Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (14 page)

“What happened next?”

“I asked him to help me get out of the life.” She remembered sitting in front of him, her hands gripped so tight her knuckles looked like white bone. But his eyes had reminded her of her father’s. So she’d gathered her courage and asked for help.

“So he did?”

“I gave him information on the Rusakovs and he helped me fake my death,” she said.

Jake’s thumb stopped for a moment before stroking again. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “Vladimir liked to fight and show how tough he was. Usually, I kept out of the way, but one day I stepped in front of his knife.”

His hand squeezed hers now. “You could have died.”

“It was worth the risk.” She finally raised her head. “I owe Chuck my life. I checked into the hospital under D. Everett, an alias I’d already created. Chuck and his partner were the ones who went to Vladimir’s door to tell him Danika Kashnikov was dead.”

“Danika. I like it.” Then he frowned. “That worked?”

Dani smiled. “Chuck can be very convincing. He also implied my death looked suspicious. Vladimir was happy to state that he didn’t know me, and then proceeded to take a very long vacation in Russia. After that it was just a matter of settling into my new identity.”

“Why didn’t you leave Montreal?”

“Money,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve been saving ever since, but it takes quite a bit to start over in a new city. And I didn’t think Vladimir would come back.” She shook her head. “Stupid of me.”

“You’re not stupid.” Jake still hadn’t let go of her hand. “Are you still planning on leaving?”

She stared at the floor. His fingers touched her chin and turned her face to his. “Dani?”

“This is my home,” she whispered. “I don’t want to leave.”

His eyes turned to granite. “Then we’re going to nail this bastard so you don’t have to.”

Something lightened inside her. She believed him, she realized. And when he leaned toward her, she met him halfway.

His soft lips pressed against hers, and her fatigue vanished, replaced by a tingling awareness of Jake’s nearness. All her senses focused on him and his strength. He smelled of soap and man. His calloused hand stroked her jawline before digging into her hair.

He pulled back and a small groan escaped her. When she dragged her eyes open, he smiled and brushed her hair back from her face with both hands. He cupped her head and gave her a short, hard kiss, before jumping up from the couch. “I should leave now,” he said, his voice gruff.

She didn’t want him to, but she found the words to ask him to stay stuck in her throat. She bit her lip and his eyes tracked the movement. “If you want,” she whispered.

“What I want,” he said in almost a growl, “is to take you to your bedroom, strip you naked, and then do all sorts of delicious things to your body.”

She sucked in a breath, her brain frozen, her body alive and wanting.

“But I can’t,” he said. He ran a hand through his hair. “We work together. And you’re vulnerable right now. It’s not right.” He swallowed and went to her door. “Lock up behind me.”

Dani rolled over in bed to stare at her clock. Five in the morning. The gray light of predawn illuminated her bedroom, so she could see her twisted sheets and the pillow she’d thrown across the room.

Damn Jake.

He’d left her emotions whirling and her body humming. Like a drug high, she knew this attraction she felt for Jake would blow through her like a hurricane, leaving her wrecked and exhausted. It was definitely something she should leave alone.

She pressed her lips together. She wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon; she might as well get up and see what else she could find out about the Rusakov properties. She pulled an oversized hoodie on over her tank and sleep shorts and padded out to the kitchen in her bare feet.

She’d only just started her coffeepot when a knock sounded on the door. Was it Jake? Her heart began to race. No matter that she’d just decided to stay away from him, she went to the door to check the peephole.

As she got to the door it burst open, hitting her arm and face, stunning her for an instant. Three men leapt into the room, shutting the door behind them. Two grabbed her arms, holding them tight behind her back. The Gromov brothers.

The third man smiled at her, his face craggy and pitted, while he pulled his Glock from a holster under his jacket.

Adrenaline shot like lightning from her center out to her limbs. Her hands clenched into fists, preparing to fight. The men behind her tightened their grips. She’d have bruises on her upper arms tomorrow.

“Peace, Danika.” The heavy Russian accent made a harsh k sound in her name. Dani-
ka
. She shivered at the sound of it and the memories it stirred. The man held his Glock in a light grip. His hair was dark, short and receding, giving an impression of an overly large forehead above his dark eyes. He had a small bump on his nose, a remnant from the time she’d broken it. He rubbed it now.

“Petroff,” Dani said with a nod. “What are you doing here?”

“Did you really think Vladimir wouldn’t recognize you? He saw you in the crowd.” He shook his head. “We’ve known for a while that you were alive. But for old time’s sake, Dmitri let you live, as long as you stayed away from Vlad. But you’ve gone too far, Danika.” Petroff nodded at one of the man behind her. “You really should have stayed dead.”

The sharp prick of a needle entered her neck. She struggled and they laughed before releasing her.

Panic burned her. Her vision blurred and she staggered to the kitchen, pulling a knife from the block on the counter. Panting, she faced Petroff, who’d followed her. Her knees buckled and darkness seared the edges of her sight.

“Wha…did you do?” She grabbed the counter as she slid down, but her fingers weren’t working. She couldn’t feel them. The knife clattered to the floor. Her body no longer responded, no matter what she wanted it to do. She fell sideways and knew no more.

Jake parked his rental and got out. He stood in front of Dani’s place. It was only just past noon. He knew she hadn’t had much sleep, but he’d been surprised when she hadn’t shown up this morning. She’d seemed eager to look into the warehouse with him. He’d held off going to see if she’d come in late, but he didn’t want to wait any longer.

She hadn’t picked up her phone earlier, so he’d decided drastic measures were needed. He grabbed the lattes from inside his car and went to wake her up.

A nice neighbor let him trail her through the lobby door. He took the elevator to the right floor and refused to think about why he was so eager to see Dani. He wondered if she was feisty in the morning, or if sleep made her more pliable.

He grinned as he rapped sharply on her door. No answer. He knocked again. When there was still no answer, he pulled out his cell and punched in her number.

He could hear it ringing inside the apartment. Strange. He hadn’t pegged her for such a heavy sleeper. He twisted the handle automatically and stiffened when it turned easily in his hand.

Her door was unlocked.

He set the coffees down and eased the door open, listening. He waited a full minute before entering and when he did, he went in low and fast, his Sig in hand.

It took only seconds for him to clear the apartment. She wasn’t there, but the black clutch she’d used yesterday sat open on the hall table with her phone and wallet in it. The bloodstained heels lay on the floor below. Something about seeing those heels made his gut clench.

He walked the apartment again, noting the neatness in the living room, the sparseness of Dani’s bedroom—almost as if she was afraid of having possessions. He stopped in the kitchen.

A butcher knife lay on the floor.

It felt like metal bands constricted his chest as his heart rate accelerated. He forced himself to breath deeply and hold it for two counts before exhaling.

He pulled out his cell and punched some numbers. “Blackwell? We’ve got a problem.”

“How much did you give her?” The deep voice growled near Dani. It made her want to curl in on herself, easing back into the dark.

Pain lanced her cheek, shocking her into stillness. Something small inside her began gibbering in panic, telling her to scream, to run. That
he
had her.

No. She dove back into the darkness, refusing to open her eyes. It was much nicer here. No pain. No hurt.

“Wake up!” Something struck her head, whipping it backward. She kept her body loose and her breathing heavy as awareness trickled in.

She’d been drugged. Her limbs felt weighted down and numb, and a great darkness waited for her. But she didn’t let herself fall just yet.

Something warm and rough touched her cheek. A hand. It cradled her head. “Come on, Danika.” The voice was still deep, but gentle, concerned. “Wake for me, darling. I need to ask you a question.”

She almost opened her eyes to see him.

“Danika, you little bitch,” the voice crooned. “Open your eyes, or I’m going to pluck them out.”

Fear froze her insides. Vladimir.
 

Breathe, she thought. Breathe heavy. The darkness receded further, pushed away by the adrenaline spiking through her.

She couldn’t hear anything besides a low conversation in Russian, too far away for her to make out. She didn’t dare open her eyes. Her skin prickled with cold. Her hoodie was open and she lay on a bare concrete floor.

“Petroff,” the voice growled above her. “When will she wake? We need to know who sent her to the party.”

Her heart skipped as his hand wrapped around her neck.

“Why don’t I just kill her?” Petroff grumbled.

“We need to find out what she knows,” Vladimir repeated. His hand tightened on her neck and she forced herself to stillness.

“Her heart rate is picking up,” he said.

Dani steeled herself for what was coming. She’d seen Vladimir do this too many times before.

He grabbed her breast through her tank top, pinching and twisting it hard. Her stomach clenched in response, but she did nothing else. Fear enabled her to stay separate from the pain. Her life depended on it.

“Hmmm,” he said. He let go of her breast. “Well, it shouldn’t be long now. Throw her in a cage. I’ll deal with her when she’s coherent.”

Dani felt herself being lifted and then dropped onto the floor again. A clang of metal and then the click of a lock.
 

The darkness inside her rushed up and she met it willingly.

Jake paced the control room at E.D.G.E. “Where would they take her?”

“Are you sure they’ve got her?” Koven asked from a desk nearby. He had his laptop open, but was watching Jake instead.

“She wouldn’t just disappear,” Jake growled.

Koven shrugged. “Not true, according to her file. She might have decided it was too hot to stay. She’s good at disappearing.”

The thought had crossed Jake’s mind, but he trusted his instincts. He shook his head. “No, they’ve taken her. The question is, when and where.”

“If they’ve got her, then she’s at Rusakov’s mansion. That’s where they typically carry out most of their business. Besides, if Dmitri wanted to see her, you can bet that he wouldn’t go to
her
.”

Jake paced again. They’d had two operators staking out the mansion since the party the night before. “What about that warehouse Dani found in the files?”

“It’s down on Quai-Bickerdick. Way too public for this kind of business.” Koven held up a hand when Jake went to protest. “I’ve sent one of my agents there to check it out. He’s got eyes on and there’s no movement. As soon as he sees something, he’ll report in.”

“She could have been missing for hours. We need men looking for her.”

Koven compressed his lips. “I agree, but we can’t just charge into a family home. We wait for the warrant.”

Jake growled and Koven raised his hand. “I get how you feel. Don’t worry, the judge I called owes me a favor.”

His cell rang. “Yes?” Koven listened for a few moments and then shut it off. He closed his laptop and stood. “The warrant’s in. We can send an assault team to the mansion.” He moved toward the weapons room. “You coming?”

Jake’s gut clenched. It didn’t feel right. His instincts had saved his life more than once on missions. And right now, they were screaming at him to go to the warehouse.

He shook his head. There were enough operators going to the mansion that he didn’t need to be there.

Rhys strode down the hallway toward them. “I just heard they took hacker girl. Let’s rock and roll, College.”

“Wait out. Let the others take this.”

“You sure?” Koven asked, scrutinizing him.

Jake nodded, ignoring Rhys’s quizzical look. “Rhys and I will go back up your operator at the warehouse.”

Koven paused for a moment. “You’ll need a team, then. Let me send Cat and Zach with you.”

“Can they handle themselves?”

Koven shrugged. “They’re E.D.G.E. operators, just back from a mission.” He said it as if that was guarantee enough. “Let me know if you have any luck with the warehouse.”

Jake hoped for Dani’s sake that he wouldn’t need luck.

Someone had glued her eyelids together. She turned her head and groaned as lightning shot through it. She rubbed at her eyes and forced them open, feeling as if she’d been in a sandstorm and just didn’t remember.

How long had she been out? She shivered as she tried to remember what had happened. She lay in her skimpy pajamas and hoodie on a cold cement floor. Rolling to her side, she swallowed hard as nausea welled in her. Thick metal bars stood next to her face. She squinted as she scanned her surroundings.

The room was concrete, gray, gray, and more gray, broken only by the metal cages lining the walls, one of which held her. A padlock secured the door.

Her heart started to pound and her head decided to play in time with it. Her breast throbbed where Vladimir had twisted it, but the nausea receded and her head cleared, leaving her cold and more than a little scared.

“Come on, Dani,” she whispered to herself. “Don’t give up now.”

Distant sounds of traffic and even a boat’s horn drifted to her. From what she could see, the room beyond was large and bare, with flecks of something dark smearing the floor and wall inside another cage across from her. A square patch of sunshine glowed on the floor in front of her.