Her Mile High Mates [The Hot Millionaires #4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

“I love you both, too,” she said, her voice choked with emotion as she decided to be honest, the hell with the consequences. They probably wouldn’t believe her any more than she believed them. “But you must see that I have to know what’s happened to Sonia.”

“Sure you do,” Peyton said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, but we’ll be there to look out for you. If you don’t agree to our terms, we’ll tie you down and prevent you from leaving this loft.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me.” Peyton flashed a glamorous smile. “Don’t worry, Sergio won’t know we’re there. But you mustn’t leave the vicinity of the tennis centre, even if he offers to take you to Sonia.” Peyton grabbed her shoulders and forced her to meet his gaze. “Promise me, Fabia.”

Peyton and Clyde stood naked side by side, identical expressions of concern on their faces. Her heart melted at the measures they were prepared to take to protect her. After all, she barely knew them—not really. She nodded several times. “I promise,” she said, standing on her toes to kiss each of them.

“Keep your phone handy with my number on the screen. If you need me, just dial, and we’ll be there before you can blink.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

* * * *

Half an hour ahead of time, Fabia wandered onto the terrace of the tennis centre’s main pavilion. She had arrived alone on her bicycle and not passed anyone on the way. Peyton and Clyde, dressed in dark clothing, moved like wraiths and secreted themselves behind the pavilion. Fabia knew they’d be coming, otherwise she wouldn’t have known they were there. She shivered, even though the night was warm. Apprehensive, she was now grateful to have Peyton and Clyde watching her back.

Disappointment spiralled through her. It was now fifteen minutes after the time she’d agreed to meet Sergio, but there was no sign of him. She’d give it another fifteen and then call it a day. Perhaps he’d been held up somewhere. Fabia sincerely hoped it was nothing more sinister than that. All sorts of increasingly wild scenarios played out in her mind. Whoever had Sonia had intercepted Sergio’s call. Asimov was back and needed Sergio to stay on duty. Sergio was dead. Sonia was dead. Sonia was badly…

Footfalls caused her head to snap round. She’d been lost in gloomy thought and had relaxed her guard. A figure materialised on the terrace beside her.

“Sergio?” She peered at him in the darkness but was unable to make out his features.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I couldn’t get away.”

“I’m just glad you’re here. What can you tell me about my sister?”

“Let’s go somewhere less exposed.”

“No, sorry, but I don’t know you. I’m not leaving here unless you can convince me there’s a very good reason to.”

“It’s not safe for us to be seen together.”

“No one’s around. It’s gone midnight.”

“Even so, I didn’t have to come, and I’m being watched. I’m only here for Sonia’s sake.”

“Is she alive?” Fabia asked anxiously.

“Yes.” He paused. “At present.”

Fabia hyperventilated. “What do you mean, at present? Is she hurt? Has someone—”

The tall young man ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t talk about it here—”

“Come inside, then.”

Fabia had already unlocked the pavilion. She led Sergio through the darkened space into the windowless storeroom at the back. Peyton and Clyde were just on the other side of that thin wall and would be able to hear every word. She hoped. She flipped on the light and got her first good look at the Russian. He was dark haired and very good looking. He also looked scared shitless.

“Tell me what happened with Sonia.”

“I work for Mr. Asimov. Sonia tracked me down to the bar here, and we got chatting. She wanted to know if Asimov had anything to do with the death of your parents.”

“Did he?”

“I should have reported her to my boss straightaway,” he said, ducking the question. “That’s what we’re supposed to do if anyone gets curious about his activities.”

“But you didn’t?”

He shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “Sonia’s a very pretty girl.”

“Yes, she is but—”

“I didn’t like the way things were going with Asimov. He was getting too ruthless, and I couldn’t bear to see anything bad happen to your sister.”

Fabia shuddered. “We’re on the same page there.”

“We became friends…well, more than friends.” His fierce expression softened. “We fell in love. I know this will sound crazy, but I think it happened the moment we set eyes on each other.”

Fabia thought about her situation with Peyton and Clyde and decided it didn’t sound the slightest bit crazy. A nerve worked beneath Sergio’s eye as he waited for her to react. He was uncomfortable being here with her and was putting himself in danger by telling her anything at all. Fabia warmed to him. He really must have strong feelings for Sonia to take such a risk.

“I understand. She’s lucky to have you.” Fabia paused. “Why would something bad happen to Sonia?”

“If she’d been asking too many questions about Asimov, he would know, and he wouldn’t like it.”

“Tell me where she is, Sergio. I’ve been going out of my mind with worry.”

“Tell us all.”

The door opened, and Peyton and Clyde stood there, legs apart, arms away from their sides. They clearly expected trouble and were prepared to face it. Sergio jerked his head round at the sound of their voices.

“Who are you?” His hand reached inside the light jacket he wore.

“Don’t try it,” Peyton said. “We’re friends of Fabia’s.”

“Who shouldn’t be here.” She threw them a disbelieving look. They’d promised to keep out of it. Sergio would have talked to her. Now he wouldn’t say a word.

He removed his hand and glowered at Fabia. “I told you to come alone.”

“Would you have let Sonia meet a stranger at midnight on her own?”

He slouched against the wall and shook his head. “I guess not.”

“Look,” Peyton said, “I know you’re scared, but I also sense you want to do the right thing. We can help you.”

He threw them a look of unmitigated scorn. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I think I do. Your boss built this place on Mafia money and is now using it to launder more of the same.”

Sergio laughed. “If only that’s all it was.”

Peyton and Clyde shared a glance. “What do you mean?”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“We’re the good guys. That’s all I can say for now, but we have the power to get you whatever you need. I sense that you’re caught up in something that’s gotten away from you. I
know
that no one walks away from Asimov unless he’s ready to let them go. We can make that happen.”

“Did your boss have my parents killed?” Fabia asked softly.

Sergio turned to look at her, sympathy in his expression. “Yes. Your father got too close to the truth and had to be stopped.”

“I see.” She took a deep breath and tried to quell her turbulent emotions. She must find out all she could from Sergio before he took fright and ran, as he looked like he might well do. She could grieve properly later. “How did he do it?” she managed to ask round the lump in her throat.

“Asimov knew where they lived. There’s that dangerous bend in the road. Someone who works for him was there on a scooter, waiting. It was the middle of a sunny day. They simply flashed something that blinded your father, and he drove off the road.” He reached across and touched Fabia’s arm. “I’m sorry. It was a terrible thing to do, but Sonia wanted to know and said you would, too.”

“Thank you. I do, but what of Sonia now?”

“Asimov is through with the Mafia. He wants out. He knows the powers that be are on to him here, so he’s putting one last large amount of dirty money through the casino on Friday night, during the gala.”

“We thought as much,” Clyde said.

“But that’s not all. He’s arranging to sell out his interest here to some rich Yanks, but he’s greedy. He’s got another scam going down on Friday night. The biggest yet.”

Peyton’s and Clyde’s identical expressions of surprise said it was news to them.

“What’s he planning?” Peyton asked.

“You must understand that I’m only telling you this for Sonia’s sake, but if I do tell you it all, you must protect us both. If Asimov even suspects that I’ve spoken then my life won’t be worth a dime.”

“You have our word.”

He expelled an elongated sigh. “Have you ever heard of the Russian Business Network?”

“The multifaceted cybercrime organization,” Peyton said, rubbing his jaw. “Identity theft for resale, hosting illegal or dubious businesses, that sort of thing.”

“Yes.” Sergio nodded. “It’s almost impossible to trace the hosts. It can be controlled through obscure locations, and there’s no hardware involved. It’s a safer bet for someone in Asimov’s position who’s acquired a lot of enemies over the years and is tired of looking over his shoulder.”

“He’d better not stop looking quite yet,” muttered Clyde.

“A few years ago, an eleven-man international gang stole almost fifty million from a well-known British high street chain by breaching their computer systems.”

Clyde whistled. “I don’t remember that hitting the headlines.”

“It didn’t because the target company chose to keep quiet and take the hit rather than risk public humiliation and loss of customer faith. They simply tightened up their security and made sure it didn’t happen again.” He shrugged. “That’s one of the beauties of cybercrime, making it impossible for someone like Asimov to resist. Apart from being almost untraceable, it also embarrasses the targets into keeping quiet.”

“How does it work?” Peyton asked.

“Through Trojans. That’s malware that appears to perform a legitimate function but in fact allows unauthorized access to the host machine. The Trojans divert traffic from its correct destination straight into the arms of the thieves, and no one’s any the wiser. They’re in and out, usually on a weekend, as in this case, and the proceeds are long gone before they’re even missed. Asimov has tried it a couple of times in a small way. This weekend will be the big one.”

Fabia frowned. “I still don’t understand where Sonia fits in. She works for a large conglomerate in the UK in their systems office,” she explained to Peyton and Clyde, “and can do absolutely anything with a computer. But surely Asimov has his own people to—”

“I smuggled her into the Kremlin one night, into my quarters.” He thumped his fist against his thigh. “It was a stupid thing to do, but I…We wanted to, you know, and I couldn’t leave Tosca Brava without a good reason and go to the place where she was living.”

“Why not?” Fabia asked.

“Our organization works on suspicion. No one really trusts anyone else, and we’re all encouraged to report anything out of the ordinary. Asimov suspects that his money laundering might have been rumbled, which is why he intends to pack it in after this last load of money goes through this weekend. He thinks one of us might have changed sides, so everyone’s under suspicion. Anyway, the only way Sonia and I could be together was at my place in the grounds. I didn’t think we’d be caught.”

All three of his listeners nodded, knowing only too well how crazy passion could make a person. How compelling it could be to take crazy risks.

“That really was a stupid thing to do,” Peyton said, shaking his head.

“Yeah.” The young Russian looked bereft. “Hindsight’s a wonderful thing.”

“What happened?” Fabia asked.

“We were caught.” He shrugged. “I suppose I should have known we would be. Anyway, after that, Sonia’s identity didn’t remain secret for long.”

“So she
is
dead,” Fabia said bleakly.

“No, fortunately for her, this scam is a two-man job at this end, with others situated in locations overseas. Asimov has to have computer experts he can trust absolutely. One of the people who was due to fly in from Russia to do his part was killed in a Mafia hit the day before Sonia was discovered here. That probably saved her life, because—”

“Because Sonia’s a computer expert.” Fabia frowned. “I get that part, but she’d never do it willingly.”

“Perhaps if she knew she’d be dead otherwise?” Peyton suggested.

“No, it wasn’t that. Asimov realized how we felt about each other. He told Sonia that if she didn’t do it, she wouldn’t die, but I would.”

Peyton nodded. “Ah, so he’s controlling you by playing you off against each other.”

“Yes. He’s a ruthless man who’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants.”

Fabia expelled a deep sigh of relief. “So Sonia’s in the Kremlin, safe and well.”

“Yes. I catch glimpses of her occasionally, manage the odd private word, but that’s it. They never leave us alone together.”

“Why hasn’t she e-mailed me if she’s working on a computer all day?” Fabia asked.

“Because the other person working with her has blocked all e-mail communications from her terminal. She could probably bypass the blocks, but I told her not to. It’s not worth the risk. But when you rang today I managed to tell her, and she begged me to meet you and let you know she was safe.”