Retribution (19 page)

“I don’t know you. Who are
you?”

This time, female, no
accent.

It felt damp and smelled
musty where he was. It was then he realized where he was. Katya had
described it to him. This is where she was kept when she was
kidnapped. Christ, she must be terrified! He tried to move despite
his bound hands and feet, but the chair didn’t shift. It was bolted
down. Well, this wasn’t good.

He also felt like he was
hit by a train, so his mood wasn’t great either. Damn flimsy
foreign cars. He quickly assessed the pain in his body to see if
anything was broken. So far, he didn’t have that kind of pain.
There was a sharp knife twisting one when he finally took a deep
breath. Maybe a cracked rib. Not bad for what he’d been through. He
worried about Kat. She wasn’t as strong as him and could be
injured. That made him angry. At least he didn’t lose his courage.
“Go fuck yourself.”

A granite fist connected
with his jaw for his belligerence. He grunted.

“Now that wasn’t very nice.
I asked you a question.” Female, again.

Ryan spit a wad of blood
out of his mouth and tried to focus beyond the bright lights. He
looked down at his chest. His feet were bare and the floor was
cold—cement. He was also bare from the waist up. Well, at least
they left his pants on. They may not realize it, but they gave him
an advantage. Then his eyes went to the man who hit him. He still
couldn’t see him, just a dark outline, but he knew where he was
standing.
“I’ll kill you if you do that
again.”
It was in perfect
Arabic.

The shadow actually took a
step back and exchanged looks with, who he assumed, was the woman
still hidden behind the lights.

Ryan grinned at it. Then he
turned his attention to the voice toward the bright lights. “Anna,
I presume. Did you kill your sister this time? Because you sure as
hell tried.”

There was a pregnant
pause.

“Enough. This is useless.
Turn the lights on,” the woman said irritably.

The spotlight went off and
the overhead light came on. He squinted his eyes until the blind
spots started to fade. He was in a small room, cement walls and
floor, no windows and no bigger than a cell. There were three men
in there, all of the same race; dark skinned, dark hair, black
eyes. His eyes focused on one in particular. He had a birthmark
under his eye.

“You and I aren’t done,” he
said to him. The other man didn’t even look slightly taken aback,
but his eyes narrowed at the threat and the corner of his mouth
pulled up mocking him. Of course he was tied up at the moment…for
the moment, but he was going to wipe the smirk off of that man’s
face sooner or later.

Someone set a chair in
front of him while his eyes were still adjusting, and Anna Nickolov
sat in it crossing her legs. She wore a short black leather skirt,
fashionable flower print blouse and high heels. She was so close
that her legs were in between his knees. Her eyes slowly went down
his bare muscular torso than back up to meet his, they were as cold
as night, but there was no mistaking the admiration in them. “So,
you know me. You’ve got my attention.”

Ryan never said
anything.

“I know everyone that works
for my father, but you. You are new.”

He tilted his head keeping
eye contact but not speaking. There was definite defiance in his
gaze.

She sighed answering his
question. “My sister is fine. She’s a little banged up but nothing
broken.”

Ryan felt instant relief
but didn’t show it and kept his eyes on hers. Anna was just as
beautiful as her sister, in an evil bitch sort of way. She had
short black hair, and icy green eyes, but again, that family trait
of soullessness seemed to be inherited in them. The only one it
seemed to have missed, was Katya.

“Because she is my sister,
she is dear to me and I still need her. I wouldn’t harm her. You,
however, don’t have that immunity if you don’t tell me who you
are.”

Ryan smiled, unaffected by
her threats.

“Now who are you to my
father, where did you come from, and why are you here?”

“I’m no one to your father.
He hired me as Katya’s bodyguard.” It was obvious why he was with
her so there was no harm in responding. Besides, he needed more
information from her.

She nodded studying him.
“That makes sense. You are a hard man to kill.”

“Thank you.”

“Still, though, Mr. Casey,
you are here, and where is Katya?” She looked amused. “You aren’t
that good.”

His brows rose.

“Yes, I know who you are.”
She lifted her chin and smiled coolly. “I can find anything
out.”

He scoffed.

“I can.”

“My name is nothing Miss
Nickolov. Don’t be so impressed with yourself.”

She narrowed her gaze. “You
shouldn’t be baiting me, Mr. Casey. Your fate isn’t in your hands
right now.”

“This isn’t over.” His eyes
went past her to birthmark meaning he still intended on dealing
with him.

“I think it is.” She
studied him for a moment. “However, you may be useful. I’ve seen
you protect Katya in the boutique even though it wasn’t her I was
after. I will pay you twice what my father is paying.”

“No deal.” His response was
quick, quick enough to let her know that he wouldn’t even consider
it.

She showed disapproval in
her expression. Obviously she wasn’t refused very often. Another
family trait. Then she leaned forward to look at him more closely.
“Are you fucking her, Mr. Bodyguard?”

He didn’t
answer.

“I’m asking because, one,
no one says no to me that easily, and two, she’s desperate to know
what happened to you. I’ve never seen her so frantic. She’s
practically clawing down the door as we speak. My poor angelic
sister.” She leaned closer. Their noses were almost touching while
she looked him in the eyes. “I’m thinking she might just be a
little in love with you.” she clucked her tongue and leaned back a
little to see if she affected him. “My poor love starved
sister.”

His heart constricted in
his chest. Still, he said nothing and gave nothing away his
expression. His eyes remained on hers.

She sat straight, sighed,
and nodded to the big man beside him again.

Another hit to the jaw. He
was sure that one loosened a molar.

“Again, who are you? You
are not the usual Chechenia born brute.”

“You can burn in hell
before you get an answer out of me,” he answered through gritted
teeth. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth.

She sat straighter staring
at him. “Is that right?”

“It is.”

She thought about that for
a moment, then started shaking her head. “Well, see then, we have a
problem, because I’m used to getting what I want.” She nodded to
the men around the room. “I’ve made some friends as you can see,
and you’d better let me know what I want, or I’ll rip you to
shreds.”

“I see that sociopathic
tendencies run in the family.” He smiled.

“Why are you insisting on
making me angry? I could make this much easier on you.”

He shrugged.

She looked around at her
men. “I’m getting nowhere with this man.”

“We could cut off his
fingers,” someone suggested.

“Or something else.” She
stared at Ryan for a moment then lowered her eyes to his crotch
before meeting his again. “I bet you’re just as impressive down
there too.” She raised a single brow.

The determination and
menace was still in his gaze, challenging her. She shook her head.
“Somehow, I don’t think that would help. Just kill him…after I
leave. I don’t like to see the mess.”

“Why?”

His question brought her
attention back to him. “Why?” She tilted her head and
smiled.

He nodded. “Why are you
doing this to your father?”

She didn’t have to answer,
but she did. She had nothing to lose or gain, but why not grant a
dying man his last question. “My mother.”

“Your mother?”

“That bastard killed my
mother. I overheard him talking to Ivan about a year
ago.”

“You knew?”

“I’m sure you figured out
by now that I’m not angel like Katya. I knew everything since I was
fifteen. I listened in on what I could after that, made notes, paid
attention. I know everything; his businesses, contacts, shipments,
and where his whorehouses are. He’s disgusting. My mother’s death
was the deciding factor.”

“Do you have any idea how
this has affected Katya? This shit you pulled. She’s terrified to
be by herself.”

“I had to make it
believable.” She shrugged. “Katya is strong. She’ll get over
it.”

“It sounds like she’s heard
that a lot.”

She pressed her mouth into
a thin line. “Don’t lecture me about my family. You know nothing of
what we’ve been through. Katya’s capture was necessary.”

“As was the
abuse?”

Her delicately manicured
brows arched.

He looked at birthmark.
“Your man there, left enough bruises on her body to rival a gang
beating. She’s so terrified, that she can’t be left alone for ten
minutes.”

She turned and looked at
him.

“He’s lying,” he defended
in a thick accent. “She got hysterical and we had to calm her down,
but that’s it. Maybe we got a little rough, but it was
necessary.”

“Ask her yourself,” Ryan
suggested.

She gave a prolonged stare
to her man before she turned back to Ryan. “As I said, she’ll get
over it.”

Ryan realized that she
didn’t know the extent of what Katya went through. Regardless, now
that she did, her lack of concern was disgusting. “So, are you just
going to walk away after you’re done destroying your
father?”

Silence.

“I didn’t think so. I’m
beginning to understand there is more of your father in you than
you admit.”

“You do not need to know
what I have planned.” She leaned forward and ran a finger down his
thick chest to his hard abdomen while clucking her tongue again.
“Such a waste.”

“You’re no better than he
is. Give it a few more years, a few more murders, and you’ll be a
spitting image.”

That hit a
nerve.

She abruptly stood up and
moved the chair aside. “You’re wrong about me, about
us.”

“Somehow I don’t think I
am. This isn’t my first rodeo Miss Nickolov. I know a power hungry
psychopath when I see one.” That hit a nerve.

She gave him a hard look
before she glanced at her watch. “I’m done here. We have somewhere
else to be. You should have taken my offer. We could have been good
together.” Her eyes assessed him again.

“I don’t like used
goods.”

There was definite fury in
her expression now. She abruptly turned away to the man standing
beside him. “You know what to do.” She then left the room with the
other two men, including birthmark, following her.

The remaining man pulled
out a gun and started screwing on a silencer. He watched Ryan’s
expression as he did it. “For a man about to die, you don’t look
too scared.”

“Who says I’m going to
die?” was his wry response.

He tilted his head. “What
can you do?” He smirked.

“Well, I picked my cuffs.”
Before the other man reacted, he shot forward, grabbed the gun,
sticking his finger behind the trigger so he couldn’t depress it.
Then he pulled hard on his arm, yanking him across him. “I did warn
you. You shouldn’t have hit me.” he breathed in his ear. In less
than a second he had his thick arms around his neck, snapping it.
“For Katya.” He released him, and the body flopped to the floor. He
bent over and retrieved the wire off the floor that he used to pick
his cuffs and proceeded to work on his ankle restraints. It was
sewn into the waistband at the back of his slacks making it easy to
reach. No pat down could detect that but an easy reach if you were
cuffed behind the back. Thankfully they didn’t tie him and they
left his pants on.

He took the gun went over
to the door, knocked twice and stood aside.
“Open the door, it’s done.”
Again,
perfect Arabic. He heard the latch on the door and as soon as it
moved, he threw his weight against it, and shoved it open
surprising the man on the other side. He shot him in the chest
killing him before he could get out a word. He crouched beside him
and patted the dead man down, found another gun and a cell phone.
He tucked the gun in the back of his pants, activated the GPS on
the phone and dialed a familiar number He quickly stood up and
stepped over the body moving quietly down the dark hall; one hand
on the gun, the other holding the phone while he spoke. “Where the
hell am I?”

He knew the silencer they
were going to use on him was for Katya’s benefit. She was still
here somewhere. He’d kill them all to find her.