Russian Connection Read online

  “Nikki, I know how frustrating this is for you,” Dayd said, “but—”

  “You can’t begin to know. I can’t stand this. Everything is moving at a snail’s pace. I thought when we found the nudist colony’s phone number in the kidnapper’s trash that we’d go there at once.”

  Dayd took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Hang in there, Nikki. Don’t fall apart on me now.”

  Nikki withdrew her hand. “I’m trying, but your cautious, plan-every-step ways bugs me. My style is to attack the problem head on. Use surprise as my edge. You want everything thought out. Well, time is running out, my friend.” She dug her fork into her napkin and began to shred it. “In my job as Air Flight Controller, if I don’t make quick decisions and take instinctive measures, planes would be crashing into each other all over the place.”

  He sent her a doubting look. “Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration, Nikki?”

  “Perhaps, but it doesn’t change the fact that things are moving too slowly.”

  “I told you,” he said, “we can’t spook Godunov’s men or they’ll move Glenda again. According to the map Jerry gave us there’s over five hundred acres of colony land. If she’s there, a big if, we need to pinpoint the exact location before we make our move. We have to do it right this time. It’s our last chance.”

  She hated that he was right. “Waiting isn’t what I do best,” she muttered. She inhaled the breakfast aromas floating around her. Her throat constricted. “I hope they’re feeding Glenda. It’s been so long.”

  Dayd put his arm around her. “Don’t do this to yourself, Nikki. We’re going to find her. Soon.”

  His arms felt warm around her, protective. She locked onto the promise in his words. She needed to hold on to that, because without Dayd she had nowhere to turn.

  She glanced at the policemen a few tables away. They were laughing, joking, telling their cop stories. She wanted to demand: why aren’t you out looking for Glenda? Nikki knew she was being unreasonable, but her need to strike out was overwhelming. She took a deep breath, trying to handle her feeling of helplessness, her guilt. Last night at the cabin, she’d enjoyed a picnic by the fire and lovemaking in Dayd’s arms while Glenda remained, God-only-knows-where, in the clutches of Russian barbarians. “What are they doing to her?” The ache in Nikki’s throat was almost unbearable. “They killed Luke and Kitty.”

  “We’ll find her—bring her home.” Dayd’s arms tightened around her. “Don’t think of anything else.”

  Nikki wondered how could she do that. There were too many unanswered questions—too much that could go wrong. “Can we keep Boris and Nazar out of this? Godunov’s men hustled Glenda right past them. One or both could be—”

  “I trust them completely. I want you to know that. But to put your mind at ease, I’ll check them out further.”

  She dug her fingers into his arm. “How?”

  “Daily computer logs. If a man is messing up, it’ll show up there.”

  “You log everything, too?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Nikki’s stomach knotted. She withdrew her hand. “When you made love to me, how did you log that? Recreation? Amusement? What?”

  I’ve been living in a damned fishbowl for weeks—people taking my picture, spying on me, maybe even logging their time with me.

  “If I’d logged it, which I didn’t, it would’ve been under protection.”

  The knot in her stomach didn’t relax. “Then there’s unlogged time. Time when Boris or Nazar could be off doing things you know nothing about.”

  “Trust me, Nikki. I have a good handle on my men and their activities.”

  She frowned. They were at a stalemate. Any further discussion wouldn’t help her cause. Somehow she had to check on those two herself.

  Nikki played with the key on the chain around her neck. “I have to go by my apartment and change for the funeral. I can look for the lock that this fits at the same time,” she said, holding up the key. “And you can check out the nudist colony.”

  “We’re staying together.”

  “Dividing the work is more efficient.” She needed time alone to check on Boris and Nazar. Sinclair should have something on them.

  “We’re not going for speed. We want safety and success, which means having a fail-safe plan. In the past, I let you talk me into a couple of things before I was ready, and I can’t do that again.”

  Her neck prickled. “Are you saying that the failed rescue was my fault?”

  He touched her hand. “No. It was my fault. I knew we were rushing things, and I went along with it. Next time we have to do it right. If the rescue is to work, we need to know several things before we make a move. Like, exactly where they’re holding Glenda, and how to get her out without getting her killed.”

  The waitress placed their order in front of them, refilled their coffee, then disappeared. Nikki forced herself to eat. Luke’s funeral was in a couple of hours, and she needed energy to get through it.

  Dayd stopped eating and stared at her. The troubled look in his eyes tightened an imaginary band around her lungs, restricting her breathing. “Is there something else I should know?”

  Dayd lowered his eyes. “It has nothing to do with Glenda or the rescue.” He slowly stroked the handle of his coffee mug. “But I have been keeping something from you.”

  When he finally looked up, she captured his gaze and held it. “Being forthright and completely honest isn’t easy for you, is it?”

  He snorted. “Not easy at all.”

  “Because of your brother?”

  “My guilt concerning Lars’s murder has nothing to do with why I’ve kept this from you.” Dayd’s eyes darkened as though her question had sent him to the bowels of hell. “Or maybe in some twisted way it does.” His face hardened. “I can’t forget his blood splattering the wall—the snow turning red. One little lie would have saved Lars’s life.” Dayd’s voice cracked. “One little lie.” He closed his fist around his napkin, compressing the paper to a tight ball. “I keep hearing that damned howling Siamese cat—”

  Nikki touched Dayd’s hand, wishing she could erase the pain she saw in his eyes. “That’s why you don’t like cats.”

  “They remind me of what I’d like to forget.”

  “And I brought Mitzi into your suite.”

  Dayd entwined his fingers with hers. His expression relaxed a little. “When she jumped up on my lap and started purring like a motor boat, it started a long overdue healing process. I accepted that the Siamese’s howl was merely a memory-trigger and had nothing to do with what happened that night.” Dayd’s lips tightened to a grim line. “But my failure to lie did. After that night, keeping my mouth shut or outright lying when necessary became part of my nature.”

  “It’s why you’re good at what you do,” she said softly, explaining it more to herself than to him.

  He laughed without humor. “Let’s hope the years of training account for that.”

  Nikki squeezed his fingers and mustered a small smile. Her heart ached for the horror Dayd had suffered as a small boy. “Is Russia different now?” She wondered how safe he’d be when he returned there.

  “In many ways, yes, in others, no. As E.C. Mckenzie says, ‘You can say anything you want in Russia—at least once.’”

  “That’s too sad to be funny.”

  “Dah. Sad.”

  Nikki nailed Dayd with her gaze. “We’re getting off the subject. Out with it. What is it you haven’t told me?”

  Dayd tightened his jaw. “Boris is in love with you.”

  She almost choked. “You must be kidding.” Boris had been attentive, playful, but love me? Never. “Did Boris tell you that?”

  Dayd nodded.

  She wondered what the blond Russian was up to.

  “I could have kept you safe from Godunov at the hotel, but taking you to the cabin kept you out of Boris’s reach, as well.”

  “Why did you care how Boris felt about me, anyway?” Her breathing
slowed as she dared to hope for an impossible answer.

  “I needed time to think.” Dayd raked his hair from his forehead.

  What was there to think about, anyway? No matter what he felt, he would leave when this was over. Still she had to ask, “About us?” She prayed he didn’t hear the tremor in her voice.

  He nodded, looking trapped.

  “And?” she prompted.

  “It’s too important to rush, and right now Glenda is my only priority.”

  “Good. When did my priority become yours?”

  He looked at her levelly. “When you gave me the disks.”

  She’d wanted him to say it was when he fell in love with her. And that he would never leave her. But their romance was doomed from the beginning.

  ****

  At the County Hall of Records on Third Street, Nikki and Dayd verified the ownership of the colony land and those of adjacent bordering properties, then picked up more recent plot plans and sketches showing the layout of colony structures.

  “What next?” she asked, almost dragging him down the long, beige corridor.

  Dayd smiled at her bright, spirited expression. If he were in trouble, he’d want her in his corner. “We need topography maps from the engineering department to plan the safest and quickest route,” he said.

  She grabbed his hand and quickened her pace. “Let’s get moving.”

  He hurried along with her, admiring her energy and eagerness. “If you don’t slow down, babe, you’ll burn out before the day’s over.”

  Public Works Engineering had the detailed topographical maps he needed. He spread the map out on a table in the customer waiting area, and drew Nikki close so she could see where he was pointing. “See, this is what we needed to know,” he said, warmed by the way she fit into the curve of his arm. “The land is mountainous, rocky, and has a dry river bed cutting through it. I’ll need a four-wheel-drive vehicle and climbing gear to manage the rougher terrain.”

  “Is that a problem?” She held his gaze, as though ready to pounce on his response.

  “No. Boris can get the wheels and gear.” He paused and searched her face. “I want you to understand what we’re dealing with. The colony land encompasses five hundred acres, and it’s bordered by a county disposal site on one side and national forest land on the other. Glenda could be anywhere in between. And to get her out, first we have to find her.”

  Nikki looked up at him with perceptive eyes. “What are the chances?”

  “Good.” He felt more confident now that he knew the topography. And if—no, think positive—when he found her, he’d have to be armed like Rambo.

  On their way to Nikki’s apartment, he glanced over at her. She was sitting too straight.

  She’d been through a great deal already, and later this afternoon she’d have to get through Luke’s funeral. At the stoplight, Dayd covered her hand with his. She gave a shadow of a smile. Even the fleeting upward curve of her lips warmed him. She twisted the chain around her neck and fingered the mysterious key.

  “Any idea where to look for the lock that opens?” he asked.

  Nikki shook her head. “If it’s in my apartment, it should be easy to find. There aren’t that many places to store things.”

  He hoped she was right. If they found the lock, perhaps they wouldn’t have to run blind. Godunov wanted Nikki, and Dayd suspected that the Mafia boss’s interest in her had something to do with the key.

  “Did you tell Boris and Nazar about the key?” she asked.

  “No. For the time being it’s just between us.”

  Although he trusted his team, Nikki had a point—it didn’t make sense how easily Godunov’s men had slipped Glenda past Boris and Nazar. He would check out his comrades, but the answer had to lie elsewhere. The little man and The Bear were like brothers to him. Pain shot through him, thinking again of the real brother he’d lost. Some pain never healed, and a man had to learn to live with it. Odd, but sharing what had happened that night with Nikki eased the burden a little.

  He wished he could ease her load as well, but nothing he could say would change the fact that Godunov had her friend, or that the longer it took to find her, the less chance she’d be alive. Only one thing might save her—she was still useful as bait.

  Earlier, at the restaurant, he’d seen Nikki shred her napkin. She had good reason to worry about Glenda—Godunov was brutal, heartless. Nikki had expected them to storm the nudist colony immediately. Disappointing her couldn’t be helped. He had to have all his Cossacks in a row before moving. Instinct told him this was his last chance to find Glenda alive. He had to be patient and cool-headed, but the disquiet he’d seen in Nikki’s eyes twisted at his gut. She had no reason to trust him, yet he’d never needed her trust more. Without absolute faith, she might do something unwise. That would be disastrous.

  Had she believed him when he’d denied ever logging their lovemaking? Her hurt expression suggested that perhaps he should’ve said more. He treasured her above all else, but until he knew what he was going to do about his love for her he didn’t dare promise anything.

  Last night they’d shared in a manner he’d never shared with another person. It was so spiritual he’d actually felt their souls merging. He had to find a way for them to remain together forever when this was over. But that would have to wait.

  Dayd pulled into the guest parking at Nikki’s apartment and helped her from the car. He liked the way she looked up at him when he took her arm, as though he made her feel safe. She walked fast, determined, no doubt wanting to get everything on her list done before the funeral. Lists worried him. If they got into the wrong hands they could be dangerous.

  Inside the apartment, Dayd waited as Nikki played back the calls on her recording machine. Three calls were the result of the flyers she’d posted. The callers thought they’d seen Glenda in various parts of the city. Nikki returned the calls, but none led to anything. Curt Harrison had left a message, too, offering again to drive her to the funeral. There was something about that guy Dayd didn’t like. Besides, what man would want a cleft-chinned, macho Romeo calling the woman he loved?

  Nikki lifted the key dangling on the chain around her neck and stared at it. “I have this persistent feeling that I saw something the other day that this might fit.”

  “What? Where?”

  She held up her hand. “Give me a sec. Yes. Yes. It was when we were looking for the disks. I moved a green metal box and behind it—”

  Suddenly, Nikki took off running through the house toward the den. With tension building, he followed on her heels. Before she could reach for the green box, he moved it aside and grabbed the copper antique chest behind it. Throat dry, he put it down on the desk. She stared at the chest, not moving, frozen in place. “Don’t just stare at it. Try the damned key!”

  She closed her eyes briefly, then stuck the key into the notch and twisted. The key turned in the lock. Dayd’s heart thudded against his ribs as she eased open the lid. They both peered inside. Empty—except for another damned key!

  ****

  Nikki lifted her coat collar against the chilly October wind and watched an elm leaf somersaulting over the dried grass. A cloud eclipsed the sun, casting the cemetery in a gray pall. At least it wasn’t raining. Dayd stayed at her side, holding her arm, making her feel safe. Until today, she’d mostly seen him in tight, body-molding jeans. Now he was appropriately devastating in a black suit and charcoal tie.

  “Boris and Nazar are on the grounds,” he whispered.

  She didn’t see them, but according to Dayd, that was a good thing. She wasn’t supposed to see them. He gripped her arm more firmly as they entered the chapel. Why? She looked around to see what had alerted him. Nothing appeared threatening.

  She couldn’t believe the number of people crowded into the small room. She counted at least twenty, not including Detective Sinclair and his plain-clothes entourage who stood at the back by the wall. So many strangers. Were these the crazies and curiosity seekers Si
nclair had mentioned, or did some of them really know Luke? Six months of marriage and she didn’t recognize any of them.

  Dayd leaned close, and whispered, “I see two of Godunov’s men. When they leave, Nazar and Boris will tail them.”

  But who would be tailing the little man and The Bear? If only she could trust those two, it would give her some peace of mind. If they were on the up and up, and if Godunov’s men led them to Glenda, the waiting and worrying could be over.

  Nikki looked for her Dad and Victoria. Obviously they hadn’t made it to the funeral. She wasn’t surprised, and nor did she care after their complacent attitude about Glenda.

  A half-dozen of those present were women who looked classy enough to have stepped off the cover of Vogue. Not a tear among them. How many of their bank accounts had Luke emptied?

  As the women filed by the open casket, they looked down and stared inside before moving on. It wasn’t just the women who paused and stared—everyone did. Nikki’s boss, Curt Harrison, stood there longer than anyone else. He bowed his head and crossed himself.

  Nikki approached the casket. Luke looked like a statue of James Dean that she’d seen in a wax museum. Handsome. Unreal. “It’s really you, Luke,” she said under her breath. She touched his hand. It was cold. Very cold. “And you’re really dead.”

  She wanted to damn him for the horror he’d caused Glenda. But she’d already done that every day since Glenda disappeared. For this ritual, she would bury her anger. As she let go and allowed the bottled up fury to drain away, her heart wept. A man was dead. A despicable man, she had to add, but one of God’s children none-the-less.

  The tightness in her throat was almost unbearable, yet her tear ducts were drier than sun-scorched rock. The soul-bruising guilt she’d suffered because of her lack of grief evaporated, replaced by a pang of regret for the man she’d thought he was. For a short while she’d been Cinderella. Then her dream had gone to seed. It was okay. She would never have met Dayd if it weren’t for Luke. “Even if it only lasts a little while, it will have been worth it,” she said only loud enough for the angels to hear.