Guard (The Underground Book 3) (31 page)

Haley flinched next to him but said nothing. She was still fighting the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. Her life was a nightmare. When would it end?

“What was the explosion? Did you see it?”

“I saw it. I wasn’t far from the epicenter. It was a few blocks east of here under the L platform.”

“Under? Why under?”

Bill met Mikhail’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

The explosion had been meant as a distraction so the snatchers Fred spoke of could recover Haley. Someone had known she would be working under the green line that evening, and they’d gone to great lengths to ensure she was recovered.

New tears fell.

“Fuck,” Mikhail muttered, ducking his head but not looking at her. Fuck seemed to be his new favorite word. And she couldn’t blame him. But was he pissed at her?

This was all her fault. If she hadn’t insisted on working today. If she hadn’t begged him to let her hand out supplies to the homeless…

She stiffened. How did Yenin and his men know where she would be and what time? That was the most frightening thought of all.

There had to be a mole. Someone who worked for the FBI had to pass information to Yenin. The list of people who knew Haley would be handing out supplies to the homeless tonight was long. Leo had spoken to his contact. Mikhail had spoken to Taylor. Word would have spread to dozens of people, including all of the ones who surrounded the four masked men and reclaimed Haley.

She hadn’t specifically seen any of them, so she had no idea how many were watching the shootout. None of them would have been able to show their faces unless absolutely necessary. Only Bill had stepped out, and he’d been the one to shoot the masked man.

Mikhail hugged her closer to his body and turned his attention toward her, lifting her face with a finger under her chin to meet her gaze. “Your heart is still racing, baby. You’re safe now.”

She blinked at him as he kissed her forehead.

“I’ve got you.”

“I’m so sorry,” she stammered against his chest.

“What?” He pulled her face away with a hand at the back of her neck. “For what?”

“For insisting we go there. For putting so many people in danger. It’s my fault. Anyone who died in that explosion… Oh God.” She straightened her spine at the realization. How could she live with this?

“Jesus, Haley. This is no one’s fault but Anton Yenin. You aren’t responsible for his decisions.”

“But all those people… All because I wanted to work.”

“You didn’t set that bomb. Yenin did. And if he hadn’t done it today, he would have picked another day. And another. Until he got what he wanted.”

She bit her lower lip so hard it hurt. Mikhail didn’t comment as she released it. He was right. She wasn’t being reasonable.

Still… Her decisions today affected countless lives.

“Stop it,” Mikhail commanded. “I can see the guilt seeping into you. Stop it. You aren’t responsible for Yenin’s actions. He’s the one who had you kidnapped and drugged you for two weeks. You didn’t do anything to deserve that. And you didn’t do anything today, either.”

She nodded. Intellectually, she realized he was right, but it would take a while for her to internalize it.

»»•««

“What the hell, Dayton?” Anton shouted into the phone. “Why am I hearing that one of my men’s brain matter is splattered all over the concrete and two have been shot?”

“You knew the risk. You chose to take it.”

“Don’t you fuck with me, asshole.” Spittle spewed from his mouth. He didn’t give two shits.

“You listen to
me
for once.” Anton did not like the tone of voice Dayton used. “I told you that was a bad idea. Too public. Too soon. But you were in a damn rush, wanting to get that woman back as if the hounds of hell were on your heels. Your plan stunk, and you know it.”

“Who shot my man in the head, Dayton? Huh?”

“I did. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. There were half a dozen agents surrounding that area by the time it came to that. I had the best shot. Every agent knew it. And I don’t fucking miss, Yenin. Ever. They all know that too. I’m a trained sharpshooter.

“So, given the options, I chose to keep my job today, you fucker. Yes, I shot your kidnapper in the head. Yes, he’s dead. Yes, the woman got away. Hell, I drove her to safety myself.” His voice rose. “Next time you’ll listen to me when I advise you not to make a move. It was premature. Today was not your day.”

Anton seethed. “You done, motherfucker?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t you ever take that tone with me again, you hear? And don’t question my decisions, either. I own you, asshole. You make more money from me than you ever have from the bureau. And you know I can ruin you in an instant. So get off your high horse. Get back out there. Find out what those fuckers are planning next, and report back to me within the hour.”

Dayton ended the call without responding.

Anton’s hands shook as he lowered himself into the armchair he kept against the wall of windows in his apartment. The only sanity he usually felt these days was at night when he watched the city lights outside. And even that sanity was waning.

Haley lifted onto her tiptoes, trying to see over Mikhail’s body. But he remained like a statue in her way.

He grinned down at her. “What do you need to see so badly for? You don’t even like this sport.”

“Yeah, but it’s Nik. He’s your friend. I want to make sure he’s still alive while he beats that other guy in the head.”

“Eh,” Mikhail shrugged. “Nik will have that guy in a submission hold in no time. It’s his shtick.”

Belinda gripped Haley’s arm and lifted up higher on her toes too. But she was several inches shorter than Haley to begin with. She sighed. “That’s so violent. I can’t believe you guys actually enjoy this.”

“Pays the rent.” Mikhail winked.

“Lots of ways to pay the rent,” Belinda pointed out without glancing away from the fight. “Looks like he’s going to kill that guy. Aren’t there any rules? Why is the referee just standing there?”

Mikhail chuckled. “Few rules in this sport. Especially the underground. Best not to severely injure the guy or gouge his eyes out. Also in Nik’s best interest not to go for the kidneys or the balls. Fighters frown on that. If you piss them off in the ring, they’re liable to retaliate out of the ring.”

“Jesus,” Belinda muttered. “Why did I agree to come watch this?”

“Because you think Nikolav is sexy?” Haley teased her friend. “It was your idea to have Mikhail hook you up with one of his friends.”

Belinda playfully slapped Mikhail’s arm. “Yeah, about that. When I suggested you set me up, I didn’t mean while I was leaning over the toilet vomiting my guts out. Do you know how humiliating that was?”

Mikhail shrugged. “Hey, it was the best choice at the time. And besides, you needed someone for protection. I was uneasy about you being in your apartment alone.”

“You could have waited a few days until I was coherent. That man held my hair, for Christ’s sake. While I puked. Dozens of times.” She shuddered as she resumed staring at Nikolav in the cage.

Mikhail chuckled. “Women. I’m quite sure Nik doesn’t give two shits about you being sick.”

Belinda rolled her eyes. “Men,” she tossed back.

Haley leaned in to speak to her again over the roar of the crowd. “MMA is kinda sexy, though. It’ll grow on you.”

Belinda scrunched up her nose. “I’ve been to their practices. Gross.”

Haley laughed. “Yeah. Okay. That too. But a room full of freakishly hot men with huge muscles, not an ounce of fat, and sexy tattoos. How can you go wrong? Who cares about the smell of sweat?”

Mikhail wrapped his arm around her under her chest and hauled her against him. He kissed the top of her head. “Just keep thinking that, babe.”

Suddenly the audience shouted louder. Haley used Mikhail’s forearm to lift up higher and found Nikolav on the ground, his arm wrapped around his opponent’s neck. He was on his back, holding the guy against his stomach, both legs around the guy’s chest.

Belinda gasped.

“Don’t worry. It always looks worse than it is.” Haley craned her neck to see better.

“How is that possible?” Belinda asked.

“Submission hold,” Mikhail reminded her. “The guy is done for. He’ll tap out as soon as he realizes he can’t fix this with his airway constricted.”

Belinda’s eyes went wide. “Nik will choke him?”

Mikhail grinned. “Not all the way. Just almost.” His voice held a hint of teasing, though Haley knew he was mostly correct.

Time ticked by in slow motion as if the seconds were minutes. And finally Nik’s opponent slapped his hand on the ground. The moment Nikolav jumped to his feet, the guy rolled onto his elbows and knees, grabbing his neck with one hand while trying to catch his breath.

“Nope.” Belinda shook her head.

“No what?” Haley asked, laughing.

“Can’t do it. Too gross. That’s enough for me.”

Mikhail led both women by the arm toward the back of the room. “That’s all we’re staying for anyway.” He had one hand at the small of Haley’s back, his fingertips tucked into her jeans. His other hand was flattened between Belinda’s shoulder blades. And he never stopped scanning the room.

When they stepped past an enormous bouncer into the hall behind the main section of the speakeasy, the noise was cut off almost completely. Haley blew out a sigh of relief. Forget the fighting and the bloodshed and the danger. She hated how loud it was at these events. “Did you see anyone that made you nervous in there?”

Mikhail shook his head. “I’m sure Yenin’s men are lying low for a few more days. Hell, he’s going to have to call for reinforcements with one guy dead and two injured.” He smirked as if this were funny instead of dead serious as he led them down the hall toward the door to the locker room.

Haley looked at Belinda as she leaned against Mikhail’s chest. “Is Nik staying with you again tonight?”

“Yeah. Not like I have a choice.”

Haley winced. “Sorry. I never should have let you come with me Monday night. It was poor judgment on my part. Now you’re in as much danger as the rest of us.” It had been impossible not to bring Belinda into the fold after they’d been chased through the streets by the Russian Mafia king’s thugs.

But she also couldn’t go back to her apartment alone. And the reality was the FBI was spread super thin lately. Keeping the locations that needed to be under guard to a minimum was the priority.

Belinda had spent the first night at Nikolav’s apartment, sleeping in Mikhail’s old room. But the apartment was growing crowded now that it housed Ivan, Alena, Nikolav, and Sergei. There were three bedrooms. Alena had a room. Ivan had a room. Nikolav had been in Mikhail’s. That left Sergei on the couch. Adding Belinda when she was in a brand new arrangement with Nik had been over the top.

“Totally not your fault.” Belinda shook her head. “I brought this on myself. You told me it wasn’t a good idea, and I wouldn’t listen. If you hadn’t taken me, I would have gone alone, and that could have proven worse than being chased through the streets of Chicago by armed men.”

“She’s right,” Mikhail added.

They waited a long time for Nikolav to exit the locker room. When he did, he was beaming. “What’d you think?” he asked Belinda without acknowledging Haley or Mikhail.

Haley smiled, wondering what sort of mess she’d created by introducing these two. Haley was clear by now that Mikhail wasn’t the only member of his pack of fighting friends who practiced some level of D/s. And Mikhail thought Belinda had submissive tendencies.

Haley had her doubts, but watching Belinda hang on every word out of Nikolav’s mouth was telling.

Mikhail nodded toward the end of the hall. “Let’s get out of here while the streets are crowded with people. We don’t want to get caught alone in the dark.”

Haley flinched. The last thing they needed was another incident in the street outside the speakeasy. After Leo’s car had been rigged to explode three weeks ago, everyone was wary. The guys still thought it was a warning from Yenin. “You worried about the Jeep?”

“Not really. Yenin wouldn’t use the same MO twice.” Mikhail grabbed her hand as they approached the back door.

Belinda hesitated. “Is this where Leo’s car exploded?”

Mikhail shook his head. “No, it was another speakeasy. But we still need to be diligent.”

Nikolav smiled at Belinda. “Katie got Leo a replacement Trans Am last week. Same year even. 1984. Leo’s in love. He can’t wait to get his hands dirty and get to work on her.”

“Cars too?” Belinda looked up at Nikolav. “You guys do anything besides fix up old cars and fight in seedy bars?”

Nikolav’s face spread in a wide grin. “Oh yeah. There’s a few things.”

»»•««

Haley pulled her soft sweater over her head and dropped it on the bed. It was black and form fitting. Mikhail had chosen it and the tight jeans she’d worn earlier that evening.

He stared at her from the other side of the bed now with brooding eyes. “The sweater was hot, but I’ve been dying to see you in that black lace bra again all evening.”

Her nipples stiffened. Would she ever not react so strongly to him so quickly? She changed the subject, just to see if it was possible to act like normal human beings for a moment. “I spoke to Katie earlier.”

“Yeah…” Mikhail’s gaze roamed up and down her body.

She wasn’t positive he was listening to her, but she persevered anyway. “She said those samples from us from last weekend showed we indeed had food poisoning.”

He met her gaze. “That’s freakishly weird. I don’t even know what to make of it. And Belinda?”

Haley nodded. Katie had taken a sample from her a few days ago. “Same strain.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you and I get sick, then?” he asked rhetorically. They both knew the answer. They just didn’t understand what they knew.

The six fighters weren’t coincidentally fit and healthy. They’d been dosed with something that kept them that way.

And Haley had received the same thing.

So many questions hung in the air unspoken. What was it? How long would it last? What were any possible side effects? They needed answers to those questions. And soon. Haley’s nerves were frayed from worrying about whatever had been injected into her bloodstream.