Dangerous Surrender (17 page)

“Correct.”

“Fine.” She had no idea who this man was, though she could guess considering some of the tattoos on his fingers. She’d done enough reading that she recognized some of them. And she knew there was a Russian mob presence here and in surrounding areas. Combined with his accent and the mention of his boss—she didn’t even want to know the name of the man he was working for.

The man reached into his jacket pocket and for one moment she tensed, thinking he was going for the gun he’d holstered earlier. Instead he pulled out her cell phone, then battery. He handed both pieces to her. “I’ll call this phone with details soon.”

Nodding, and trying not to show how much she was trembling, she stood and slipped the battery back into her phone. Turning it on, she clasped it close to her chest, her fingers wrapping around it like a lifeline. It didn’t hide the subtle tremor racking her body. “You better freaking
call
.” Not come after her with a gun. Though she didn’t say it out loud it was pretty clear she was implying it.

He simply nodded and she took a few steps away from him, back in the direction of where he’d taken her from. He didn’t move from his spot.

Heart racing and sweat dotting her upper lip and forehead, she turned away from him and started walking, her legs shaking. Swiping her code into her phone, she tapped on the camera icon. Then she turned around again, still moving away from him. The man was standing, his body turned toward hers, but he wasn’t making any threatening gestures.

She was careful about it, but she took his picture as she held her cell phone against her chest, knowing she needed this to figure out who he was. His jaw tensed, as if he knew what she’d done.

She turned and ran, her lungs burning as she sprinted down the sidewalk. Avoiding a couple joggers, she jumped to the left and risked a glance behind her as she fled. He was walking in the other direction, not coming after her. Elation surged through her but she didn’t stop her getaway.

Slowing to a fast walk instead of a sprint that would draw more attention, she rounded the corner onto the sidewalk that ran along the southeast side of the marina.

Less than thirty seconds later she spotted the SUV. Her heart pounded erratically in her chest, the staccato thump insistent, blood rushing in her ears. Maybe Roman wasn’t even back yet—He appeared from around the other side of the vehicle, his expression tense and his cell phone held up to his ear.

He barked something into it and dropped his arm as he rushed toward her onto the sidewalk. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We need to leave. Now!” Winded from fear and running, she sucked in deep breaths.

It was clear he wanted to argue as he scanned behind her, looking for any threats but he nodded and ushered her to the passenger side of the SUV. After shutting her door he rounded the vehicle and hurried to the driver’s side and slammed the door.

“You hurt?” he demanded, his voice shaking with what she recognized as worry as he started the engine.

“No, but we have a problem. And a solution I think.” As he drove, she launched into what had happened, leaving nothing out.

“You
what
?” he roared, when she got to the part where she’d taken the man’s picture.

She cringed at the censure in his voice, but didn’t apologize. “We need to know who he is. And on the bright side we at least have confirmation that Neal owns that boat.”

Roman was silent, his jaw clenching in clear anger as he carefully maneuvered through traffic. She had no idea where they were going and didn’t think she should ask. When he pulled into the parking lot of a local burger place, she broke her silence. “What’s going on?”

Instead of answering, he pulled out his cell phone and glanced at his screen. He typed in a text and after a response pinged back he focused on her, his expression fierce, intense.

And incredibly sexy. Something she was surprised she noticed for the jagged nerves still thrumming through her. “Roman—”

He moved so fast she didn’t see him coming, his mouth covering hers with a surprising gentleness. His lips were insistent against hers, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips as he demanded entrance. But there was still a softness to his kiss as he cupped her face with both hands, holding her in place. As if she was precious to him.

Unable to stop the moan that escaped, she leaned into him, grabbing on to his shoulders as her tongue danced against his. The adrenaline that had spiked inside her earlier surged again at the sound of a knock on Roman’s window. She jumped back, breathing hard, while he didn’t seem fazed as he turned toward a waiting Escobar.

Where had he come from? Roman must have let him know they’d be here. Some of her panic subsided, but she was still shaky from everything that had happened.

Escobar gave her a hard look as Roman got out of the vehicle. Oh yeah, he was probably mad she and Roman had left without telling the security team earlier. She should probably feel bad about that, but didn’t. Even with the scary Russian man temporarily detaining her at gunpoint, they’d found out some valuable information. Now that they knew where Neal was, or would be staying, they had an advantage.

Taylor got out and hurried around to the other side. Roman was quietly filling in Escobar on what she’d told him the Russian wanted her to do. And she also heard Escobar telling Roman that the police had found Neal’s clothes and murder weapon from the day of the shooting stashed above some ceiling tiles in an empty conference room. As she walked around the vehicle she saw a waiting SUV that looked like one of the Powers Group’s and a blue minivan next to it with one of their security guys sitting in the passenger seat. He gave her a half-wave.

As she reached Roman and Escobar she started to ask them what was going on when Escobar held out his hand. “I need your phone.”

“Why?”

“He’s giving you a new one that can’t be tracked. All your calls will be forwarded to the new phone. And he needs the picture you took,” Roman said, his voice all business, as if they hadn’t just shared a heated kiss.

She handed her phone over and Escobar handed her another one, a slightly newer version of her current cell. “Thanks.”

Escobar nodded but kept his focus on Roman. “We’re ready now.”

Roman slung an arm around her shoulders and led her to the waiting minivan. He slid into the backseat with her and as they drove away, she saw a security guy from the other SUV get out and head for the one she and Roman had just vacated. “Okay, what’s going on?” she finally demanded.

“We’re moving to a secure location now. Escobar and Garza are coming with us. They’re the only two completely vetted by Christiansen’s security check.”

“Wait,
what
?”

“Wyatt did a check on all of Powers Group security employees and most are cleared but Escobar and Garza are the only ones he says he trusts completely to come with us. And I agree with him.”

Escobar just grunted from the front as he looked at her cell phone.

Roman continued. “We’re heading to another safe house with only the four of us in this vehicle privy to its location.”

She decided not to point out that she actually didn’t know its location yet.

“Wyatt’s sending in a small team, including my brother, to stay with us for the next few days. They’ll be here in a couple hours.”

“He can’t want to hire me that badly.” Because what Mr. Christiansen was doing seemed excessively generous.

“You found Neal Lynch before the police. Or at least his boat. You’re clearly good at what you do so don’t be surprised by how badly he wants to hire you. But…this has more to do with Vadim. He and Angel are on their way back from their—”

“No!” Oh God, she felt terrible if he’d come back early from his honeymoon.

Roman’s expression softened and he shook his head. “It’s not because of you. Not entirely. I talked to Angel and it sounds as if they were both going stir crazy on an island. They were ready to get back home.”

“Wait, when did you talk to her? And when did you set any of this up? I wasn’t gone for that long.”

To her surprise, he scrubbed a hand over his head and looked almost sheepish. “I’ve been setting this up since yesterday but I made most of the calls and set everything into motion when I was scouting Lynch’s boat.”

She’d known he planned to move them to a new safe house but an outside security team was a big deal. “You’re not…” She shot a glance to the front seat and lowered her voice as she looked back at Roman, even though she was pretty sure the two men in the front could still hear her. “You’re not paying for this security detail are you? This all sounds really expensive.”

He blinked, as if she’d really surprised him. “No, but I would. You’re worth it.” He said it so matter-of-fact, he left her speechless as he continued. “Right now the only thing that matters is keeping you safe.”

“Got some news. Good and bad,” Escobar said from the front. He held up her phone, which had now been switched off. “I recognize the man from the picture and it’s bad. Did a quick check to make sure but it’s Alexei Lagunov. Enforcer for the Russian mob. Deadly reputation, which I believe is earned.”

The blood in her veins turned icy, chilling her from the inside out. She’d had an idea the guy was bad news but hearing it confirmed was terrifying. As a shudder snaked through her, Roman took her hand in his. Her hand was clammy but she didn’t care. His touch grounded her.

“Can you really do what you told him? Transfer the boat to his boss?” Escobar asked.

She nodded.

A long moment passed in which Roman and Escobar seemed to have a silent conversation. “What?” she asked either Roman or Escobar. She didn’t care who answered.

She wasn’t sure if Garza knew what was going on and wasn’t planning on spelling it out. She’d worked with the other man and liked him well enough. He was really quiet, but very skilled according to Hugh. Her boss had used him often for his personal security, which made her feel better about him being here.

“I think it’s in your best interest to do it. The Russian mob…they’re not forgiving. While you have nothing to do with Lynch or the money he owes, you’re now on their radar and that’s a bad place to be, especially when you’ve made them a promise. Give them what they want. When they’re out of the picture and Lynch is fair game, we call the police. Which we could do now. If that happens, I don’t know if they’ll take it out on you. They want their money, bottom line. The choice is up to you though.”

She swallowed hard and looked at Roman, a small part of her wondering if he’d judge her for what she was going to do. It wasn’t even a decision really. “I’m doing it.” Because she wasn’t stupid enough to piss off the Russian mob.

Roman let out a relieved breath. “Good. If you didn’t I was going to ask Vadim to.”

“You said something about good news?” she asked, looking at Escobar while still holding Roman’s hand.

“Yeah.” His expression was grim though, not exactly lining up with the concept of ‘good news’. “Clayton Gibson, one of my guys, was found dead earlier this morning at a park. Shot six times in the face and chest. He had a vest on, which is odd enough, and… Anyway, I did some checking into his financials—deep checking—and it looks like he was Lynch’s partner. He’d been taking extra payoffs from Lynch, through the company, but to an offshore account. It was in his sister’s name, which is why we missed it the first time, but once I started looking harder it wasn’t difficult to figure out what he’s been up to. There’s more evidence against him, including some credit card receipts from Vegas during the time frame you were there. I’ve already emailed you and the police everything we’ve found, but I’m pretty sure he was Lynch’s partner.”

She leaned back against the seat, stunned, and a little numb. She hadn’t known Gibson well but they’d traveled together before for work. He’d been on Neal’s security detail many times and whenever she’d traveled with him or Hugh she’d chatted with the guy. He’d seemed normal enough. She should feel relieved that one of her problems was gone but she felt…ugh. She just felt depressed.

Sighing, she leaned her head on Roman’s shoulder. “As soon as we hear from the Russian enforcer,” which felt weird saying out loud, “and I take care of everything, then what?”

“Then we call the cops on Lynch,” Roman said.

“What if—”

Escobar shook his head, cutting her off as if he knew what she was going to ask. “The guys you saw back at the parking lot, they’re going to be watching the marina too. Just because the Russians are watching doesn’t mean we can’t too. Once we get a bead on Neal, that fucker isn’t going anywhere.”

“You don’t think we should just call the police on him?”
She
didn’t, but she really needed to hear them say it too. If they called the cops and Neal was arrested and the Russian mob didn’t get their money—yeah, she wasn’t taking a chance they took it out on her for losing their money.

Roman and Escobar both snorted at the same time, the unified reaction making her smile even in the middle of the most craptastic situation she could have imagined.

Chapter 14

Roman knocked on the door of the bathroom Taylor was in. The luxury condo Wyatt had put them in was huge, with four rooms and the place spanning the entire floor. More importantly, it was secure. Apparently Wyatt owned it so he was putting it to good use.