EIGHT MONTHS LATER
Claire felt giddy riding in the cab to Hartsfield International Airport.
Maxine sat next to her with her usual brooding scowl. The woman barely displayed an emotional range, but Claire knew that provided Maxine a barrier to the world. Deep inside she cared, maybe even more than most. Maxine had erected walls to a lifetime of hardship—the poverty of her youth growing up a coal miner’s daughter, the brutality of war as a Marine, and the rejection of her husband and son.
Maxine had built a new family through her company. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she liked seeing her recruits happy. Claire knew Ryan Walsh was one of Maxine’s favorites. Claire silently bet she would see at least one tear fall from those steely Marine eyes at the wedding, despite the way Maxine would grumble about having to wear a dress.
Maxine crossed her arms as she stared out the window. “He could have gotten married in Atlanta.”
Claire scoffed. “I know, right? It’s so inconsiderate of him dragging us to a tropical paradise.”
Maxine snorted.
Mason Stone and former Rider SI client, Aurora Meridian, had gotten married on Aurora’s parents’ vineyard in California. The wedding dazzled, and the reception had been positively magical. They had strung LED lights about the backyard. Between the lights and the lush greenery, Claire felt like she was in Tolken’s Rivendell. As beautiful as that location had been, Claire was certain she would like Antigua more, having never been to the Caribbean.
Ryan and Jenna’s wedding would also mark Claire’s first role as a bridesmaid. When Claire finally met the physician in person, Jenna had wrapped her arms around her in a fierce hug and thanked her. After a brief conversation, Claire knew the beautiful, intelligent, and practical woman was perfect for Ryan—the older brother Claire had never had. When Jenna asked her to be her bridesmaid, Claire had leaped with joy. Ryan laughed heartily at her reaction before giving her a hug and tussling her hair.
“I guess Billy is next?” Claire wondered aloud.
Billy, the only other woman on the Rider SI team who was currently working overseas, remained exceptionally private about her personal life. Claire knew from her background check she had never been married. She knew from Maxine that her intimate life consisted of mostly a few one-night stands. Billy didn’t care much for commitment.
Maxine grunted. “From now on, you screen the applicants to make sure they are married. No more drama. No more weddings.”
Claire shot her a quick look of dismay as the cab pulled to the curb. “I screen for quality ex-military, Max. I do not discriminate based on age, gender, race, sexual preference, or marital status.” She wanted to add that Maxine of all people should know that marital status did nothing to convey personal stability or lack of drama but that would hijack their playful discussion into a darker realm.
Maxine unleashed a few choice curse words at Claire’s insubordination as she climbed out of the cab. Claire paid the driver and got out as well.
“This isn’t the military, Max. You don’t get to discriminate, and I don’t have to blindly follow orders.”
Maxine’s mouth quirked in a mixture of annoyance and amusement.
Claire grinned. She picked up her luggage from the curb where the driver had set it.
Antigua, here we come.
Jenna sat stiff as a hospital bed mattress as Nora, part-beautician, part-sadist applied make-up.
Jess stared out the bungalow window wearing a pink, flowing, and strapless dress. Her jet-black hair shimmered in the streaming sunlight. “The beach is all set up. It’s going to be a beautiful wedding. Oh! Cal is so cute in his tux. And he’s talking with Ryan. They look like buddies.”
Jenna smiled, wishing she could be the one watching them. She knew if she moved, Nora would glare menacingly at her and probably poke or pull something to induce pain.
“Ryan has been phenomenal with Cal—hiking, fishing, kayaking. He even gave him driving lessons. He’s made male bonding look effortless.”
Jess turned back to look at her with a soft expression. “You’ve got a keeper.” She turned back to the window. “Bitch.” Her voice was a playful grumble.
Jenna laughed but was forced to stifle it when Nora halted her blush application to shoot Jenna a warning look.
Jenna had spent several hours each day for the last two days with the beauty specialist. Three days of plucking, cleansing, and coloring. The woman seemed to enjoy inflicting discomfort, as though the suffering was directly proportional to how beautiful she would look walking down the aisle. Jenna hoped the torment would pay off, but mostly she wanted to see Ryan again. They had decided to get separate rooms in Antigua.
“You don’t have to sleep separately for appearances, Mom,” Cal had said during a walk on the beach.
“Shush. We’re not having a conversation about my intimate life.”
Cal rolled his eyes. “You’re always asking me about mine.”
“Yes. I’m the mom.”
Jess shifted in her dress. “Wow. Natasha looks gorgeous. How would she not look gorgeous with that bone structure? She could wear a burlap sack and heads would turn. Her man’s a looker, too. Bet he had to tell her not to wear heels or she’d be a foot taller than him. What’d you say his name was?”
“Mikhail.”
Jess turned to Jenna. “I can’t believe you invited the nephew of a—”
Jenna gave her a silencing, wide-eyed stare. Nora didn’t need to know details about Jenna’s bizarre guest list—ex-military, Russian mafia, Russian supermodel.
Besides, she had invited Mikhail and Natasha to be polite. Who knew they would actually come to Antigua?
“Wait. If Mikhail is his nephew and Natasha is his niece, isn’t that incestual?” She crinkled her nose.
“I don’t think that’s a word, but, yes, it would be except that Mikhail was adopted so no blood ties.”
“Oh. Who’s the old guy?” Jess had turned her attention back out the window as Nora worked on Jenna’s eyelids. “He kissed your friend Maxine on the cheeks.”
Cheeks. Pleural. Jenna’s stomach hit the floor. Her mouth went dry. “Salt and pepper hair?”
“Yeah.”
“Central bulk but not too overweight?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m gonna be sick.” She would have closed her eyes in mortification if they weren’t already closed for Nora.
“Is that him? Him, him?” Jess asked, her voice rising in excitement in contrast to the foreboding Jenna felt.
“Yes. And I didn’t invite him.”
“This is the coolest wedding ever.”
Vladimir stepped back from Maxine after kissing her cheeks. The new flush in them gave him warm satisfaction.
“It’s good to see you,” he said with a smile
“Jenna didn’t mention you on the guest list.” She smiled in return.
He detected a hint of strain in her voice.
“Da. I am not on the guest list. However, when I discovered you would be here but with no plus one, I considered that my invitation.”
She examined his face, no doubt trying to calculate how he might have gained access to Dr. Masters’ guest list. As she had her computer savvy Claire, so he too had resources.
“Do you think Dr. Masters will be offended?”
“Not at all. She’ll be pleased to know you think the event worthy to attend.”
“Wonderful. Then we should not spoil her pleasure by revealing that I primarily came to see you.”
The color rose back into her cheeks. She looked lovely in her mint green dress and pearls. His Catherine the Great. Maxine the Great.
She stared hard at him. “Do I need to be concerned about that?”
“I am no threat to you, Max. I stand before you unarmed, hoping only that you will agree to dance with me after the ceremony. We never did get that dinner date after all. You, on the other hand, have me surrounded by your top soldiers.”
Her eyes flickered around the two of them. As he had approached the wedding grounds, the groom—Ryan—, groomsman—Reece—, and loyal guard—Barry—had quietly positioned themselves in an offensive circle.
She let out a deep breath, and Vladimir watched her visibly relax. She gave a subtle hand gesture, which he assumed was the signal for her men to stand down.
“One dance,” she said.
“Wonderful. And to keep appearances that I am here for the bride and groom, I will dance with Dr. Masters as well.”
“Anyone with whom you desire.”
He smiled again. She truly was magnificent. She had tight control of the fear she felt in his presence. No, not fear. Concern.
Does she fear anyone?
She controlled her emotions well. And she had not an ounce of jealousy or fanfare. He had waited these last twenty lonely years for a self-assured woman of Maxine’s maturity. Here they stood, so close, but on opposite sides of the chess board and he didn’t know how to bridge such a gap. She saw only the criminal side of him, only what she wanted to see. Black and white, like chess pieces.
She knew nothing of his charity foundations and nothing of the chaos he brought under control in the Russian underworld. Sure, he moved guns and drugs. They were lucrative. He didn’t force anyone to buy them. What they did with the weapons and drugs scorched their souls, not his.
Tough little liska.
How to lure the sly fox into his arms?
Jenna felt butterflies as she stared at the guests. The rows brimmed with family, friends and ... and other people too dangerous to call friends whom she could only hope to never call enemies.
Vladimir had found a spot near Maxine, the woman who had made this day possible. Boris stood on the other side of Vladimir. Natasha and Mikhail stood one row ahead of them along with Barry. On the other side of the aisle stood her mother, hands clasped and smiling as she intermittently dabbed at tears. Friends of theirs encircled them.
Jenna swallowed and began walking down the aisle to the music. Her father, looking dashing in his tuxedo with his gray hair smoothed, walked beside her.
In the background, waves lapped against the shore. At the erected altar stood her friends—Jess and Carmen and Claire. Cute Claire with her blue hair, who had saved Jenna’s life as much as the rest of the Rider team by tracking her phone.
On the groom side stood Cal, Reece, and Sonny—Ryan’s brother whom she had the pleasure of meeting three times before the wedding. Cal looked mature and handsome in his tux.
Jenna blinked back tears. Heaven help her. She couldn’t start bawling before she ever made it to Ryan. Her father patted her arm.
Her eyes fell on Ryan, and her heart skipped a beat. He looked ravishing in his tuxedo. She could imagine nothing lovelier than the man she loved in a tuxedo on a gorgeous beach. Except perhaps without the tuxedo. She grinned at the image.
Ryan gave her a wry smile as he narrowed his eyes at her.
She felt her cheeks blush. How did he always know what she was thinking?
As her eyes remained fixed on Ryan, the rest of the word faded into light. At this sublime moment, she had not a single worry. She felt no reservation, no hesitation. The event had been eight months in the planning and had superseded her expectations. Ryan superseded her expectations.
She basked in the moment—this gift—of blissful happiness.
On the dance floor, Ryan looked down at his amazing bride. She radiated beauty and love. Love for him. Never had he imagined he could feel this happy. Never had he thought he deserved to feel such wholeness. Jenna thought otherwise. When she looked at him with emerald green eyes filled with adoration, he felt worthy of happiness. His Jenna. His sunshine.
She even had a great son. After spending time with Cal, he liked the skinny spitfire. Cal was witty and smart. Most important was the love and respect he had for his mom.
The wedding party was a little unconventional, but then so was the way they had met and met again. His eyes casually roamed the dance floor. Mikhail and Natasha danced together. Claire had sweetly asked Cal to dance. Reece and Jess were dancing and laughing. His partner looked quite enamored by the small Asian woman. She was a feisty hellion, but maybe Reece needed that—someone to unravel his notion that a lifetime of one-night stands were sufficient nourishment for the soul.
His gaze fell to Vladimir, the unexpected guest. Yet, for a twelve- million-dollar forgiveness, the man could come to the birth of Ryan and Jenna’s child if he wanted. Vladimir stood staring in the distance, his face heavy with concern. Ryan followed Vladimir’s gaze to Maxine. Her face looked pale and stern as she spoke on her phone. Trouble brewed.
Ryan made eye contact with Claire who gave him a puzzled look. He nodded in Maxine’s direction, silently urging her to check on the woman. Claire looked at Maxine, realization dawning on her face. She whispered to Cal and excused herself from the dance floor. Cal’s grandmother stepped in to take her place.
Ryan’s eyes came back to Jenna, and she smiled at him, setting his world alight. Whatever next turmoil awaited Rider SI, he had this moment with this woman and many more pleasurable ones to anticipate. The rest of the world could wait.
Maxine had left the dancing, drinking crowd to answer her phone. She felt a measure of relief at excusing herself. She had enjoyed the ceremony and nearly cried, which she attributed to some mixture of sand blowing into her eyes and menopause. Vladimir offered her a handkerchief but withdrew it in a chuckle when she glared at him.
As she walked in search of a quieter spot, she glanced back at Vladimir with whom she had danced first. She felt oddly comfortable and aroused in his embrace. What was he playing at coming all the way to Antigua?
She raised the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Maxine Rider,” a male voice purred.
Despite the chill that ran down her spine, she forced casual cheer into her voice. “Lucy, what can I do for you?”
“I’ve been keeping tabs on you, Maxine.” His voice dropped an octave. “It’s how I know you’re throwing Hellfires around South America where you have no business meddling.”
Her blood ran cold as icicles formed along her spine. “Is that so?”
“Yes. First you interfere with my confiscation of Sharp’s prototype then you launch missiles into territories under my purview. I haven’t unearthed your contacts yet to know how you pulled it off, but I will. You need to rethink your strategy, Maxine. Taking on a titan such as me has consequences.”
“Apparently it does since you’re interrupting my relaxation.” She fought to keep her voice even despite her racing mind.
How did he discover she had ordered the strike eight months ago in Argentina? She paced the beach. Her heart kicked into a fast race. Consequences brought to bear by Titan Enterprises had an ominous ring.
He continued, “When people come after my organization, I take it personally. Do you want to make this personal, Max? You have a family don’t you? A son? Tragedies happen to emergency room physicians all of the time.”
A roaring like a jet plane sounded in Maxine’s ears, devouring the sound of music, ocean waves, and wedding guest chatter. Her vision blurred and an aching pain thudded with every heartbeat. “Taking out a drug manufacturing facility isn’t personal. But if you do anything to my son, I will cut off your—”
The phone disconnected.
Maxine swore before channeling her fury into her legs to will herself to stay standing. She clenched her phone in her hand. The ache in her chest magnified. Was she having a heart attack?
“Max?”
Maxine’s eyes focused on the color blue. Blue hair. Blue Claire. Her vision cleared. Her gaze flickered toward the festivities to ensure her state of panic wasn’t noticed by anyone else. Only Vladimir stared in their direction.
“I need to make a quiet exit,” she told Claire. “Tell everyone my conversational abilities have reached their limit.”
Claire shrugged. “They won’t have a problem believing that.”
“I need you on a flight back with me.”
“You’re scaring me, Max. What’s this about?”
“We need to get back to the office, and we need to start tracking David.”
“David?”
“Yes, my son, David.”
Claire’s eyes went wide.
“I want location updates scheduled to my phone every thirty minutes. I want a tracker on his car and security cameras in his apartment.”
“Okay. Yes, absolutely. Why?” Claire’s face grew more pale and worried.
“Lucius Wallenius Titan declared war on me.”
<<<THE END>>>