Trouble in a Tight Dress (Six Points Security, #1) Read online

  “In that case, I’ll have a rum and Coke.”

  Her second request seemed to disgust him as much as the first, which was kind of what she’d been aiming for. It was sick, she knew it, but she got a petty rise out of yanking his chain. He mixed the drink without any comment and held the glass out to her as though it was radioactive.

  “Thank you.” The drink was weak, with barely any liquor in it. But given the situation, it was best for her to stay sober, so she kept her big mouth shut and waited for Ivan to speak.

  “Father was very unhappy when you ran away,” he said as he poured a glass of Scotch. The choice of alcohol surprised her—she’d expected vodka, considering how much he’d embraced the whole Russian mobster lifestyle.

  “What a coincidence; I was very unhappy with the prospect of being married off to an abusive asshole.” She smiled when his eyes narrowed. “That reminds me. Whatever happened to good old Yegor?” She’d half-expected him to show up at any moment, like some sort of Russian boogeyman.

  “He’s serving seven consecutive life sentences at the supermax prison in Colorado.”

  The news gave her a small measure of satisfaction. “What did they get him for?”

  “The usual: eight counts of murder, conspiracy, extortion, and a few more I can’t remember.” He shrugged, as though the laundry list of felonies wasn’t a big deal. “If you’d done your duty, you would have only dealt with him for three years before he went to prison.”

  “Dasha only lasted six months, so I seriously doubt I could have held out that long.” If he hadn’t killed her first, she probably would have waited for him to fall asleep one night and bashed his head in with a frying pan.

  Her brother swirled the Scotch in his glass before he took another sip. “All that matters is you’re back.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean I’m going to stick around. I want to know what I’m getting into before I commit to staying.”

  He frowned. “You act like you’re in a position to make demands.”

  “That’s because I am. Do me a favor and check your bank account.” She waited a beat. “Not the Chase account; the one you keep in Panama.”

  “How do you—” Eyes wide, he whipped out his phone and tapped at the screen, waited a few seconds, and then tapped some more.

  Nina couldn’t help but smile as all the blood drained away from his face. “Something wrong, little brother?”

  The rage in his voice gave her chills. “Where is it?”

  “Where’s what? Oh, you mean the forty-three million that used to be in your super-secret offshore account?” She wiped the smile off her face and folded her arms across her chest. “Tell me what you’ve done with the family business, and I’ll make sure those funds are restored.”

  He crossed the room in a half-dozen strides, grabbed her by the chin, and jerked her head up so she was forced to look straight at him. “I could beat it out of you.”

  Heart pounding in her chest, it took everything she had to maintain a calm, collected demeanor. “Doubtful, but you’re welcome to try. I’m not the timid little girl you remember. Now tell me what you’ve been up to since Father left you the keys to the shop.”

  Teeth clenched, he glared at her with murder in his eyes. “Per his wishes, I continued his business.”

  “Only cocaine, or did you expand your base of operations?”

  “The business has expanded where appropriate. These days, pharmaceuticals are more profitable than cocaine.”

  “Guns?”

  “Only when necessary to protect our assets.”

  From the look on his face, she could tell there was more. “What else?”

  He paused, as though debating how much to disclose. “We help foreign nationals gain entrance to the country and pair them with willing hosts. It’s a lucrative niche.”

  “What kinds of foreign nationals? Russians?”

  “Primarily.”

  Her eyes narrowed. She had a bad feeling she knew where this was heading. “Women?”

  The corners of his mouth twitched. “Primarily.”

  Even if she tried, she wouldn’t have been able to hold back the sound of disgust. “That’s a mighty nice way to describe human trafficking. How could you?”

  He had the nerve to look offended. “I provide a valuable service. These women are desperate for a new life in America.”

  “As sex slaves? Do they have any idea what they’re getting themselves into?”

  His silence spoke volumes.

  She felt tainted just being in his presence. She’d known her family was involved in some shady shit, but this went beyond the pale. “How do you bring them in, through Mexico?”

  He scoffed. “Why would I do that when our products are imported from Asia? Besides, with so much focus on the Mexican border, it’s less risky to bring them to port through the Panama Canal.”

  “And what’s the old orange juice plant in Umatilla for?”

  The question obviously caught him by surprise. “I’m afraid—”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I followed the paper trail, which took a bit of doing, but it eventually traced back to you and Senator Trask. So how does the plant tie in to all this? I assume you’re expanding operations.”

  He paused to sip his drink, looking as though he almost admired the fact she’d dug up so much information. “There’s demand for women all over the state, and once I found a partner with the ability to clear some of the...logistical hurdles, the opportunity was too enticing to decline. The girls are brought in through the port of Miami. Some will stay there, and the rest will be housed at the plant until they’re ready for shipment to their new masters.”

  The way he talked about them, as though they weren’t even human, made Nina sick to her stomach.

  “I take it Trask is the one who helps with those logistical issues?”

  “He pulls the right strings to ensure the containers aren’t inspected, and in return he’s well-compensated.”

  “This is so wrong, Ivan. You have to stop this. All of it.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, Nina, you were always naïve. Why would I do something stupid like that?”

  “Because I asked you nicely. Because you’re my brother, and you should respect my wishes. Because it’s the right thing to do. But most important, because I’m wearing a wire that’s recorded every word you’ve said.” She tapped one finger against the locket on her necklace, which was actually a wireless listening device.

  “WHAT DO YOU SEE?” AUSTIN asked as Nate drove the Ford Expedition past the sprawling mansion.

  Ty didn’t answer right away, his eyes obscured by night vision goggles. He and Ryan sat in the second row of seats while Wade stretched out across the third. “There’s one at the gate and three on the grounds...no, wait. Make that four: two in the front and two in the back.”

  “Any dogs?”

  “I don’t see any.”

  That was a relief. He hated dealing with guard dogs. Still, he wished they’d packed the thermal imaging equipment so they could get a better feel for what was going on inside the building.

  “Pull over and cut the lights,” Austin said once they were a few hundred feet beyond the property. He unfastened his seat belt and cracked open the door. “Wade and I are going over the wall. You three find a way past the front gate that doesn’t involve making a bunch of noise.”

  “You got it,” Ryan said.

  While Nate turned the Expedition around and headed back toward the front gate, Austin and Wade walked the short distance to the outer wall. The night was quiet on the upscale residential street, which made the sound of the Expedition’s engine seem louder.

  Wade checked his gun when they reached the wall. “He’s going to kill her when he finds out she betrayed him.”

  “Yeah, I know.” And he really didn’t appreciate the reminder.

  Angling his head, Wade’s scars caught the light, shining dully. His voice was a hard monotone. “If you want h
er back, we have to be ruthless. No rules of engagement or Boy Scout shit. We go in, we hit hard, and we shoot to kill. Are we on the same page?”

  For a moment or two, Austin couldn’t do anything but stare, slack-jawed, at his brother. “What the fuck happened to you in Mexico?”

  “Nothing I’ll ever talk about.” He slipped his gun back into his shoulder holster. “Let’s do this.”

  Austin’s senses went on full alert as they scaled the brick wall and landed onto the thick grass below. He took a deep breath, his lungs filling with the scent of night air and the faint whiff of cigarettes. Lucky for them, there was no one in sight, so they’d have the element of surprise.

  “We’re in,” he said, speaking low into his comm to update his brothers of their status. He hated not being able to hear Nina’s mic, but it was more important to communicate with his team while they worked together to save her.

  Under cover of darkness, they crept across the grounds, using trees and bushes to conceal their movements. So far, he hadn’t seen any security cameras, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. As they waited behind a huge oak tree, the cigarette scent got stronger.

  Seconds later, two men strolled past, speaking to each other in what Austin assumed to be Russian. Big guys, no necks. Each carried a rifle. It was like they came out of central casting. There was a flick of a lighter, the flare of a cigarette, and their conversation continued, seemingly oblivious of Austin and Wade’s presence.

  Using hand signals, Austin let Wade know he intended to take the guy with the cigarette. Approaching from behind, he jerked the shorter but heavier man back against him and pressed the crook of his elbow against the guy’s throat. He dug his arm against the guy’s trachea, cutting off his yelp of surprise. The cigarette dropped from the man’s mouth as he struggled to break free, but in a matter of seconds, he lost consciousness.

  The other guy wasn’t so fortunate. Wade snapped his neck and dumped his body in the bushes.

  “Was that really necessary?” Austin snapped in a low voice.

  “Would you rather he wake up and kill us later?”

  “You could have tied him up.”

  “That takes time we don’t have.” He crouched down and broke the other man’s neck. “Let’s go.”

  As they neared the mansion, Nate’s voice came over the comm. “The guard booth is neutralized. How do you want us to proceed?”

  “Block the entrance with the Expedition. I don’t want any surprise guests. Have Ty stay there so he can move it when the cops arrive. You and Ryan meet us at the house.”

  “Roger that. Be there in a minute.”

  Austin and Wade lurked in the shadows until Nate and Ryan reached the house. Guns drawn, three of them kept watch while Ryan inserted a fiber optic camera beneath the door opening into the foyer. After a few seconds, he raised a finger and pointed it to the right to indicate there was one person in visual range.

  One by one, Austin locked his emotions away so he could focus on what he had to do next. There was no room for mistakes. Nina’s life was on the line, and if he failed, he had no idea how he’d live with himself.

  Determined to succeed at all costs, he signaled for Wade and Nate to provide backup as he stepped forward and kicked the door in.

  IVAN’S FACE CONTORTED into a mask of pure fury at the news their conversation had been recorded. Lashing out, he delivered a stinging backhand across Nina’s cheek. “You little bitch. How dare you betray your own family?”

  Nina squared her shoulders, refusing to show weakness even though her face hurt like hell. “It’s easy when your father plans to marry you to a psycho who already killed your sister. Or when your brother treats women like livestock. Seriously, that’s pretty damn sick.”

  The vein on his forehead looked as though it was about to explode. He reached behind the bar, and the sense of satisfaction she’d been feeling vanished at the sight of the revolver.

  Nina’s heart dropped down to her feet. There was no sign of Austin, she was probably going to die, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

  Then again, she wasn’t going to just sit around and wait to get shot. She made a dash for the door but Ivan was quicker, grabbing her hair and yanking her head back so hard it was a wonder her neck didn’t snap.

  “You’ll wish I killed you quickly,” he snarled, and she believed he meant every word. Fear rose in her throat like bile, and for a moment she thought she’d be sick. She couldn’t die like this—not here, not now—but she couldn’t think of a way out of it no matter how hard she tried.

  A door slammed near the front of the house, followed closely by the sounds of a scuffle. Seconds later, footsteps pounded down the hall, and Nina’s hopes rose at the sight of Austin and Ryan charging into the room. They were dressed in all black, with bulletproof vests and lots of weapons strapped to their bodies. Ryan held an assault rifle, while Austin had a pistol in his hand.

  Before she could react, Ivan dragged her in front of him, using her body as a shield. He jammed the gun against her neck, and her heart rate shot through the roof. “If you want her to continue breathing, I suggest you leave the same way you entered.”

  Austin’s aim never wavered from Ivan. This close, he could easily make a head shot, but he probably worried about hitting her instead. “The police will be here any minute. The only way you’re walking out of here is in cuffs, so you might as well put the gun down.”

  “That’s not happening.” Ivan dragged her back a step. She had no idea where he planned to take her, and she had no intention of finding out.

  “Austin, remember that first lesson you gave me in the workout room?”

  His gaze caught hers, held. For a moment, she thought he was going to argue, but then he nodded once in silent understanding.

  Nina’s pulse pounded in her ears as she struggled to even her breathing Gathering her courage, she closed her eyes, made her muscles go limp, and sagged in her brother’s arms.

  Ivan cursed, multiple gunshots fired, and Nina couldn’t say for sure whose blood was on her clothes.

  “NINA!” AUSTIN RACED across the room and crouched down beside her, searching for signs of injury. There was a welt on her face and blood on her clothes, but the blood didn’t appear to be hers.

  Her brother lay a few feet behind her. When Ivan had turned his gun toward them, he and Ryan had no choice but to open fire. He honestly couldn’t say which of their bullets hit where, but at least one of them had been a kill shot.

  “My ears are ringing.” Nina’s voice was muffled against his chest.

  “That’s from the gunfire. It’ll go away in a little while.” Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her, just to stop her from shaking so hard. He wished he could do more, wished she hadn’t been caught in the middle of this mess. But he was thankful that she was now safe, and that her brother would never harm her again.

  Nina made a low sound of acknowledgment as she peered up at him. Her eyes were glassy with shock. “Where’s Ivan? Is he—”

  “Yeah.” Austin placed his palm on the back of her head to keep her from turning toward her brother. He sure wouldn’t grieve for the son of a bitch, but he knew she would, because in spite of everything Ivan had done, he was her brother and a part of her still loved him. “Please don’t look.”

  She didn’t try to look back, which was a relief. Instead, she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, buried her face in his chest, and burst into silent, gut-wrenching sobs.

  Epilogue

  AUSTIN TOED HIS SHOES off and stepped onto the mat. He was trying to act serious, but it was hard when the woman he loved was looking at him as though she couldn’t wait to tear him a new one. It was sick, he knew it, but he found that as sexy as the tights and tank top she wore.

  He caught her gaze and smiled. “Ready?”

  They’d been taking lessons in aikido for the better part of a month, and when they had a little down time at the office, they snuck off to the workout room to practice. Personally,
he preferred jiu-jitsu because of its combative nature, but there was a flowing grace to aikido that Nina enjoyed. It also seemed to quiet her mind, something she’d struggled with after the hell her brother put her through.

  The FBI had seized all of Ivan’s assets, including the properties in Florida and California that he’d used to traffic women. And when Ivan’s connection to Senator Trask came out, the press had a field day. So far, Trask had refused to leave office, but it was only a matter of time before the Senate moved to impeach his sorry ass.

  Nina got into her usual stance, her arms held out in front of her, and gave a curt nod.

  They circled each other, searching for a point of weakness to exploit. When he thought he’d found one, he lunged for her, but she grabbed his wrist, spun around, shifted her weight, spun a little more, and the momentum knocked him off balance and sent him tumbling to the mat. Not finished with him, she yanked his arm back and dug one knee into his spine.

  Laughter from the side of the room had Austin glaring at Nate. “Keep it up, asshole, and I’ll make you do a couple rounds with her.”

  “That’s so not happening,” Nate said once he finally stopped laughing. “I just wanted to see if y’all wanted to join me and Ryan for lunch.”

  “Where are you going?” Nina asked.

  “Gallagher’s.”

  She wrinkled her nose at the mention of the sports bar where the waitresses wore just enough to be legal.

  “We’ll pass.” Austin stood. “But thanks for the offer.”

  “Suit yourself. If you change your mind or want us to bring something back, give me a call.” As Nate turned to leave, he slipped his phone from his back pocket and swiped at the screen.

  “I take it this means we’re getting Thai?” Austin asked once they were alone again.

  Humor lit Nina’s eyes as she shrugged. “If you insist.”

  He let out an exaggerated sigh. Honestly, he didn’t care what he ate, so long as he got to eat it with her. That said, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to yank her chain. It was too much fun. “I don’t know; I was really in the mood for Italian.”