Shadows and Light: The Complete Series, page 55
“Yes.” Jared stiffened, his jaw muscle tense.
“No, we don’t, Jared. Adam needs sleep.” Jennie placed her hand on her husband’s chest.
Jared glanced down at her and a smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “This from a woman who just a couple minutes ago wanted to plunger him with our best kitchen knife.”
“That was before. He’s family now and whatever brought him here tonight can wait at least until the sun comes up.”
Jared glanced back at Adam. “Can this wait?”
He shrugged. How in the hell did he explain why he was here?
“I need a huge favor.” He gestured to his cuff. “I’ll explain this in the process. But if possible, I would like to go over it only once.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s going to involve your whole family. I need all of you to agree―”
“Man, what the hell is going on?” Jared took a step toward him. “I’ve never seen you this…”
“Freaked out?” Adam slammed his fist into his pockets. “Jared, it’s been a rough night. If there was any other way but to come to you, I would have taken it.”
Jared relaxed his stance. “You’re always welcome here. Whatever you need, just ask.”
A little of Adam’s tension eased from his shoulders and the base of his spine. He trusted the man in front of him with his life, with his daughter’s life. But when Jared heard what Adam had to say, he knew Jared would want to eat those last words.
Understandable. The crap Adam was about to unleash on the McNeil family would wipe clean any debt they felt toward him.
“You may want to hold that thought.” Adam grimaced.
“Just let me know if I need to call anyone about that,” Jared replied, staring at the blood on Adam’s sleeve.
“The authorities have already responded,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “The murdered victim at White’s Securities in DuPont Circle was my partner.” Years of training slammed home and Adam stood frozen, emotionless. “The home explosion in Chevy Chase … ”
“Shit, Adam. What the hell.” Jared sucked in a loud breath. “What part did you play in that? A mom and her young daughter supposedly died in that fire.”
“Only the mom. They won’t find the body of the little girl.”
Jared’s head jerked back and forth and he began to speak, but Adam interrupted.
“The little girl is my daughter, Anna. I got her out but wasn’t there in time to save her mother.”
“And the explosion?” Jennie asked, her voice only a whisper.
“Not me. The person responsible for setting the C-4 wanted to erase evidence of his fucking, sadistic torture of my daughter’s mother. Rina, my old CIA partner, knew where to find me and she wouldn’t give the bastard what he wanted fast enough. I left the scene because it’s better he thinks Anna and I died in the explosion.”
“Good God.” Jennie covered her mouth with her hands and leaned against her husband. “Where’s your daughter, Adam?”
“She’s with a good friend. You know him, Robert Anthony.”
“Father Anthony from St. Luke’s?” Jennie and Jared asked together.
“That title always makes me cringe. My bad ass CO, a priest. It’s hard to believe even after all these years. He’s bringing her with him when he comes for brunch.”
Jennie and Jared eyed each other. “And your favor?” Jared finally asked.
“I’m going after the bastards and I need … ” He exhaled a shaky breath. “I need you to take care of Anna.”
“And?” Jared’s gaze never wavered from Adam’s.
He knew Jared McNeil, knew he was waiting for the entire story. The rest, God, he didn’t want to say it out loud.
“And raise her if I don’t come back. She is a couple years younger than Emma’s boys and the sweetest little girl you will ever meet.”
The room grew silent, the hum of the refrigerator filling the void. Jennie was the first to find her voice.
“Of course. Like I said, you’re family, but right now, you need a bed. I’m going to make up the guest room. It’ll only take a couple minutes.”
As she walked away, Adam reached for her arm. “The sofa is fine. Don’t fuss.”
“It’s no bother, really.” A smile touched her lips, but her eyes filled with unreleased tears.
Jared placed his arm around his wife’s waist. “Adam can sleep on anything, anywhere. The sofa will be fine.” He reached out to Adam, pulling him into a hug. “Get a couple hours sleep and we’ll figure the rest out.”
To Jared’s comment, Adam could only nod. There was no figuring out anything except his plans for Anna. He turned toward the sink and rinsed out his mug. Jared flipped off the light and they left the kitchen.
At the stairwell, Jennie and Jared headed up while Adam entered the spacious living room. The large, L-shape sectional looked like heaven. He removed his jacket and draped it over the back of the sofa. He then sat and began to remove his shoes.
Jennie jogged down the stairs with her arms laden with a pillow, blanket, and one of Jared’s clean dress shirts.
“I thought you could use these.” She pointed with her head toward the hallway. “The second door is a full bath. Towels, an extra toothbrush can be found in the cabinet. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Jennie.” He raised the bundle. “This is very kind of you.”
They both stood there, staring at each other. Her face held such expression, it wasn’t hard to figure out what was going through her head.
She knows.
“Jennie, this is your home. Ask.”
“How old are you, Adam?”
Her voice was so low, he almost didn’t hear her. “Thirty-five next April.” The answer seemed to ease the strain around her eyes.
“Thomas McNeil is a good man. He would never―”
“I know, Jennie.”
Adam was four years older than Jared and his twin, Noah. As much as he wanted to give her what she needed to hear, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. He hadn’t the energy to rinse and repeat his damn life over and over again.
“Okay,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “So you really are his son?”
“Yes.”
He could handle a yes. How he wished that one yes was enough to lift the elephant off his chest. In about three hours, somehow he was going to have to find the nerve to tell his father who he was.
A whispered shit escaped Jennie’s lips. “And your mom?”
“She’s dead. Murdered.”
Jennie could only shake her head. “I’m sorry. I know how that feels. You never get over it.”
“No, you don’t. Any other questions?”
Her expression hardened “It didn’t have to be this way, Adam.”
He glanced down at his feet and then back at Jennie. “Can you keep this from Jared for a couple hours?”
She shook her head. “Jared is the one person on this earth I never keep secrets from. He’s my husband.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.
“Adam Blake, welcome to the family.”
Chapter Seven
Ludis sprawled in a high back lounge chair and glared at a loathsome oil painting that covered the entire wall of his hotel suite. The comforter, end table, and floor were littered with blood-soaked gauze. When he couldn’t stand the sight of the painting another second, he lowered his eyes and studied the doctor’s handiwork. Not a sound escaped his lips as the sharp tip of the tapered needle dug into his tissue repeatedly, knotting the ragged sides of the wound together.
“Take another drink, Mr. Vasnev. This is going to hurt.”
The pungent odor of antiseptic his personal physician held in his hand reeked. Ludis reached for the glass of vodka on the end table and gulped down a hefty portion of its contents. The cheap hotel bar version was bitter and burned the back of his throat but gave him the buzz he needed to deal with the pain.
“I can give you something that will take the edge off.”
“No! Just get on with it.” Ludis couldn’t take a narcotic. He needed his wits about him.
The doctor raised a container and doused a liberal amount of the burning liquid over the deep knife wound below his shoulder.
Ludis grabbed the bottle of vodka and took another deep swig. Setting the bottle back on the table, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared into the doctor’s face.
Vodka was usually a great distraction, but not tonight. Ludis couldn’t help clenching his jaw each time the doctor pressed down on the wound. The fucking knife wound was nothing. The pain from his father’s blows lasted longer than this scratch.
His father, the great Emil Vasnev. Now that was a distraction.
Rage seethed through him, pushing the pain from his mind. He had lived daily under his father’s abusive thumb and cleaned up more horseshit than he cared to track. And everything Ludis had worked so hard for the last thirty years was all about to be for nothing.
“My father … ” A slight gasp of pain escaped Ludis’s lips. He bit down hard on his back molars and hissed out a breath. “When was the last time you saw him?”
“Two days ago.”
“And?”
A sadness edged into his doctor’s eyes. “He’s the same. The clinical trial had no effect reducing the cancer.” The doctor removed the gauze and reached for the needle. Before he continued suturing the wound, he said, “Your father’s assistant, Mr. Reese, asked me to relay a message.”
The doc’s eyes were glued to Ludis’s chest—a sure sign of his discomfort.
“What does Reese want now?”
“He said he couldn’t reach you so he wanted me to tell you time is running out. He gave me an envelope of orders from your father. I have it in my coat.”
Ludis fisted his free hand. “It can go in the trash with all of this on your way out,” he said, nodding at the bloodied bandages.
The man grimaced, which made him pierce the skin a little harder. Ludis bit back a groan. He didn’t need to read the note to know what Reese wanted. It was another warning. If Ludis failed to deliver Adam Blake and the kid to his father before his death, the Vasnev empire would fall under Adam’s control. Ludis would be left with the apartment in New York City and a few million. Petty cash.
Emil Vasnev’s dying wish was to lay eyes on his daughter’s only child just once.
The fucking golden child.
Ludis could still feel his father’s boney fingers digging into his wrist, leaving round bruises where he clutched at Ludis’s pale skin. He actually cried, begging Ludis to bring him his only grandson. Ludis never hated his father more than he did at that moment.
Easing the cramp in his fisted hand, he faced the doctor. “How long does my father have?”
The doctor paused and met his gaze. “A month, maybe two. There is no way to know exactly. It’s time to make plans.”
It took everything in Ludis from shouting thank God. The day he buried the bastard couldn’t come too soon.
What his father didn’t know was that Adam Blake posed an even bigger problem than the loss of a well-deserved inheritance. His nephew’s very existence was an albatross around his neck, and Adam didn’t even know what he possessed.
Everything Ludis had learned about his nephew in the last several hours made one thing clear: if Blake knew about the disk, why his mother died, he wouldn’t rest until Ludis was buried in the darkest pit. Since his old man was looking for some kind of heavenly forgiveness for his past sins, he wouldn’t look the other way this time, but would help end Ludis’s existence.
The doctor released the pressure over the wound. “I’m almost done.”
He dug the needle into the top layer of skin and knotted it. Another antiseptic soaking followed.
“We should be doing this in a hospital sterile setting. I’m going to start you on a round of antibiotics. It’s a deep cut and I don’t want infection to set in.”
“Whatever. Just hurry up.”
The doctor raised his eyebrow and his lips turned into a scowl. “Mr. Vasnev, this wound isn’t something to laugh about. You need to rest and give it a chance to heal or you’ll pull out the stitches.”
A slow burn gushed through Ludis’s veins. His fisted hand begged to react, but he kept it pressed to his side while he gulped a deep breath instead. Taking his anger out on the man in front of him would serve no purpose.
“Finish closing the fucking wound, bandage it, and get the hell out.”
Nothing else was said for the next several minutes as the doctor did exactly what Ludis demanded. As soon as the door clicked shut on the doctor’s back, Ludis poured himself another glass of vodka and chugged half of it down like it was water. He reached over for his cell phone and punched in a number. The call was picked up on the first ring.
“Well?”
“I don’t have anything for you, Mr. Vasnev. I told you I would call you―”
“Why the hell not? You have had hours to examine the remains.”
The man on the other end of the phone let out a heavy sigh. “The bodies were burned beyond recognition. One female and pieces of what appear to be two males. This is going to take time.”
“What about the child?”
Another heavy gasp came over the line. “Nothing yet. If she was upstairs, finding any sign of her remains will be almost impossible. The officials are combing through the wreckage. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything.”
Ludis’s blood rushed through his veins, the throbbing so intense in the vein at his temple, he had no idea what kept the blood from bursting through his skin.
“You have one hour to get me what I’m paying you for. One hour!”
“Mr. Vasnev … that’s impossible. I can’t possibly get it to you in―”
“One hour or my men have their orders. Do I make myself clear?”
Ending the call, Ludis tossed the cell on the bed and stormed into the bathroom, placing his hand under cold running water. He yanked a white hand towel off the rack, wet it, and pressed it against his face. The coolness didn’t touch the fire burning within him. He raised his head and glared into the large mirror over the sink. The bandage over his left shoulder already had blood seeping through it.
If only he could have gotten to Adam’s daughter. He found the safe room, but he couldn’t breach Blake’s security system.
How in the hell had his nephew fought through his men? It was as if he came out of the walls. One minute, they were alone with the lying bitch and the next, his two best men were dead and Blake had a knife on him.
The doorbell chimed and Ludis left the bathroom. He opened the door, letting in three men. Not one man met his gaze. He rubbed his eyes as a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
“Your news better be more appealing than your expressions.”
Each man glanced at the other. One finally spoke up.
“Sir, there is no sign of Blake.” He pulled out his iPhone from his breast pocket. “We tracked his call here,” he said, pointing to a cell tower off U.S.1 and the Beltway. “It’s too weak a signal to pinpoint an exact location. There have been no calls since, which means he may still be in the house or―”
“Aizpis muti! Shut the fuck up. I want verification that Blake and the girl are either dead, or about their present location.” He yanked the closest man to him. “Nothing else.”
Ludis shoved the man against the wall next to the door, putting his full anger behind the move. The man grabbed his shoulder as a groan escaped his throat. A loud knock sounded and Ludis’s business partner, Stefen, entered the suite. He paused for a brief moment, no doubt taking in the expressions and atmosphere in the room, and laughed. Stefan could never resist being an asshole.
“I come bearing gifts,” he said, pulling out his laptop from his shoulder bag.
“You better be, Stefen. I’m ready to shoot someone.” He glared at the men who lingered by the door. “Why are you morons still here?”
“Don’t get rid of them just yet.” Stefen lifted the computer lid. “I have men watching the brother’s home. You’re going to love this.” He hit several keys and an infrared image came up on the monitor. “That thermal imager you procured is genius. Looky what we found.”
Ludis shoved him aside to better examine the screen. “What the hell am I looking at?”
“It’s an infrared image of the inside of Jared McNeil’s house.”
Stefen pointed at the upstairs master bedroom. The outline of the room came out in different shades of gray except for two white splotches lying on a bed in the center of the room.
Ludis shook his head. “I don’t see what … ”
“That image was taken at five forty-five this morning.” He pointed at each of the white blobs. “We have Jared and Jennie McNeil here,” he said, outlining their bodies. “But who do we have here?” He tapped another body prone on a sofa in the living room.
His gaze bored into Stefen. “Are you saying that’s Blake?”
Stefen nodded. “No other people occupied the house all evening until around five when this guy showed up. And he didn’t use the front door.” He brought up another image. “This was taken only thirty minutes earlier.” Only two people appeared on the screen. He clicked through several other photos. “McNeil’s family is all accounted for. I can’t think of anyone else it could be but Blake. Can you?”
Ludis glared at the monitor. “No, I can’t.”
A sense of triumph erupted from somewhere deep within him, but he knew no outward sign of emotion crossed his features. “And the girl?”
“There is no sign of her, but if she’s alive, all we have to do is watch and wait. Blake took great pains to be part of his child’s life. He won’t abandon her now.”
Chapter Eight
Calista leaned against the headrest and closed her eyes. Anna sat beside her in the backseat of Father Anthony’s sedan, her hand clasping Calista’s so tightly, her middle fingers were numb. Anna hadn’t let Calista out of her sight since she woke up in the twin bed at the rectory and found Adam gone. Thankfully, Anna was comfortable around Father Anthony. She didn’t fight him when he helped Calista hide her long, wavy hair under an orange Orioles’s baseball cap.
