Oceans of Fire (43 page)

“I don’t know. I just wanted to find Mason.”

“Aleksandr is here,” Joley said softly. “He’ll help, Sylvia.”

Sylvia gasped in horror as she saw Jonas follow Aleksandr through the door. She began shaking her head violently.

Abigail rescued the teacup. “Jonas isn’t in uniform, Sylvia. You know he’s friends with Mason. He would never do anything to jeopardize Mason’s life.”

“I was with Aleksandr when Joley called,” Jonas explained. “I couldn’t help but overhear. I know this coastline better than most, Sylvia, and nobody is going to kill Mason if I can help it.”

“Sylvia was just telling us she followed Chad out to the old run-down barn just past the Caspar exit. She was hoping to find Mason and thought Chad was acting funny,” Abigail said. “So she followed him.”

Sylvia nodded. “I looked into the barn and there was a man standing there holding a gun to Mason’s head.” She broke into sobs again, choking, pressing her palm to her mouth to muffle the sounds. “They were going to shoot him right there. Right at that moment in front of me.” She looked up at Abigail. “I was so scared. I was afraid to move.”

“Of course you were. Anyone would be.”

“Before he could pull the trigger another man came out of the shadows. I hadn’t even noticed him, but I could tell everyone was afraid of him, especially Chad.”

“Chad was going to let them shoot Mason?” Jonas swore and turned away. “I would never have thought that of him.”

“Maybe he didn’t have a choice,” Abigail said. She glanced questioningly up at Aleksandr, reading the answer in his eyes. He believed, as she did, that the man coming out of the shadows was Prakenskii. It stood to reason that Chad would be very afraid of him.

“The man said they could use Mason. He said Volstov or the cops didn’t have a clue what was going on and why should they take the chance. Chad could transport it and they’d hold Mason until he returned. I didn’t know what
it
was, but Chad kept shaking his head and looked like he was going to cry.”

“They referred to something as
it
, but they didn’t say anything at all that would help you identify what it was?” Jonas asked.

Sylvia shook her head. “They talked about what a threat Volstov could be. Even Chad said so.” She looked at Aleksandr. “They must be afraid of you. Can’t you do something?
Please
do something.”

“This man, the one they were all afraid of, did he talk with a Russian accent? Was his hair worn fairly long?” Aleksandr asked.

Sylvia nodded. “He said something to Mason I couldn’t hear and Mason kicked out at him. The man seemed to get mad and he told Mason if the police came anywhere near the barn, he was a dead man. Mason spit at him. He shoved his gun against Mason’s head and I couldn’t help myself, I screamed.”

“That doesn’t sound like Prakenskii,” Aleksandr said.

“Yes! That was his name. The other Russian man called him Prakenskii. It sounded different when he said it, though.” She took the tissue from Joley and blew her nose. “He came out of the barn and I ran as fast as I could. About halfway to my car, he caught up with me, grabbed my ankle, and I fell down. I kicked and scratched him and fought until I was free. I was frantic. I ran back to my car and he shot the gun once and missed me. He called out to me that if I went to the police, he’d kill both Mason and Chad and hunt me down.”

Aleksandr sank back on his heels. “You were able to get away from Prakenskii? He shot at you and missed?”

“I kept kicking until his hands slipped off of me,” Sylvia said. “Jonas, if he sees me with you and knows you’re a cop, he’ll kill Mason.”

“Sylvia,” Libby said, “I want to help you calm down a little. Jonas and Aleksandr will get Mason back and I’ll give you a mild sedative. You can stay here with us until they bring Mason to you. It won’t help him if you make yourself sick.”

Sylvia touched her face. “Can you take away the rash?”

Libby glanced at Hannah, who shrugged and lifted her hands palms up in a gesture of surrender. “Only you can do that, Sylvia,” Libby said. “You have to do the right thing.”

“You’ve said that before,” Sylvia wailed. “I don’t know what the right thing is.”

“Apologize to Abbey for slapping her.” Joley fought to keep the exasperation from her voice. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask. She didn’t intentionally use the word
truth
and you were the one who screwed up and was having the affair. You should never have hit her.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Abigail said.

“It does,” Joley insisted, Hannah nodded her head in agreement. “It’s the only way to get rid of it.”

“All I have to do is apologize?” Sylvia asked incredulously. “I’m sorry a thousand times. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

Libby drew her out of the chair. “Come with me. We’ll get you cleaned up and you can rest.”

Sylvia touched her face. “Will it really go away now?”

“Yes,” Joley confirmed.

“And you two will get Mason?” Sylvia asked the men.

Jonas nodded and waited until Libby had led her away. “You don’t think she got away on her own? Do you think she’s lying?”

“It’s possible, although I don’t know why she would.” Aleksandr frowned as he tried to puzzle it out. “There’s no way she could have gotten away from Prakenskii. And he’d
never
miss.“

Abigail cleared her throat. She took a deep breath and let it out. “She’s not lying.” She had promised herself she’d never divine the truth again, not for law enforcement, but she couldn’t let them think Sylvia was in some way trying to deceive them. Sylvia’s fear and her concern for her ex-husband were very genuine.

Aleksandr reached out to her and laced his fingers through hers, knowing how difficult it was for her to give them that small piece of information. “So Sylvia did get away. Then it couldn’t have been Prakenskii. He never misses and no woman, especially an untrained one, could have fought him off.”

“Could he have let her go on purpose?” Abigail asked.

They all fell silent. Jonas drummed his fingers on the small end table until Hannah leaned over and put her hand over his to stop the irritating noise. When he glanced at her, she snatched her hand away. “That’s‘s-s-so annoying.”

“How nice that Barbie doll is speaking to me today,” Jonas said.

Hannah made a face at him.

“
Don’t
start!” Abigail commanded. “I don’t like any of this and I want clear heads while we all figure it out. If it was Prakenskii and Aleksandr’s right about him, then he deliberately allowed Sylvia to escape. He
wanted
her to find Aleksandr.”

“I’d have to agree with that,” Jonas said as his fingers began to drum on the end table again. “A setup, Aleksandr? Are they deliberately drawing you into a trap?”

Aleksandr shrugged. “It isn’t Prakenskii‘s style. If he was going to kill me, he’d sit outside of Abbey’s house and nail me through a window or as I was coming out. I’m not ruling it out, but it seems rather elaborate. He isn’t a man who would leave things to chance. What if Sylvia went home and hid under her covers? What if she went to the police? There are too many variables for a man like Prakenskii to use her to set me up for a kill.”

Carol sank into a chair. “Nail you through a window? You mean shoot you?”

“I’m sorry,” Aleksandr said, observing that she was pale. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Would you like me to get you a glass of water?”

Carol waved her hand toward the kitchen at the same time Hannah did. She flashed Aleksandr a faint smile. “You’re a good man. I hope my niece decides to forgive you and give you another chance.”

“We shouldn’t have been discussing something like this in front of you, Aunt Carol,” Jonas said.

“I’m not upset talking about murder and murderers. I just realized that someone was looking through our window through something that reflected light. Binoculars maybe, or a scope. Jefferson was a hunter before we married and he kept rifles. That first day, when Abbey had the run-in with killers, I was taking snapshots of the girls, mostly to make them laugh. It was at night and I was facing the large picture window and there was a glare on the camera. I snapped the shot and have the photograph in the other room.” She shuddered. “Just the idea that someone could have been looking through our window, holding a gun on one of us, is terrifying.”

Abigail tightened her fingers around Aleksandr’s. “That was the evening you came to my room. I remember Aunt Carol taking pictures. We were sort of joshing Jonas about being spies and she got out the camera. She told us there was some kind of light in the window. It made all of us nervous and we closed the drapes and added to the protection binding the house. You told me you ran into Prakenskii that night. Could he have been here the entire time waiting to get a clear shot at you?”

“I like the spying part of the job,” Carol admitted, “but not the danger. I think my blood pressure is climbing.”

Joley sat on the arm of her aunt’s chair. “Shall I get Libby?”

“No, of course not.” Carol fanned herself. “Jonas, do you really think Frank is involved in something illegal? Maybe he doesn’t know about the stolen paintings in his back room. Couldn’t Chad have hidden them?”

Aleksandr touched her shoulder gently. “I’m sorry, Carol, if he is your friend. We’ve been tracing his shipments for some time.”

“But Chad’s the one who crates everything and sends the artwork all over the country,” Carol protested. “Couldn’t he be doing it without Frank’s knowledge?”

“Are you interested in Frank?” Joley asked. “As more than a friend?”

“Not me,” Carol said. “But Inez has been for some time. I personally think Reginald is the hottest ticket in town. Frank has no sense of humor and I think a person has to have a sense of humor or they just don’t have fun in life. I want to have fun.”

Jonas looked confused. “Reginald?”

“Aunt Carol is dating old man Mars,” Abigail confided in a solemn whisper.

“He’s a lovely man.”

Jonas had a coughing fit. Hannah helpfully slapped his back. “On that note, I think Aleksandr and I are going to push off,” Jonas declared. “We have to go get Mason back for Sylvia. Not that I’m certain he isn’t better off where he is. That woman may genuinely love him, but she’ll never change her ways. If they have a fight, he’d better look out.”

“You
can’t
go,” Abigail said, clinging to Aleksandr. “You said yourself Prakenskii had to have let her escape. They’ll be waiting for you. They’ve laid a trap for you and you can’t just walk into it.”

“I’ll be with him,” Jonas pointed out.

Her eyes flashed, going a deep blue-green, turbulent and stormy. “How arrogant. I should have expected it. The contract is out on Aleksandr, not you, Jonas. Just how do you think you’re going to keep him alive?”

Aleksandr bent close to her, brushed a kiss along her temple. “
Baushki-bau
.” His voice was low and intimate, touching her nerve endings and sending little butterflies swirling in the pit of her stomach. “You worry far too much. This is my field of expertise. I don’t walk into these situations blindly. We cannot leave this young man to his death.”

She balled her fists. “For all you know he’s already dead. Why would Prakenskii keep him alive? And they wouldn’t stay in that barn. They’ve moved him. You know they have. They’ll have a sniper waiting to kill you and Mason will be dead anyway.”

“Actually, Abbey makes a very good point,” Jonas agreed unexpectedly. “Why would they keep Mason alive? If they need a mule for anything, they have Chad. If Mason isn’t a part of this, why not put a bullet in his head and be done with it?”

Hannah shivered and Carol made a small sound of dismay. Abigail glared at him. “You said that deliberately, Jonas Harrington. You wanted us to see a very vivid image of Mason with a bullet in his head. I see an image of Aleksandr or
you
lying on the ground dead.”

Abigail was trembling and Aleksandr drew her into his arms and rocked her back and forth, murmuring soothing phrases in his own language to her. He tried not to be too happy over her concern for him. She was obviously distressed and rather than wanting to reassure her, his first reaction was elation that she cared enough to be worried about him. “I’m too mean to die,” he said, nuzzling her ear. “You know that. And Jonas has my back. It isn’t like we’re going in there without checking things out first.”

“I just don’t like it, Sasha. Something stinks about the entire setup. I think you’re getting too close to whatever it is they want to hide and this is a way to draw you out where they can get rid of you,” Abbey insisted. “Does it make sense to you that Prakenskii would let her go? He
has
to move Mason. If Sylvia goes to the police—and how could he know she wouldn’t?—the police would simply surround the barn and get a negotiator. He’d lose.”

“Prakenskii doesn’t lose.”

“My point.” She pounced on that. “He doesn’t. They want you dead and he’s finding ways to lure you out into the open where he can kill you.”

“Maybe,” Aleksandr mused, “but for me, it still doesn’t add up. Prakenskii just isn’t a man to play games. He’d be more likely to walk right up to the front door and shoot me than do something like this.” He glanced at Jonas over Abigail’s head. “I know him. This isn’t his way of doing things.”

“We’ll be careful, Abbey,” Jonas added. “Jackson will come along with us and you know what he’s capable of with a rifle. I’ll have him covering us.”

“I’m g-going too,” Hannah announced.

Jonas snorted. “Not a chance in hell, so don’t even think about it.”

Abigail pulled out of Aleksandr’s arms. “Hannah’s right. Prakenskii works with magic and the three of you can’t possible combat that.”

Hannah lifted her chin. “I can.”

“I don’t give a damn what you can do.” Jonas pointed a finger at Hannah, his gaze a dark warning. “You either do it from here, up on the captain’s walk, or you don’t do anything at all. I’m not even going to argue about this. And if you do go up there, Hannah, you stay the hell back from the railing; you nearly fell over it the last time you collapsed.”

He straightened and stalked toward the kitchen. “Sarah, I’m holding you responsible. You know damn well what we’re walking into. I’ll have Aleksandr and Jackson out there, that’s it. Anyone else is an enemy.”