To Russia With Love (Countermeasure Series) (45 page)

“I do not know. Our last good developer who was working on it started sniffing around like a wild boar and had to make a long trip to our version of GULAG. He will not be coming back.” Mikhailov’s words bled disgust, as if thoughts of the developer had left a rotten taste in his mouth. “We have a new one working on it right now, but so far I have not seen results. He seems to be good. A friend recommended him. I am expecting good news soon.”

He pressed further. “How soon?”

Mikhailov’s tone was heavy with sarcasm. “As soon as he finishes it, or the next developer does if this one cannot keep his nose out of my business.”

The caller sighed. Realization that nothing would change Mikhailov’s mind in regard to the payment hit him square in the face. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll have to wait.”

Mikhailov scoffed. “Of course you will. There is nothing else you can do. Keep in mind, you have a lot more to lose than I do if our little business deal is exposed.”

He blanched at the mention of his precarious situation and his hand trembled slightly. “You don’t have to remind me. I’m well aware of that.”

Mikhailov’s voice hardened. “Do not call again.”

The call disconnected abruptly. He slammed his cell phone on the desk and leaned back in his comfortable office chair, releasing the deep breath he had been holding. If Mikhailov didn’t get the decrypter finished soon, his chances of covering up his stupidity were gone. His family would lose everything.

The ping of his cell startled him and his eyes jerked to his phone. He picked it up and the image on its screen punched the air out of his lungs. It froze the blood in his veins. He grew lightheaded and was grateful he was sitting, otherwise it would have knocked his legs out from under him. With trembling fingers, he paged down to the text below it.

Such a beautiful family, no? Family is everything. Do not call again. My connections reach far.

Qué Pasa

J
ESSICA WANTED TO BEAT HER head against the desk. Each and every search query on the name Cassandra had provided had come up empty. She thought about the latest information request from Cassandra. It had been more cryptic than ever.

Jessie, check out this name. Petrovna. Nikol. Need anything you can find. Assume Russian descent. No pictures found. Only have description. 5”10–5”11. 140 pounds. Chestnut brown hair. Blue eyes. Need asap.

Drumming her fingers on the keyboard, she stared at it and racked her brain for any tricks to use in her search. She felt she was letting her good friend down. It was times like this that she missed Matt and his spunky wit. He always knew what to say to spur her synapse when it shorted. Disappointment welled in her chest. She had been counting on finding something to redeem herself for the failure she had encountered with Kostas. It was curious that two of Cassandra’s requests had come up with zero back to back.

A niggling tickled the back of her mind and she tried to grasp its meaning as it played hide-and-seek with her. She would call Matt in the morning and pick his brain. Even a brief conversation could be the ticket to getting her on track. Finished for the day, she pushed from the desk and pushed the puzzle to the back of her mind.

*****

Wrapped in a blanket, Jessica wiped a tear from her cheek. She downed the last of the broth as she sat on the couch watching a movie on Trevor’s sacred cow, a seventy-inch LED flat-screen television. The damn movie, about a woman who, on impulse, travels to Ireland with the intent of proposing to her boyfriend and instead finds the love of her life in an Irishman with dark hair and blue eyes, hit too close to home.

She couldn’t hold it inside any longer, she needed Cassandra. She needed to bare her soul to someone who cared about her. Pulling her laptop onto her knees, she opened a chat window.

Cassie, still around? I know it’s late and you might be on your way to bed, but can you talk?

Immediately a video call request popped up and Cassandra’s familiar face filled the screen. “Here! Too keyed-up to sleep. Still need to handle a few things. What’s the qué pasa, chica?”

Jessica studied her friend’s image on the screen. “Damn, Cassie. Why the dark circles under your eyes? Sick or something? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She heard Cassandra’s quick intake of breath and frowned. “What’s going on, Cassandra Cristina?”

Cassandra held her gaze. “Nothing I can’t handle. No worries.” Her gaze narrowed and she leaned closer. “What the hell is going on with you? You look like hell! Have you been sick? Has something happened?”

Jessica closed her eyes briefly, and then sent her friend a pleading look. “Promise me something first.” A mix of curiosity and concern deepened Cassandra’s creamy brown irises to almost chocolate. When she nodded, Jessica exhaled a long breath. “Let me finish before you say anything. Okay?”

“Alright, but I can’t promise anything.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “I know…Chatty Cathy Syndrome.”

A soft smile curled the corner of Cassandra’s mouth. “Whatever.”

“Here’s the deal. I was seeing Stephan.”

“I
knew
it! Hold on. You said, ‘was.’ Past tense. You aren’t seeing him anymore? You broke it off? Got tired of him already?”

Jessica held up her hands and chuckled. “Damn, Cassie. Two words: Slow. Down. Let me talk. You promised.” Cassandra’s eyes shifted to the left, almost as if checking something. “Everything okay, Cassie?”

“What? Yes. Yes.” Cassandra returned her gaze to Jessica. “Okay. Shutting up now. Spill already.”

Jessica sat back and crossed her arms as she watched emotions she couldn’t define cross and then clear from her good friend’s face. Something for later exploration.
Stop stalling, Jess
. “Remember when we talked just before you left and I told you what happened on the day of your wedding? Well, Stephan was one of the reasons I accepted your job offer.”

“Okay. I get it. That’s why you both were so weird at the bar and why you went to his office.”

“Yes. I wanted to see if he was interested. Make sure I hadn’t imagined what I had seen in his eyes. I wasn’t wrong. He was definitely interested. The day you left he called and invited me out for a drink.” Jessica paused, searching for the right words.

“Ah…that explains why your panties were in a bunch that day you met Terese.”

Jessica’s heart pinched at the mention of Terese. Was he back with her? Shaking her head, she pushed them from her mind. “Anyway. He offered a relationship with no strings attached. If either of us wanted out, we would walk away. I jumped at it, Cassie. I knew the first day I met him he was the one. I wanted him any way I could have him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cassandra’s tone was slightly hurt.

“Selfishness, I guess. I’ve wanted this for so long, I just wanted to keep him to myself. We had been seeing each other up until a few days ago, when he told me it was over.” Tears pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision, and she wiped them with the corner of the blanket.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “I’m going to kill him.”

Jessica’s heart filled with love for Cassandra. She had known her friend would stand up for her and it warmed her to no end that she didn’t disappoint. Her matter-of-fact tone said it all.

“I don’t know what happened, Cassie. One minute everything was wonderful. I even thought…I even thought he was changing his mind. That he wanted more. The next thing I know, he’s pulling away. Shutting me out, and then telling me we’re over.” Jessica’s voice caught.

“Oh, Jess….”

“I can’t tell you how sick I’ve been over it, Cassie. My head hurts from trying to rationalize it and I am dead tired. It’s hard to get up in the morning. Really hard to face the day without him. I can’t even think of food without getting grossed out. And you know how much I love food. I miss him. I miss everything.”

“Did he say why? I mean, Stephan is one of the most rational men I know. He is not a spur-of-the-moment kind of man. Hell, I have to schedule appointments with Máire just to be sure he shows up for dinner.” Cassandra’s tone was troubled.

A soft smile flowed across Jessica’s lips. “So like him. Don’t you love it?” The smile bled away just as quickly. “No. I think he is having an issue with the age difference. It kept cropping up. Stupid man. I’m old enough to know what I want.”

“I don’t know what to say. To channel Trev, Stephan is an
eejit
.”

Jessica caught the look of worry that flared in Cassandra’s eyes. “Cassie, don’t worry about me.” She didn’t want her friend stressing over her personal life when the Russian business deal was becoming so convoluted.

Cassandra shook her head. “I can’t help but worry about you. We brought you in and then bailed on you right after you got there. Left you all alone in a new city and country.” Cassandra’s voice was full of regret as she studied Jessica with a critical eye. “You really look like crap, by the way.”

Jessica grinned. “Always the flatterer. Just so you know, I feel as bad as I look. I’ve felt like crap for a couple of days now.”

“You should get checked, just in case. We don’t want you at death’s door by the time we get home. Tell you what, here’s the number for my general practitioner. Anne O’Malley. You’ll love her. The type of person you would want to hang out with at a bar. She’s really good and I know she’ll see you on short notice. Tell her you’re my best friend and I recommended you. She should remember your name. I mentioned you to her before.” Cassandra shrugged, “What can I say, the time we hosed Matt’s computer is a funny story.”

Jessica captured the name and number, saving it to her laptop. “Okay, I’ll call first thing in the morning. To be honest, I just want to feel like myself again.” Jessica heard a burst of noise coming from Cassandra’s end of the call and watched her face lose all animation. “What’s going on?”

Cassandra’s eyes darted to the left and then back to her. “Nothing to worry about. I gotta go. Don’t forget to call me after you see her. Oh, and we will talk more about Stephan later if you want. Damn, Trevor’s going to flip—”

The video cut off abruptly and Jessica stared at the screen. Anxiety knotted her stomach. She didn’t want to cause any problems between Stephan and Trevor. She should have asked Cassandra to keep it to herself, but she knew that wouldn’t have been fair to her friend; she shared everything with Trevor. With a deep sigh, Jessica rubbed her eyes.
Ah, hell. That’s not going to be pretty.

Brain vs. Brawn

D
MITRIY’S HEART WAS IN HIS throat and he felt as if he was choking on it. He stuck his hands in his pockets to stop them from trembling as he walked down the hall to his uncle’s office. Over time, since joining his household, he had learned that to be called to Uncle Mikhailov’s lair was never a good thing. Standing before the carved oak door, Dmitriy tried to muster the courage to knock on it.

He could hear the angry discussion taking place in the room. Sergei was in there too. With a deep breath, he reached out a fist but cowered at the possibilities that meeting could lead to.
Better if I come back later, let him cool off.
He had never been the confrontational type, so avoiding a potential argument seemed to be the best course of action. Turning on his heel, he was about to take a step away when the door swung open and Sergei grabbed him by the collar, jerking him back through the door into the room.

“Where do you think you are going?” Sergei sneered. Holding Dmitriy in a tight grip by the scruff of his neck, Sergei dragged him further into the room and shoved him toward his uncle’s desk.

Dmitriy caught his toe on the rug and stumbled, falling hard on one knee. Pain shot straight to his hip and he hissed out, “
Shit!”
He pushed back to his feet and scrambled to the middle of the room, away from the large walnut desk, putting some distance between him and Sergei.

“Uncle, I was told you wanted to see me.” Dmitriy had no clue why he had been called like a school boy before his uncle.