The Bastard's Bargain Read online

  She’d do it. He didn’t doubt that she’d shoot his Keira and leave her to bleed to death on the street, mere feet from everyone in the world who cared about her. Who would find her first? Aiden? Carrigan?

  Dmitri couldn’t think past the roaring of his thoughts. The sound morphed into two words, repeated over and over again. Save her. “Let her go. I’ll do anything.”

  Mae’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “Anything.”

  “Yes, anything. Just let her go. Don’t hurt her.” Desperation made his voice rough. He could picture Keira on the sidewalk, the life bleeding out of her hazel eyes. It couldn’t happen. He couldn’t lose her.

  “Kiss me.”

  “What?”

  Dmitri ignored Keira’s protest and shrugged off Pavel’s hand on his shoulder. “Let her go first.”

  Mae considered him. “Pavel has his gun on her. You try anything and he’ll shoot her in the stomach. You know what a stomach wound will do.”

  He knew. Keira’s chance of survival would drop astronomically. “Let her go.”

  Mae released Keira and stepped back, watching him closely. Keira started for him, but he shook his head. “Go back inside, moya koroleva.” Go to safety.

  Her hazel eyes shone and she started for the door, her fingers brushing his as she moved past him. She got two steps when Pavel blocked her way. “You’ll watch.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Keira glared up at him. “We trusted you, Pavel.”

  “You trusted wrong.”

  The longer they stood on the street, the greater the chance that something could go sideways. It felt like they’d been there a small eternity, but Dmitri suspected they were still well within the window of the previous tech blackouts John Finch had reported. He marched to Mae and hooked the back of her neck. She shoved her gun against his thigh, but he ignored it and kissed her. She tasted of cigarettes and rage, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to snatch the gun from her hand and put her out of her misery.

  But there was Keira to think of.

  He’d kill Mae, but Pavel would kill Keira.

  Unacceptable.

  Once the appropriate amount of time had passed, he raised his head. “You disgust me.”

  The lust bled out of Mae’s eyes and she sneered. “You say that now.” She leaned into him, the gun never moving from where she had it pointed—right at his femoral artery. “You’ll change your tune before too long.”

  “Dmitri, no.”

  “Keira, get back in the house. Now.” He didn’t look at her, couldn’t look at her. I love you, moya koroleva.

  Seconds passed, and she finally cursed and shoved Pavel out of the way. He pinned the man with a look, daring him to make a move as she stalked down the sidewalk and into the house. Safe. Keira was safe. He could bear any punishment Mae would deliver because he knew she was out of that bitch’s grasp.

  “Let’s go, Romanov.” She laughed again, the sound dark. “I’m going to enjoy the hell out of playing with you.”

  * * *

  Keira couldn’t wipe the picture of Mae forcing Dmitri to kiss her out of her head. That bitch is going to pay. And Pavel, too. Traitor. Enemy. She’d trusted him, had worked with him to secure the reception, and he’d been planning to betray them all along.

  Mae had Dmitri.

  Keira bypassed the ballroom—she’d get to them in a moment—and headed straight for the lounge where the guards spent their time. She threw open the door, startling half a dozen men into reaching for their guns. A quick sweep of the room, and she found Alexei situated by a monitor. Only get one shot at this. If she didn’t play it right, they wouldn’t follow her, and Dmitri would be as good as dead. “That bitch took Dmitri.” She let the pause drag out a beat. “But we’re going to get him back.”

  She held up a hand when Alexei started to speak. “Mae took Dmitri. She took Mikhail. She will kill them all if she’s given the chance, which means we can’t fuck this up.”

  One of the men, a blond whose name she couldn’t immediately place, spoke up. “Why should we take orders from you?”

  Keira iced over her tone the same way she’d heard Dmitri and her brother do. “Did I fucking stutter?”

  He tried to hold her gaze, but chickened out halfway through. “Nyet.”

  “Dmitri is gone.” She met each of their eyes in turn, holding their attention just long enough to make them uncomfortable. “That means I am in charge for the duration. He’s my husband, and I want him back. Alethea and her bitch daughter will pay for the insult they dealt us, and they’ll pay fully. I don’t give a flying fuck what you think of me, but don’t you forget for a second that Dmitri chose me. He married me.” He saved me. “That’s all that should fucking matter to you. Obey and you will be rewarded.” She lifted her chin, focusing on ensuring her hands didn’t shake and her voice never wavered. “If you can’t guarantee you will obey, then get the fuck out of the way for the men who will.”

  Not a single one of them stepped back, but she didn’t allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief. “We need to clear out our guests. I’ll handle it—just follow my lead. Then we’ll find Dmitri and deal with the Eldridge threat once and for all.”

  Keira’s phone pinged, and she almost ignored it. But when she looked, she found a text from Dmitri.

  I’m sorry, moya koroleva. This wasn’t how it was supposed to play out.

  “Dmitri,” she breathed. She typed out a quick response. Where are you going?

  We’re still in the city, but I can’t be sure of more than that. I’m in the back of a van with the windows painted over and they’ve blocked off the space to the driver’s seat.

  Not good.

  Another text pinged through. I love you. The various bank numbers are in the safe in our room. The code is 0693821.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” She strode into the ballroom as she typed her reply. Knock that shit off. You’re living through this so I can scream at you later. Hold, please.

  This situation needed to be handled as in-house as possible, but there was only one person with the skills that Keira trusted to track Dmitri’s location—Cillian. The only problem being that he had no reason to do her any favors, and he wouldn’t without Aiden’s blessing. Damn it. With that in mind, she turned to the rest of the room. They watched her with varying degrees of concern. “Thank you all for coming. Unfortunately, something has come up that requires our attention. My men here will show you out.” She motioned to Alexei and the six men who had fanned out behind her.

  “Keira, what’s going on?”

  Right on cue. She turned to Aiden as he approached. She had to play this exactly right, or Aiden would muscle in and take control. Her men wouldn’t follow him, and his men didn’t give two fucks if Dmitri lived or died. All they cared about was killing the Eldridges. While she could get on board with Mae being removed from the face of this earth, she wouldn’t risk Dmitri’s life to make it happen.

  She loved Aiden, but she couldn’t trust him. Not in this.

  His brows slammed down. “Something happened.”

  “I need to borrow Cillian again. Just for as long as it takes him to track a number for me.” There. That was nice and neutral. She could do this. She didn’t have any other choice.

  If anything, he looked more forbidding. “Dmitri gave his word that he wouldn’t cut me out. Is he going back on it so quickly?”

  Goddamn it, this isn’t a power play. She didn’t say the words aloud. They weren’t the truth—every single damn thing was a power play in their world, the current situation included. If it wasn’t, she could have asked her big brother for help. “Dmitri isn’t here right now. I am.” She stared him down, refusing to let even a hint of doubt creep into her. “Are you willing to create an incident to push this?” This was it. This was the moment when he’d either call her bluff, or he’d actually believe that she was in control of herself and the situation.

  He broke her gaze and swore. “Goddamn it, Keira, you know I’m not. I
just want to help.”

  “You can help by leaving—and by lending me Cillian. Now, please.”

  The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Finally, Aiden nodded. “I’d like an explanation when this is all over.”

  “You’ll have it.” Easy enough to promise. If she succeeded tonight, there would be little enough to report. If she failed, her brother’s anger would be the least of her concerns. I can’t afford to think like that. I won’t fail. I haven’t come this far to have happiness torn from my grasp before I have a chance to enjoy it. “Aiden.” She waited for him to look at her. “Thank you.”

  He nodded. “Charlie.”

  “I’m here.” She slipped through two O’Malley men and hurried up to give Keira a quick hug. “Be safe.”

  “I will,” she lied through her teeth. Every second she wasted here was a second she wasn’t in pursuit of Mae, but she couldn’t leave these people in her house—not even her family. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” Charlie let Aiden take her hand and guide her to the door, taking their people with them. The rest of the guests followed, and Keira’s expression must have been forbidding, because not even Teague chose to approach and contradict Aiden’s decision to let her handle it.

  For that, she was grateful.

  Ivan slowed in front of her and slid his arm around Natasha. “If you think it would help, I can leave a few men to pad your numbers, but it’d be best if we weren’t directly involved with his rescue.”

  She loved him a little bit for never doubting that there would be a rescue. “While I appreciate the offer, we’ve got it covered. I’ll have Dmitri contact you once he’s home.”

  He nodded. “Tell Dima that he’ll never live this down, and I expect the full story next time we have dinner.”

  Natasha pinned her in place with those whiskey-colored eyes. “You bring our Dima home, Keira.”

  “I’m going to.” She wouldn’t allow herself to believe anything else. “Travel safe.”

  “And you as well.”

  She glanced at Alexei. “Take your men and make sure no one wanders off on their way out the front door, and then lock this place down. Get everyone equipped and meet me in Dmitri’s office when you’re ready. I’ll have the location by then.” I hope.

  It was a risk allowing Cillian into Dmitri’s office, but it was a calculated one. Aiden had trusted her to loop him in when necessary. Dmitri’s men trusted her to find him. She had to trust Cillian to do the job she asked of him. He whistled softly when he saw the computer setup. “Independent circuit?”

  “I don’t know what that means, so shelve the geek talk. That one has Internet.” She pointed at the laptop on the corner of the desk. “I just texted you the number. Can you track it?”

  “Yeah. If the phone’s still turned on, it will be cake.”

  “Please hurry.” A fine tremor worked its way through her, and she had to turn away while she fought against the urge to scream herself hoarse. Hold on, Dima. Just…hold on. They would get to him in time. Her standing over Cillian and demanding he hurry wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference.

  The door opened right as she got herself under control. Alexei poked his head in. “Mrs. Romanov, we’re ready. The house is cleared except for this one.” He motioned at Cillian.

  “Good.” When he hesitated, she raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”

  He glanced at her dress, a silent inquiry. Of course. She was hardly inconspicuous at the moment. Keira cleared her throat. “Stay with Cillian.” It would only take her a few minutes to change, and she wanted to be prepared for whatever situation they were about to walk into.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She turned to find her brother watching her. “What?”

  Cillian smiled through bloodless lips. “When did you become a leader?”

  “Trial by fire.” She let her hands drop to her sides. “Cillian, do you need anything else from me at this second?”

  “No, but I should have a location in ten minutes or less, so whatever you need to do, do it fast.” He cracked his knuckles and got to work.

  Keira nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I found them.”

  Keira didn’t allow her relief to show. She rounded the desk to look over Cillian’s shoulder. He’d helpfully brought up a map and dropped a pin to mark the coordinates he’d pulled from the phone. She frowned. “I don’t know New York. Where is this?”

  Alexei came to stand next to her. He pointed at the street running the length of the screen. “This used to be Eldridge territory before it was absorbed by Andrei Romanov.” He pointed at the pin, just south of the street. “This has always been Romanov territory. Pavel’s team patrolled here.”

  “That fucking bastard,” Keira murmured. Even if they weren’t traitors like Pavel was, they would have reported anything strange to him, effectively ensuring Dmitri never got word. It was brilliant, even as she clenched her fists in frustration. “What do we know about this place?”

  “Those are offices slated for remodeling. They had become unsafe, and so Mr. Romanov ordered the building gutted and rebuilt. Demolition happened last month, but things have been complicated, so Mr. Romanov hasn’t approved the construction schedule yet.”

  Complicated because Dmitri married Keira and they’d been on the verge of war ever since. “Alexei, meet me in the garage. I’ll be there shortly.” Without hesitation, Alexei nodded and led the way out of the office. The door shut behind them with a soft click.

  Cillian turned in his chair to face her. “You’re really going after him.”

  “Fuck yes, I am.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “That bitch can’t have him. He’s mine.”

  Her brother pushed to his feet, and she tensed, half expecting him to start some bullshit, but Cillian just pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight enough that her ribs groaned in protest. “I won’t tell you to be careful. But come back alive.” He hesitated. “And bring that annoying-ass Russian back, too, while you’re at it.” He kissed her forehead. “We’ll be waiting for word.”

  She tensed to keep her reaction in check. “I’ll call as soon as I’m able to.”

  Cillian nodded and walked to the door. He paused and glanced back. “This might sound weird, considering the circumstances, but I’m fucking proud of you, Keira.” And then he was gone, closing the door gently behind him.

  Then, and only then, did Keira drop her head into her hands and exhale a long breath. That had been the easy part. She just had to keep moving. If she didn’t stop, her mind wouldn’t have time to offer up all the things that Mae and Alethea could be doing to Dmitri in the time it took them to get to that fucking building. She counted slowly to ten and then moved, pushing herself to her feet.

  She took out her phone and started to type out a response to Dmitri, but stopped. He might have had it on the way there, but she had no way of telling if he still had it. He hadn’t texted since she told him to hold on, which didn’t necessarily mean anything…

  But she couldn’t take a chance.

  The only shot they had at making this work was with the element of surprise on their side. If she texted him and one of the Eldridges saw it…“Damn it.” She set her phone to silent and slipped it into her pocket.

  Hold on, Dima. Stay alive until we can get there and rescue your ass.

  With that, she didn’t allow herself to dwell any further on all the things that could go wrong—and they were legion. Keira straightened her shoulders and headed for the garage.

  She found Alexei and the rest of the men waiting. “I’m going to need a gun. Now.”

  He considered her. “Twenty-two?”

  “Give me some credit. Nine-millimeter.”

  He nodded and went to a cabinet tucked against the far wall on the other side of the vehicles, returning shortly with the requested gun and two cartridges. “If you need more than this, we’re dead and it won’t matter.”

&nb
sp; “Noted.” She tucked it into the back of her waistband. It wasn’t comfortable, but it would do for the duration. “Let’s go.” The more time they wasted, the worse Dmitri’s chances were. She couldn’t think of what he might be going through right now. They’d get him out alive. End of story. To believe anything else was to court madness. It will be okay. It has to be.

  She climbed into the front passenger seat of the SUV that Pavel was driving and took a slow and steady breath. It was time. You made your last mistake in a long line of many, Alethea—you fucked with my man. Now I’m going to fucking bury you.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Dmitri held perfectly still as Mae cut away his shirt. The time for talking was past. Alethea had cast her lot with her crazy daughter, knowing damn well that there was no future there.

  Alethea drained her wineglass. “Kill him and be done with it, Mae.”

  “No.” Mae shook her head slowly. “This bastard had us running around like rats scrambling for cover. He owes us, and I’m going to carve his payment out of his flesh.”

  “Mae,” Alethea said sharply.

  “I said no. Unless you want to join him in the chair?”

  Alethea’s face went white. “That won’t be necessary.”

  Alethea doesn’t have control of the situation. Mae does. More importantly, Alethea fears her daughter.

  He could use this. He would use this.

  He focused on Mae. She was attractive enough in a brutal sort of way…until he got to the eyes. Mae’s dark eyes held madness unlike Dmitri had ever seen. She ran her knife down his bare chest, smiling at him like a lover might. “Nice ink.”

  He shrugged. “It goes with the territory.”

  “Hmm. I guess.” The tip of the knife stopped above his heart, right over the darkest tree in the tattoo. “No domed building tattoos means no prison time.”

  He held her gaze. “If you’re looking for secrets, you’re wasting your time.” He swept his gaze across the room and settled on Alethea. “Where is Mikhail?”