Dangerous Surrender (19 page)

He wanted to make it clear to this man that if he tried to cross Taylor or come after her in any way, that he would be a dead man walking. The mob couldn’t protect him from Roman if one hair on her head was touched. No force on earth could.

Chapter 15

Panic detonated inside Neal as he hurried down the dock toward his boat and saw Alexei standing next to the vessel, his hands shoved in his pants’ pockets. The sun had just set and the marina was quiet, with most people who lived here on their way to dinner at one of the nearby seafood restaurants. He’d been running errands all day, gathering all the money and IDs he’d stashed around the city in various places. It had been tedious and slow because he’d had to be extra careful about the places he retrieved his money from. He’d had to make sure he wasn’t being followed or that the places he’d been to weren’t under surveillance. All this was necessary in case he needed to go on the run. Which seemed to be a certain thing if he didn’t find Taylor by the end of tomorrow.

His deadline.

So why the hell was Alexei here now? That familiar fear at seeing the big Russian slid through Neal’s veins. As he neared the boat, he saw another man exiting the interior cabin, one of Neal’s gym bags in his hand.

“What’s going on?” he asked, trying to keep his voice civil. Alexei wasn’t the kind of man you lost your temper with.

Alexei barely glanced at him as he surveyed the area. As if Neal wasn’t worth his time. “My boss has decided to claim your boat as payment. You no longer owe him. My men are removing your belongings,” he said, as the other man dropped the gym bag onto the dock close to Neal’s feet.

“I have until tomorrow!” God, he needed a bump. Something to take the edge off. His fingers trembled and he went to grab at Alexei’s arm, to beg if need be, but stopped himself at the last minute. He wasn’t suicidal. His boat was supposed to have been his way out of here, a backup if he needed more money, a way to bribe officials if he crossed the border. Because this vessel was worth a lot.

Alexei acted as if Neal hadn’t spoken. He pulled out his cell phone and started texting—texting!—as if he wasn’t even there. A predator-like grin spread across Alexei’s face as he sent his message.

Another surge of dread filled him as two more bags were dropped onto the dock. No, no, no. He needed the money this boat could give him. It was clean and matched one of his IDs. Fleeing the authorities in it would be easy. Now he had nothing but cash. And the money wouldn’t last him long. “Alexei, please, I have until tomorrow. This boat is still
mine
. If your boss takes it he runs the risk of using stolen property.”

Now those eerie, green eyes focused on Neal. “You plan on calling the police?”

Neal didn’t miss the mocking note in his voice. He swallowed hard. “I’ll report it stolen.” He sounded braver than he felt and the words were bullshit. Something Alexei had to know.

The other man smiled then, once again reminding him of a shark. Involuntarily Neal took a small step back then inwardly cursed his weakness. When he reached into his jacket pocket Neal froze, certain the Russian was pulling out a gun. Instead he pulled out a sheaf of papers. He unfolded them and held them up. “Thank you for the very legal bill of sale.”

No!
Ice filled his veins, threading through him, leaving him frozen where he stood.

Alexei laughed, the first time Neal had ever heard the sound from the man. The sound was even more frightening than his smile. Continuing, the Russian shook his head. “I wish you could see your expression. You are a man with no honor and deserve everything you will get. What kind of man kills his own partner? You think I’m a monster, I know this. But I am loyal to my people. You…you are worthless.”

Neal opened his mouth to respond, but no words would come out. His throat was dry, scratchy and—that was sirens in the distance. His head whipped around in their direction, not that it did any good. He couldn’t actually see the police cars. Were they coming for him?

He looked back at Alexei and the smug, triumphant smile on the man’s face was all he needed to confirm the truth. “You called the police?”

The Russian shook his head. “No. You angered a lot of people Mr. Lynch. My boss gets his payment and now the people who helped us get what they want. You in prison. Simple as that. Like I said before, you might want to just kill yourself. I don’t think a man like you will do well in prison.” He chuckled again then turned away from him, completely dismissing him.

Oh God. He had to move fast. To flee.

The sirens were getting louder. Closer.

Bending, he grabbed the bag with his extra cash. He looked inside to make sure it was still there. Cash and burner phones. He could replace everything else.

Hefting the bag up, he started running. He had to get away from the marina.

Behind him he could hear the men laughing at him. Fuck them. He would escape. No matter what it took, he’d get away. The Russian’s words rolled around in his head; ‘the people who helped us’. What the hell? Only one person that he knew of wanted him in prison. Taylor Arenas.

Well, most of the employees at the Powers Group wanted him imprisoned or dead. Everyone had loved Hugh. But Taylor and maybe a few people from the IT department were the only ones smart enough to transfer his boat to the Russians.

He’d made sure that purchase was buried deep, under layers and layers so there would be no tracing it back to him. But that bitch must have figured it out.

It had to be her.

Even if it wasn’t he didn’t care. He was going to make her pay for everything she’d done. This whole situation was her fault. She’d told Hugh what he’d been up to. If she’d just kept her nose out of his business none of this would have happened. Hugh would still be alive and the company would be out a little cash.

No big deal.

But she’d thought she could just check up on him, like he was some common criminal. As he raced along the dock a plan formed in his mind. There was one more person he could turn to for help.

It was risky and would cost him every last cent he had to get what he needed to bring her down. But it would be worth it because if he did it right, she’d be dead and he’d be able to escape for the rest of his life without looking over his shoulder. He’d have to start over financially but it would be worth it with that bitch dead.

Chapter 16

Three days later

Roman opened the back of the armored SUV door for Taylor and as she slid in, another wave of tears welled up. She swiped at them, willing them to stop. But it was useless.

Hugh’s funeral had left her emotionally spent. Everyone from work—sans Neal—had been there. Not to mention hundreds of other people. Hugh had made a lot of contacts and friends over the years. A fair businessman who gave back to the community, he would definitely be missed by many. Especially by her.
So much.
She’d never forget the first big business deal she’d helped him with. He’d taken her and the others on the team out for a big celebration dinner, making her feel like she belonged somewhere and was doing something good for the first time in a long time. He’d made her feel like more than an employee, like she mattered. And he’d done the same thing for so many people because he’d truly cared.

“He’d have loved how many people showed up today,” Taylor murmured, leaning her head on Roman. He’d been with her the past couple days, a steady rock. For once in her life she had no problem depending on someone for emotional support. Because right now, she needed it. Saying goodbye had been harder than she’d thought. She’d made a silent vow to him that she would see Neal brought down for what he’d done. That was the only thing that helped make her feel better.

Roman’s arm tightened around her shoulders as Escobar started the engine. The last three days they’d basically been holed up in Wyatt Christiansen’s condo. Despite what Escobar had said about her taking time off, she’d been working on different company projects, tying up anything she could this week just to keep busy and because she didn’t want things to fall apart because Hugh was gone. Since she could work anywhere as long as she had her laptop it hadn’t been an issue.

She knew she needed to ask Roman how much longer he’d be staying and what would happen between them from here, but she’d been feeling way too raw to say it in case he didn’t give her the answer she wanted. She’d just needed to get through today. Now that the funeral was over, she knew it was time for the conversation. Because as much as she wanted him to, she knew he couldn’t stick around and guard her until Neal was found.

She was still pissed he’d managed to get away. Neither the police nor the security team—all of whom Escobar had since fired for losing sight of him—had been able to track him down after he’d fled the marina. Alexei had actually called to apologize for not locking Neal down at the marina. The Russian had said he thought the cops would easily apprehend him and if she hadn’t known better she might have believed the man truly felt bad.

“Yeah, Hugh would have,” Escobar murmured from the front. He cleared his throat, almost nervously as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Are you going to stay with the company now that he’s gone?” he asked, the blunt question not exactly a surprise. He’d dropped hints the past couple days, clearly curious what her plan was.

It was subtle, but she felt Roman tense next to her. She wished she had an answer. “I don’t know.” Her voice sounded raspy and tired. The thought of going back to work for Powers Group without Hugh there was beyond depressing. “You?”

To her surprise, he shook his head. “I don’t know either. The new CEO…” He shrugged, his face twisting into a momentary state of disgust before returning to its normal impassiveness.

The new guy was okay but the truth was, he wasn’t Hugh. No one could replace him, not in the sense that mattered for Taylor. Because she’d been more loyal to the man than the company.

They drove in silence back to the condo, but the whole time stress built inside her. She hated being in this weird suspended state where she couldn’t return to her apartment and needed guards in case Neal made a move against her.

It was like the man had basically disappeared off the grid. Even Vadim, who’d since returned to Vegas, was implementing all of his magic and running Neal’s face through all his facial recognition software programs and he was coming up empty too.

When Escobar’s phone rang, the soft chime seemed overly loud in the interior of the SUV, and she nearly jumped.

“Yeah,” he answered, his tone clipped. “Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker.” Without seeming to wait for a response, he connected to the vehicle’s blue tooth system. “We can all hear you.”

Taylor and Roman both straightened when Detective Durnin’s brusque voice came over the line. “Got good news for you guys. Taylor, you sitting down?”

“Yes.” The only good news she could imagine right now was Neal being caught and prosecuted for his crimes. Her heart beat an out of control thump in her chest as she waited for him to speak again.

“Found Lynch’s body late last night. Would have called sooner but I knew you’d be at the funeral.” His voice softened the slightest bit.

“Body?” Roman asked, voicing what Taylor was thinking.

“Yeah and it’s not pretty. From our investigation we know he owed some serious debts to the Russian mob. Off the record, I think he couldn’t pay so they killed him.”

Taylor shot Roman a glance but didn’t say anything. They’d never told the police about their involvement in making sure the Russians got the money they were owed.

“Why do you think it’s the Russians?” Roman asked.

There was a long pause, probably because the man was debating whether he should tell them or not. It was an ongoing investigation and while Taylor knew they couldn’t be suspects because they’d been on virtual lockdown the last three days—and could all prove their whereabouts for pretty much every second of the last few days—he probably shouldn’t tell them. When he spoke again, however, she guessed he felt bad about how everything had gone down.

“Hands, feet and another…important body part were missing. Even the face was too fuc—uh, messed up to positively identify. The only way we know it’s him is because of his dental records. He had multiple fake IDs on him too, like he might have been planning to leave the country.”

Taylor’s stomach twisted at the thought of the torture he must have endured. And a dark part of her she hadn’t realized existed inside her, was glad he’d suffered.

Roman’s expression was grim. “You’re sure it’s him?”

“We’re still going to check his DNA because of the high profile nature of the case, but…yeah. Barring anything unforeseen, I think we’ve got him.”

Escobar, Roman and the detective talked for a couple more minutes but Taylor basically tuned it out. Relief and sadness warred inside her, both winning. Neal Lynch was dead and no longer a problem. And from the sound of it, he’d gotten what he deserved. But Hugh was still gone too and that just killed her.

“You can finally go home,” Roman murmured as Escobar ended the call. He kissed the top of her head as she turned into him, cuddling against his strong body.

“I thought I’d feel more relief. Which I do. I’m glad this nightmare is finally over, it’s just…”

“Your friend’s still gone. I get it,” he said quietly.

Yes, he did. Because he got
her
. Sighing, she closed her eyes. It was time for her to go home and move on from this madness.