfer complete
. She removed the flash drive, closed the open windows, and clicked off the monitor.

She couldn’t hear anything from next door. She hurried to the door, tucking the flash drive into her bra just in case she lost her purse.