Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) (19 page)

“I
had the lady who mixed this add more than a drop or two of ginger to give it
the heat you’re feeling.” Olivia said softly but with a knowing smile. “I know
how you love you textures and everything. You’re a true sensualist….with a bit
of sadist in you.”

A
slow grin crossed his face, as Zhenya came back down the hall with Sophie
cradled in her arms. She frowned as he shoved the bottle back into the black
bag. Turning to face her, he watched her expression. If he wasn’t mistaken, she
was intrigued by Olivia’s gift.

“Olivia
stopped by to check on you,
louloúdi
mou.”
He brushed a kiss to the top of Sophie’s head, delighting when Sophie
cooed in response. “Why don’t you take her into the kitchen while I take care
of this.” He gave the bag a shake before heading down the hall to his playroom.
A plan was forming in his head. It was only a matter of time before Zhenya’s
curiosity got the better of her, and she breeched his inner sanctum to assuage
her need.
 
When that moment arrived, he
wanted everything in place.

Chapter Nineteen

“What do you
mean, they got away?” Sebastene drummed his fingers on the table in front of
him. He was sitting in some seedy motel a few miles from O’Hare, where he’d
expected the man in front of him to deliver his grandson, so he could whisk the
child off to his private jet. Cyrille
Karas’s
orders
had been exact, and the man knew what would happen if he failed Sebastene. Or
at least he’d thought so. Perhaps he shouldn’t have taken a recommendation from
his business partner, Stavros. Maybe he’d have had better results if he’d hired
a lackey from the Greek consulate.

Cyrille shifted, his alert eyes bored as he tapped the manila
folder he’d been holding against his outer thigh. “Evidently my associates
weren’t expecting as much resistance from a lone man and woman as you told me
to expect. Or the other man who was visiting the target. It was this man who
whisked her and the baby away - before they were able to stop him.”

Making a cutting motion with his hand, Sebastene cut off the
rest of the man’s protests. “Enough excuses. I gave you a simple task: To bring
my grandson to me. The whore took him from our family without permission. This
shouldn’t be so difficult. She’s a lone woman living in a strange city.”

“But she wasn’t alone, Mr.
Sikkenga
,
which is my point. My men were unprepared for the amount of resistance they
encountered. She chose her protector well.” Opening the folder, he scanned its
contents. “The man she was staying with -
Harkahome
Akula
? He’s ex-military, and definitely not your average
former infantry man. My source tells me he still goes up to Fort Sheridan to
offer special training in hand-to-hand combat with the National Guard stationed
there.” He snapped the folder closed, a frown wrinkling his brow. “You
neglected to inform us we were going to be dealing with a trained operative.”
His dark eyes smoldered. “Because of this oversight, both of my cousins are in
jail at the moment with multiple injuries. It’s going to take some fancy
footwork and expensive lawyers to keep both of them from being deported because
of your failure to provide us with accurate information about the situation.”

“Fine, I should’ve told you she was staying with one of your toy
soldiers…” Unease whispered through him as the man dropped the folder on the desk.
As he leaned in toward him, Sebastene instinctively pressed back against the
chair he was sitting in.

“This was no mere toy soldier. He was a six foot six, three
hundred and twenty pound man who’s forgotten more about killing than most men
ever know. I’m lucky to still have my cousins alive. If they’d managed to get a
hold of your grandson, he has the necessary skills to track them down and take
him back – probably leaving no witnesses alive.”

Swallowing roughly, Sebastene tried to find his voice. “But I
was told you were the best in the business.”

Cyrille narrowed his eyes. “I am, which is why this time you’re
going to give me every damn scrap of information you have about your
daughter-in-law, and leave nothing out this time, or contract or not, I’ll take
my payment out of your hide.”

“I…I’ll call the authorities…” Fear wasn’t something Sebastene
dealt with well, but sure as the sun rose in the east, it was pumping through
his veins, fast and furious. “They’ll arrest you if something happens to me…I’m
an important man.”

A slow grin crossed
Cyrille’s
face.
“In Greece maybe…but you’re in America now, Mr.
Sikkenga
,
and your little resort doesn’t mean shit here. Besides what are you going to
tell them? You hired a known criminal to kidnap your grandson? Somehow I have a
feeling you’ll end up behind bars long before I do. Americans take kidnapping
very seriously. Especially since the deaths of those two little girls in Iowa
last year.”

When Cyrille straightened and reached inside of his jacket,
Sebastene froze until he realized it wasn’t a gun the man was after but merely
a pen. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about Zhenya
Addi
, starting with how you found her this last time. I
don’t know if she’ll be stupid enough to make the same mistake twice, but it’s
a worth a shot.”

Tugging his monogrammed silk handkerchief from his breast
pocket, he dabbed at the sweat beaded on his upper lip. “A prescription in her
name. My guy traced it to a pharmacy down the street from the address I gave
you. He staked out the pharmacy and followed her home.”

Cyrille scribbled something on the inside of the folder. “Well,
now that she’s in the wind, I doubt she’s going to be going back to that
pharmacy, but what’s your man’s name? I want to talk to him. Have him give me
some more background information you probably didn’t bother to ask about.”

Rattled, Sebastene gave him the number. The man jotted it down
before standing and tucking the pen back into his inner pocket. When he stepped
towards the desk, curiosity got the better of him. “So what are you going to
do?”

Cyrille gave him a dark almost smile before tossing the folder
on the desk. “What you’re paying me to do. I’ll have your grandson back to you.
But first, there’s a little matter of your mistake.” With a flowing move of
speed, Cyrille snared his left wrist in a tight grip, then smiled evilly before
slowly breaking two of
Sebastene’s
fingers. Finally
he released him as if nothing more benign than a handshake had occurred.

Tears ran down
Sebastene’s
face as agony
streaked up his arm and his entire hand throbbed. Cradling his injured hand
against his chest, Sebastene spat at the other man. “What the fuck was that
for?”

Straightening the cuffs of both shirt and jacket, Cyrille eyed
him coolly as if he hadn’t just assaulted the other man. “Your stupidity cost
me two good men. You’re lucky I didn’t do more than break a couple of fingers.”
He picked up the folder from the desk where he’d dropped it, and headed towards
the door. “Perhaps next time you’ll think about that before omitting such an
important piece of information again.”

* * * *

“We’ve got problems, Gabe.” Jude tossed the folder he’d been
pursuing after Sharon, Jude’s secretary, guided Gabriel into Jude’s office at
Larson Securities. As usual, the part owner and CEO was sitting behind his
massive black desk going over a file in front of him.

“You don’t say? I have a baby who’s going to have me wrapped
around her little finger if I’m not careful, and an irresistibly submissive
woman under my roof at the moment - one I promised I wouldn’t touch unless she
asked me to.” He sank down into the leather chair across from Jude. “Not to
mention, Olivia thought it would be cute to bring me a bag of goodies for my
playroom.” He tipped his head back and kicked his legs out in front of him.
“You know at times, I swear to God, your Mistress is scary. How the hell did
she know I’ve decided to move on? Or that I needed some special things new and
unopened?”

Jude shrugged his wide shoulders. “She’s very observant, and
it’s not rocket science to realize you wouldn’t want to use the same things on
Zhenya you used on Sara. You’re trying to move forward, not wallow in the past.
Besides a few days before the attack, during one of Olivia’s visits, Zhenya
spoke with her about you. Obviously you left a bigger impression on her than
you realized. She’s been having some heavy-duty dreams about you, and wanted to
make some arrangements to find a Professional Dom for an evening once this was
all over. So Olivia put two and two together, and figured with your enforced
proximity, it was only a matter of time before you went all dominant on her.”

Tipping his head back forward, he met Jude’s knowing gaze. “The
hell you say? It’d be a cold day in hell before I’d let Zhenya risk herself
with one of those assholes.”

Jude crossed his arms over his chest. “Weren’t you the guy who
just the other day was touting the benefit of having them at the club to
Olivia? Weren’t you the one who convinced her to hire a few, for the exact same
purpose Zhenya wants one?”

Gabriel felt a growl rising in his throat at the idea of another
Dom - even a temporary one - touching what he was fast beginning to consider
his. “It’s not the same. I know they serve a good purpose. They allow
submissives
to safely find a Dom to master them for a
scene.”

“Tell me then, how is it different with Zhenya? She has a
daughter to think of, and seeing a Professional Dom would be a lot less risky
than trying to build a relationship at this moment.”

Pissed that his friend was being so obtuse, Gabriel glared at
him before surging to his feet. “Because she doesn’t need some faceless dick to
warm her ass. I’m more than willing to give her what she needs right at home.”

Jude held up his hands in placation, but still managed to look
smug. “Whoa….dude. Calm the fuck down. I said, she asked.” He stood and crossed
the room to the small fridge. Reaching inside, he pulled out a couple of sodas.
“Not that she came to the club looking for one. I didn’t expect you to go all
alpha on me and start marking your territory.”

It finally dawned on Gabriel that was exactly what his friend
had been trying to do as Jude handed him a soda. Grudgingly taking it from him,
Gabriel popped the tab on it. “Asshole. You knew it’d get me going, didn’t
you?”

“
Naw
, I was just hoping Mistress was
right.” He patted Gabriel on the back. “Yep, I do believe I see a bit of the
old Gabriel peeking through. It’s good to have him back.”

Sinking back into the chair before he did something stupid like
tossing the full can of pop at him or decking one of his friends, he relaxed
and took a long swallow before speaking again. “So now if you’re done yanking
my chain, what did you find out from the police about Hark’s attackers? Do I
have to worry about them tracking Zhenya and Sophie to my condo?”

Grabbing a different folder off his desk, he handed it to
Gabriel. “Those men Hark dealt with aren’t your ‘every day run of the mill’
thugs.” He leaned on the edge of the desk. “They have known connections to
Cyrille
Karas
.”

Gabriel’s blood ran cold as he set his drink on the edge of the
desk. “The same
Karas
who’s known to be for hire to
the highest bidder? The same one who has connections to every mob family in
Chicago?” Thumbing through the file, he wanted to hit something as he caught several
mentions of not only various acts of theft and assault, but also several
unsolved murders attached to
Karas
.

“Yeah, one and the same.” Jude rubbed the back of his neck. “And
the rumor mill says once
Karas
takes a job, he sees
it through no matter what because...”

“Let me guess, because the customer’s always right?”

Jude shook his head. “No, because once he starts something he
always finishes it.” Jude rubbed the back of his neck. “Jackson’s telling me if
these two guys…” Jude pointed to the mug shots of Hark’s assailants. “…are
involved,
Karas
is behind it all. And he’s bad news -
so bad it makes me glad Micah and I’ve already moved Olivia into the club for
the duration. With the security there, we’re safer there than at our condo. But
you may have to move Sophie and Zhenya again.”

Gabriel continued reading. “Do you honestly think he’s going to
find her at my place? I mean I know I have a connection to the club, and
whatnot, but surely he’s not going to through the club records one by one?”

Jude sighed. “Actually that’s exactly what he’s doing through
someone else. Olivia’s new accountant, Louis Randall, has suddenly taken a
rather pointed interest in not only
Caelan’s
home
information, but also several other members who Zhenya might have met at the
last munch. The trouble is, he disappeared two days ago - packed up lock, stock
and barrel, gone without a trace, and left no forwarding address.”

“Well that does seem rather unusual for a C.P.A., but why would
you think he’s involved?” Gabriel flipped the sheet back over and closed the
file.

Jude suddenly looked tired. “Because the last record he accessed
before he disappeared was Hark’s – less than two days before the attack in
Zion. We think the fool was looking for leads on Zhenya’s whereabouts, and when
he coughed them up,
Karas
or
Sikkenga
made him disappear. So Jackson’s checking Randall’s financials right now,
hoping to find some trace of either the man himself, or a paper trail which
will lead to him.” He reached behind him for the folder he’d been pursuing
earlier. “Computers are wonderful things. This is a running report of every key
stoke Randall made in the past month on the computers at the club. Most of it
has to do with accounting practices and billing the club members, but hidden in
that mess is a pattern of discrete searches of members’ addresses.”

Gabriel frowned. “Which isn’t needed for billing. The dues are
automatically deducted from the members’ accounts on the first business day of
every month.”

“Exactly.” Jude handed over the folder. “The members he was
checking are highlighted in yellow.” Jude shifted on the corner of the desk.
“There was absolutely no reason for Randall to be looking at the physical
addresses of Olivia’s members. In fact, Mistress hit the roof when she found
out. I only hope Hark or Jackson find Randall first, and he doesn’t show his
face at the club again, or what Olivia did to the Lansing boy after that thing
with
Nisey
will seem like a swat on the ass. She’s
way beyond pissed.”