Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (15 page)

She gripped the steel bars and dragged herself to standing. A woman lay in one of the far cages near the window, her blonde hair covering her face, her dress torn and grimy.

Adrenaline flooded her system.

“Tass?” she called. “Tassia, is that you?”

The figure didn’t move. Dani shook the door of her cage. Had they drugged her? She couldn’t even see if the woman was breathing. She had to get out of here.

She slid her hands through the bars to look at the lock on the door. Standard padlock. Her breathing evened out. This, she could deal with. She’d been too tired last night to take her hair out of the chignon it had been in. It was still piled on top of her head, albeit much messier now. She pushed her fingers through it, searching. She pulled out her special lock-pick hairpins.
 

Within seconds she had the padlock undone.

Let’s hear it for bedhead,
she thought as she shoved the pins back into her hair.

She ran to the cage where the woman lay. “Tassia?”

No response. Dani reached through the bars and grabbed the woman’s shoulder. She rolled limply onto her back, her sightless eyes staring at the ceiling.

Dani snatched her hand back. It wasn’t Tassia, but the woman—or rather, girl, from the looks of her—had bruises mottling her face and neck.

Dani swallowed. Not Tassia, but someone who’d gotten on the Rusakovs’ bad side. She clenched her fists. She needed to find Tass soon.

The window in the back of the room was narrow and high. She had to jump to look out. She could make out the top of another brick building nearby, but that was it.

In the last cage, opposite the dead girl, was a pair of strappy black-and-silver heels with vibrant red soles. She stilled, knowing where she’d last seen those shoes.

She reached through the bars for them, her hand trembling slightly. Size 9. Tassia’s.

These were her favorite heels. She wore them on special occasions and first dates. Apparently, the red sole meant they were something special. Dani hugged the shoes to her chest.

Tass had been here. She sucked in a breath. Maybe she was still here. She turned to the door.

Time to find Tass and get the hell out.

Dani breathed a sigh of relief when she found the door unlocked. It opened onto a narrow hallway that ran in both directions. She couldn’t hear traffic anymore; instead, the muffled sounds of machinery or engines of some sort echoed through the building. She turned right and passed two other closed doors, both locked.

The hall ended in a T-junction. On one side was an emergency exit. She leapt toward it. The small viewing window showed a rusty fire escape, and more warehouses beyond this one. She was about three stories up. A large sign on the door said an alarm would sound if opened.

Dani hesitated. This was her chance to escape. She could lose any pursuers without problems. The other end of the hall had a similar door with a large glass window, but this one looked out over the interior of the warehouse.

If she left now, she’d lose her chance to look for Tass. Her friend was counting on her. She stepped away from the exit, deciding to check the other rooms quickly and then leave.

She ran to the other door and peeked out the window. It led to a metal walkway that encircled the upper level of the warehouse proper and overlooked the floor, as well as a set of stairs leading down. Shipping crates lined one wall, floor to ceiling.

A large truck was parked near the warehouse’s garage-style doors at the far end. Men with automatic rifles herded a group of about twenty women into the back of the truck. The women huddled together, keeping as far from the guns as they could.
 

They were going to deliver the next shipment.

She needed to call Jake and the others. They had to stop this. She took a few more seconds, straining her eyes, but she couldn’t see Tass among the women. That didn’t mean she still wasn’t here somewhere, locked in one of the rooms.

Dani needed help. But first she needed a phone. The first room near her was unlocked. Filing cabinets, their drawers half open and empty, stood side-by-side with a scratched-up desk, its drawers also open. On the desk beside a metal lamp were a phone and some scattered papers.

A large window overlooked the warehouse below. She kept out of sight as she snatched up the telephone. She debated for half a second before dialing E.D.G.E.’s main number. It was the only number from the office that she knew by heart. She promised herself that in the future she’d memorize all her important numbers instead of relying on her cell.

“Hello, E.D.G.E. Securities. We go to the Edge so you don’t have to. How may I help you?”

Merde
. What was Ashley doing answering the phone? She must be covering for the main receptionist. Her smooth voice sounded professional and courteous. Dani knew that would change soon enough.

“Ashley, I need to speak with Mr. Blackwell.” She stared out the window. The women had been loaded and Vladimir’s men shut the truck’s door. The door to the warehouse rose while two of the men got into the front of the truck.
 

“Danielle?” Ashley said. “Is that you? Why do you want to speak to Blackwell?”

 
“Ashley, I don’t have much time. Please, put me through.”

There was a chilly pause. “I’m afraid I can’t just put anyone through to Mr. Blackwell. Why don’t you give me a message and I’ll pass it up.”

Dani set her jaw. “Fine. I’m trapped in a warehouse with the Russian mob. I need backup.”

Another pause. Then a delicate snort sounded in her ear. “Goodbye, Danielle.”

The dial tone sounded. “Shit.” She paused only a moment and then dialed another number, praying she remembered it correctly.

“Harrison.”

His gruff voice made her shoulders loosen slightly. “Jake? I need help.”

“Dani, where are you?”

A coaster lying among the papers on the desk caught her eye. “Some warehouse,” she said. “I heard a boat horn earlier. I’m guessing it’s the same warehouse I found in the files last night.”

Jake cursed and said something to someone else. She picked up the coaster and shoved it into her hoodie pocket to look at later, before rifling through the papers. Nothing important.

Jake came back online. “Rhys and I are almost there. There’s an operator outside. Can you get out?”

She thought of the emergency door, but dismissed it. She needed to find Tass. “Don’t worry about me. There’s a bunch of women on a truck that’s just leaving. I can’t see the license plate.” She looked out the window again. Her heart stopped and she swore under her breath.

“Dani?” Jake’s voice was even. “What’s going on?”

Vladimir and Petroff were coming up the stairs. Vladimir held a phone to his ear, while Petroff carried a jerrycan.

“I’ve got to go,” she said.

“Wait. Where are you?”

She couldn’t wait any longer. “Office. Top floor.” She hung up the phone and dove under the desk. The door to the office opened seconds later and she held her breath as footsteps drew closer to the desk.

Vladimir spoke in Russian. “Are you sure? We don’t even know what the bitch was doing there.”

The desk creaked when he leaned against it. “Yes, Father. But if you give me time, I can get everything out of her. You know we have history together.”

Dani’s heart pounded in her chest. He was talking about her. She knew what Vladimir was capable of. She shivered and concentrated on breathing silently.

“Yes. We’ll torch it all. Nothing will connect back to us.” A small pause. “Don’t worry, Father. I’ll take care of her.” A click, then Vladimir swore. “Petroff, bring her to me.”

“You got it.” The door opened and shut.

Vladimir moved to the door and was quiet for a moment. She concentrated on not breathing hard. Liquid hit the floor, making splashing sounds. A lot of liquid. She swallowed a gasp as the acrid scent of gasoline overwhelmed her.

The office door opened again and a lighter scratched. Her chest seized at the whoosh of fire catching and swooping through the room.

Jake cursed again and put his cell away. “Koven’s agent isn’t picking up.”

Rhys steered their rental smoothly through traffic on the AutoRoute Bonaventure getting to the dock they needed. “I haven’t seen you this worked up in a while, College. You need to relax. We’ll get there.”

Jake’s muscles tightened and he wanted to punch something. He couldn’t relax. And that was the whole problem. He was too invested in this. Too invested in Dani. He needed calm to work, but he wasn’t sure he was going to find it in time.

“Just get us there, Lucky,” he said.

The car accelerated. “Roger that.”

Jake checked the side mirror and saw the other E.D.G.E. car carrying their backup: Cat, a blonde Amazon of a woman who’d led the team that had rescued them in Afghanistan, and Zach, a fierce dark-skinned man who was her second-in-command.

Zach had also been on their rescue mission, Jake remembered. They seemed competent enough, but he hadn’t worked or trained with them. He didn’t know how they’d respond in a firefight, and not knowing just added to his tension.

A few minutes later, Rhys screeched to a halt less than a block from the designated warehouse. Jake jumped out and found the dark sedan parked on the corner. Had to be the CSIS agent’s car. He jogged over to it, keeping watch on the building.

A small hole in the driver’s window warned him before he got too close. No wonder the agent hadn’t answered the calls. Jake looked through the glass and saw a brown-haired man slumped over onto the passenger’s seat. The exit wound from the bullet had literally blown the man’s brains all over the interior of the car.

Rhys joined him, studying the dead man. “Was he E.D.G.E.?”

“No. Koven needed more men to watch all the Rusakov properties, so he called CSIS.”

Both men strode back to their vehicle and out of direct sight of the warehouse. Cat and Zach waited for them, weapons out and discreetly by their sides.

“They know we’re watching,” Rhys said.

“Worse,” Jake said, looking back at the building. “They’re expecting us.” He pulled his Sig Sauer from his back holster. “Koven wanted us to call it in and wait for a team if there was anything to report.”

Rhys grinned. “Good thing he’s not our boss.”

Cat narrowed her eyes at Rhys before asking Jake, “How do you want to play this?”

“Hard and fast. Weapons free,” Jake said.

Cat arched a brow. “Weapons free? This isn’t Afghanistan. We can’t just shoot anyone we want.”

He jerked his head back toward the dead agent’s car. “It’s confirmed enemy territory. Weapons free, soldier.”

“Copy that,” Cat said. Zach nodded and both flicked their safeties off.

Jake watched both Cat and Zach for a moment, needing to know that they’d be with him totally. “This is a rescue op. Dani’s on the top floor, some kind of office.” His muscles tensed at the thought. “Now, let’s go see if there’s a back door to this place.”

Dani pulled part of her hoodie up over her mouth while she breathed. Smoke had filled the room incredibly fast and the heat smothered her. She began to cough and knew she didn’t have long before the smoke overwhelmed her.

No longer worried about Vladimir, she crawled out from under the desk and made her way to the door, avoiding the blaze crawling up the walls as much as possible. Thankfully, he must have poured the gasoline around the edges of the room, so she still had a narrow path to the door. Her eyes watered, blurring her vision even more. She peeked out the window but couldn’t see Vladimir, so she slipped out of the office, coughing from the smoke she’d inhaled. A few deep breaths later and she felt the muscles in her chest easing.

Tassia obviously wasn’t in the building if they planned to burn it down. Time for her to leave. She turned to the fire exit at the end of the hall.

Petroff strode around the corner, blocking her exit.

She bolted through the near door leading to the metal walkway, and ran into a solid chest. Hands grabbed her arms and held her tight.

“
Kotyonok
,” Vladimir’s smooth voice said, calling her by the hated nickname. “Just the woman I was looking for.”

“Get your hands off me, asshole.” She brought her knee up, but he twisted at the last moment, avoiding it.

“Petroff, take her.” Vladimir shoved her and she stumbled back. An arm came around her neck and she only barely had time to tuck her chin and slip a hand between her neck and his arm, trying to stop him from cutting off her air.

“Do you want to question her?” Petroff asked.

“No. Father wants her taken care of. He doesn’t want me involved with her again.” Vladimir looked at her and shook his head. “It’s too bad,
Kotyonok
. We could have used your skills again. You shouldn’t have gone against Dmitri.”

“I didn’t,” she croaked, still trying to separate Petroff’s beefy arm from her neck. Maybe she could lie her way out. “It was just a party. I just…just wanted to see you.”

His eyes narrowed, then he shook his head. “I don’t believe you, Danika. Father might, but I know you better. You don’t do anything without planning.”

She tried to shake her head, trying to think of anything to stall them. “Okay. Fine,” she said. “But I’m only looking for my friend. She went missing after she dated you.”

Vladimir’s face cleared. “Tassia.” He said her name in the voice he used for seduction, like dark velvet rubbing over bare skin. “She had more fight in her than I expected. She almost reminded me of you.” He stepped closer and trailed a finger down the side of her face not being squeezed by the Neanderthal behind her. She would have puked if she could.

“What did you do with her?” she demanded.

“Not too much. Though I did give her to Petroff to play with, didn’t I?” Vladimir grinned.

Dani kicked out at him, but Petroff squeezed his arm tighter around her neck and jerked her away. She choked. “Where is she?”

Vladimir shrugged. “That’s not what you should be worried about. Goodbye,
Kotyonok
.” He looked at Petroff. “Take care of her. But do it somewhere else. And get rid of the body in the cage. We don’t need bones found by the fire department.”