Russian Billionaire's Fiancée (Chekov Billionaire Series Book 3) (6 page)

A man she didn’t recognize walked in. He paused when he saw that she was awake and stood there looking at her. Stepping into the room, he handed her a bottle of water before turning and walking back out. The only other sound she heard was the lock on the door as she was locked back in.

Too surprised to say anything, Sarah sat there staring at the bottled water. Looking at the cap, it didn’t appear as if it had been tampered with, as her dry mouth drove her to twist the cap off and take a long swallow. Closing her eyes, she willed her stomach not to overreact, as she took a second sip.

Once she was sure that she wasn’t going to throw up, she got shakily to her feet. Her headache had diminished and she didn’t feel as though she had been hit, so she assumed that she had been drugged.

Walking to the door, she tried to open it knowing that it was locked. She turned around and tried all the desk and cabinet drawers, but they were locked as well. There weren’t any loose items that she could use as a weapon or possible tool to break into the drawers. Sighing, she went back to the couch and sat down. She pulled her feet under her, shivering as she hugged her knees to her chest.

Where was she? How much time had passed?

Vitaly must be frantic by now, Sarah thought as she worried about him. This was going to be the first Christmas they celebrated together and now she was, where? She had no idea how much time had passed before she heard the lock again. Looking up, Dmitri Nardiv walked in. Sarah hoped that she didn’t look too surprised as she faked bravado.

“Mr. Nardiv, I’m surprised to see you here. I would think that your pending future in prison might have had you think twice about kidnapping me.”

“On the contrary, Ms. Jenkins, you are nothing more than a tool.”

“Because that worked so well the last time,” Sarah shot back as she remembered how he had first tried to bribe her to steal company secrets and when that didn’t work; he decided to frame her for espionage.

“I had underestimated your affection for Chekov.”

“My reason for declining had nothing to do with my affection for Vitaly, as you put it, and everything to do with you choosing the wrong person. If you had left me out of it, you might not be in trouble now.”

Flexing his hands, Dmitri stared down at her. He was still furious with the little bitch. It was because of her meddling that he lost everything. And he didn’t simply lose his clients; they all ran straight into the arms of Chekov. Well, he was going to get a lesson in loss, as well. When he sent his girlfriend back to him in pieces.

As a slow smile spread across his face at the thought of it, Sarah swallowed hard. The man was clearly insane. “What do you plan to do with me?” she asked, wishing that her voice didn’t sound quite so frightened.

“As I’ve already said, Ms. Jenkins. You are nothing more than a tool that I will use to bring Chekov down. You might as well make yourself comfortable. You’re going to be here a while.”

“What happens if I have to go to the bathroom?”

Pointing to the other man who had brought her water earlier, “Boris will take you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”

As Boris was about to follow Dmitri out the door, Sarah stopped him. “So, Boris, any chance I could use the bathroom now?”

Grunting, he waited in the doorway for her. Rising, Sarah followed him out the door. While she still felt a bit dizzy, she was well enough that she could discretely look around. She appeared to be in some sort of industrial building, but that was all that she could tell other than the concrete floor was cold to her bare feet.

Stopping abruptly, she plowed into his back, as she put her hands up to keep her balance. As she did so, she felt a gun in a back holster. Patting him lightly, she smiled as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Once inside, she leaned against the door as she looked around. The bathroom was on the outside of the building and there was a small grated window high up. Much too high and small for her to get out, but she could make out part of the Manhattan skyline. At least she could confirm that she was in New York.

Looking around, there was a large utility cabinet that might hold promise. As she was reaching to open it, Boris pounded on the door. Worried that he might open it, she quickly did her business. She turned on the hot water to warm her hands, but only cold came out. Sighing, she washed her face and blotted it dry as Boris swung the door open. Looking at her suspiciously, he held it open while she walked out.

As they walked back to the office, she thought that she detected the sound of ship horns. Perhaps they were near the port. Having been there several times, Sarah contemplated the different places she would have to hide should she get free. Except that it was winter and she was barefoot and without a coat. As Boris waited for her to walk into the office, she rubbed her arms as she looked up at him.

“Um, it’s really cold. Is there any chance I could get a blanket?” she asked him as she smiled. Grunting, he pushed her into the office and shut the door behind her. Well, that didn’t go so well, Sarah thought as she briefly wondered if he understood English. Moments later, the door opened and he shoved two utility blankets into her arms before slamming the door shut again and locking it.

“Score one for me,” she muttered before heading to the couch.

Chapter 11

Christmas came and went and Vitaly was panicked. There had been no attempts at contact from anyone and they still had no idea where Sarah was or if she was safe. Not wanting to put extra pressure on his staff, he fielded the constant phone calls from her friends and family as they called asking for updates. The FBI had set up a monitoring station at both the office and at Sarah’s family ranch in the event that contact was made. After twenty-four hours, they were disappointed, by day three, they were packing up and leaving.

Vitaly didn’t lose hope as he worked with private investigators to track down her whereabouts, but everywhere he turned was a dead-end. By the end of the week, he was convinced that Nardiv had something to do with it and was merely toying with him to drive him mad with worry and he was succeeding.

On day six, he had finally heard something in the form of a text message from a blocked phone number with a picture of Sarah holding up a newspaper with that day’s date on it. Not bothering to notify authorities, Ivan sprang into action, as they worked to determine Sarah’s location. Eight hours later, a text message with instructions arrived.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Vitaly paced the aisle on the plane. “We aren’t going to get there any faster with you wearing down the carpet,” Ivan told him as he walked past.

“I can’t sit still.”

“Have you tried?”

With a huff, Vitaly sat down across from him. “Satisfied?” Snorting, Ivan pulled the files from his bag.

“Would you like to go over them again?”

“No. I know what he wants.”

While Vitaly was relieved to see that Sarah was safe, at least when the picture was taken, they now knew that Nardiv was behind the kidnapping. Because his illegal activities involved another country, the federal government had taken an interest in all his accounts and had seized all his known assets effectively shutting him down. His overly priced lawyer had managed to get him released on bail provided he surrendered his passport, but then it wasn’t as if he couldn’t get another one. Vitaly often wondered at the seeming naivety of the members of the legal system. He knew that Nardiv wasn’t long for this country and he couldn’t care less, but he had to get to Sarah first.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the ring box. Flipping it open, he looked at it before closing his eyes. He had to save Sarah.

“Is that the ring?” Nodding his head, Vitaly snapped the box closed, as he looked at Ivan. “May I see it?” As Ivan took the box from him, he opened it up and let out a long, low whistle.

“Did you have any help picking it out or did you simply go for the biggest rock in the place,” he asked him as he handed the box back.

“A bit of both,” Vitaly replied as he smiled. While he realized that Sarah might find the ring a bit too much, his secretary and personal assistant both insisted that it was the right choice. Looking at the ring, he decided that he was going to give it to her as soon as possible. Of course, she was going to say yes, wasn’t she? Tucking it back in his pocket, he vowed that he would commit all sorts of unspeakable things if a single hair on her head were harmed.

Landing in New York, the plane taxied into a reserved hangar where they were met by the private security team that Ivan had hired. According to their reports, Nardiv had disappeared three days ago along with his head of security, Boris Banovich, and two other men, and had not been seen in public since.

Surveillance indicated that he was still in touch with his attorney, but none of the men had been seen. By tapping into the city’s CCTV, they were able to narrow the location down to the port district and there was a cargo ship gearing up to leave for Eastern Europe in two days.

They had tried to place men around the area, but given the recent problems with the port authority, the locals were not keen on any strangers hanging about, so they were keeping their distance to avoid tipping Nardiv off.

Vitaly paced as he heard the report. “So, what’s next?”

“I think that you should meet with Nardiv, as planned,” Ivan replied. “In the meantime, we’ll keep working behind the scenes. If we can get eyes on any of his men, we’ll snatch him and get Sarah’s location that way, but you have to play your part. And no heroics. Especially, no heroics,” Ivan told him, as he waved a finger at him. He wasn’t about to risk losing his boss again.

Nodding in agreement, Vitaly reached for his phone, as a message came in with instructions on where to meet. He snorted in amusement when he saw the location. It was the site of their original office, now part of a shopping mall. Getting in the Town Car, he left for his apartment while Ivan went in a separate car. The plan was that Ivan would get to the location first and lay out sufficient cover so that they might be able to grab Nardiv when he showed himself.

When Vitaly reached his apartment building, he instructed his security to wait downstairs and he would return in time to make it to the meeting site. Riding up in the elevator, he hoped that they were doing the right thing regarding Sarah’s safety. Walking into his apartment, he went to his bedroom to set down his bag and change his clothes. When he came back out, he froze. Nardiv was sitting in his living room holding a gun to Sarah.

“Good of you to come alone, my old friend,” Nardiv told him. “You look tired. Not sleeping well?”

Ignoring Nardiv, Vitaly looked Sarah up and down. Other than looking disheveled, she didn’t appear to have any injuries. “Are you ok?” Nodding her head, Sarah was about to speak when Nardiv tapped her on the side of the head with the gun.

“There’s no need for you to speak,” he told her, as he tapped her on the head again. Wincing, Sarah pulled her head away, but he pulled her closer. Turning to Vitaly, “Did you do what I asked?”

“I have prepared the necessary files and I can have the money transferred to any account you want, but before I do anything, release Sarah. There’s no need to hold on to her.”

“No, I don’t think so. She will remain by my side, as insurance, until we have finished conducting business.”

“It’s ok, Vitaly, I’m fine where I’m at,” Sarah told him as she smiled bravely. Nodding his head, he reached for his briefcase. He knew that his security detail would realize that something was wrong and would look for him; it was only a matter of delaying Nardiv long enough until they could get here.

“I have to say, I’m surprised that you changed our original meet location. I haven’t been there in years and I was looking forward to seeing the old place,” Vitaly told him as he opened his case and randomly pulled out files.

“There is nothing left there of the old days, as you well know,” Nardiv replied, as he looked at him. “We had it good once. You and I. But you had to ruin it.”

“Me? You were the one who decided to smuggle contraband.”

“Of course I did! That’s where the money was. And still is. But you, who sit there, judging me as if you’ve never done anything wrong in your life.”

“While I will admit that I am no saint, I have at least, not broken the law and yet still managed to acquire my wealth, but it took time and patience.”

“And where will you be now, Vitaly? I’m going to take it all from you. Where will you be then?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Vitaly leaned back in his chair. “I know what it is to work hard, Dmitri. I’ve done it before. I can do it again.”

Grabbing Sarah by the hair, Dmitri stood up as he dragged her with him. “And will it be so easy once your precious Sarah is gone?” Before Vitaly could respond, a loud crash was heard outside the front door. As Dmitri turned his head, Sarah winced as she dropped to the floor, her slight weight enough to throw him off balance as he loosened his grip on her hair. Leaping up from his chair, Vitaly tackled him as the gun went flying.

Scrambling to the side, Sarah jumped up to look for a weapon as the front door slammed against the wall and Ivan along with two security guards came running in. Seeing the gun, Ivan picked it up, pulled the clip and sent the first round falling to the floor before setting the gun on the bar.

“Are you both ok?” At both their nods, one of the guards pulled plastic zip ties out of his pocket and secured Nardiv.

“Took you long enough,” Vitaly told him as he caught his breath. Reaching for Sarah, he hugged her tightly. “Did he hurt you?”

“No. I’m fine. I’m just a bit dirty.”

“Cops are on the way. I think you both should go to the hospital to get checked out.”

“No!” they both declared.

“Or not.”

Chapter 12

It took several hours, but there was finally peace in the apartment. Vitaly and Sarah lay in bed as he watched her sleep. After everyone had left, he had taken her into the shower, as he washed the past several days’ grime off her body. Inspecting her carefully, he could find no injuries to her body, as he contemplated additional bodily harm to Nardiv if he did.