Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (23 page)

“Maybe later,” he said, his gaze crawling over her. “If you’re good.”

She swallowed the bile that rose and continued to smile, before she unzipped her hoodie and tossed it onto the desk chair, leaving her only in a black tank top and jeans. Tonight she played a dangerous game.

“Are you going to pour me a glass?” she asked, sitting on the foot of the bed. She leaned back on her palms, knowing it did good things for her small chest. “It’s been a long day.”

Vladimir focused on the swell of her breasts before setting the glasses on the desk and pouring red wine into them. “I’m happy to see that you’re being reasonable.”

She needed to tread carefully. If she acquiesced too easily then he’d know something was up. Vladimir wasn’t stupid. “Let’s get this straight,” Dani said. “I’m not happy about being locked up and given no choice in the work I do.”

He studied her like she was a chessboard. “But?”

She shrugged. “But if you’re ever going to let me go, then I need to start proving my loyalty.”

His head tilted, while his eyes zeroed in on hers. “You’re loyal to me?”

She held his gaze and stood up, walking toward him. “I was loyal to you and the Rusakov family once. I can be loyal again.” She reached around him and took one of the wine glasses and sipped. “For the right price.”

His shoulders relaxed and he smiled. “And there it is. What price are you looking for, Danika?” His smile sharpened to a blade’s edge. “Remember, you’re not exactly in a position to bargain.”

“I want my freedom,” she said. She let a smile grow on her lips. “Okay, and maybe a small paycheck wouldn’t be frowned upon.”

Her stomach tightened when he didn’t answer right away. Had she pushed too much? His gaze held hers and she cocked an eyebrow as she waited, the portrait of confidence, though her palms were slick with sweat.

Vladimir grinned. “It’s good to have you back,
Kotyonok
. I will speak with my father about bringing you on payroll.”

“What about getting me out of this room?”

He took her wine and set the glass down on the desk. “I find I like having you right where I can find you.”

She gritted her teeth. “It’s pretty easy to find me at my apartment.”

He moved closer to her. “I think I will keep you caged near me for a few more days, until I’m satisfied with your…loyalty.”

She hadn’t realized she’d been backing up, until she felt the bed hit her calves. She swallowed. He stood only inches away from her, and his hot breath touched her cheek. She had to stop this now.

“Just because I’m working for you as a hacker doesn’t mean I’m going to fall back into bed with you,” she said.

“It was good between us,” Vladimir said. “Don’t you miss it?”

“No,” she said.

“Liar.”

She almost laughed. Vladimir’s ego was the key to her escape. She just needed to figure out how to use it.

He leaned in and kissed her. She pulled back automatically and his arms came around her like steel bands, trapping her against him. She started to struggle and his hand dug into her hair, gripping the back of her head, guiding her so he could slant his mouth over hers.

She should play along with the kiss, but she couldn’t. Not again. She knew that this time he wouldn’t stop with a kiss.

Something inside her screamed to get away. His hands tightened further as if he knew she was going to resist. His tongue pushed against her lips.

No. No. No
, rang through her mind.

“Stop fighting me,
Kotyonok
.” His voice was ragged and she could feel his erection against her stomach. He nuzzled her neck and she shivered in dread. “You want me,” he said.

She knew what she had to do. She hoped she had the stomach for it.

Dani forced herself to relax in his arms, her shoulders slumping as she leaned toward him. She let her head fall back, giving him greater access to her neck. He growled approvingly, taking her shudders to be desire and not revulsion.

She would only have one chance. When next he kissed her, she opened her mouth and let him in. His tongue thrust against hers. His hands still gripped her upper arms, holding her tightly. She needed her arms free, so she put her hands on his chest and spread her fingers, digging her nails in through his shirt. “Let me touch you,” she gasped.

His hands slid from her arms to her back, sweeping up and down. One slid around to her front, squeezing her breasts, and she let out a small groan, hating what she was doing and hating Vladimir for making her.

She slid her hands behind his neck, digging them into his hair. She needed to act fast before he could shout for help.

She kissed him, openmouthed, and let his tongue back into her mouth. She gripped his hair tight.

And then, she bit down. She held Vladimir’s tongue between her teeth. At the same time, she kneed him between his legs. He yelled into her mouth and his one hand wrenched at her hair, pulling painfully on her scalp.

She let his tongue go, but yanked his head down to meet her rising knee. It connected with his face. His hand loosened on her hair as he grunted. She did it again and again.

He slid to the floor, unconscious, and she let him. She spat his blood from her mouth. Time to tie the psycho up.

Within minutes, using his shoelaces, she had his hands tied behind his back. She shoved one of her socks from her pack into his mouth. It wouldn’t hold him forever, but any extra time she could get she’d take.

She searched him thoroughly, but he had no key, no weapons, and no cell. Useless tool. She wanted to kick him again, but didn’t have time. He’d wake soon and start making noise. Time to deal with the Boulder Brothers. She looked at the door and sucked in a breath.

The door handle turned slowly and silently. Had the brothers heard something? Her heart stuttered and she jumped for the corked wine bottle on the desk. She held it like a weapon and stood beside the door, ready to strike.

Jake slumped when the overweight muscleman escorted Dani from the room. He hated this deception, but kept going with it. Groaning, he pretended to pass out after another couple of punches.

He’d had worse on SERE—the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape course that all spec ops had to go through. The SERE instructors who taught resistance to interrogation had prepared him for situations like this.

Jake would be covered in bruises tomorrow, but he knew how to tighten his muscles before a hit so the guy couldn’t crack a rib.

Hopefully.

Besides, a few bruises were worth it, if it gave him a chance to get Dani out of here.

And he would get her out.

He listened while Vladimir made jokes in both Russian and English about Jake and how he would die later. Jake assumed Vladimir tested him to see if he spoke Russian or if he was awake. His threats were laughable. He stayed slumped. The door opened and closed with a click.

He waited, calm and unmoving, counting his heartbeats. He reached seventy-eight before Vladimir spoke again.

“Next time, do not hit him so hard, Boris. We won’t learn anything if you kill him too soon.”

The door opened and shut again, but this time their conversation and footsteps signaled that they’d actually left the building.

Jake sat up. Time to free himself and get Dani out of here. He hadn’t liked the sound of Vladimir’s parting comment to her. Had the asshole been forcing himself on her?

He ground his teeth while he worked the bonds securing his wrists to the chair. It was simple, slender rope and Jake pulled on one wrist hard so the rope tightened around the other. He tugged so much that it cut off circulation in his left hand, and yet he kept pulling and twisting, trying to give his right hand room to move.

In only a few minutes he had his right hand free. One more and he’d undone the rope securing his left hand to the chair. He stood and his leg almost gave out on him. It quivered and tightened, threatening to cramp.

He rubbed it hard, pushing against the muscles and scar tissue, trying to make it relax. He didn’t have time for this. But he forced himself to breathe evenly and take care of his leg. A minute now would save him writhing in pain later. The muscles loosened and he eased his ministrations, moving to the window near the door.

Thankfully, the sun was setting. When full dark fell, his team would come in. For now, they’d be waiting out there somewhere.

It had been Jake’s idea to wait at Dani’s apartment in the hopes that the Rusakov family would grab him, thinking he might be useful as leverage against Dani. SEALs never surrendered, but if Dani could give herself up to save someone, then he could let himself be taken as a ploy to find her.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t wear a wire or bring a weapon, but that hadn’t really deterred him. He knew Rhys was more than capable of following them undetected. Blackwell’s other team members seemed reasonably competent, as well.

It had taken two damn days of waiting around for the Rusakovs to show up. Two damn days of worrying and pacing.

Jake had put up very little fight when they’d shown up, so impatient was he to find out where they’d been holding Dani. The farm was a surprise. It hadn’t been on any of E.D.G.E.’s lists of suspected properties.

He should wait until full dark before going after Dani, but his unease grew at the thought of her alone, facing off against Vladimir. Logically, he knew she could take care of herself. He’d seen her fight at the gym and she wasn’t someone who gave up, but the thought of Vladimir running his hands over her made Jake’s gut burn. He would kill the man if he touched Dani.

Jake kept watch out the window, trying unsuccessfully to control his emotions. Always before on missions, he’d been able to clear his mind for the task at hand. He couldn’t seem to do that with Dani. She kept forcing her way into his thoughts. He didn’t know what that said about him.

A lot of activity around the barn caught his eye and quieted his mind. Men opened up the large barn doors and stood watching the road leading to the farm. Jake eyed the road too, and soon a dust trail could be seen. A large truck drove up the road and slowly rumbled to a stop inside the barn. The men shut the doors behind it.

It looked like another shipment had just come in. If it was women, like he suspected, then he knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere until he’d freed them.

But first he had to free Dani.

He cursed softly when he saw two men walking toward his building. He briefly debated his choices, before moving back to the chair and placing his hands behind his back as if tied up. He let his head slump forward and closed his eyes.

A moment later, the door opened and the two men entered speaking in Russian.

“What does Vladimir want us to do with him?” one asked.

“Hurt him a bit. Make him wish he’d never laid eyes on that
blya
.”

Jake’s teeth clenched when they called Dani a whore.

“Wake up,
mudak
,” one of them said.

Jake didn’t move. He needed them to come a bit closer.

“Ivan was right,” the other said. “For all his muscles, this guy’s a pussy.”

Come closer
, Jake thought. He cracked his eyes open the barest fraction of an inch. A pair of Adidas sneakers stood right by his chair, the man turned to his friend.

Close enough.

Jake sprang at him, sending a vicious uppercut with all of his body weight behind it into the man’s chin. He sagged and Jake leapt at the other man, who started to draw his gun from a shoulder holster. Jake gave a hard right cross to his cheek, stunning him. Then he grabbed his gun arm and twisted, while sweeping one foot behind the other man’s and pushing him off-balance. He fell and Jake followed him down, planting a hard elbow strike across the guy’s temple. His head bounced once on the concrete floor and his body went lax.

Jake grabbed the man’s gun and spun to face his partner. He shouldn’t have worried. That one was still sprawled by the chair. Jake nodded in satisfaction and contemplated killing them, but decided against it. Instead, he used the rope and tied them up. They wouldn’t get loose from his knots so easily.

When he looked back out the window, darkness shrouded the field, though lights from the barn and main house gave off enough glow to see anyone walking. He would prefer complete darkness to work in, but he’d make do.

He stripped the gun and shoulder holster from the other man and put them on. Conscious of his bare feet, he eyed the men’s shoes, but neither of them had feet near his size. He shrugged and left the room, one gun in hand and the other holstered, both with full magazines.

He walked with determined strides to the house. If anyone looked outside, he hoped they’d just see another guard walking, and not a barefoot escaped prisoner. He bypassed the back door of the house and stalked along the side, studying the second floor.

There.

A window open to the evening breeze.

Jake contemplated killing the dickhead who’d cracked his rib, but instead loosened the chokehold at the last second so the man’s unconscious form slid to the hallway floor. The key to the bedroom door was on a chain around the guy’s neck.

Jake suspected Dani was inside, but didn’t know if she was alone. He couldn’t hear anything as he turned the doorknob soundlessly and cracked the door open the barest inch.

His instincts warned him someone waited for him inside. He thrust open the door, ducked down and into the room, gun out, scanning for targets.

Someone swung at him. He grabbed the person’s arm and twisted until they dropped the weapon. The curse told him who it was. A wine bottle rolled away and he pulled Dani into his arms, her back to his chest, tightening his grip when she continued to struggle.

She cursed him again and he almost laughed.

“Relax, hacker girl. It’s me,” Jake said in her ear.

She whirled in his arms and hugged him tight. He winced as she pressed down on his bruised ribs. She loosened her grip, but he tightened his arms around her before she could pull away. She snuggled into him and he pressed his lips to the top of her head, enjoying having her safe in his arms. “I’ve got you.”