Drake stood up. “Suit yourself, gentlemen. You’re leaving a lot of money on the table.”
Andrusha stood up but noticeably didn’t offer to shake his hand. “Let me walk you out.”
What a dick. Andrusha and I wanted our security firm to stay on the right side of the law, no matter how much money was at stake. We knew firsthand how slippery the slope was to the other, less legal, side of business, and neither of us was interested in going back there. The sun didn’t shine in that dark place. I stood up and moved to bring Drake’s water glass to the kitchen, but habit made me start to clean up the room.
Andrusha appeared in the doorway. “That guy was a turd,” he complained. “If I were going to break the law, I wouldn’t break it to work for a wanker like him.”
“You find out what he wanted?”
“Didn’t want to know.” He watched me clean. “Thought you were leaving for your weekend getaway.”
“I am.”
He stood there, looking perturbed.
I knew all of Andrusha’s expressions. “What’s up?”
“Something isn’t right with Drake.”
“Not our problem,” I reminded him.
“I have a bad feeling.”
“He’s gone. We said no.”
“You’re right.”
“Don’t you have dinner planned with Olivia?”
“I do.”
“Then go. I’m almost done, and then I’m leaving too.”
He stood there for another long moment. “Okay. Have a great weekend.”
I took the garbage out back. I walked back through the kitchen and stopped short. Andrusha stood in the middle of the hallway with his hands laced behind his head. Behind him, Drake leaned casually against the wall. He was pointing a Glock at Andrusha’s back. I knew I could get a shot off and take him out before he fired, but I needed a cleaner angle.
Drake sounded bored. “Before you go all hero on us, Viktor, you should know that my team currently has eyes on Olivia. If my men don’t hear from me in an hour, then they have their instructions.”
Rage and fear washed over Andrusha’s face as we communicated silently. We would not take the chance of risking Olivia’s life to handle Drake the way I wanted to.
I spoke for the first time to Drake. “What do you want?”
“I already told you. We’re in a bit of a pinch, and you have some specialized skills we need.”
“The shipping heiress.”
“Now that her grandfather is missing, she’s the key to solving all our issues.”
My stomach rolled sourly as I realized that he possibly wanted a targeted kill. I glanced over at Andrusha. He was staring at the ground. His honor didn’t allow him to ask me to do what needed to be done to protect Olivia, so he avoided my eyes, if only to hide how badly he needed me to keep her safe.
My friend didn’t have to ask.
I would do this and a hundred other unthinkable things to keep his wife safe. I had very few things in my life worth dying for, but Andrusha and Olivia were at the top of my list.
“I need assurances that Andrusha and Olivia will walk away from this.”
Andrusha lifted his gaze, his emotions a mixture of torture, apology and, most importantly, relief.
“I’m a man of honor.”
That I doubted, but it’s not like we had a lot of choice in the moment. I would show compliance until I had an opportunity to deal with Drake the way I wanted. “Where is she?”
“She’s currently staying at her grandparents’ house in the mountains.”
I motioned to the map of BC we had hanging on the wall. “Whereabouts?”
He studied it for a moment and then pointed at a spot. “Past Whistler, just up Highway 99, northeast of Lillooet Lake. I’ll send you the exact coordinates of the road that connects to their property when you get closer. It’s about an hour north of Vancouver.”
“You can guarantee she’s at the house?”
“She’ll be arriving there tonight.”
“Any other security?”
“Two high-level guards posted at the gate of the property. Possibly one maid acting as shadow protection, but we haven’t confirmed that.” He paused and then pointed to the driveway. “The media are lined up along this entire road.”
I frowned. “Why?”
His tone was mocking. “Does it matter?”
Not even a bit. “How many?”
“Last count, about twenty-four trucks.”
Jesus. “Is there any other way in?”
“By foot, only from the back.”
There had to be a reason Drake wasn’t sending in his own team, because even the most basic-trained man would be able to take her out without issue.
I looked at his face, watching for any tells. “Who else is looking for her?”
His eyelid twitched slightly. “No one.”
“Bullshit.”
He held up his hands. “Honest to god’s truth. As far as I know, we’re the only ones interested in her.”
The man was lying. “I need at least twenty-four hours.”
He also didn’t fuck around. “You have only twelve hours.”
I glanced over at Andrusha. “I need to talk to my friend alone.”
“Nice try. You have five minutes to pack up whatever you need.”
He reached into his bag and tossed me a cell phone, which I assumed tracked my coordinates and was a convenient way to control me. “Let me know when our target is in your scope and wait for further instruction.”
“You’re an asshole.”
He smiled. “Your men here will be under the belief that you and Andrusha both went fishing. Any attempt to contact them will result in a bullet in Olivia’s head.”
CHAPTER TWO
Friday, 11 p.m.
BLAIRE
“Oh, dear girl.” My grandmother squeezed me in a hard hug. “Tell me some good news.”
I rubbed her back with slow and steady strokes. I had no good news, so I remained silent.
“Oh.” Her voice was muffled against me. “Oh, no.”
Her husband, my grandfather, had gone missing three days ago. He had last been seen in Manila at a board meeting for the Asian offices of his shipping company. According to everyone, he left after the meeting in his town car. And it was like he had vanished.
I had just landed in Paris for work when I received my grandmother’s panicked messages. Without taking a step out of the airport, I boarded a flight back home.
My grandmother was beside herself. Despite being jet-lagged and exhausted, I spent the first night sitting up with her. And the next two days were a blur of dealing with all the authorities who were currently searching for him. The CFO of his company and I decided to hire an additional private team to search for my grandfather, and we worked together to deal with the day-to-day business of my grandfather’s shipping empire.
“Tell me everything,” my grandmother pleaded.
She didn’t want to know everything. She only wanted to hear that this would work out.
I pulled back and looked into her brown eyes. “Have you eaten today?”