American Law (Law #2) (6 page)

Chapter 10

Sitting across from his boss, a man of power and influence, Sean felt inadequate. Normally confident, he hated feeling like he couldn’t compare. A smart man neither crossed nor failed the boss. Those who did ended in a bad way. He didn’t plan on being one of them.

Dmitry Ivanov had disappeared, but he wasn’t concerned. There was no place he could hide, not for long. He’d probably taken to the streets. Sean had ears to the ground. The Russian had no ties to America. He’d ensured that, monitoring the man’s communiqués for months, Ivanov not once contacting anyone in the States. He was alone in a foreign land. It was only a matter of time until Sean got a whiff of him.

The boss looked up from the newspaper he had been reading and glared at him. Sean had been peddling drugs on a street corner when the boss had offered him a more elevated position with the resources of the government at his disposal—along with a back door into the Capitol, where he provided specific pharmaceuticals to money men whose decisions shaped the country.

The boss carefully folded up his newspaper and placed it on the fancy white tablecloth in the expensive restaurant. Sean tried not to feel out of place. Even after rubbing elbows with the elite he still felt uncomfortable in such elaborate surroundings.

“Well?” the boss asked, and Sean shifted nervously in his seat. He could always make him feel like a child again, giving him a sense that he’d disappointed him, somehow offending him personally. It annoyed him immensely.

“He got away,” he said, still feeling the sting. “I wasn’t expecting a double cross. It took me by surprise. I didn’t think the bastard had the balls to pull anything.”

He was sure the boss knew exactly what had gone down, and could bet within minutes of the Pentagon being alerted, he had also been informed.

“And where is Sundown
now?”

He glanced around, ensuring they couldn’t be overheard. He needn’t bother. The boss frequented this location for its privacy and
anonymity
, the establishment renowned for confidentiality.

“I have no idea. Ivanov did something to the computer. When the alarm went off, the computer went on the fritz or something. The file downloaded and was sent away.”

He was still pissed that the commie bastard had put one over on him. He wasn’t an intelligent man by society’s standards, had never gone to college and didn’t have a fancy degree, but he had street smarts which always proved more useful in his line of business. He’d risen fast from the gutters, inspired by the men of the world who’d made something out of nothing. He planned to do just that, become an entrepreneur. Live his life in comfort and luxury.

“We must get Dmitry Ivanov back. Alive and in one piece,” the boss said. Sean wondered if he also knew about his attempt to kill the Russian. He hoped not. It wasn’t another failure, but the boss would hardly be happy about it. It hadn’t been his finest hour and he’d since calmed down enough to realize how stupid a plan it had been. He needed Sundown just as much as the boss did.

“He must retrieve Sundown before someone else does,” the boss continued. “The entire nation’s security is tied up in that file. We’re practically sitting ducks this very moment. A bad position, should our enemies discover that fact.”

Sean nodded. He didn’t care for the boss’s political agenda. He was out for his own. He already had a couple of buyers in other countries who wanted Sundown, and the bidding had gone up to twenty million euros. He had no idea what that was in American dollars, but he was well aware that euros trumped dollars. With that kind of dough, he could retire to a nice non-extradition island. He didn’t care if he could never return to the States again. It wasn’t as if the country had ever done anything for him.

“Yeah, well, I’m looking into it. Ivanov and his partner Anisimov booked into a hotel near Dupont Circle. So far he hasn’t shown up.”

He would be stupid to do so. It hadn’t taken the Department of Defense long to connect the dots, but the moment Ivanov’s name was linked to Anisimov’s, his fate was sealed. The entire company of American Federal Agencies had him on their watch list. He was fucked wherever he went. He just had to get to him first.

The boss linked his fingers together. “I want to know everything there is to know about this Dmitry Ivanov.”

The man was practically a ghost. He had an apartment in the Moscow neighborhood of Belorusskaya-Radialnaya, had been living there for the past four and half years, yet he had no outstanding debts, no unaccountable funds or strange deposits. His record was clean.

At least it had been. He’d experienced a moment of concern when he’d learned Ivanov had one older sister, Elena—married name Nagregor—who worked for the Russian Government. That could be a problem. Or not. Though an agent, she was merely a liaison with no real power and due to the nature of her brother’s crime, Russia would unlikely intercede on his behalf.

Still, he planned to monitor her movements. It never hurt to be cautious, especially now that he was so close to achieving his goals. He only hoped Dmitry loved his sister enough not to involve her.

He would hate to unnecessarily dispose of the woman. Although, perhaps she was the pressure point he’d been searching for.

Chapter 11

Elena barely felt the plane touch down at Dulles International Airport, her body tense with worry. She had spent the entire flight awake, her stomach twisting inside her until she felt sick. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

Only a while ago, she and Lucas had been in trouble, and now it was her little brother. She had given a lot of thought into how she could help him. So far she had found nothing. She would have to wait and hear what the Americans said before she could really put a plan into motion.

After getting off the phone with Dmitry, she’d immediately booked a flight and was now more than ever determined to help him through his current predicament. She had awoken her boss, Director Vladimir Mishkin, who had not been happy about the early morning wake up call. She had told him firmly that she was taking some time off, and didn’t elaborate as to why. Now she was in Washington, sleep deprived and jet lagged. She had dark circles under her grey eyes and her ponytail was mussed from leaning against the back of the seat. She was surly and hungry and desperately needed coffee.

First things first.

She hailed a yellow taxi-cab and gave the driver Lucas’s home address. He had given her the address and the location of his spare key in case she ever visited Washington and he wasn’t nearby to pick her up or let her in. This was the first time she would be using either.

The thought of him made her heart pound and her stomach flutter. He sent her body wild, craving things her dormant hormones hadn’t thought of in years. She had been shocked at how she’d responded to him when they’d first met. She had been grieving for so long she’d tended to believe the male of species no longer existed, until she saw Lucas Gates. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he looked the quintessential California beach boy. No one could have thought him an excellent marksman, or saw him for the lethal fighter he was. He was also kind and considerate and had comforted her more than once during their adventure.

She’d not seen him in over a year and a half, but she would never forget his hard, well-toned body, or how he’d made her skin burn hot. It had reached the point where all she’d thought about was getting him alone and naked, with whipped cream and strawberries nearby. Seeing him again wouldn’t be easy. He muddled her mind, all thoughts turning to mush when he was around.

She looked out the window at the early morning traffic passing her by on the way to his home in Annandale. After eighteen months of denying and arguing with herself that there was nothing for her in America, she now found herself wishing she had come sooner. Washington was different from Moscow in many ways, yet she felt at home. Like she had always been meant to come over the seas and settle here. She shook her head at the fanciful thought, and bit into her bottom lip.

What would she do about Lucas? Not only had she been unable to come up with a sufficient plan for Dmitry, but she was also similarly stumped over the man whose image kept popping in her head. Lucas had been the foremost thought in her mind for the past eighteen months, dreaming about him, always thinking of him when she awoke. She loved him, and she’d known since that day at the airport when she’d watched him walk away. Her heart hadn’t been ready, and she’d been quite content repressing those feelings, but now she felt free, lighter.

What if he no longer wanted her? The thought that had haunted her for the past month popped into her head and made her heart ache. She wasn’t above begging for a second chance. She wanted Lucas and would fight for him if need be. She only wished she hadn’t taken so long to decide.

She’d thought a lot about packing up her things and making a new life for herself in the States, had even gone as far as to get some boxes together. She’d get to box number three before she began hyperventilating and would not stop until all the boxes had been unpacked.

She was scared. She knew that. Nikolai, her husband, had been brutally torn away from her, and truth be told, Lucas did sometimes remind her of him. They were both strong, independent men. They both had morals and a sense to do the right thing. To fight for justice and freedom.

During their short time together in Russia, she had found herself falling for him and wondered if that was the reason. Was she just replacing Nikolai with someone like him? She couldn’t bear to think that way, or to use Lucas like that, so she had taken the space he had given her to try to understand her feelings. She had come to see that although they were both similar, she loved Lucas for who he was.

She would never get over losing Nikolai. They had so little time together, and while she would never stop loving him, there was room in her heart for Lucas too. She loved him—not in the same way as Nikolai, but equally as strong. How could she not? He was simply perfect in every way. He’d been there for her, understood her need to move past her grief before even contemplating a future with him, and had given her space. Too much space, in fact. She had started to feel unsure on top of her already fragile feelings. That, and because Lucas worked in a high risk job, had her emotions scattered all over the place.

No, this is definitely not going to be easy.

She spent the next twenty minutes alone with her muddled thoughts as an early morning radio show murmured in the background. Her feelings remained a jumble and she was no closer to sorting herself out. Her stomach turned as she tried to focus on the song playing through the cheap speakers in the cab.

After a series of twists and turns, the taxi stopped at the front of a single level square red brick house with white trimmings and a maroon door. The grass had been cut recently and the small garden bed had been weeded. An American flag stood proudly in the yard and gently fluttered in the breeze. A long waist height hedge lined the footpath and separated the street from the front lawn, neat and clipped. Certainly not something she would’ve associated with Lucas. She had expected a one bedroom bachelor pad apartment in the heart of the city, complete with smelly socks on the floor and week-old Chinese food in the refrigerator. Instead, she found a home that made her think of a stereotypical 1960s family sitcom.

But then, Lucas always did surprise her. He had more layers than an onion. She paid the driver and yanked her small suitcase down the paved path leading to the rear entrance where Lucas had told her the spare key was hidden. She hiked her purse higher on her shoulder and steeled herself for the emotional attack she knew lay just beyond the other side of the door.

Chapter 12

Dmitry stiffened as the external door to the kitchen opened. Lucas reached for his weapon, assessing for any potential danger. He caught a glimpse of light brown, almost blonde hair and the scent of gardenias filled his nostrils as recognition set in. He noticed Lucas tense where he sat, recognizing Elena’s signature scent as she burst through the door, her gaze focusing on him. He grimaced at the stormy look on her face.

What the hell did she do, catch the redeye from Moscow to Washington?
It’d been barely twenty-four hours since he’d spoken with her. He should’ve known she would come.

She stalked over to him, bypassing Lucas without a glance as the man’s eyes feasted on her. Damn, did Lucas have it bad.

Ensuring the white bandage was hidden beneath his borrowed shirt, he prepared himself for his sister’s anger.

“What’s going on, Dmitry?” Elena snapped, spiraling into a lecture. He waited, knowing fear for his safety fueled her anger. When she was finished shouting at him, she continued, firing out questions like a machine gun. “Are you okay? How could this happen? You were supposed to be the smart one in the family.” Her hands settled on her hips as she waited for his answer. Despite almost being a man of thirty, he’d always be her little brother and sometimes he resented that fact.

Dmitry set down the knife he’d been using to butter his toast and stood, using his size to intimidate her and ultimately to get her to back off. The attempt was unsuccessful. She appeared unconcerned and simply glared up at him.

“I told you hacking would lead to trouble, didn’t I?”

There was nothing worse than letting someone down, particularly Elena. For so long, they’d only had each other to rely on. She had sacrificed a lot for him over the years after their parents had died. He hated knowing he was hurting her, even unintentionally.

He glanced over at Lucas, who stared at Elena like he’d never seen anything like her before.

Oh, spare me
.

Here he was getting yelled at, and Lucas continued admiring Elena, who had yet to acknowledge his presence.

He drowned out Elena’s lecture as he remembered the first time he’d met Lucas, when the man had come to his apartment, cold, tired and wearing a grey
Ushanka
—a traditional Russian hat with ear flaps—that Elena had bought him to disguise his American looks. He had immediately liked the man and offered his sister a little advice that she’d yet to take, which had been to pursue a relationship with Lucas.

He once again felt bad for the man, knowing Lucas had been waiting all this time for her and in a way he felt Elena had been waiting for him. He turned his attention back to her, while she continued lecturing about being caught up in an international event, citing hers and Lucas’s incident as an example proving he should have learned from their mistakes.

In an effort to get her off his back, he said, “Look, Elena, it’s Lucas.”

It was a rather lame attempt, but it appeared to work. Like a small child distracted by a shiny bauble, Elena turned slowly and her gaze found Lucas.

Dmitry watched, amazed as her once angry red face softened, and he could have sworn he saw her expression melt into obvious affection.

Yuck! Shoot me if I ever look at a woman like that
, he thought, as Elena’s attention focused entirely on Lucas.

***

Lucas drank in the sight of her. She was more beautiful than he remembered, and her light hair had grown a few inches longer. He ached to run his fingers through it.

“Hello, Lucas,” Elena said softly as her gaze found his, and a hint of a smile appeared on her luscious lips.

“Elena,” he murmured.

God, he had missed her, and here she was—finally. If he stretched out his arm, he could touch her, feel her warm skin beneath his own. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, afraid she might disappear at any moment. He’d waited so long to get her to America and now that she was here, he would try his damnedest to make her stay. He wasn’t above using every trick in the book.

He was bursting with impatience to find out how she felt about him and what the hell she planned to do about it. Other than that last day together at the airport, she’d never once hinted to her feelings and neither had he, unable to put himself out there in case she couldn’t reciprocate. As much as it killed him, he could wait. He’d been waiting eighteen months now; a few more hours or days weren’t going to make much difference. Damn, it felt like he’d been waiting forever. But she was worth it. That was the one thing that kept him going, knowing that she was out there and they could be together. Hopefully.

Her gaze drifted back to her brother, and she frowned. He stepped forward, drawing her attention once more, and took charge.

“I’m sure after that long flight you’ll want to have a shower,” he said. “I’ll make you some coffee.”

He took her by her arm and led her down the hall to the bathroom, watching as she tried to keep up with him. He controlled his urge to grin at the baffled expression on her face.

“Are you in the mood for breakfast?” he asked before turning on the faucet in the shower. The water sprayed into the glass capsule, against the large black and white checkered tiles. She stared at him blankly, still processing everything. He stepped away from her before he had the insane idea to remove all her clothes. It wouldn’t be a hard task, but by God he would be hard by the end of it. The desire already coursed through his veins, his blood heating, all thoughts heading south.

She placed her hand on his arm and he tensed, afraid he’d act on some of the fantasies bouncing around his head. His knees almost buckled when his gaze met hers, the lost look in those cool grey depths squeezing at his heart.

“Thank you, Lucas, for everything. I know you’re risking your career by helping Dmitry. I appreciate all you’ve done to keep him safe.”

He ran his hand over her soft cheek. Her lips parted. “I like Dmitry. I believe in his innocence, but I’m not doing this for him…at least not only him.”

Her lips parted in an
O
as she blinked owlishly at him, obviously unsure how to reply to his comment. That was fine. They had time. But if she thought she was leaving before they had a conversation, she had another thing coming.

Kissing her forehead, he took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of gardenias, and quickly moved out of the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him without waiting for a reply. Let her think on that while he got himself under control. He’d been close to throwing her down on the cold tiled floor and imbedding himself deep inside her, losing himself to nothing but the feel of her body closing around his own.

He took off for the kitchen, trying to clear his mind of the thought of her in his shower, naked and wet, soap suds sliding sensuously down her soft skin. He thumped the frying pan down on the stove top and greased it, then turned to find Dmitry grinning at him.

He felt like smacking the bastard. Dmitry knew exactly what effect his sister had on him.

Just you wait, Dmitry. One day it will be you, mesmerized by some woman
.

“Don’t you dare say another word,” he warned, “or I won’t run interference for you ever again.”

Dmitry’s grin slipped away. Ten minutes later, Elena graced them with her presence, wearing black trousers with matching black leather boots and a cream blouse that highlighted her curves. Her light colored hair hung past her shoulders in gentle waves. She flopped down heavily in a chair at the table as he placed the freshly cooked plate of eggs and bacon, along with a mug of coffee, in front of her. Smiling at him gratefully, her stomach growled and she dug in.

“How the hell did you and Ivan get entangled in this?” she asked around a mouthful of food.

“You know Ivan and I started a business not long ago. Freelance stuff. Computer programming. Specialized software building, that sort of thing. Word spread.”

Elena nodded. “So how is it he’s dead and you’re on the run?”

Lucas grimaced, but Dmitry didn’t seem to take offense. He continued with his story. “Ivan got us a contract with an American client. Not government,” he added, when he saw she was about to interrupt. “Or at least I didn’t think that was the case. I’m not so sure now. It was all expenses paid—flight, hotel, plus hours on top. All we had to do was come here, view their business, and create a system to help them run more efficiently. I did have some concerns about why they hired us, and there were a few red flags, but the money was so good we said yes. We’re new on the scene, but Ivan said this was our big chance, and eventually I didn’t ask any more questions.”

Elena took another bite before washing it down with a sip of coffee. “What happened when you got here?”

“They wanted to get started right away, so we arranged for a rental and drove to the warehouse. I knew something was wrong when the man handed me a government IP address. I declined the job. Ivan was shot and then the gun was pointed at me. I did what I could under the circumstances to stay alive.”

Elena put her hand over his. “I’m sorry about Ivan, Dmitry. And I’m sorry for being so hard on you. I know you did the best you could. I was just scared thinking I might’ve lost you.”

Dmitry squeezed her hand in return. Elena’s eyes glistened. He’d seen Elena in tears before, just after SVR had shot at them and chased them all over Moscow. It had been the first time he’d held her. His arms itched to pull her close and comfort her as he’d done that day, but instead he stayed away. If he touched her now, he would never let her go, and Dmitry needed their help.

“He was a good friend,” Dmitry said, his voice thick with emotion.

Elena held his hand tightly with both of hers, and sniffled. “I’m so sorry.”

Lucas took a step closer to the siblings. “You mentioned something about Sundown. What’s that?” he asked, interrupting the emotional tide.

“The man who shot Ivan introduced himself as Stephen Hosking, but I doubt that’s his real name. He asked me to access a file named Sundown. I have no idea what it is.” He let out a deep sigh and ran his uninjured hand through his dark hair. “I knew I couldn’t let him get his hands on it, so I made sure to set off the alarm at DoD which would trigger the file to disperse out to hundreds of different locations around the world. It was a program of my design created to stop hackers from getting classified information. I never planned on using it myself.”

Lucas slapped his thigh. “I knew it. I knew when the alarm went off it was intentional. You’re too good a hacker not to bypass the alarm.”

Elena glared at him. She obviously didn’t appreciate his enthusiasm over her brother’s abilities. “Can’t you just access your program and recall Sundown?”

“I would, but when I downloaded Sundown the file was tagged. The moment I try, I can guarantee government vehicles will pull up in the driveway.”

Lucas cursed.

“I’ll work on a program to jam the tag reporting back to DoD. Until then…” They had to wait.

“Well, the only way to appease the posse will be to hand over Sundown.” Lucas thought aloud, referring to the government
.
“Since retrieving the file now is not an option, I think we’re all in agreement. You’ll remain here out of sight.”

Elena nodded and stepped around the table to hug her brother.

“We’ll go to Langley and see just how much trouble our boy is in,” Lucas decided, his gaze on Elena, “then swing by the morgue so you can make arrangements for Ivan.”

She sent him a look of appreciation. One he felt all the way down to his toes. His heart clenched painfully in his chest. “Meanwhile, Dmitry,” Elena said, “I want you to find out everything you can about the man who hired you. Do whatever you have to. I want a name.”

Elena wasn’t the only one who wanted to have a chat with the man. Lucas had a few choice words also. Dmitry looked about the kitchen at the polished bench tops and stainless steel sink with matching appliances towards the timber hutch in the corner. “And how exactly am I supposed to do this? On my iPhone? It could be done, but it’ll be a real pain in the ass.”

Lucas scowled. “I have a computer you can use.”

Elena and Dmitry followed him into a small nook off the dining area. A large old-fashioned box monitor sat on a desk beside his rather antiquated printer and fax. Dmitry’s eyebrow rose when he took in the sight of the monitor.

“Do you even have Internet?” he asked, switching on the computer and waiting while it started up. The machine wheezed as the fan worked hard to remove the thick coat of dust that had settled within the computer’s internal components. He groaned when he saw the screen display the Windows 2000 logo. He turned and faced Lucas. “You know that operating system is over a decade old, right?”

Elena fought a smile. “You’re such a technology snob.”

“It works. That’s all that matters,” Lucas retorted. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

He’d never been good at keeping up with the latest technology, and refused to upgrade unless his previous equipment had died or when he bought a new system that had become outdated. Since he rarely used his home computer, often opting to use the one he had at work, he never felt the need to purchase anything new.