Vengeance (SSU Trilogy Book 1) (14 page)

He’d tamped down his disappointment and turned to leave when a loud thump from the apartment above had startled him. His hand jerked and knocked against a vase. He’d grabbed the vase in time to stop it from hitting the floor, but in the process he’d cut his hand on the ragged corner of the metal table the vase had been sitting on.

He pulled off the stained bandage, rinsed the cut at the base of his thumb with water, and applied some antiseptic. It looked like he’d be adding another scar to the spider web of white marks already crisscrossing his hands and circling his wrists. A souvenir from his time in the Indonesian warlord’s prison. A reminder of the way Kai’s contact had been tortured to death for nothing more than supporting the wrong person.

Fighting back a surge of anger, Kai tossed the dirty bandage in the trash and wrapped fresh gauze around his hand. He was tired of running. Sick of being too late to save the people in his life.

He tied off the bandage with more force than necessary.

He’d dreamed of his family these past two nights. Only this time there had been something new. Jenna’s disembodied eyes had stared at him, incandescent with hatred. Moving toward him until he ran.

And that was when he woke up. God, he’d give anything to have Jenna alive, even if she hated him.

His bandaging done, he carried his pack into the high-ceilinged living room and threw it onto one of the neatly made double beds. He stretched out on the other bed. He needed to go out again to stock up on food, but first he needed sleep.

His eyes closed, shutting out the room. For an instant it felt as if he were falling, until his inner ear normalized. He’d spent too many hours rocking on trains, first from Moscow to St. Petersburg and then from St. Petersburg to Helsinki.

Kai opened his eyes and stared helplessly at the ceiling. He was so frustrated by his continued failure to find the microchip, sometimes he wondered why he kept going. And he was so tired. Not just physically, but mentally. How he wished he could turn the hunt over to someone else. But he was the only SSU agent who’d been assigned to work with Nevsky. He was the only one who’d know if the data on the chip was genuine.

And right now, he was the only one he trusted to destroy the chip. He didn’t even trust Ryker and the SSU. Because he’d seen Ryker the night of the attack on his family. The man had ignored Kai’s warning to protect his family until too late. Whether deliberately, or through carelessness, Kai didn’t know. He didn’t care. Ryker had been given plenty of warning. Now his family was dead, and Ryker was on his vengeance list.

But first he had to find the damn chip. Without it, he’d spend the rest of his life on the run.

#

Early Saturday, Just After Midnight

Rocky Mountains, Montana

“Wake up, Jenna. We’re here.” The driver’s door of the Jeep opened, letting in a cold blast of air before it swung shut with a thump.

Jenna lifted her head from the window and blinked groggily, trying to see through the darkness. Floodlights illuminated a patch of lawn and the front of a wood cabin. Pine trees stood sentry at the edge of the lot.

Uncertainty jabbed at her breastbone. She was in the middle of nowhere, with a man she barely knew, and no way to call for help.

Was she nuts?

She took a deep breath.

No. Despite having known Niko only a few days, she wasn’t afraid of him. He’d done nothing but try to protect her. It was her own fault she was hurt.

More importantly, Ryker trusted him.

She yawned, then sat all the way up. The motion jarred her wounded arm and sent pain slicing through her skull. She bit back a groan. Ryker had been furious when Niko called him from Moscow to ask the name of a doctor who could treat her and wouldn’t report her wounds to the authorities. Niko had talked fast, trying to reassure their boss that the bullet wounds on her scalp and arm were minor.

Ryker didn’t buy it. Even through the speakerphone his icy reply sent chills down her spine. It took Jenna snapping out answers to Ryker’s probing questions to convince the man she didn’t need a hospital. But finally he’d given Niko the name and number of a local doctor willing to make discrete house calls.

What he’d said next, though, had shocked Jenna.

“Don’t bring her back to the compound,” Ryker had said. “I’m convinced we have a mole. We can’t chance Jenna’s location leaking out. Now that it’s known she’s alive, everyone wants her as bait for her brother. Don’t even tell me where she is. Just take her someplace safe.”

After the call ended, Niko had told her about his cabin. “My real name isn’t on the deed,” Niko said. “I bought it with some reward money from the DEA. No one will find you.”

Which is how she ended up here, in the middle of the Montana wilderness.

She turned her head gently side to side, trying to loosen a crick in her neck.

God, she’d been so revved up when she left for Moscow. Convinced she’d find Kai and finally achieve her vengeance. Yet she was no closer now to completing her mission than before.

And with the first stage of the hunt over, she felt…empty. Depressed?

She frowned. No. She was just tired. Tomorrow she’d feel better.

She needed to find Kai and end this thing. She was tired of waiting. Tired of living in limbo.

The passenger door opened, letting in the clean, crisp scent of pine, and the warm, subtle spice that was Niko. He bent down to look at her. “Good, you’re awake.” He held out his hand. “Come, milady, your room awaits you.”

She fought back a small smile at his words and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Then Niko grabbed a suitcase with each hand and headed across the lawn.

Jenna started to follow, then paused, listening to the symphony of crickets chirping. She’d missed the sound while in Moscow. Two years living at the SSU compound surrounded by wilderness and she was more comfortable with trees and insects buzzing than buildings and horns honking. She sighed in pleasure. Tilting her head back, she took a deep lungful of air, bringing the peace of the night into her body.

And let her tension melt away on the exhale.

Niko bent down to set the suitcases on the front porch. His jeans pulled across the taut muscles of his butt and Jenna felt an entirely female tingle of appreciation. She’d always liked—

She tore her gaze away. Dammit, what was she
doing
? She didn’t respond to men like this. Not since the night her family was attacked.

But between the fit of his jeans, his black sweatshirt and his dark hair, Niko looked as dangerous and sexy as a pirate. Any woman would notice.

Not me. That part of my life is over.

Yet she had to admit that admiring Niko proved the trauma from the restroom attack had faded.

As he turned the key in the lock, Niko glanced back at her over his shoulder. The spotlight from the house threw sinister shadows across his face, reminding her yet again that she didn’t know this man, not really.

And yet…on a very primitive level, she trusted him. A very frightening thought. Because trust led to caring, and caring led to pain.

The only way she’d survived these past two years was to care about no one and nothing beyond her revenge. She was never again going to experience the agony of losing someone she cared about.

She couldn’t…she
wouldn’t
weaken now.

A chorus of barking exploded inside the cabin. With a smile teasing her lips, Jenna crossed the lawn and joined Niko on the porch.

“Don’t be afraid of the dogs,” he told her. The frantic barking was now mixed with eager whines. “They’re enthusiastic, but they won’t hurt you. My housekeeper must have brought them up when I told her we’d arrive tonight.”

Jenna nodded, and Niko pushed open the door.

He was instantly surrounded by a circle of wriggling, leaping fur. His rich, deep laughter cut through the thin night air and wrapped itself around her like a cloak.

Her throat tightened on a wave of wistfulness. She missed Monroe. Missed old Molly, the golden retriever she’d had growing up. Thank God Molly had died peacefully of old age a year before the attack.

A black and white Border Collie broke free of the circle around Niko and came bounding over to her. She snuffled around Jenna’s feet then stuck her nose in Jenna’s crotch.

“Callie! Stop that. Heel,” Niko called. The dog returned to Niko and sat obediently at his feet, looking fully pleased with herself. “Sorry about that.”

Jenna smiled to let him know it was okay.

Niko settled the dogs in a high-ceilinged, open-beamed great room, then led Jenna up the long, winding staircase to the second floor. She could almost feel her energy seeping away each time she lifted her foot. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, taking a step required Herculean effort.

“This is your room.” Niko stopped in front of a door at the far end of the hallway, poked his head inside, then gestured for her to enter. He set her suitcase at the foot of the bed.

The walls were unfinished split pine that glowed golden in the lamplight. From the red and yellow handmade quilt on the queen bed to the loose potpourri in rustic pottery bowls, the room was cozy and cheerful.

Two large windows flanking the bed would provide an escape route, if necessary.

She inhaled and caught the scent of cinnamon and clove. She shot Niko a glance out of the corner of her eye. He hardly seemed the type to be setting out potpourri. Maybe he had a woman in his life.

Wait. Hadn’t he said something about a housekeeper?

And wasn’t that strange? Niko struck her as someone who’d prefer to take care of himself.

“The bathroom is through here.” Niko opened a door to the left and turned on a light. “There are clean towels and soap and stuff. If you need anything, let me know in the morning. Danuta, my housekeeper, can pick it up next time she heads to town.”

“All I need right now is a shower and about twelve hours of sleep,” Jenna told him. Even though she was exhausted, her arm stiff and her wounds throbbing, she couldn’t bear the thought of slipping dirty between the nice clean sheets.

They’d been on the road for over twenty-four hours, yet Niko looked like he could keep going for another twenty-four. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Hell, yeah, but I’m used to getting by on little or no sleep.” His hand lifted, as if to touch her cheek.

Jenna held her breath, waiting for his touch, not sure if she feared it or craved it. A few inches before he reached her skin, she flinched and took a hasty step back. His hand dropped back down to his side.

He cleared his throat and glanced away, but not before she saw something flash in his eyes that looked remarkably like hurt. “Thanks for coming home with me, Jenna. For trusting me. I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t regret it.”

Jenna tipped her head in acknowledgement.

“Okay, then. Sleep as late as you want. You have the medicine the doctor prescribed?”

She nodded. The doctor had given her both an antibiotic and a painkiller. She didn’t like prescription pain meds, but she’d taken them on the trip here so she could sleep.

“Good. There’s ibuprofen and aspirin in the medicine cabinet if you need it. Do you…” His eyes darted around the room, avoiding her. “Do you need any help getting undressed?”

Good God. He was doing it again. Just like in Moscow, the tough SSU agent was blushing.

Jenna shook her head. She’d worn this outfit precisely because it was easy to get in and out of by herself.

“Right. So…good-night, then.”

Jenna closed the door and exhaled slowly. Dammit. For an instant, she’d thought Niko would be able to touch her without a problem. She sighed. Part of her wished he’d touched her anyway. It might have been nice to feel his hand against her cheek. To share a moment of warmth with him.

She sank down on the bed, riding a wave of despair. The last time someone had touched her out of concern and caring had been Before. Before she’d seen her attacker’s knife coming toward her face. Before the sharp edge bit into her scalp and blood ran into her eyes.

Her fingers massaged the ridge of scar tissue running across her hairline. Everyone claimed she was lucky to be alive. It didn’t feel that way. Sometimes, when her control slipped, the combination of memories, fury and grief threatened to drive her mad.

Her hand dropped to her side and she pushed to her feet. Mark and Niko were right. Despite her training, she wasn’t as prepared for this violent world Kai moved in as she’d thought. All the training she’d suffered through to get over the fears left by the attack—of being helpless, of being raped, of having someone’s hand move toward her face—had fallen apart under pressure. She’d even had a panic attack back in Moscow when the doctor had moved in to examine her scalp.

Stress? Exhaustion? It didn’t matter. She needed to toughen up. And she hoped Niko was man enough to help.

Chapter 11

Saturday, Afternoon

Rocky Mountains, Montana

Niko was sprawled in his favorite chair in the great room, dogs at his feet, reviewing Kai Paterson’s SSU file when Jenna came downstairs that afternoon.

The dogs bounded over to greet her and Jenna bent down to scratch the three canine heads, lips tilting up in one of the few genuine smiles he’d seen from her.

Jenna looked better today, her face not quite as pale, the circles under her eyes not as dark. Yet she still looked fragile.

He tilted his head. No, that wasn’t quite right. Fragile implied weak. Jenna’s inner strength and determination made her anything but weak.

She looked…finely honed. That was it. Her face was a harsh study in bone and muscle, as if a freshly sharpened knife had been used to cut away any extra flesh, leaving just the foundation of her once vibrant beauty.

His libido didn’t care. It still thought this tough, waif-like woman was damn attractive.

Then Jenna sank to her knees to give Callie a one-armed hug and something entirely non-sexual, but much more potent twisted through his gut.

Uh-oh.

“You, like dogs, huh?” Stupid question. Her file said she had a golden retriever. But better to focus on dogs than on this inappropriate attraction.