Retribution (20 page)

When he was done conversing
on the phone, he tossed on the floor and turned a corner, both
hands back on the gun. His sharp eyes taking in everything. This
was a big old house and all the windows seemed to be boarded up.
Only thin slats of light made the way between the boards of visible
windows. It was a maze of darkened hallways with hanging low watt
bulb every now and then. A man came out of a side door, Ryan shot
him between the eyes and moved on. Then he heard her.

God bless that rage of
hers. Her voice carried down the dark corridors to him. He followed
the sound.

He paused at another corner
and peeked quickly down the hall. Two men stood in front of a
windowless door. He heard them arguing. Then one turned and banged
on it, “Shut the fuck up already.” Same heavy accent.

Ryan flipped around the
corner quickly and shot them both before they could take another
breath.

He then opened the
door.

Katya was standing in a
small room like his but at least it had a bed and a crude sink and
toilet, but with no privacy. Apparently Anna was intent on keeping
her for a bit again. His attention went to her. She’d been
crying.

“Oh my God! You’re alive!”
she rushed forward and threw herself at him, sobbing. He grunted
when she slammed against him. She backed off. “You’re hurt.” Her
hands moved over his body. Oh God, what happened? I thought you
were killed in the car crash. No one would tell me
anything.”

“It looks worse than it
is,” he whispered. There could still be some of Anna’s men within
hearing distance. As for it being worse than it was, he was sure
that rollover cracked a rib, but he wasn’t going to tell her, or
let it slow him down. He cupped her head in his hands. “Are you
hurt?” his eyes searched hers and the concern in his voice was
evident.

She lowered her own voice
to match his figuring out that they weren’t alone. “No. I’m okay.
Just scared.” Her voice sounded shaky and she was
trembling.

“Did that bastard touch you
again?”

“No. I never saw him. They
just threw me in here and left. No one even spoke to me this
time.”

Good. Obviously they were
too busy with him. “We’ve got to get out of here. Fast.”

“I’m not arguing.” She
moved in front of him to go first and he stopped her by grabbing
her arm.

“No, stay behind me.” He
handed her the spare gun. “If it moves, shoot it.”

“What?” She stared at the
weapon in shock.

“I mean it Katya, don’t
hesitate. Remember who these people are. Remember what they did to
you.” He stared at her. By the shocked expression on her face, she
was having some trouble absorbing what he said. “It’s them or you.
Nod if you understand.”

Slowly she nodded. She
didn’t know if she could, but she wasn’t going to second guess it.
These were the people that tortured her, and most likely killed her
sister, and obviously were going to kill Ryan. She took a deep
breath. Y
ou can do this,
Kat
.

Ryan quickly peaked out of
the door before he looked back at her and nodded. Then he stepped
out.

She followed him out the
door and gasped at the two dead bodies lying floor. “Oh my God. Did
you—”

He turned and held a finger
to his lips cutting her off. She snapped her jaw shut and nodded.
There was a low wattage incandescent lightbulb hanging from the
ceiling that lit the way. The floor was still cement, and no other
visible light in the hall. No windows or anything this time. The
entire walls were made of cement. Much like the cells they were in.
Well, there had to be an end to this hall somewhere. He listened
for a moment. There was no other sound. “Don’t look Katya. Come,”
he whispered over his shoulder as he led the way down the long dark
hall.

She hesitated, still
looking down at the two bodies, despite what he’d said. Then she
stepped over them quickly and followed closely behind Ryan. He
reached back twice and touched her, to reassure her, but never said
a word. He moved with the stealth of a panther; silent and deadly.
She just couldn’t figure out how a man of his size could move so
quietly. All she could hear was the shuffling of her own
feet.

The house seemed fairly
deserted. Just as he thought that, he’d heard something. He paused
at the noise. It was above them, footsteps. There were still more
people there. Yet, he’d not met another person where they were. He
continued to move forward cautiously. Finally there was a door at
the end of the hall. He tried the knob and it wasn’t locked. Well,
Anna probably didn’t expect him to live long enough to escape. He
opened it slowly. Daylight streamed in. They were in an above
ground basement. It was bright and both of them had to take a
moment to let their eyes adjust to the light.

It was then Katya noticed
he had no shoes, or socks besides his shirt. Yet he moved like none
of it bothered him. You’d never even know he was injured if it
wasn’t for all the blood.

He put his finger to his
lips and stepped out scanning the area quickly. He then came back
and took her hand leading her to the outside grounds. It was
deserted and it looked like they were somewhere deep in the middle
of who-the-hell-knows-where. Anna’s crew seemed a little scarce.
That let him know that she wasn’t here anymore. There was a black
SUV parked around the side of the house. He put his hands on the
back of it. No alarm. “Get in.”

“But how are we going
to—”

“Get in Kat, I’ll wire the
bloody thing.” He didn’t have to. The keys were in the ignition.
Obviously they were in the middle of nowhere.

Kat got in the passenger
side and quietly shut the door as he started the vehicle and
slammed it in reverse just as several men came running out of the
house. “Get down!” When she didn’t move, he grabbed the back of her
head and roughly pushed her forward putting her head between her
knees. Then he spun the big SUV around in a spray of dirt and dust,
flooring it. It lurched forward fishtailing as he raced out of
there.

Glass shattered and bullets
whizzed all around her. She covered her ears and screamed. She
heard him grunt, but the vehicle kept a breakneck speed bouncing on
the uneven gravel of the road.

Soon they were out of range
and he told her to sit up. Ryan’s shoulder was bleeding.

“You’ve been shot!” She
quickly tore a piece off her shirt and put pressure on
it.

“I’ve had worse.” He felt
it go through. It was clean, and no bone was hit. He’d
heal.

Worse?
Her mouth fell open. He kept his eyes on the road, still
driving at top speed. The vehicle bounced and swerved and if she
didn’t trust that he knew what he was doing she’d be more worried
about an accident. She glanced over her shoulder to see if they
were being followed. Then she flinched as an explosion rattled the
SUV. Smoke and fire burst up through the top of the trees behind
them. “What—“

“I called in a favor,” he
answered. “They won’t be bothering us anymore.”

“You blew them
up?”

“No, I called someone who
blew them up.”

Should she feel shame at
the satisfaction she felt over that? No. One look at the condition
of Ryan, told her definitely not. They would have killed him and
her. “Is this what Jackson was talking about?”

“No.”

She should know he wasn’t
going to tell her what incident the Colonel was referring to, and
maybe this just wasn’t the time.

A drone zipped overhead and
disappeared into the tree line.

Katya saw it and looked at
Ryan. If he saw it, which she was sure he did, because she knew now
that he didn’t miss anything, he said nothing. “What have I gotten
myself into?”

“You didn’t get yourself
into anything. The circumstances of your birth did that,” he
answered coolly.

She sat back in her seat
staring at him with her mouth open again. He sounded so
casual—cold, and they had just been through hell. “Ryan, I don’t
know you right now.”

He gazed back at her taking
his eyes from the road for a moment.

She waved an arm at him.
“This person, right here, is someone different. You are in an
altered state altogether. You are no bodyguard and not the person I
thought you were. Tell me the truth.”

She was right. He wasn’t
the same. He was indifferent and distant when his training kicked
in. It probably was a little intimidating, but this cool, calm
demeanor is what made him survive some pretty perilous situations.
It eliminated fear, it made his reactions and senses heighten, it
made him good at what he did.

He’d only known how to be
this way his whole life and never considered what it looked like to
her. Of course she didn’t know or understand that. She deserved an
explanation.

He glanced in the rear view
mirror. No one was behind them and he doubted anyone would be. He
then pulled over behind a brush of trees, cut the engine and faced
her. “The truth?”

“Yes, Ryan.”

“You really want to know?”
He was giving her an opportunity to back out. She may not like the
things he was going to tell her.

She nodded. “I have to. I
don’t want any more secrets.”

His eyes glanced off the
roof of the SUV for a second considering what to tell her. “No, I’m
not a bodyguard.”

“Then what are
you?”

“I’m a man with skills,
special skills, that is out to avenge my brother’s
death.”

“What?”

“I’m the man that’s going
to destroy your father, Katya.”

It took her a moment to
absorb what he just said. She gaped at him. “What? But
why?”

“He was responsible for my
brother’s death.”

Her eyes watered up as his
words hit home and tears spilled down her cheeks. “My father
killed
your
brother?”

“He didn’t necessarily pull
the trigger Kat, but he gave the order. I know that’s something you
don’t want to hear right now, but It’s the truth. Like you said,
he’s a murderer.”

“How—what?”

“He was a Miami detective,
uncover in a drug operation. He’d been in your father’s
organization for three months.”

“How do you know it was my
father for sure?” she repeated.

“Because I have a way of
finding things out. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t a hundred
percent sure.”

She buried her face in her
hands. “I just can’t think about this right now.”

“Katya.”

She looked up at him with
an expression of shock and dismay.

“It was an execution.” He
pointed to his forehead. “A single bullet here.”

She covered her ears. “I
can’t hear this anymore.”

“You asked,” he reminded
her. “He was last heard from at your father’s house. They found him
a dumpster, Katya.
My brother.
My flesh and blood!” He could have said so much
more, but this wasn’t her burden to bear. He could have told her
that he knew that Georgy begged for his life. Peter would have made
him. He also knew that the last thoughts his brother had were of
his family. No child should grow up without a father.

She honestly wanted to deny
it. To not believe what he was saying, but she knew it was true.
She knew exactly what her father was capable of because those men
told her everything. She knew he destroyed lives—families, but it
was still hard to swallow. Now she was in the middle of it all. She
slumped back in her seat. Was any of her life real? Did she even
mean anything to him, or was she just a way in? “You used me to get
to him?”

“I used the opportunity. I
was there to do a job, and I was fully intent on doing it until I
got to know you.”

“I don’t believe you. You
are no better than
them!
I let you know how I felt about you! Yet, you
used me to do a
job?
”

“I know you are upset.” he
looked down at the middle console for a second, in thought. “If you
remember correctly, I did my best to discourage you.”

Her mouth fell open in
disbelief. “
Discouraged?
I said
four
whole words and you crumbled! Some
discouragement!” She struck him in the shoulder. The same one he’d
been shot in. He grunted in pain, but she didn’t care. Tears poured
down her cheeks. “You tell me right
now
—right now Ryan, the truth. I
need to know how you feel about me. Has it changed? Am I still a
job?”

“No, Kat. You’re not,” he
answered softly.

She took a shuddering
breath calming her voice. “Then what am
I
to you exactly.”

He lifted his hand and
moved a strand of hair behind her ear, leaving his thumb on her
cheek. He never said anything, he just looked at her for a moment
and surprisingly, as angry as she was, she let him. She was
everything to him. He’d never felt like this about anyone before.
“You mean more to me than anyone in my life at the
moment.”