Operation Heartbreaker (10 page)

She took a deep breath to calm herself and decided to postpone her tantrum. She would call her wanna-be-uncle as soon as she stepped into her suite. He owed her answers, a ton of them. He probably knew better than anybody else where her father was.

Determined, she broke away from Viktor’s arms, though it required all of her self-control. He didn’t just smell good, he also felt incredible. The muscles under his tight-fitting shirt were real. And they were soft, not hard as she had assumed. And…well, it felt damn good to get comforted for a change. Unfortunately, that had to wait. She had things to do.

When she got up he also rose and grabbed her shoulders. “Ally, please help me.”

“Look, even if you don’t believe me, I have no clue where that list is, okay?”

“I know,” he said to her surprise and pulled her closer.

“Really?” He slowly nodded and didn’t let her out of his sight as his hands were roaming down her arms. Though his touch was soft, her skin was burning from the contact and her heart was ready to jump out of her chest. Did he know what devastating effect he had on her? Obviously, otherwise he wouldn’t constantly find opportunities to touch her. She leaned forward and took in his earthy scent. Yum!

“I’m asking you to work with me anyway.” He was almost whispering. “You could help me find your father.”

The last sentence was like a bucket of ice cubes. She was supposed to track down Cole for him? That’s all? “And that’s important to you, because…?” she asked and moved away from him. She didn’t get far though because he curled his hand around her waist.  With the other hand he moved up and down her back. God, that felt good! She hadn’t realized how tense she was even though she felt unusually comfortable in his presence.

That was yet another thing. What was it about this guy that she felt so violently attracted to him? She barely knew him. What’s more, he was the son of a professional lawbreaker, shouldn’t she be more careful? Still, in his arms she had the feeling nothing bad could happen. Jeez, one more look into his sapphire eyes and she’d probably promise him to get the list herself.

But it weren’t his eyes that made her head spin, it was his incredibly sexy mouth. Before she could anticipate his next move, he leaned in, his lips lightly brushing hers. Soft as the wing of a butterfly–like a question. She was so taken aback by his attempt that for a moment she didn’t know what to do. Everything inside her screamed to lean into him and answer his kiss. But an alarm bell went off in the back of her mind. The guy was a player!

The next moment his arms wrapped even tighter around her. His tongue stroked a seductive path along her lower lip. He bit her playfully until she opened up. And then he kissed her. Their lips were moving together in a soft rhythm while his tongue teased hers, playing–challenging. Since she was pretty much beside herself and probably also completely out of her mind, she switched off her reservation and took on the challenge. It was shocking how effortless he set her body in flames, send tickles over her heated skin that centered at the base of her belly.

With a sigh she closed her eyes, put her hands onto his neck and kissed him back. It was a sweet kiss, tender and full of promises. After a while Viktor’s grip became firmer, his kiss more hungry. He growled into her mouth, or maybe it was a groan. She couldn’t really tell in her dazed condition. Viktor was like a drug and she wanted more. More of his lips, his hands and the sexy little grumbling sounds he made. Or was it her?

Too soon he leaned back, breathing heavily. He had to grab her by her upper arm so she wouldn’t drop backwards like a deadfall.

“Ally, this isn’t a game, it’s serious.” His voice sounded hoarse.

Was he talking about the kiss or her dad?

“I can protect you if you’ll let me”

Of course it wasn’t the kiss. She mentally kicked herself and took a deep breath. It had to be the hormones, there was no other way to explain the hearts in her pupils. She had to pull herself together and get over her crush at Mr. down-and-dirty. If she didn’t watch it she’d end up under his heel–and with her so would Cole. Now wasn’t the time to let her guard down and play kissing, lives were at stake. Although her brain was on the same page, her emotions had a mind of their own. “And what am I supposed to do?” she asked in a small voice.

“Get your stuff and move in. After that we’ll find a way to get in contact with Cole.”

“So he can give you the list?”

He nodded, but his smile slipped a little.

All of a sudden she was fighting back tears. She was confused, but certainly not gaga. Why should Cole return something he’d just stolen?

But wouldn’t it turn the tables if her father found out that Viktor had snatched her–or at least make him think so? The message wouldn’t be very subtle: The list in exchange for your daughter.

She bit the inside of her cheeks to push back the annoying sobs. She wasn’t one of those bimbos he picked up every night only to discard them the next morning like a used Kleenex. She was Ally Reynolds and what she didn’t need was to be taken for a ride by a player who thought kissing was some kind of sport.

Whatever happened to the heroes? Were there only buccaneers left? It wouldn’t have taken much for her to fall for those midnight blue eyes. She had to get out of here in a way that wouldn’t look like an escape.

She switched on a smile, the first one since she had set foot in the hotel. Maybe it was even the first since they had landed in France. At least it felt like that. “That sounds…fair,” she heard herself say. “Let me think it over for one night.” And look for a new place to stay.

He didn’t seem to like it, but nodded. “My driver will take you.”

Shoot! She couldn’t refuse without raising suspicion. She’d rather swim through the
Seine
than guide him to her hotel, but he probably knew where she stayed anyway. As soon as the driver was gone, she and Julie had to disappear.

“That’s really…nice.”

Viktor tilted his head and seized her up. Had she gone overboard? He wasn’t an idiot after all.

“Think about it. But keep in mind we’re running out of time. Every passing hour is helping the enemy.”

Remained the question who the enemy was.

Finally, he turned towards the door and called out something in Russian–or Ukrainian? One of his bodyguards, a surprisingly short fellow with bleached blond hair appeared.

After a quick conversation Viktor turned back towards her. “That’s my private number,” he said and pushed a grey card with a row of numbers but nothing else on it into her hand. “Only three people have it. If you need something, call.” He paused briefly. “I’ll be waiting for you,” he added quieter.

Which girl didn’t want to hear that? If it had been a different day in a different place she would have been floating. But this wasn’t a romantic get together, and Viktor didn’t want a date. He was after that stupid list and thought she was dumb enough to get it for him.

When he kissed her softly she felt a lump in her throat. Just as she was trying to tell herself that maybe he liked her a little bit after all, the short bodyguard reappeared and escorted her to the exit. Apparently, he couldn’t get rid of her fast enough, now that he assumed to have reached his goal. Guys like him always got what they wanted. He only had to smile at girls and they threw themselves at him.

This thought was surprisingly painful, considering the situation. She had enough problems, she certainly didn’t need heartbreak on top.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she wouldn’t see Viktor Iwanow again. Why did that thought hurt so much?

~ * ~

Long after she was gone Viktor was standing at the window of his suite, looking at the park outside. But he neither saw the trees softly swaying in the wind, nor the light that the sun threw onto the leaves. Instead, he was staring into nowhere, dwelling on his thoughts.

This girl was…different. Though he’d known that she was an esper, the energy had surprised him. Still, he’d never before encountered the offspring of an SK. That was probably why. But it hadn’t just been her power that had caught him. It was …her. The way she looked at him, the sound of her voice, the tiny gestures she didn’t even notice. She pushed her hair behind her ears when she felt embarrassed. When she thought about something, she bit her lower lip, and tilted her head when concentrating.

She neither tried to come across smarter or more attractive. Her voice wasn’t artificially high, but pleasantly low–warm. During the conversation she hadn’t thrown him yearning glances or given him inviting looks underneath her eyelashes.

He had assumed she would dress up for the interview, but he’d been far off. She’d come in a worn-out black knitted coat, skinny jeans and boots. And yet, he’d been the one who’d tried to come off all relaxed, not even wearing shoes. He’d arranged his outfit for over an hour while she probably hadn’t wasted a thought on her appearance. She hadn’t even worn lip gloss for fuck’s sake. There’d never been a girl come to him that, well,
naked
and he found that…sweet. Which surprised him even more. How could he be attracted to someone who wasn’t even trying to charm to him? The more he thought about it the weirder it felt. The chick had a dreadful haircut and knew nothing about style. Or make-up for that matter. Or how to fake anything. She was completely genuine, and that’s exactly what made her sexy. Had he just thought
sexy
?

Right, that would be the day! Him falling for a bland wall-flower. She didn’t even have curves!

But her eyes. Most women put so much make-up on that they ended up looking like Raccoons. Ally however needed neither eyeliner nor mascara, her eyes seemed huge anyway. Looking at them up close, they seemed like a wild ocean with golden speckles. Like the sun reflecting on the sea. Fascinating.

But he hadn’t made her come for that, it was about business. As if verifying, he nodded and crossed his arms above his chest. The girl was the bridge to Cole, that’s it. Without her, there would be no list, and without the list there would be not revenge–simple as that. And by God, he wouldn’t waive retribution. Not for Ally or anybody else.

It was time to plan the next steps.

After he had made this decision, he felt better. As if he’d change his plans because of a girl! Especially one that made no secret of her lack of interest.

During the kiss he’d thought to have her hooked, but her last look had spoken volumes. She’d neither lead him to Cole nor to the list.

The player in him felt provoked to pick up the gauntlet, she’d thrown in his face. The business man in him though didn’t appreciate a distraction. Not, if it was about the Organization.

Letting out a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and plunked down onto his office chair. This wasn’t the time for games. He had to start thinking about the next steps.

Ally didn’t trust him, that was written all over her face. He almost had the impression she’d never learned to sham. After all, he thought he’d noticed something like regret in her eyes. He could build on that.

Smiling, he leaned back in his chair. Even if she’d fought his charm offensive, she wasn’t fully resistant to him. He could have both: the list and the girl. And why not? He was a player and he won. Always. After all he was
Bad Boy Viktor Iwanow, the hottest hunk at the New York Stock Exchange
, he quoted Ally’s article.

Maybe it was destiny for them to meet this way. Just like it had been their destiny to lose their mothers. Their childhood and their trust in people. They were both unique, shared one fate. And one couldn’t escape one’s fate, just as much as Ally wouldn’t escape him.

09

When she entered her suite at the
Le Bristol
, she found a lavish meal, Julie hungrily attacked.

“Did you know that the French have more than three hundred kinds of cheese?” her friend greeted her, smearing something that looked like goat cheese on a piece of Baguette. “Isn’t that totally hilarious? I mean, I know about three kinds, but three hundred?” She bit into the bread and washed it down with a glass of Champagne. Champagne!

“Um, are you sober?”

“Am I’m sober? In my whole life I’ve never been this far from being sober. Good gracious! I love this country!”

When she saw Ally’s expression, she laughed and waved her off. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m not drunk. This is my first glass.”

Ally lifted one eyebrow and looked at her.

“’Kay, my second.” She grinned, took Ally’s hand and lead her to the couch. “Don’t be such a party pooper and look at me like my mom before she’s telling me off.“ She paused for a second, looking contemplatively. “What’s party pooper supposed to mean anyway?“ She made a swiping motion with her hand. “Whatever. Tell me how the interview went? What does this dream prince look like? Are his pictures photo-shopped or what?”

Ally sighed and let her friend push her down onto a seat. “I’m afraid he’s all real. He looks even better than in the magazines, that should be illegal.”

Julie let out a whistle. “Here, eat something. It’ll make you feel better.”

Ally had lost her appetite. Viktor had pulled a number on her. The interview had been a sham, his friendliness was superficial. All because she had something he wanted. She was only the means to an end.

On the other hand, his father had died–murdered. Wasn’t it normal to do anything in his power to revenge his death? In her mind she shook her head. Something was up, and she didn’t like it. It felt wrong. For a son in mourning he’d shown amazingly little grief. Maybe his father had been a nightmare. But then again why would he want to revenge him?

In the end, it didn’t matter. Her problem wasn’t Viktor, but Cole.

With a sigh she grabbed Julie’s cell.

“What happened to your phone?”

“I accidentally stepped on it.” Seven or eight times.

“Oh.” While Julie took another sip of the Veueve, Ally dialed David’s private number. Her hands were slightly trembling, she was afraid of what she was about to find out.

“Who is it?” he barked.

And a good evening to you, too, she thought and took a deep breath. Then she remembered that Seattle was nine hours back. She’d probably woken him up. Even if he was still in Washington it would be early morning for him.

“Um…David, this is Ally.”

“Ally!” The emotions that rushed through the phone took her breath away. Worry, fear and guilt. He was blaming himself for not taking better care of her, asking himself how she was doing, where she was and how she was getting along.

The fact that his emotions showed honest concern irritated her. And there was something else. Love. Real, genuine love, like a father loves his child. He’d never before opened up like this. The fact that he was doing it now was probably unintended. He’d probably no idea her empathy was working at this distance. Which it had actually never before, owing to her pills.

“We have to talk,” she said, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“Yes,” he replied, and she could feel him withdrawing. For a moment he’d lost his cool. If it had been due to fear or relief, she couldn’t tell. But that moment had passed and he was the restrained lawyer again, who had himself and everybody nearby under control.

“Now,” she added.

“Alienor, I…”

“No! I’m getting horror news about me and who I am every  hour.” She clenched her free hand into a fist and continued. “Or should I say about
what
I am?”

She heard background noises she couldn’t utterly place. He seemed to be travelling. Something new for a change.

“All right,” he said and took her by surprise. All right? Just like that? “What am I?” she asked, her throat tightening.

“Not on the phone,” he replied curtly.

“I haven’t time for your games,” she snapped. “I’ve just found out that I’m the result of a genetic experiment and that my father is a professional killer!”

Julie’s glass dropped and shattered on the hardwood floor.

“We’ll talk when I’m with you,” David said.

She could feel his growing tenseness.

“You have no idea where I am!”

“Paris, Eight Arrondissement. Rue Saint-Honoré, Hotel
Le Bristol
.”

Oops.

“You destroyed your mobile phone too late,” he replied quietly, as if it was normal that he had tracked her with her SIM.

“Don’t leave the hotel!” he continued in a pressed voice. “Do you understand? I’ve arranged for you to be watched over, but that won’t be enough. I’ll be with you in a few hours, then we’ll talk.”

In a few hours? The flight took almost an entire day.

“How are you going to manage that?”

“We’re already in the air.” She could hear him taking a deep breath. “If you’ve ever trusted me then you’ll wait for me and let me help. Your life is in danger.”

Well, she’d figured out that much herself. “Why did you call the
Seattle Times
and ratted on me?” Why in the world did she have to asked that of all possible questions? Her brain was probably running in chronological order and after all this was how all of this had started.

“Because you had destroyed all my efforts of hiding you that way.”

“Through my blog?”

“Through your paycheck.”

Uh?

“You fed your data via email into the net. Address, social security number, account number. With one of these pieces of information alone one could track you down. And you left nothing out.”

“If you had taken the time to talk to me, none of this would’ve happened!”

Apropos. “And why did you have me assaulted? That’s really scraping the barrel!” she was almost screaming.

“Ally, I’m sorry, but it was necessary.”

An apology from David. Wow! “But why?”

“You didn’t take your training seriously, it wasn’t important to you. But for me it was about keeping you alive, and part of that is for you to be able to defend yourself. Sometimes one can only win seconds, but those can be crucial when you have to escape.”

“Taking would have helped, too. I’m a person, not a machine one can program. If I had known the truth…”

“I would’ve told you at some point. But you grew up sheltered and are still so young.” His voice cracked, which made her pause.

“How should I’ve explained to a child that half a dozen heads of government wanted it dead?”

That her own father has to stay away from her in order not to get her into danger.

She almost dropped the phone. Had he just said that out loud?

“Ally, let’s talk about it later. We are landing in Orly in a few hours.” There was a pause. “Promise me that you won’t leave the hotel,” he added.

“I won’t promise you anything,” she said weakly and ended the call. She’d planned to put Julie on a plane and look for a new place to stay. But after the phone call her friend had magically sobered up and wanted to know every detail about the genetic experiment. Ally’s gift, and David’s part of it. So, she told her. They became too hungry over it and stuffed themselves, which made them awfully tired and caused them to fall asleep on the couch shortly after midnight.

~ * ~

Deafening pounding awoke them with a start. One couldn’t call it knocking, somebody was hammering his fists against the door.

“Uno Momento,” Julie called out, rubbing her eyes.

“I think that was Italian,” Ally uttered and looked at Julies mobile. It was shortly before eleven, they had slept through the entire morning. Her neck was stiff and her left foot had fallen asleep and felt numb, so she hopped to the entrance on one foot. Before she reached it, she heard the lock beep and the door jumped open.

Her visitor wasn’t a surprise. His pissed off energy had reached her before the knocking. Probably, because his rage was aimed at her.

~ * ~

Jean Lacroix stepped across the threshold and kicked the door shut with his heel. Ally’s eyes fell on his hand, which was holding a credit card. Amazing what one could do with criminal energy and a piece of plastic.

“That’s what’s called boarding and capturing,” she commented calmer than she was feeling, pushing her hands to her hips.

He looked exactly like that was his intention. His face was glowing red, the short hair pointed in all directions, and his jaw was clenched. She was waiting for lightning bolts shooting from his eyes.

Before he could aim his wrath at her, Julie intervened. “Hello sailor,” she said in a raspy voice, flipping her hair over her shoulder. That’s when she noticed the bird nest on her head, let out a scream, and ran into the bathroom. Ally had to shake off the strange feeling of a déjà vu. Anyway, that was the advantage of straight hair: It was always perfect, day and night.

But back to Jean. “What’s wrong with you?” Ally asked.

“Imbécile!” he snapped and took a step towards her.

“Of all the gangsters you pick Iwanow, the biggest heavy weight of the Paris underworld.”

What the heck was he talking about?

“I followed you yesterday, so don’t deny it!”

“I was at
Le Meurice
for work.”

“Merde!” he cursed and started pacing the room. “I didn’t spend half the night trying to calm down to let you throw this bullshit at me.”

It didn’t seem to have worked very well anyway, the calming down that was. “I did an interview for the
Seattle Times
. It had been planned for weeks,” she replied just as angrily. This guy was starting to annoy her. “Why do you care anyway, and what’s the point sneaking after me?”

“Do you have any idea who Iwanow is?”

“Everybody knows that. He has recently made a fortune at the…”

“Foutaise!”
Nonsense!
He made a swiping gesture with his hand. “That’s his bollocks-publicity and is part of his disguise. I can’t believe how dumb you are! Here I am, offering my protection and trying to help. And as soon as I turn my back on you, you jump right into the cave of Sergej’s son, who is by the way the godfather of Paris.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sergej Iwanow owns half of Paris. He shares the other half with the Italians. But compared to Sergej, the Italians are monks. The Russian is up to any kind of dirty trick. He sells drugs to kids, imports weapons from Ukraine via Bulgaria and Georgia, and does things you definitely don’t want to know about.”

She hadn’t even wanted to know the first part. “And why should I buy this crap?”

“Because I, contrary to yourself, have spent my entire life here, n’est-ce pas? Besides, my father works for the special forces, in case you forgot already.”

She actually had.

“He saw this man do things that would make you throw up.”

That was enough. “Say what you’ve got to say, then leave.”

Jean grabbed her by the shoulders, not rough, but determinedly. A stream of agitated energy swamped her, and she couldn’t breathe for a second. “Let go!” she gasped. Not that she couldn’t free herself. But his anger had taken over, and she wasn’t sure if she’d accidently break his nose.

“Promise me you won’t see him again.”

“I had no intention to. And now take your paws off me.”

Jean let go of her and took a step back. “Next time you make appointments, do your homework first.” He gave her the evil eye. “You walked into the den of the Russian mafia without any back-up. Nobody would’ve gotten you out of there without an army.”

“As you can see, I’m right here.”

“You were lucky this time.”

Ally rolled her eyes. Why was everybody predicting her an early death? “Is that why you came? To bitch me out?”

“Who’s a bitch?” Julie asked, floating into the lounge.

Grunting, Jean shoved his hands the size of trash can-lids into the front pockets of his jeans. “You’ve got no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into, n’est-ce pas?”

This was getting old. But actually, he sounded more resigned than upset.

“Who made you our babysitter?” Ally asked.

“Babysitting would be a nice change compared to the bull you’re up to.”

“It’s our bull, so stay out of it!” she replied and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

Julie gave a little cough. “Why don’t we all calm down?”

“I am calm!” Ally and Jean exclaimed simultaneously.

“I’m gonna order a round of coffee, maybe that’ll help.”

“No one can help her if she’s going to continue behaving like she’s on a goddamn field trip.” Jean pointed with his thumb in Ally’s direction.