KIDNAPPED, A Romantic Suspense Novel (16 page)

Jake shrugged, immediately regretting the action as pain shot through his shoulder. Damn what he wouldn’t give to feel Samantha’s soothing touch on it right now. “According to the contacts I made with the Havier people, Boss Kreshnin tried every strong arm tactic he had to convince Ivanovich to let him launder money through his bank.”

“And the old man wouldn’t play ball.” Matt nodded as he made the statement.

“Apparently Ivanovich was a true capitalist and something of a philanthropist among the people from the old country. No way would he let a group of thugs muscle into his business.”

Matt retrieved a wet cloth to hold to his cut lip. “So Kreshnin decided to get rid of the obstacle.”

Jake idly rubbed his shoulder. “My source in the Havier gang said that Boss Kreshnin was searching for the “memory kid”. When I asked what for, he laughed and said, that Boss planned on getting rid of the evidence.” Jake ran his hand across his face and chin. The minute he’d heard that, his heart had jumped into hyper-drive. There hadn’t been a minute to waste trying to get Nicky out before the Kreshnins tired of torturing him. He’d called the captain and arranged a raid on the restaurant, hoping to get Nicky away.

Samantha’s brothers once again exchanged curious looks. Matt voiced the question for them both. “The memory kid?”

“That’s what they call Nicky. He has a photographic and phono-graphic memory.” Jake tried not to laugh at the look on their faces. “The kid remembers every detail of things he hears or sees. Kreshnin used him as a messenger so there would be no…”

“…paper trail,” Matt finished for him.

Jake nodded. “The night I called in the police raid to get the cops inside the place, I needed to get the kid out of there.”

“That’s why he’s in danger.”

Samantha stood in the doorway, arms folded under her breasts. Jake shook his head trying not to remember how they felt and tasted. He concentrated on her face instead. Anger etched the fine lines around her eyes.

“The only reason he’s still alive is they chose to find out how much he had passed on to Jake. Come see how they tried to get the information out of him.” She stepped aside so her brothers could get into the bedroom.

Nicky sat there, his chest exposed for them to see. One wicked looking jagged wound with stitches crossed his chest. A matching one stretched across his stomach. Dozens of other minor cuts covered his shoulders, chest, abdomen and back. Black and blue marks the shapes of fists covered his rib cage.

Luke bolted from the room.

Matt murmured several oaths, then marched into the living room, quiet rage written on his face.

Her own anger overwhelming her, Sami gathered Nicky’s shirt closed with shaking fingers. She felt Jake watching her, then his hand closed over hers.

“Lady, you’ve got more guts than most men I know,” he whispered in her ear. Blinking at the tears, she watched Jake rub Nicky’s dark hair. “You do too, little partner.”

“Sami’s brati they are not bad men?” He looked at his hero with trust in his eyes. Sami swallowed hard.

Jake held his chin in his big hand. “Don’t worry, little partner. Samantha and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you. Her brothers are part of the cavalry.”

Confusion crossed Nicky’s features. “What is cavalry?”

“The good guys, Nicky.” Jake laughed, releasing his face. “When this is all finished you and I are going to have a John Wayne movie marathon.” He ruffled the small boy’s hair again, then left the room.

Sami worked the over-sized flannel shirt closed over Nicky’s wounds. To help the healing occur faster, she’d left all the bandages off, smearing them with antibiotic ointment. With the amount of healing that had already taken place, Nicky’s immune system appeared strong and healthy.

While that knowledge thrilled Sami, she struggled to calm her own raging emotions. Nicky’s situation brought out so many in her she couldn’t begin to figure out how she felt. She grew angry every time she had to treat the evidence of his abuse. Then sadness filled her heart with every little piece of his young life he revealed to her. Each time she saw how resilient his body and spirit were, she rejoiced for him.

Yet, a small spark of anger slithered across her spine at the same time. Her Aimee had no such healthy immune system. That’s what killed her. And this little boy, who by all standards should not be alive, managed to thrive under the harshest of conditions.

Life sucked sometimes.

Her gaze fell on the boy leaning around her, trying to see the man in the other room.

And sometimes, when you least expect it, miracles happen.

She kissed the top of Nicky’s head, then sent him off into the other room. She watched him run out the bedroom door to where Jake stood speaking to her brothers. His hand went to rest behind Nicky’s neck and he turned to listen to what the little boy said.

The man might believe he was a loan wolf, not needing anyone, but Nicky knew better. Jake had become the solid anchor in the boy’s life. Nicky trusted and admired him. Given his patience and concern over Nicky, Jake felt the same. Like it or not Jake had formed an attachment.

So had she. And it scared her like hell.

Until Jake kidnapped her, she hadn’t realized how deep into her own depression she’d sunk, completely isolating herself from life and those who wanted to help her the most.

In the past two days she’d felt more alive than she had since before Aimee’s illness began. Both Jake and Nicky touched that spot inside her she thought long dead. If they couldn’t stop the Kreshnins and whoever helped them on the police force, she risked having those budding emotions ripped from her again. She didn’t know if she could survive it this time.

She swiped her hands at her eyes, sweeping away the tears that stung them. Well, the Kreshnins didn’t know it yet, but they now had more to worry about than Nicky’s testimony.

“Sami?”

Luke looking pale, stood near the door watching her. Out of her three brothers, he was the only one still naive about the darker side of life. She went to him, wrapping her arms around him for a hug. “Hey, Luke. You going to be okay?”

At twenty-nine, he could still blush like a teenager. “I’m not used to seeing something that…brutal.”

“I know. I guess the rest of us have seen some pretty rotten things, so Nicky’s torture didn’t shock us as much.” She stood hugging him a moment longer.

He leaned back to look at her. He always saw her more clearly than anyone. “The real question is, when all this is finished, are you going to be okay, sis?”

She stared at Jake once more. He caught her watching him. His face lost its smile, his features hardening. She knew he still thought she’d betrayed him. The knowledge that he didn’t trust her cut deep. But his anger, gave her hope. He had to feel something for her to let her inside his wall of isolation and make him react so strongly to her phone call. Anger she could handle. It was apathy she feared.

“I’m going to be just fine, Luke. As long as we manage to get the bad guys behind bars.” She hugged him again, then walked into the main room. “How about you show us what you managed to dig up on the Kreshnins.”

* * *

Petrov threw his crystal tumbler at the wall. The glass shattered in a thousand directions. Growling low like a Siberian black bear, he stalked across the room and pounded both fists on his desk.

Ivan glanced up from his newspaper. “What is wrong now, Petrov?”

“Wrong? You ask me what is wrong? Why not ask me what is right?”

Petrov took out a second glass and filled it with Bourbon. He knew most Russians loved Vodka, but he preferred the Americans’ Kentucky brewed whiskey. He took a long swallow, feeling it burn its way down his throat.

“How could one small boy cause so much trouble? He refuses to talk under Sergei’s interrogation, something even our strongest KGB agents couldn’t do. Then he escapes thanks to Carlisle, sending a message to our enemies that we are weak. If I don’t find the pair of them and gut them like fish, no one will fear us.”

“Everyone fears us, brother. You worry needlessly.”

“Idiot.” He turned to glare at his brother across the room. “How long do you think Juan Havier will keep the terms of our agreement if he knows I cannot stop one little boy from talking to the government? He’ll have my balls in a vice or he’ll get his money cleaned somewhere else. The stupid bankers will decide I can’t hurt their families back home and refuse to launder the money. Our drug business will dry up on the streets. Even the whores will close their legs.”

“The shadowman will find them. We took care of Carlisle’s man with the FBI. There is no one left for him to turn to. The shadowman will bring him and the boy to us. You worry too much.” Ivan turned the page of the racing form.

Petrov contemplated strangling his brother, but it would make him one man short. Right now he needed all the men from his own country he could trust. Besides, Ivan wasn’t who he was really angry with. “I don’t trust the shadowman. He is the reason we are in this mess.”

“How so? Nicholai saw you kill Ivanovich, not the shadowman.”

Petrov stomped across the room to lean over his brother. “I wanted to kill Nicholai straight out. The shadowman insisted we find out if he’d told anyone he’d been with me. That’s why. It’s all his fault we are even looking for the boy.” He switched directions, striding back over the hardwood floors, until he stood at his desk again and swallowed more whiskey. “Fuck!”

Ivan arched an eyebrow at his use of the American word.

Petrov ignored him. Sometimes the slang word fit the moment. The boy knew everything. He forgot nothing. Every deal he’d made. Every amount of money that had traded hands. Locations. Names. Things his partner and even his brother didn’t know about. If he didn’t get Carlisle and the kid soon, he was so fucked.

He picked up the phone and dialed the shadowman’s number. He didn’t care if it was his work number. He wanted to talk to him now.

“Yes?”

The one word answer meant his partner wasn’t pleased. Good. Let him feel his balls getting squeezed, too.

“Have you found Carlisle or the boy?” He finished the whiskey in his glass and stared out into the bleak landscape. The snow-covered streets almost reminded him of Russia. God he hated winter!

“There may be a lead in the case.”

“Tell me.”

“Seems our man has found some help.”

“The lady in the truck?”

“Yes.”

“Give me her address. We’ll pay her little visit, sweet talk her, convince her to tell us where Carlisle took Nicholai.”

“That may be a little difficult as they are all out of town.”

“You’ve lost them.”

“Yes, but there have been some inquires.”

This sounded promising. “Inquiries?”

“Let me get back to you tonight. I’ll have more time to talk then.”

Petrov growled. “Tell me now.”

“If you insist.”

Petrov growled again under his breath. He hated the American’s condescending tone.

“My guess is Carlisle has resources we weren’t aware of.”

“What happened?”

”Seems someone has been snooping around in confidential files. My contacts also report that whoever it is, they’ve also been asking some interesting questions.”

“Questions? What kind of questions?” Petrov wanted to reach through the phone and tear the shadowman’s throat out with his bare hands.

“Questions about you, your brother. The immigration department and IRS have been buzzing with talk. You, my friend, are now on the government’s radar.”

Petrov threw the phone at the stone fireplace. It landed on the floor in a thousand pieces among the glass shards.

CHAPTER NINE

“How did you convince my sister to bring you here?” Matt asked.

“I’d meant to leave her yesterday when she dropped Nicky and me off at the Farmers Market.” Jake stared over Matt’s shoulder and watched Samantha emerge from the bedroom. “When Bridges was gunned down in front of us, she drove us out of there like a demolition derby expert.”

Matt laughed. “Dave taught her to do that. Said he didn’t want her driving like a girl.”

“I’d wondered where she’d learned it. She’s one tough lady.”

“Yep. We didn’t cut her much slack growing up. She wanted to tag along. We tried everything to discourage her.  It made her tenacious and she only tried harder to be one of us guys.” Matt turned to study her a moment. His jaw tightened and his hands clenched into fists “There’s not a challenge she won’t try to overcome, even if it nearly kills her.”

Jake nodded his understanding. Her brother was talking about her daughter dying. Jake felt the same rage that she’d ever had to endure such pain in her life. The woman he’d come to know deserved happiness and peace. He also hated himself at this moment because he’d dragged her into his fight with the Kreshnins.

Across the room her other brother wrapped her in his arms for comfort. Suspicious wetness glistened around her eyes.

I should be the one comforting her
.

She belonged in his arms.

The thought slammed into his chest and gut at the same time. Despite the fact that she sneaked behind his back and called her family for help, essentially lying to him, he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her brothers she belonged to him now.

How had this happened so fast, this need to be with her, to hold her, to want to trust her? When had this desire to claim her swept over him?

The need scared the shit out of him.

His whole life he’d avoided getting involved with anyone. It wasn’t fair to form a bond with someone and not be around for months at a time or not be able to share with her information about his cases. Even if he could do those things, how could he put someone he cared for in harm’s way? He’d learned early on a man in his line of work couldn’t expect things the average man had like a wife and family.

Now he had a whole new problem. If the Kreshnins or whomever working for them on the force knew how much this one small woman and boy meant to him, there’d be no keeping them safe.