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Steve sat in the back of a California Gas panel van. Donnie climbed in next to him, Ryan and Mackie opposite. Dex got in up front with Tyler who was taking the wheel. The team had spent an agonizing thirty minutes at the Farm reviewing the layout of the house. The single-family home was on a corner lot. The lots were a good size, in an older neighborhood, with landscaped yards, mature trees, and fences. Dale had arranged to evacuate the area under the pretense of a gas leak. No one had left Janssen’s house, but if Volkov was inside it was unlikely he would come out and risk the neighbors questioning who he was. With no time to sit and observe, or to wait for nightfall, they were moving forward with an assault. Lives were in danger; minutes mattered.
Raven had assaulted houses and other places with little recon more times than he could remember. It was not what they preferred but sometimes, like now, there was no alternative. They all knew what they had to do. Steve trusted his teammates. If Diane was in that house, they would get her out alive.
“You good for this?” Donnie asked quietly.
“I’m set,” Steve reassured him. His sole focus was on getting to Diane. He would love to get his hands on Volkov, but Diane came first. Raven would take care of everything else.
The van slowed and Steve glanced through the windshield. Several vehicles were driving toward them. The last of the neighbors, heading to a designated safety zone set up a short distance away. Tyler turned into the street behind Janssen’s house and parked in front of a two-story that backed onto Janssen’s yard. These houses had been evacuated, too, which gave Raven a clear path to approach the house from the rear, reducing the chance of being seen.
Steve fought the urge to bust out of the van. They had to wait for confirmation that the civilians were gone. Finally, Dex turned to face the team from up front. “Area is all clear. Let’s do this.”
As they had discussed back at the Farm, the team silently made their way down the side of the house to Janssen’s rear fence. Steve watched Donnie scale the fence, every second feeling like minutes.
“Clear,” Donnie confirmed. Steve didn’t hesitate to climb over, desperate to get inside and find his wife. The rest of the Raven followed behind him, taking cover in the trees and bushes that edged the perimeter of the yard.
Dex signaled with his hand, and they split into two groups. Ryan led Tyler and Mackie along the perimeter toward the front of the house. They would breach the front door, while Dex, Steve and Donnie would breach the back.
As they waited for Ryan to get in position, Steve scanned the house, checking all the windows, looking for any sign of movement anywhere. Nothing.
“In position. No vehicles on the driveway or out front. No movement that we can see.” Ryan came through coms.
Steve felt the first stirrings of unease. Volkov had three women, his daughter, Oleg, and probably more men. They would need more than one car. Where were the vehicles?
“Standby,” Dex said, turning his head. Steve’s gaze locked with his and he recognized the warning to not do anything stupid without words needing to be said. He nodded. Seconds later, Dex’s command came quietly through coms.
“Execute.”
Armed with tools to ram the door, Donnie took the lead. The back door gave way easily and Dex threw in a flashbang. Anyone inside would be disoriented for a few seconds, which was all they needed to take the advantage. Ryan did exactly the same at the front.
Only there was no advantage to be taken. The team swept through the house, finding it empty.
“Fuck, maybe they weren’t here,” Tyler said.
“They were here,” Steve pointed at the mantel where he stood in front of the fireplace. Tyler and Dex joined him, and they stared at the china cat and photo seen on the video.
“We’re too fucking late.” Steve was trying to keep it together, but any hope he’d had was fading quickly. Volkov was gone. With his wife.
“Dex, upstairs,” Ryan shouted. Steve followed Dex to find Ryan standing in what looked like the master bedroom. His stomach dropped. Bloodied towels lay on the floor. A first aid kit was open on the bed. What was left of a sheet hung over the bed rail.
“Looks like someone was being patched up here,” Tyler said as he joined them.
“Which means whoever is hurt is still alive,” Dex said, looking at Steve.
“For how long?” Steve asked.
“Boss, need you in basement.” Mackie’s voice came over coms. They all moved to the basement. With every step, Steve tried to brace himself for what they might find. If there was a body down there...
As if reading his expression, Donnie said, “Stop thinking like that.”
Steve didn’t answer, only followed Dex down the stairs to the basement. He quickly scanned the room. No bodies. He blew out a breath in relief.
“She’s still alive. Don’t give up on her,” Donnie said.
Steve nodded, unable to speak. He moved to where Mackie and Dex stood to see what they were looking at. Broken glass covered the floor and an old sofa. Blood splatters were everywhere, including on some of the shards of glass. Steve looked up to a broken window.
“Someone tried to escape,” Ryan said.
“And would have got seriously hurt,” Dex said solemnly.
“Explains what we found upstairs. Whoever it was must have got caught.”
Steve stared at the blood smeared over the window ledge. Was it Diane? Had she tried to get out? Was she hurt?
“What the fuck do we do now? He’s on his way to get on a plane, and we don’t know where.”
He had been doing his best to keep his shit together, but the thought Diane might be hurt, in pain and possibly about to be taken out of the country by that bastard, was seriously destroying his resolve.
“Dex is calling it in,” Donnie said. “There are no cameras on this street, but intel will try and get satellite images. Every airport and every private airstrip is on alert. Do not give up.”
“There was no car in the garage,” Mackie said out loud.
Steve looked at him. “And?”
“Janssen must have had a car. Where is it?” Steve heard Dex asking base about the car before addressing the team.
“Alright. FBI are arriving now. They will pull this place apart. They will question the neighbors and see if anyone saw any vehicles.”
Dex paused, apparently getting information in his ear.
“OK. Janssen drove a blue Honda. APB is going out on it. They would need more than one car, but they might have used it. Let’s get back to the Farm. There’s nothing more we can do here.”
The team filed out and Steve went to follow, but Dex stepped in front of him. He waited for the pep talk he was sure he was about to receive, but instead his team leader surprised the hell out of him.
“One way or another, we are bringing Diane home. If he makes it onto a plane with her, I swear to you, we will get on a plane, too. I don’t care what clearances we need. We will go to Russia and stay there until we find her. You came with me to find Kelly, and I will do whatever it takes to find Diane.”
Steve swallowed. This is why he loved this team. Loved what he did. They were a family and one of their family was missing. They would not stop until she was found.
***
DIANE SAT IN THE BACK of the minivan, next to Natasha. Surprisingly, they weren’t tied up or gagged, but with a gun aimed at them, any thoughts of escaping were fruitless. Sitting up front, Oleg held the gun. Another man was driving. A black Range Rover was ahead of them, which carried Volkov and his daughter. Melanie had been put in a blue Honda, but Diane didn’t see it behind them. At no point had she seen Megan, and she was beginning to think Volkov had lied about taking her. Maybe it had been a ruse to get her to go to him, and she’d fallen for it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she cursed her own stupidity. If only she had gone straight to Steve when she’d got the text. Whatever happened to her now was her own fault for not talking to her husband. Again.
The minivan hit a bump in the road, and she stifled a scream as her arm bounced in the makeshift sling. Melanie and Natasha had done the best they could to clean up her cuts and give support to her arm, which was either dislocated or broken. She wasn’t too sure. It hurt like hell. Some of the cuts were still bleeding and blood already seeped through the small bandages. Her chest and stomach felt bruised from having been dragged back through the window.
“Do you think we’re going to the airport?” Natasha asked quietly. The windows in the back were blacked out. From what she could see through the front windshield, it appeared they were on a highway, but Diane couldn’t be sure; she was too scared to move.
“Probably.” It seemed the logical destination. How was he getting them out of the country without passports? Then again, a man like Volkov could easily bribe someone. Money really could buy you just about anything.
“What about Melanie? Where is she?” Natasha whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Quiet!” Oleg hissed, stopping Diane from saying anything more.
If what she heard at the house was correct, Melanie was being taken to wherever the sarin was being released. Had Onyx found the sarin? Had they managed to stop the attack? She had no idea what was happening, and an overwhelming sadness engulfed her as she contemplated never seeing Megan or Steve again. She was going to be handed off to someone called Hakim Aziz. She shuddered at the thought of what could happen to her. Maybe it would be better if she just died in the sarin attack, too.
A short time later, the minivan came to a stop. The two men stepped from the front and slid open the side doors. Diane and Natasha got out as instructed. The black Range Rover was beside them, but no sign of the Honda.
Gun waving, Oleg gestured for them to walk towards a small hanger. Diane looked around as they moved forward. It appeared to be a small airstrip, but she didn’t see a plane. Volkov was already inside the hanger, holding Anya. The moment Anya saw her mom she babbled and held out her arms. Volkov set down his daughter and let her toddle over to her mom. Natasha swept her up in her arms, hugging her tightly.
“Make yourselves comfortable. Our transportation will be here shortly.” Volkov gestured to plastic chairs off to one side. “Mrs. Williams, please do not try to get away again. I don’t want to have to break your other arm.” Volkov smirked before walking away toward a man in overalls.
Diane wasn’t about to try anything. She was in no shape. Her head was dizzy from the pain, not to mention the nausea. She gratefully sank into one of the plastic chairs and tried to take her mind off what might lie ahead.
“She’s a lovely little girl,” she said to Natasha.
“She’s my world. I’ll do anything he wants to keep her safe.” Natasha sat and settled Anya on her lap. “I haven’t seen Megan. Do you think he has her somewhere else?”
“I’m not sure he ever took her. He hasn’t mentioned her. I think he may have tricked me.”
“I’m so sorry. What he’s done... He was not like that when I met him. Well, maybe he was but I didn’t see it.”
“What was he like?”
“He was charming and attentive every time he came to the bar. I liked him. I wanted to get to know him, date him, but he made it clear he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend. He offered one night, and I said yes. I’m not proud of myself for that.”
As Natasha stroked her daughter’s hair lovingly, Diane knew without any doubt this woman had never done any of the things Volkov had accused her of.
“It’s OK to have a one-night stand. You were both consenting adults, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Diane hated that society still portrayed that men could have one-night stands, but women couldn’t.
“We used protection. I don’t know what happened, it must have ripped or something. I don’t regret it though. How can I ever regret having this beautiful child?”
Diane watched her hug her daughter and kiss the top of her head. Tears threatened as her heart throbbed with the need to hug Megan.
“I regret letting Vlad set me up in a house. I didn’t realize until it was too late that I was basically controlled by him. The house, the money, the car. It was a thrill. I won’t lie. I enjoyed it, and deep down I thought he might change his mind, and we might be together.”
“That’s why you continued to sleep with him?” Diane asked softly.
Natasha nodded sadly. “Yes. But he was just using me. I see that now. When his father passed last year, he started to change. Wouldn’t stop talking about Russia and how American women were trash. It hurt. Things started to get strained between us. But I didn’t see how I could get away from him and provide for Anya by myself, so I kept quiet. When he said he was taking Anya to Russia, I finally snapped. He got angry and I saw a side of him I had never seen before. He scared me.”
“That’s when he hit you?”
“Yes. I was screaming at him, and then he grabbed me. I fought but he is much stronger than me.”
“Did he...?” Diane let the question hang. Volkov had told her Natasha liked it rough. But rough and rape were two different things.
“No. Anya woke up and he left to see to her. He told me I had a choice to either go with him to Russia or lose Anya altogether. I said I’d think about it to get him out of the house. When he left, I called Melanie Costas.”
“For what it's worth, I didn’t believe all the things he said about you. The drink, drugs, abandonment. I even tried to tell the named partners at my firm that we shouldn’t take this case, but I guess he’s worth a lot of money.” Diane gave her a wry smile.
“Yes. Money seems to get him anything he wants. It’s my biggest regret, not staying independent. I didn't have a lot working as a nightclub waitress, but I was supporting myself. I let myself get swayed by money, and now here I am a prisoner of my own making.”
The two women sat and watched Anya play with the buttons on Natasha’s top.
“I bet your biggest regret is taking this case.” Natasha said, not taking her eyes off her little girl. “You could be home safe with your husband and daughter.”
Diane sighed and shook her head. “No. My biggest regret is not talking to my husband. Things have not been good between us this past year, and he tried to talk to me, but I kept pushing him away. I didn’t believe he’d listen and support me if I told him what was wrong. He has never done anything to make me doubt him. He has always been supportive of me and my career. He’s attentive, loving, thoughtful, and yet I didn’t talk to him. When I first knew something was up with this case, or more specifically Volkov, I left it way too long to tell him. We may not be in this position if I had spoken up sooner on so many things.”
“But you did tell him eventually,” Natasha said gently. “And you said he will be looking for you.”
“Yes, he will be. I know he won’t stop until he finds me. However long it takes.” That was something she did believe, even if she didn’t feel worthy of it. She’d put herself in this position.
“You said he’s in the Navy and on a team. I’m thinking he’s a SEAL, and I know you can’t confirm that. But I’m sure it must be difficult being married to a SEAL. I mean I only see it on TV shows, but I imagine it's pretty close to the real thing. The worry when he’s gone. All that time alone, waiting and wondering if he’s alright. Having to juggle home, work and being a mom. It takes a special kind of woman to do that. I’m not sure I could. And look at you. You’re a successful lawyer. Clearly a wonderful mother as you risked your life to come and protect Megan, and by the sounds of it, you have a bad ass husband who loves you.”
Tears rolled down Diane’s cheeks. “So why have I felt so unhappy for so long?” She wiped her face with the hand she could move and sighed. Natasha was five years younger than her, just twenty-three. What would she know about marriage problems?
“My mom always used to say to me happiness is a choice.” The younger woman answered. “Everyone has good and bad in their lives, and you can either focus on the bad and be miserable or focus on the good and be happy. There’s always going to be bad stuff, but it’s your choice whether you let that define your life. She said so many people go through life always wanting more, or waiting for the next thing before they’ll be happy. You know, like, ‘when I get that house,’ or ‘when I get that job,’ or ‘when I get married.’ She said stuff doesn’t bring you happiness. People, love, experiences, bring happiness, and that all you need is what’s in here.” Natasha placed a hand over her heart.
Diane looked at Natasha in surprise. “Those are wise words.”
“She was a wise woman.”
“Was?”
“She died three years ago. Never got to meet her granddaughter. She was a single mom, and she worked two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. The last few years when I started working, she finally started to take it easy. My mom taught me to be grateful for everything I have every day. I hate that Vlad dangled more and I jumped at it. Jumped at having stuff as she would have said. I should have been more like my mom. She never ever complained, and she always had a smile for everyone.”
“You’re stronger than you think, Natasha. You are being very brave and as you said, you will do anything to protect your daughter. I believe that. There is no love like a mother’s love. You’re not falling apart, and you are making the best of a very bad situation for Anya, just like your mom did.” Diane reached over and squeezed her hand.
“I was so scared when he snatched us, and then angry and upset. But I know he won’t hurt Anya, so I will do what he says and focus on the fact that I will still get to see my daughter. When your husband finds you, maybe you can put in a good word for me, and they can come get me and Anya?” The last part was said with a smile and Diane smiled back. Maybe Onyx would go after them if they got to Russia. Onyx did operate worldwide.
Both women stopped talking when Volkov strode toward them. When he picked up Anya off Natasha’s lap, Natasha didn’t try and stop him.
“See you in a little while, my darling,” Natasha said. She smiled and Anya smiled back.
“One hour to take off,” Volkov said before turning and heading to a small room situated off one side of the hangar.
“Let’s hope your Navy SEAL gets here within the hour,” Natasha said quietly.
Diane closed her eyes, bringing up an image of Steve and Megan playing soccer on the beach at Dex’s house. They were both laughing as Megan tried to tackle her dad for the ball, and Steve would let her get it. She tried to focus on their happy, smiling faces. Natasha’s words had struck a chord with her. Had she been paying too much attention to what came next? Her job, money, Megan’s education? Becoming a lawyer was meant to have made her happy, but it hadn’t. But she did have so many other wonderful things in her life that made her happy. Her parents. Steve’s parents. Fabulous friends. An extended family of Raven team, and now Nyx. Wonderful days at the beach spent laughing, talking, and eating good food. Most of all, she had an amazing husband and daughter. She had so much to be grateful for, how had she let herself got pulled down such a black hole over the past year?
Now it might be too late to truly appreciate any of it. The dinners she’d missed. Megan’s softball games. Family movie nights. Barbecues. She’d stopped doing all the things that gave her joy. She had chosen to be lonely when she had never, ever been alone. Steve had always been there. Perhaps it was time to start letting him support her in the ways he wanted to. First, though, she needed her amazing husband to find her.
I know you’re looking for me, Steve. I love you. You were right. Nothing else matters because we love each other. Please hurry up and get here.