Two Cuts Darker Read online

  “Who?” Vlasenko finally asked softly.

  “I don’t have a name, only a description. He’s taller than me, bald, probably has several tattoos, carries himself like a military man and is extremely dangerous.”

  Vlasenko laughed. “You just described half of my men.”

  “He’s American, and the letter G is important to him,” Charlie added. “He carves it on his victims.”

  Vlasenko sat forward, drawing his feet back toward his chair. “G? Hmm. I haven’t heard of any bodies showing up like this.”

  Charlie passed him a picture of the body Matheson had given him. “This is his handiwork. Left her in Jamaica.”

  “And how does this tie to me in any way?”

  “The young woman was supposedly... one of yours.”

  “Ah.” Vlasenko stood and passed the photo to the guard at the door. “See if anyone recognizes her.” Then to Charlie, he said, “You know my business.”

  “Only enough to speculate that it’s possible one of your employees has seen or interacted with her in some way. I respect another man’s business too much to pry, Mr. Vlasenko.”

  “So I’m led to believe. After all, you came here directly and asked permission to find this man.” He tapped the pipe on an ashtray so hard I tightened my grip on Charlie’s leg. “You wouldn’t have gone to one of my hotels recently and caused any issues.”

  “Which hotel would that be?”

  “Three of my men were killed last night in Nassau.”

  “How unfortunate. Could G be the one behind this disturbance?”

  Vlasenko grunted. “You’re a smart man, Charles. I do have my suspicions about a man who fits your description. Can you tell me who hired you to bring him in?”

  “You misunderstood me, Mr. Vlasenko. I’m hired for one purpose only. If I accept a contract, I hunt down my mark, even if it takes years, and I kill him.” As he talked, his voice rumbled lower. Still painfully polite, but carrying an unmistakable undertone of menace. “Sometimes cleanly. Sometimes not. It depends, again, on the contractor and what they specified. As for the person who contracted my services to find this man, I cannot say. I respect my customers’ privacy as much as I value yours.”

  “I see.” Vlasenko turned and stared out at the ocean, giving Charlie his back. “If you didn’t pay a nasty visit to my hotel, how did you know where to find me?”

  “As I said earlier, I often work for United States law enforcement agencies. Unofficially, of course.”

  Vlasenko turned and leveled a gun at Charlie’s head. “Which agencies would that be?”

  I couldn’t help squeezing Charlie’s leg with alarm, though I didn’t make a sound. Poor Sheba pressed against me too, trembling with the need to protect our Master. But he didn’t signal her and his manner remained calm. Charlie didn’t tense against me at all. Evidently he had nerves of steel. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Even the Central Intelligence Agency on the rare occasion that I’m called out of the States. Oh, and a lovely young Frenchwoman with Interpol once. Though that was more of a rendezvous than a contract, if you know what I mean.”

  “Prove it.”

  Charlie pulled out his phone and brought up a number that he showed to Vlasenko. “Jill Matheson, FBI. Her father is the director.”

  Vlasenko glanced at the door, waiting for confirmation, and then grunted again. “So you have her name in your phone. Doesn’t mean it’s really her.”

  Charlie pressed the call button, turned it on speaker and then held the phone down by my ear. “When she answers, you may say her name.”

  The phone rang twice and then she answered. “Matheson.”

  “Special Agent Jill Matheson.”

  “Ranay? Where are you? Is Charlie with you? Tell me where you are and I’ll bring the whole fucking team down on them like—”

  Charlie ended the call. “Satisfied?”

  “She knows you.”

  Charlie inclined his head. “We’ve done business in the past.”

  Vlasenko’s arm holding the gun didn’t waver. “Then why does the FBI list Charles MacNiall as wanted for questioning?”

  “I never said they approved of my tactics. Only that we’ve done business in the past.” Charlie smirked and casually stroked my cheek. “If I were you, I’d be more interested in figuring out how the FBI knew to send me to Andros Island to find a man in Andriy Mykailovych Vlasenko’s employ.”

  Vlasenko narrowed his gaze, his lips flattening out in a grim line. “No. There’s no way.”

  Charlie tipped his head to slam back the rest of the whiskey. “How else would I know to come here? They’re very interested in your business, Mr. Vlasenko. They’re not as...laissez-faire as I am.”

  “They? Who are they?”

  “Matheson mentioned a man named Lyons with ICE. I guess he’s been looking for you for quite some time.”

  “Lies.”

  With a shrug, Charlie stood and drew me up beside him, though I kept my head down like a demure slave. “Tall African-American. Former military officer, I believe. He said you’d been having some trouble with a rival gang interfering with your shipments. I understood from that conversation that they’re watching your business very closely, Mr. Vlasenko. I won’t take up any more of your time. You must be a very busy man.”

  Vlasenko laid the gun down on the table and lifted his hands up, palms out. “You must forgive me for such suspicions, Charles. Please, do sit down and discuss this further with me. I believe we can help each other in this situation.”

  “Andriy?” A tall woman with short silver hair came to the door. “We have guests?”

  “Nadiya, my dear wife, let me introduce you to Charles MacNiall.”

  Charlie stepped toward her, drawing me with him, and inclined his head to her. “Mrs. Vlasenko, it’s a pleasure to meet you. We were just leaving.”

  “Marko said he interrupted your dinner to bring you here.” I could feel her inquiring gaze on me, wondering why no one even mentioned me, but I didn’t lift my head. “Could we offer you some refreshments?”

  “How rude of us.” Vlasenko passed us to take his wife’s hand and lead us back inside. “We have dinner plans later tonight, but we can at least offer some light refreshments while we talk.”

  Charlie followed them, and the guards followed us. It made my scalp itch, wondering what they were looking at. If they had another gun pointed at Charlie. If they were checking me out. What would happen to me if I got separated from him.

  My first apartment could fit into the formal dining room. I’d never seen a table so large, nor so finely set. China and silver, candles, flowers. It was nicer than the hotel’s restaurant. Vlasenko took a seat at the end and his wife stepped into the next room, presumably to ask the kitchen for service. He waved Charlie toward a seat on his right. Sheba and I padded along quietly behind Charlie. He sat, I knelt beside him, and Sheba stretched out on the floor before me. Lying down with her head on her paws, she didn’t look intimidating, other than her size.

  “Does your girl need a pillow or something?”

  Charlie stroked my hair. “No. She’s fine.”

  Nadiya’s step faltered when she saw me kneeling. Her face tightened but she sat down on her husband’s other side without a word.

  Marko wasn’t quite as circumspect. He took one look at me on the floor with the dog and drew up short. “What’s going on here?”

  “Sit down, Marko. It’s none of your business.”

  “But, Father, he can’t—”

  “Sit. Down.”

  Red-faced, Marko went around the table and sat by his mother, shooting glares at Charlie over the table.

  “I’m sorry this offends you.” Charlie rested his hand on my nape, his fingers spread so that his large hand h
eated a good portion of my shoulders, as well. “It’s my way.”

  “It’s...” Marko looked at his father, visibly struggling to find words that weren’t offensive. “Upsetting. To see a woman treated like a dog.”

  “Why should it upset you when it doesn’t upset her?”

  I could feel their eyes on me but I kept my head down, soaking in Charlie’s touch.

  “Can I speak to her?”

  “Of course.” He gave me a squeeze and I looked up at him. “You may answer his questions as long as you’re truthful. I’ll know if you’re lying, girl.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  I turned to Marko and waited for his questions.

  “Why do you call him Master?”

  “Because he’s my Master.”

  Vlasenko snorted. “See? He doesn’t hold her against her will.”

  “She didn’t say that.” Marko looked at me, his face earnest. “Are you held against your will?”

  “No, not at all. I gave myself to Master willing.”

  “He didn’t buy you?”

  I let my shock flare in my eyes. “No, never.”

  “Does he hurt you?”

  I hesitated, quickly glancing up at Charlie. He nodded. “Truth only, girl.”

  I looked back at Marko. “Yes.”

  “See?” Marko roared, partially rising from his seat. “We have to help her!”

  Vlasenko slammed his palm on the table, quieting his son. “Do you want him to hurt you, girl?”

  “Yes,” I whispered, dropping my gaze.

  Marko slowly sank back into his chair. “But why?”

  “I need it. I want it. I’ll take whatever he gives me and be thankful for it.”

  Vlasenko gave me a speculative look at that made my stomach churn. “In the right circles, your slave girl would be worth her weight in gold.”

  Charlie gripped my chin and turned my face up to his. “I’m sorry, Mr. Vlasenko, but I must disagree. I wouldn’t accept any amount for my girl.”

  Staring up at him, I wanted to warn him that he’d said too much. Why call me girl and show me as his slave, and then say I was worth so much to him? It only made him vulnerable, and I didn’t want to put him in an untenable position. But the liquid warmth gleaming in his eyes with a hint of desire and a healthy dose of pride...it made my heart swell with so much love that I almost threw all our plans out the window and buried my face in his lap.

  His lips quirked and he brushed my lips with his thumb, watching the way I immediately opened my mouth for him. But he didn’t indulge by giving me anything to suck. Not with company.

  Two men delivered trays from the kitchen. Soup, a plate of sandwiches and a nice selection of crackers and cheese.

  “Some wine,” Nadiya said. “Red and white both.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Please don’t go to any trouble,” Charlie said.

  “No trouble,” she replied, though her smile was stiff. “Just a nice snack.”

  Charlie selected several cubes of cheese and a sandwich, then passed the tray to Vlasenko. He didn’t take any food, but passed it on to his wife. “So, Charles, how reliable is this information you received?”

  He offered me a bite of cheese. “I found you, didn’t I?”

  Vlasenko looked over to his guard at the door. “Call Feliks on my laptop and bring it in here, then clear this side of the house.”

  “Do we need to call Toma too?” Nadiya asked.

  “Not yet. I just want to see if anyone’s seen anything suspicious in town.” Then he turned back to Charlie. “How were you told to contact me?”

  “Matheson said to show up on Andros and start asking around for you. The right people would find out and come investigate.”

  “Who’s Matheson?” Nadiya asked. “How would they know where our home is?”

  “FBI, and that’s exactly what I want to know,” Vlasenko said. Nadiya paled and took a quick drink of wine. Her son patted her on the shoulder. “The list of people who knew we were coming to the Andros house is short. We three and Feliks. That’s it. Then we told the guards when we actually began the trip. When did you arrive on Andros, Charles?”

  “This morning, late.”

  “And where were you before? Where did you come in from?”

  “We landed in Nassau yesterday. Matheson refused to tell me exactly where to start looking until we were on-site.”

  “Hotel?”

  Charlie named a hotel that didn’t sound familiar at all. My admiration for his ability to weave a completely legitimate-sounding story from bits and pieces of truth while completely muddying the water knew no bounds. I wished I could lie as convincingly. He offered me another bite of cheese, and then held the wineglass to my lips. “Surely all of your people know that you have such a beautiful residence, Mr. Vlasenko, and where. If you left after a disturbance, I don’t think it’s a stretch to argue that any one of your people could have assumed this is where you’d go.”

  “True.” The guard brought in a laptop and set it before Vlasenko. I caught only a glimpse of the man waiting on the video call. Blond hair, icy blue eyes, beard. Tattoo on his cheek but I hadn’t been able to make out the design. “Feliks, any issues there?”

  “No, boss.”

  “I’ve received a tip that ICE might be investigating us. Have you seen any evidence of surveillance?”

  “Shit, no, boss. Nothing. The only problem we had is the Tkaczuks the other night.”

  “What about our friend who disappeared last night and showed up unexpectedly today? Anything with him?”

  “Nope. I’ve had eyes on him and the blonde since he brought her in. No problems.”

  Vlasenko turned the screen around to us. “Do you recognize this man?”

  Feliks studied Charlie and then shook his head. “Sorry, boss. Doesn’t look familiar.”

  “All right. We’re changing plans a little. You secure there?”

  “On my life, no one’s in this room but me.”

  “I’m bringing my whole family to the boat. Tonight. Along with two guests. I don’t feel safe in Andros right now. Call the buyers and arrange for them to fly into Freeport tomorrow. We’re going to unload what we have now and then lie low awhile.”

  For the first time, I felt tension building in Charlie’s body. Either anticipation that he was finally getting the information he needed or worry. I didn’t know which. Though for me, the thought of yet another boat made the cheese start to bubble back up my throat.

  “I’ll make sure everything’s set. Do you want me to join you there?”

  “No. Keep everyone in place unless I’ve already given orders to be on the boat.”

  “Understood.”

  Vlasenko shut the laptop. “We’ll head for the boat in the next hour.”

  Nadiya immediately stood, her son rising to help her with her chair. “I’ll go pack a few things. Is there anything you need me to grab?”

  “No, thank you. Marko, you’re dismissed, as well.”

  “Yes, Father.” He nodded to us and followed his mother as she left the room.

  Vlasenko waited until they were both gone, and then he gave Charlie a smile that might have been intended as friendly, but reminded me of a shark. “One of my employees disappeared last night, coincidentally while three men were killed at my hotel. Then he miraculously showed up this morning with an escaped captive. I believe this man may be the G you’re looking for.”

  “Do your men know him as Ghost?” Charlie’s muscles were rock hard beneath my hands.

  “How did you know?” Vlasenko asked softly. “Yes.”

  “Matheson mentioned your men might call him that.”

  “It’s true. They call him Ghost because many of them suspect he’s alread
y dead. He’s just a half man, a specter, roaming the earth and bringing death and destruction in his wake.”

  Charlie stood and held out his hand. “Then this is the man I’m after. He’s the one I must kill.”

  Smiling, Vlasenko shook his hand. “I’ll take you to him.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Crystal Cay, Bahamas

  Vincent

  Every survival instinct Vincent had honed over the years bellowed at him to get the fuck out. Now.

  There were too many fresh men on Vlasenko’s boat. Vincent didn’t recognize any of them, and they sure didn’t know him. They didn’t fear him. In fact, he was pretty fucking sure they were going to pull out a gun and shoot him at any moment. Worse, they wouldn’t let him see Mads. He hadn’t seen her in hours. For all he knew, Vlasenko had changed his mind, offed her and thrown her body over the side of the boat.

  The captives were belowdecks and heavily guarded by strangers. Men who pretended they didn’t understand his English and straight up ignored him when he cussed them out in Russian. Short of drawing a gun and shooting his way in—by the looks of it, that’s what they hoped he’d do—he had no way of knowing if she was all right.

  Reduced to prowling back and forth like a caged tiger, he nearly jumped out of his skin when someone touched his arm. He jerked a hand down to his gun and whirled around. One new guard wrapped an arm around his neck and another jammed a gun into his side. His bones went liquid and he bent effortlessly, twisting in their grasp. He kicked the nearest guard to foul his aim and jabbed his fingers into the other’s eye so hard he felt it pop. The man screamed and let go.

  “Peace!” Vlasenko roared. “No killing!”

  Panting, Vincent jerked to a halt and eyed the guard who still had the gun. The other guard writhed against the wall, clutching his bloody eye socket.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Vlasenko slapped him hard enough his ears rung. “Pavlo, take him to the medic.”

  The ache in his face only made Vincent’s sense of impending doom worse. He threw open the door and stomped down the steps without waiting for permission. He ran down the narrow hallway, his boots thumping on the steel floor. Small doors dotted either side, berths for all the workers back when the boat ran as a cruise liner, but the doors were all open. Finally at the end of the hall, he found two doors shut. He flung open the door on the right. Two women shrieked and cowered in their bunks. Redhead. Brunette. Not Mads.