A black Toyota 4Runner pulled up behind a blue late-model Bentley sedan in an alley off West Read Street in Mount Vernon, Baltimore.
A man dressed in a leather jacket, dark jeans and combat boots got out of the SUV and rapped at the heavily tinted windows of the sedan.
The door opened to reveal a blond man in his mid-forties. He was attired in an expensive Armani suit that set off his handsome but cruel face. Sergei Reznikov.
“Any news on Boris?” he asked his associate Peter Coltrane after he climbed into the car and closed the door.
“No, we have to assume Pierce eliminated him.”
“I have no time for all these fuck-ups,” the Russian flared angrily. “What does it take to get rid of one little woman?”
She was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. Maia Pierce, as he knew her, had infiltrated his compound located south of Moscow and taken off with Alexsey Volynsky, the lever he had on Mikhail Gavlik. Now Reznikov was exiled from Russia and from his bratva. Those loyal to him were few but they were the best boyeviks—warriors. They have followed him into the United States in the past few weeks but Pierce had already killed seven of them, and it was beginning to piss him off. Now he had to augment his group with mercenaries like Boris.
“She appears to be under the protection of Jack McCord.”
“What? The brother of the one Vergara asked us to whack?”
“Yes, the one who owns the defense company.”
Reznikov appeared very displeased.
“This brother is very unlike his tree-hugging sibling,” Peter continued. “He is an ex-Navy SEAL. His company deals in high-technology weapons. The MD-Bandit drones that took over most of the Predator drones of the military are made by his company. I don’t think we want to be on his radar. After that boat incident, I think we’ve pissed him off.”
“You’re advising us to back-off from Pierce?”
“For now. Until we establish what their relationship is.”
The Russian sighed. “I agree. We need to concentrate on moving the Rave-IX from the container. Have you contacted our dealers?”
“Yes. Some of them are flying in for the International Medical Conference and are under various covers like doctors and pharmaceutical representatives. It’s the perfect setup.”
“Do you know if there are any representatives from GAV-VOL pharmaceuticals?”
GAV-VOL pharmaceuticals was the company owned by the Gavlik and Volynski families who were distant cousins. Mikhail Gavlik was the pakhan of the bratva in which Reznikov had been a former lieutenant. Gavlik’s cousin Volynski discovered that Gavlik was using their company to produce the Rave-IX drug, so the former had Reznikov kidnap him. Gavlik double-crossed Reznikov and hired an outside incursion team to rescue Volynksi. Gavlik was setting Reznikov up to take the fall and was going to murder Volinski himself but his cousin got smart and went into hiding. Gavlik wanted all the profits from the Rave-IX for himself and was reneging on the 50-50 deal he had struck with Reznikov. But perhaps his pakhan had heard the rumors of his lieutenant wanting to overthrow him. Such are the hazards of life in a bratva. Trust no one.
“I checked the conference attendees; there are none. I think Gavlik is keeping a low profile. His company is under investigation by the AGS and the FBI. But we must be careful too. He may be sending some assassins for you.”
“I’ll be well-guarded. I’m sick of laying low. Let him come for me. He does not have the formula for the Rave-IX, I do. This medical conference is indeed very timely. I have another job for you.”
Reznikov handed Peter a brown envelope.
“That’s the minimum equipment and raw material requirements for what we need to manufacture Rave-IX. Find out where we can procure them. We shall start producing Rave-IX soon so we can assure our buyers of a steady supply.”
“You are confident we can reproduce this?”
“Yes, my chemist is flying in today. Gavlik can go to hell!” Reznikov declared.
Derek Lockwood stared at his friend, who was at the moment, looking very pissed and unhappy.
“I just broke the good news to you that MDI is on track to make two billion dollars next year from DoD contracts alone and you look like someone has just crashed your precious Camaro.”
Jack glanced at his friend briefly and smiled faintly, “That’s great, Derek.”
“A little more enthusiasm, maybe?” Derek prodded.
Jack raked his hand impatiently through his hair and growled, “She drives me crazy. I don’t fucking know what to do with her.”
Derek released a breath of defeat. There was no way out of this. He was going to get caught up between his two bull-headed friends. This was not going to end well for either of them if Jack didn’t let go or Maia didn’t give in. And it didn’t look to end well for him either.
“Jack, you do know the definition of temporary?”
His friend didn’t answer but merely shot him a baleful look.
“Okay, that was uncalled for.”
“Did she say anything to you about me, about us?”
Good Lord, Derek thought, his friend really had it bad. If it was any other woman he would be thrilled for Jack. But Maia was a walking relationship disaster.
“She mentioned that you kept changing the rules.”
“Because she holds back too much! It’s as if I’m trying to chisel through a damn concrete wall,” Jack said in frustration. “I see her, Derek, when I make love to her, I see her and all the promise that could be between us. But afterwards, she shuts down on me.”
Derek sighed. This was beyond bad, maudlin sentiments from Jack McCord were unheard of. That was why Derek had never slept with Maia. He knew he would fall in love with her and, whether his friend admitted to it or not, he was clearly on his way.
“I don’t know what to say, Jack. I’ve warned you about this. Maybe you just need more time with her? You know, to work her out of your system.”
“How?”
“You know I’m on vacation next week. But it’s because Viktor needed someone to do active surveillance in Baltimore. If you agree to provide some of the equipment from our advance surveillance line, I may be able to get you in as a tag-along. Viktor owes you for keeping Maia safe, I don’t think he’ll deny this request. Besides, he could use men of your calibre on this operation.”
“Do it.”
“Maia won’t be pleased.”
“I don’t fucking care. I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
Derek decided to play devil’s advocate. His friend had to face a few facts, Viktor would not appreciate a repeat of the Mike Callahan debacle.
“For how long do you think you can keep an eye on her?”
Jack scowled.
“I’m just being practical here,” Derek continued. “Are you going to ask her to quit the AGS? Are you going to be another Mike Callahan? Remember him? Didn’t I tell you how spectacularly that ended?”
Instead of answering, Jack pulled out a folder and tossed it at him.
“Did you know she has nightmares. She speaks Russian in her sleep,” Jack said.
Derek opened the folder and frowned.
“Her real name is Katerina Luski. Did you know that?”
“No. How did you get this?”
“I called in some favors at the CIA. Most of them are under black marker. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Viktor’s Special Forces team was going to extract the Luskis but something went terribly wrong.”
Derek filtered through some photographs, appalled at what he was seeing.
“They slashed her, Derek. She was twelve years old. They were going to rape her, turn her into a prostitute,” Jack said fiercely. “Viktor and his team saved her. Then for saving a young girl and defying directive they got discharged from the military. Fucking CIA.”
Derek shut the folder and thoughtfully assessed the rabbit hole Jack was digging himself into. Pulling in a favor from the CIA to find out more about the woman he was sleeping with seemed overkill.
“This somehow tells me that Maia is more than just a passing relationship. Are you in love with her, Jack? Is this what you felt for Claire?”
Jack started shaking his head as he took the file back from Derek. “I don’t know, man. Claire was simple, I loved her. What I’m feeling right now, ‘love’ is too tame a word. It’s almost an obsession. I wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than outright possession. And it’s unsettling.”
“Uh, Jack, slavery ended in the 1800s.”
Jack’s lips curled in a half-grin. “She’s like a drug, an addiction. The more I taste her, the more I can’t get enough.”
“Maybe the answer is not spending more time with her. Maybe you need to distance yourself from her right now,” Derek said helpfully.
“I’ve thought about that. Not happening.”
Just then the elevator dinged. Maia was back from the control room. The two men started shuffling through some files pretending to be talking about MDI business.
When the bookcases slid shut behind her, Maia walked up to the big office desk. Her eyes darted between the men, who were pointedly ignoring her and talking about MD-Bandit drones and advance carbine weapons.
“You guys can stop pretending. You were talking about me.” Looking at Jack, she asked,“Are you done being mad at me?”
“I could be over it. How are you going to make it up to me?”
“Do I need to be here for this discussion?” Derek asked and made a move to leave the study.
“Stay. I need to make a call to Richard Grayson anyway,” Maia said.
“So, he’s officially Grayson now?” Jack asked.
“Yes, he’s making the transition tomorrow. I was thinking of just catching a ride with him.”
“No.”
“Jack …”
“I said no. When do you need to get to Baltimore?”
“Friday. Look, you’re not the boss of me. If I want to leave, I will. You get me?” Maia retorted forcefully.
Derek really didn’t want to be around for this conversation. Irresistible force meet immovable object.
“You can try to leave.” Jack’s voice was dangerously soft.
“You think you can restrain me? Tranq me again?”
“If I have to.”
Maia threw up her hands. “There’s no reasoning with you. You always want it your way. I don’t know how I even got entangled with you in the first place. I’m leaving tomorrow and moving my things out of your room right now.”
She stormed out of the study.
Jack got up and went after her, muttering to Derek, “Stay here and don’t get in the way.”
Derek leaned back in his chair. “Not moving.”
Jack caught up with Maia at the bottom of the staircase. She was calling Richard Grayson. He grabbed her phone and threw it across the floor and then tossed her over his shoulder and went up the steps two at a time, ignoring Maia’s screech of outrage.
“Jack, you fucking arrogant bastard. Put me down!”
“We’re having this out now!”
“My ribs hurt.”
Jack swore under his breath. In his anger he had forgotten about her bruised ribs. He lowered her at the top of the stairs but clamped down immediately on her right arm, giving her a look of warning not to try to get away. He dragged her into his room and slammed the door behind them.
“You’re not leaving tomorrow and you are not moving your things out of my room.”
“Oh, yeah? How are you going to stop me?”
As if to prove a point, Maia strode to the dresser and started picking out her things.
Jack walked over to her, pulled her away, shuffled her back against the wall and pressed his body down the length of hers.
He lowered his lips near hers. As usual, his anger quickly morphed into lust, but Jack squashed it down. They were going to goddamn talk and not just fuck their way out of this.
“Why do you constantly challenge me?”
“I do not. You keep bossing me around!”
“I’m just trying to do what’s good for you.”
“I can take care of myself, how many times do I need to tell you that?”
Jack noted the hitch in Maia’s breath. Good. He was glad to know that he was not the only one affected by their closeness.
He leaned his forehead against hers.
“You drive me crazy,” he whispered thickly. “I don’t know what end is up any more. I don’t want to let you go, Maia. You belong to me, can’t you see that?”
Jack saw the panic in Maia’s eyes. Fuck. He had said it, he was damn well not taking it back.
“Maia …”
“Jack. Stop,” Maia said, her eyes turning icy. Jack’s chest constricted. He was losing her. He had come on too strong and now he was losing her. “We’ve been through very intense situations. It’s natural to feel heightened emotions from this, but this will not last.”
“Don’t hand me that bullshit,” Jack muttered through his teeth. “I’ve been through intense situations before. Navy SEAL here, remember?”
He brushed her lips lightly with his. “Maia, you undo me.” He guided her hand to his growing arousal. “Feel what you do to me.”
This time her eyes glazed with desire. From ice to fire. God, he can’t get enough of her. He continued teasing her lips. “Tell me I’m not the only one. That you want me as much.”
“Stop this,” Maia breathed.
“Tell me, you’re not leaving tomorrow.”
“I know the sex is good,” Maia admitted. “But in the grand scheme of things, my job is important to me and I need to get to Baltimore as soon as possible.”
Jack sighed as he pulled back a little. “It’s not just about sex and you know it. Stop lying to yourself. You know there is something special happening between us and you’re scared to admit it. You’re scared and you’re running away from it.”
She avoided his eyes and stared at the base of his throat, not responding.
He threaded his fingers through her hair a few times before cupping her chin, tilting it up to look down into her eyes. “It’s not just sex,” Jack repeated softly. “I wouldn’t even try making love to you in your condition. You’re injured.” He brushed her lips gently with his before continuing, “I just want to spend more time with you.”
“I thought you didn’t do relationships. This is beginning to sound like one.”
“I do when it comes to you.”
“You can’t keep changing the rules, Jack.”
“I know. So let’s just throw out the rules and see where this goes,” Jack suggested while making sure to flash Maia his most charming smile.
Her eyebrow shot up, her expression wary. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Jack was at loss for words and he was also starting to lose his patience. Though he always made the first move with women (women who made the first move turned him off and he just stayed away from the type), they always threw themselves at him in the end. He had no experience whatsoever in trying to talk them into staying with him. Jack felt his smile quickly devolve into a frown. Why was this woman being so damned difficult?
“You are so damned infuriating,” Jack murmured finally.
The corners of Maia’s lips tipped up. “I must say Mr. McCord, you need to work on your relationship lingo. That’s no way to charm a lady into staying with you.”
“You’ll drive a saint into chaining you to the bed,” Jack muttered, and then trying not to let his annoyance show, he continued, “The sex is good. No, wait. Sex with you blows my fucking mind. You’re smart, sexy and sassy—you don’t take shit from me— and I crave to be with you even when all my survival instincts tell me to run the other way. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever fucking laid eyes on.” He grasped both her hands and brought them together over his chest. “Now, Miss Pierce, will you stay until Friday?”
Maia burst into laughter. “Okay, that will do. I’ll stay until Friday.”
Jack exhaled a breath of relief. “Thank God, I thought I’d have to start quoting fucking Byron. What time do you want me to take you to Baltimore?”
“You don’t have to take me all the way to Baltimore.”
He looked at her sharply. “This,” gesturing between them, “is happening.”
“There are many things I may have to do that might piss you off.”
Jack knew exactly what would piss him off. “Does that involve sleeping with anyone else?”
Maia’s gaze sharpened as she retorted, “I’ve told you before, I don’t let stuff get that far, remember?”
“Does this have anything to do with Lee in Baltimore?”
Maia nodded.
“We’ll deal. Maia, you are not fucking sleeping with anyone else. But we’ll deal with all the other stuff.”
“I’m not good at this, Jack,” she said softly. “I can’t bring myself to belong to anybody.”
“Sweetheart, it’s too late,” Jack said with a trace of bitterness. He did not like feeling this way, that another person had this much power over him, but he was tired of fighting it. It was only fair that she shared this unsettling feeling with him. “You’re mine. And I take care of what’s mine.”
Maia sighed in resignation. Jack smiled inwardly; he had finally gotten through to her.
Maia was furious. She had just gotten off the phone with Viktor. Sometime between her last videoconference with him and her confrontation with Jack, the Baltimore plans had changed. Apparently, Jack was now part of the team—surveillance, of all things. So now she had to brief him and Derek on the Baltimore playbook.
The three of them were huddled around the conference table near the main control room. Maia printed a summary of the playbook and emailed the rest of details.
“I don’t know how you wormed your way into this, Jack, but I have a feeling Derek had something to do with it,” she looked at her friend accusingly.
“Didn’t I tell you we’ll deal?” Jack smirked.
Maia fumed.
She told them of the International Medical Conference that was going to be held at the Bradley Convention Center located near the Inner Harbor. “It’s believed some henchman of Reznikov will be meeting some buyers there for the Rave-IX. There is no data on who the buyers are. Other Guardians will be there including DEA agents like Richard Grayson. The convention center has surveillance cameras, so AGS would be tapping into that signal.”
“The most popular public venue for the Rave-IX target demographic is the Addison Music Hall. The gala for the conference will be held at the hotel I am staying at. The entertainment will be provided by a popular local rock band called Ezra Crows.” Maia noted Jack turning solid beside her. Time to pay him back for his earlier arrogance. “As you both know, their lead singer Lee Isaac and I were former lovers.” Derek flinched at her choice of words. She didn’t want to look at Jack, but she could already feel anger emanating from his direction. “The idea is to rekindle our acquaintance and …”
Jack yanked her towards him to face his glittering eyes. He was barely controlling his fury. “No fucking way! You think I’m going to stand by and watch you flirt with that pansy?”
“Jack…” Derek warned.
“You have no choice,” Maia said calmly as she extricated her arm from his grasp. “We’ll deal, remember? Ezra Crows is the top draw at Addison. Lee pays attention to me, whoever is taking care of Addison Music Hall’s clients will be paying attention to me.”
“Baiting Reznikov,” Derek murmured. “Brilliant idea.”
Jack glared at his friend. “We’re throwing Maia to the sharks.”
“But she’s a harpoon, she’ll get them.”
“Am I the only one who thinks this is a stupid idea?”
“Yes,” Maia and Derek said in unison.
“You can always back out, Jack,” Maia purred. “I told you it was going to piss you off.”
“As long as you don’t have sex with him, and that includes oral.”
“There may be some kissing.”
“I’ll deal…”
“And some fondling…”
“What kind of fondling?”
“Oh for the love of God,” Derek muttered. “Can you two define the limits between yourselves. Can you continue with the briefing, Maia?”
Maia ignored Jack’s daggered looks and continued to run down some areas that needed a complete surveillance package, such as Addison Music Hall. They couldn’t tap into their security feed because the owners were under suspicion of assisting Sergei Reznikov. The cameras would have to be planted covertly by Guardians posing as patrons.
“Any questions so far?”
“Do you have your hotel details yet?” Jack asked casually.
“Yes.”
“We’ll need to set up surveillance there just in case Reznikov makes a move.”
“Not in my room.”
Jack quirked a brow. “Yes, in your room. Don’t worry, babe, it’ll be for my eyes only.”
Derek rolled his eyes. “We’ll monitor the hallway and add some alarms on the outside windows.”
“It’s the Grand Harbor, room 707.”
Jack wrote down the information on the hotel and looked at Derek. “Have you informed Wilson of this?”
“Yes, he’s on it. Viktor is also aware of his involvement.”
“Good.”
“You two have been busy behind my back,” Maia observed. “Would you mind telling me who this guy is?”
“Scott Wilson developed our surveillance line at MDI,” Jack said. “He’s also wired all my properties.”
“I would appreciate it if you let me know who all are involved from your side so I can keep a master list,” Maia said as she wrote down the name. “This is a multi-agency dragnet and that can get complicated. We do not want to step on anyone’s toes. DEA calls the shots—remember that.”
