RunningScaredBN (31 page)

Stretching her stiff muscles and enjoying her small meal, Riley walked closer to where Aidan was questioning Dimitri’s men so she could listen. With every moment that passed, she was getting more frustrated. They refused to talk. Even Aidan, LCR’s best interrogator, was getting nowhere. The only information either man condescended to reveal was that Dimitri had sent them. A plane was waiting at a small airstrip about twenty miles away. It was to fly them to Dimitri’s home. That was it. No location. No last name. Nothing that would tell them how to get to the bastard.

Larson regained consciousness but wasn’t any more helpful than Dimitri’s men, although he did put on a better show. He assured them that he realized how much trouble he was in and was willing to share everything he knew. Unfortunately, he claimed, he knew nothing about Dimitri. When he’d sold Jessica to him, the funds had been transferred to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. Larson swore he knew only Dimitri’s first name.
 

No one believed a thing he said.

Riley swallowed a frustrated groan. Time was running out. The longer it took for the men to return to the plane with her, the more likely it was that Dimitri would find out there were problems. The men might eventually talk, but if Dimitri was as wealthy as they suspected, he could easily disappear. Perhaps forever.

Riley couldn’t take that chance.

“Noah, can I talk to you?”

She walked into the hallway, aware that Justin’s eyes followed her. She knew he would be furious once he heard her plan. But she had to try.

Since she knew she had only a limited amount of time before her partner arrived, and she wanted to get her argument in first, she said quickly, “Let me get on Dimitri’s plane.”

Noah cocked his head. “And do what?”

She had to give him credit. He didn’t immediately say no.

“Once we land, they’ll take me to him. He won’t be expecting me to fight. I can take him down.”

“What about Dimitri’s men? The pilot will be expecting them to return with you.”

“I’ll hold a gun on them until we get there. Then I’ll force them off the plane and make the pilot fly me to Dimitri.”

“And when you land and he has an army of men at his disposal? What about then? You plan to take on an entire army?”

Okay, admittedly that would be harder for one person to handle. “You can track me, follow with the LCR plane. I still have the implants in me. Even if he takes me to his home, LCR can come in and rescue me. He won’t kill me. I know he won’t. This isn’t that different from what we originally planned. I’ll be fine until you guys arrive. We can take Dimitri and all of his—”

“Oh, hell no, Ingram. Hell no!”

She turned and faced a livid Justin. She’d seen him angry before, but this went beyond mere anger. He was looking at her as if she’d betrayed him.

“You are not, do you hear me,
not
going to do this. We will get the son of a bitch, but not at the expense of your life.”

“He’s not going to kill me. I cost him too much money.”

“No, he’ll just beat the shit out of you and rape you again.”

“That’s enough, Kelly,” Noah said.

“Hell no, it’s not enough, McCall. You cannot seriously be considering letting her do this.”

“This isn’t your fight, Kelly,” Riley snapped. “It’s mine.”

“The hell it isn’t. We’re partners. We face danger together.”

She took a breath, struggling for the right words that wouldn’t make him implode. He had to see reason!

“I can do this.”

“You don’t have to do this. We’ll get the bastard another way.”

“And what if we don’t? Tell me that. When his men don’t deliver me, he’ll know something’s wrong. Then he’ll hear about Larson’s arrest, and he’ll be in the wind. He’ll disappear. And we’ll never know where he went. What happens then?”

His glittering eyes narrowed as they glared down at her. “What happens then? You live. That’s what happens. Is your life…your sanity worth the chance at revenge?”

“This has nothing to do with revenge. And my sanity is fully intact. How many others do you think Dimitri has abused? Will continue to abuse? I can stop him.”

Giving her a fury-filled look, he turned to Noah. “You can’t let her do this, McCall.”

Noah was looking at her, his dark eyes searching. She faced him unflinchingly, her expression both fierce and resolute.

Finally, he nodded. “Very well, Ingram. I’ll give you this chance. With one condition. If necessary, you take him down. No heroics.”

Uttering a vile curse, Justin walked way. She watched him murmur something to Aidan, who gave her a surprised look. Aidan then turned to Sabrina and said something to her. Together they started jerking the clothes from the larger of Dimitri’s men.
 

Then, to her astonishment, Justin began to strip.

She ran forward, grabbing his arm. “What are you doing?”

As if standing in nothing but boxer briefs was an everyday occurrence, Justin pulled away from her. “I’ll take this guy’s place. We’re about the same size.”

“You’re blond. He’s not.”

“It’s dark and…” He walked over to Frederick, who was still whimpering in the corner. “Mind if I borrow your cap?” Justin helped himself, adjusted it, and then slapped it on his own head. “Problem solved.”

“This can’t work. You know it can’t.”

Ignoring her, Justin slid into the black jeans and black shirt. As he buttoned the shirt, he turned around and eyed her coldly. “I’ll wing it, Ingram. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

She grabbed his arm again, tried to pull him around to face her. “This is my fight.”

“So you keep saying.”

“Dammit, Justin. No. Listen to me. This is my—”

Justin whirled and glared at her. “Ingram, if you say this is your fight one more time, we’re going to have it out. Right here. Right now. Get your head out of your ass and listen up. This is an LCR op. We are partners. We watch each other’s backs. End of discussion. Get it through your head. I’m going with you.”

She turned to her boss, hoping he’d make Justin see reason. “Noah, I should go in alone.”

His expression as implacable as her partner’s, Noah gave her a hard, uncompromising look. “That’s not your choice to make, Ingram. You want my support, you follow LCR protocol.”

They were on their way to the airport within five minutes. Just before they walked out the door, Justin watched Riley go over to Larson. The man was still tied to a chair, his eyes glazed from shock. She stopped in front of him and whispered something in his ear. His eyes went wide and then narrowed with fury.
 

She gave him a small smile and then sauntered away.

Though still furious with her, Justin couldn’t help but ask, “What’d you say to him?”

“I thanked him for hiring LCR to find me. I told him I’m one of LCR’s best operatives, and I enjoyed rescuing myself.”

He gave a small jerk of his head, barely acknowledging what she’d told him. A part of him wanted to grab her, kiss her, and tell her how damn proud he was of her. He would later, when this was over. Now his only concern was making sure she stayed alive.
 

To say he was pissed would be an understatement. She didn’t think he understood her need for revenge. He sure as shit understood it. And he wanted it for her. If anyone deserved payback, Riley did. But putting her life at risk like this? Hellfire no.

And she’d gone behind his back with McCall. Maybe that was what enraged him more than anything else. They were partners. No, they were a hell of a lot more than partners. And by her actions, she’d relegated him to just another LCR operative. Like hell he was.

This wasn’t the time to get into a discussion about loyalty and trust. That would be later after this was over and she was safe. For right now, they had to figure out how to take down a demon in his own backyard.

They’d brought the shorter of Dimitri’s men with them. He remained silent as he drove them toward the airport. Justin sat in the front passenger seat. Riley was in the back. They both had guns on the man. Once they arrived at their destination, they’d have to play it by ear. Having no real plan of action was a piss-poor way to handle an op. This time they had no choice. Until they knew what they faced, they couldn’t know how to go on.
 

Though both of Dimitri’s men spoke English quite well, neither of them had been the talkative sort. The minuscule information they’d provided, very grudgingly, was of little help.

Yeah, this had
shit-storm disaster
plastered all over it.

Justin used his gun to poke the man beside him. “What’s your name? Can’t keep calling you asshole.”

Moving his gaze from the road in front of him, he glared at Justin. “My name is Ari. I tell you this because it’s good to know the name of the man who will soon kill you.”

“Oh yeah?” Justin grinned. “If that’s the case, you might want to know my name. It’s Justin. And since I have a gun pressed against your kidney, I’d say your chances of dying are a whole lot better than mine.”

Ari moved his eyes back to the road, a small smile on his face. “We shall see.”

“Now that we’re on a first-name basis, here’s what we’ll do, Ari. When we get to the plane, you will get out and open the back door.” He didn’t glance behind him when he said, “Ingram, you get out and do your act. We’ll walk up the steps, with Ari in front. You’re between us. I’ll be right behind you.

 
“Ari, if you make any kind of sudden moves or open your mouth to warn anyone, a bullet will go into your brain a half second later.” For emphasis, he pressed the gun deeper into the man’s side.

“I am not a fool,” Ari stated. “However, you will pay dearly for your insolence. And you.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at Riley. “I was there when Mr. Dimitri owned you. It will be a pleasure to watch him make you crawl and beg again. You—”

“You shut your foul mouth before I put my gun in it,” Justin snarled.
 

“It’s all right, Justin,” Riley said. “Nothing these bastards say can hurt me anymore.”

He didn’t look back at her. She could read him too well. It would hurt her if she saw doubt in his expression. Because he did have doubts. What if Dimitri did or said something that triggered a memory she couldn’t handle?
 

Willingly returning to hell might well be the most courageous act he’d ever seen, but it was also one of the most foolish things he could imagine. Revenge was a damned hollow victory if you died in the process.

They drove through the gates of the small airstrip. A large private jet waited on the tarmac. Every instinct on high alert, Justin gave Ari one more warning. “Do anything at all to alert anyone, and you’ll be burning in hell one second later. Got that?”

Ari parked several yards from the plane and then glared. “I am not an imbecile, Mr. Justin. Nor am I hearing impaired.”

“Good to know, Ari,” he responded cheerfully.
 

Justin dared one glance back at Riley. She had that indomitable look in her eyes, and her chin was set at an angle he knew all too well.
 

Ari behaved himself. He got out of the Hummer and then opened the back door for Riley. Justin held his gun beneath his shirt but kept it pointed at the man. The slightest error and Ari was history.

They single-filed it up the steps to the plane. Every instinct Justin possessed told him to grab Riley and get the hell out of there. But it was too late for that. They would play the game and pray to God that they would win.

Ari stepped into the plane, Riley right behind him. The instant Justin walked in, Ari shouted, “It’s a trap!”

In one swift movement, Justin shoved Riley out of the way, grabbed Ari by his collar, whirled, and threw him down the stairs. He turned back and faced his worst nightmare. Riley was lying face down on the floor, her body twitching as if in spasms. A man stood over her. His smile was both evil and smug. Though Riley had told them that her eight-year-old memories might be too vague to describe him accurately, Justin could see she had been right on target. This was Dimitri.
 

Swinging his gun up, Justin took a step toward him. The sick freak would die today, right now.
 

Piercing pain exploded in the back of his head. He wavered and wobbled. His vision blurred. An urgent voice in his head told him to shoot. He squeezed the trigger, heard a shrill scream of pain. Knew a second of satisfaction.

Darkness washed over him.

Chapter Thirty

Noah paced up and down the length of the LCR jet. Telling his pilot to fly faster wasn’t possible. Not only were they heading into a severe thunderstorm, but they had yet to receive permission to land.

He and his team were a day behind but were armed with a helluva lot of information. They now knew who and where. Question was, would Riley and Justin be alive when they arrived?

Noah had talked with every government official he could think of from the US and Greece. He had called in favors, negotiated deals, and made numerous threats. But now he had almost everything he needed to destroy the devil.