Scandal Never Sleeps

  Dax dropped to the ground, pulling Everly with him. They were coming from the opposite side and would block the elevators soon. They would have to cross the Russian’s path to reach the stairs. So she followed Dax as he crawled into the cubicle maze and ducked into one in the middle.

  He pulled her close, his voice against her ear. “Don’t scream.”

  When she turned, she understood what he meant. She shoved a hand over her mouth to stop the shriek that threatened. The body of one of the guards had been shoved against the side of the cubicle, his lifeless eyes open below a gaping hole in his forehead. He seemed to stare at nothing. Her stomach churned. The other guard was almost certainly dead as well. That was why the lobby had been empty of security.

  “A mistake?” It sounded as if they’d stopped right in front of the elevators. “It wasn’t a mistake, myshka. You got greedy. It wasn’t enough for you to run girls. You wanted to blackmail the boss. Where did you find the diary? Natalia has been missing to us for many years.”

  “Maddox Crawford found the diary. The best I can figure out, his father came into possession of it back when he was sleeping with my mother. Maybe she gave it to him for safekeeping, but somehow Mad got hold of it. He’s the one who wanted to force me to blackmail Ivan. I would never do such a thing. I’m loyal to my family. I only want to run my foundation. Didn’t I come through for you this summer? I managed to get the arms shipment through when no one else could.”

  “But you couldn’t cover up your own human trafficking ring.”

  “I’ve sold hundreds of girls. Only three have ever been publicized as missing. I think my record stands on its own.”

  Everly’s stomach turned again. Tavia hadn’t been trying to educate girls in poor countries at all. She’d been plucking them from their families and ensuring they had short, miserable lives so she could make a few bucks. She’d duped everyone. Had Mad figured out the truth before his death? Was that why he’d been killed?

  “Your record could get us all . . . how do Americans say? Knee-deep in shit. I told you this would only continue until you got caught.”

  “I haven’t been caught,” Tavia argued. “And I won’t be. We need to focus on your problems. We don’t have to kill the girl. My brother is wrong. If we kill her or kidnap her, the police will be all over us.”

  “I was not sent here to stand by and hope nothing goes wrong,” Tavia’s uncle replied in a deep, rumbling voice.

  Tavia seemed to ignore that. “All I’m saying is if we can find the diary before she does, there’s no need to kill her. The little idiot has no idea what’s going on around her. If she did, she would have gone straight to the press.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I know her. She’s a do-gooder. If she understood what that diary meant, she would go straight to the authorities. Trust me. When things cool down, she’ll forget about everything but her new boyfriend’s big wallet. Everything will go back to normal and all our plans can continue on.”

  They were talking about her, Everly realized with a shiver.

  “We have to find that diary,” Tavia continued. “Now, it’s obviously not in Crawford’s office. We’ve checked everywhere. There’s a chance it was destroyed in the house fire.”

  “Jason and Lester searched Crawford’s house first. Nichego.”

  “Nothing? Okay, m-maybe he took it on the plane and it went down with him. After all, he was on his way to see the president.”

  “Which is why it was so necessary to kill the man. Everything could have fallen apart if he’d made it to DC with that diary, you dumb bitch. Do you know how many years this plan has been in place? How many people have died so we have this chance?”

  “I know what’s at stake.”

  “Yet you decided to make a quick buck off it.” Another voice joined them, this one familiar. Scott? “I found proof that she’s the one who sent the blackmail e-mails. She’s also been skimming from the foundation to the tune of about a half a million a year. Tell me, did it all go up your nose, sis?”

  Scott was Tavia’s brother? His smooth tones were gone, and he sounded far angrier and more ruthless than Everly had ever heard him.

  “What is this?” the Russian asked.

  Scott gave a sinister chuckle. “Tavia has a small cocaine problem. I believe you’ll find she skimmed from Crawford and set up poor Val to take the fall, but that wasn’t enough. When the diary fell into her lap, she saw another way of making money. Unfortunately, Crawford found the fucking thing when he was investigating the missing funds. Hence, the situation we find ourselves in.”

  “How much did Crawford know before he died?” the Russian asked.

  “He figured out enough to realize that Zachary Hayes is in real trouble,” Scott replied. “He’d started asking questions about Sergei.”

  A crash echoed through the room, along with what sounded like a whole lot of Russian curses.

  “Calm yourself,” Scott soothed. “We’re not done yet. Everly Parker is late for our meeting. I have to hope she’s running behind. I have a man in place in case she shows up, but we have to deal with the possibility that she’s thrown her lot in with Bond and his crew.”

  “Uncle Yuri, you have to believe me.” Tavia sniffled.

  “I don’t have to do anything, my niece, and you’ve forgotten who the boss is here. Let me show you.”

  A cracking sound split the air, and it was all Everly could do not to scream as she heard a thud. Dax’s arms tightened around her.

  They’d killed Tavia. That sound had been a gun discharging and Tavia’s body hitting the floor. How many bad guys with guns were there? How were they going to get out of here?

  “You know I didn’t want to do that. She was family,” the Russian said, his voice low. “I can’t have her skimming money from corporations and exposing us. Her habits made her ineffective, and she had to be put down.”

  “I know,” Scott replied. “She was threatening our operations. I haven’t lived most of my life in this godforsaken, piece-of-shit country for my sister to blow everything over cocaine.”

  There was a long pause. “Find me the diary.”

  “I told you, I think the Parker girl has it,” Scott explained.

  “Tavia said she was nothing but a stupid whore.”

  Scott huffed, an arrogant sound. “Tavia has a bullet through her brain, so maybe we shouldn’t listen to her. I’ll search Parker’s office thoroughly. It wasn’t at her apartment, so it has to be here.”

  “Why would Crawford trust her with it? It makes more sense that he would have taken it with him,” the Russian mused.

  “I watched him and I’ve gotten close to her. It took me a while to figure out how to do it, but once I knew she was important to Crawford, I played gay. It earned her trust. I think Crawford would have sent his long-lost sister a copy. For all his quirks, he was careful. Even if the original had gone down with him on the plane, he would have had a backup. Now I can’t get into her system. I tried. She’s got it locked down. We’ll have to steal it and hire a hacker, but I would feel better going through her office again. We need to go through her desk and then start looking for a safe. And I’ll pull every piece of hardware I can. It’s got to be there.”

  If they got the safe open, they would find the SD card. It might take them a while to figure out the information was embedded in the photos but they would do it. And the information would be lost to her, Gabriel, and all his friends.

  Factions. Deep Throat had talked about factions being after the diary. If Scott got that card, the intelligence would be lost to her faction, because she was choosing sides and it damn straight wasn’t the Russians.

  None of the obstacles between her and Gabriel mattered now. Not the press or the women who had come before her. Not even that stupid report he’d had compiled on her. None of it mattered stacked up against the possibility of never seeing him again. She loved Gabriel Bond and if she survived, she would never let him go.

  “How
will you take care of everything?” the Russian asked.

  “You forget I did a rotation through security. That’s how I knew where to place the cell phone jammers so the guards and the janitorial staff couldn’t call out. I’ll wipe the computers so it looks like only Tavia swiped in. No one will have any idea what really went on. I can have us out of here in twenty minutes.”

  “All right, then.”

  Everly moved closer and whispered to Dax. “We have to get to my office.”

  “No, we’re not doing anything until it’s safe,” Dax whispered against her ear. “They don’t know we’re here. They’ll leave soon. If they get the SD card, then we’ll have to steal it back, but not until I’m sure you’re safe.”

  The elevator dinged open, and Everly felt a sick slide of dread that the possibility they would all die had just skyrocketed.

  • • •

  The building was silent except for the sound of Gabe’s and Connor’s shoes against the floor. The guards seemed to have taken a break, but Gabe was focused on Everly. He’d almost made it to the elevator when Connor stopped him. “I lost service on my phone.”

  Gabe looked down at his cell. Sure enough, he had no bars. “That’s weird. There must be something wrong. No wonder they’re not answering. I bet their phones aren’t working, either.”

  At least he knew where they were going. The doors opened and he started to step inside.

  Connor grabbed his arm. “You don’t understand. I had service out on the street. I think someone’s got a cell phone jammer on the building. A very powerful one. Whoever it is, they don’t want anyone to be able to call in or out.”

  Everly was upstairs. And she likely wouldn’t know what she was getting into. She could have walked into an ambush.

  Gabe made the decision in a heartbeat. He stepped into the elevator. “Go and get help.”

  “Gabe! Get your ass back here.” Connor started toward him, but Gabe pressed the button to close the doors.

  “I’m going to kick your ass,” Connor growled as the doors banged shut. He could hear the reverberation of Connor’s fist against the metal.

  Connor was the only one who could get help now. Gabe couldn’t stay downstairs and hope for the best. The floors ticked by, his adrenaline spiking with every inch closer. Someone was up there and they wanted Everly.

  Had whoever killed Mad caught her? Was she already dead?

  His heart clenched at the thought of her being in pain, in fear. He would have done anything in that moment to change places with her.

  He’d always thought that a husband wanting to die before his wife was a protective thing, but now he realized it was selfish at the core. He didn’t want to have to live without her. He didn’t want to feel the pain that would come from knowing she was gone.

  Please. Please. Please, let her be alive. It had been years since he’d prayed, but he would have begged anyone he must to spare her life.

  The elevator stopped and the world seemed to slow. The doors opened so sluggishly, and the first thing he saw was a woman on the ground, her body crumpled in unnatural angles. Bile crept up his throat, but then he realized the woman in front of him had silvery blond hair, not Everly’s sweet reddish hue.

  Tavia.

  Not Everly. Tavia was dead.

  “Nice of you to join us, Bond,” a dark voice said. “Please to step out of the lift.”

  He put his hands up and stepped out of the elevator. The man in front of him was a giant bull with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. He had tattoos slithering up from under his T-shirt and covering his neck. His dark hair was cut in an almost military style so there was nothing to detract from the jagged scar that ran down his face.

  Those tats told the tale. Even in the low light, Gabe could make out the ones on the man’s arms. There was a church and weeping angels. He’d spent some time on the Internet earlier in the day and he’d seen those tattoos on Russian mobsters. They detailed their crimes and the punishments they’d survived.

  He made sure his hands were visible and hoped Connor could summon the police in time. “What’s happening?”

  “You’re going to play dumb?” The younger man beside the Russian was Everly’s friend, Scott. It looked as if Everly and Mad had been surrounded by betrayal. Scott held a semiautomatic with the ease of one long used to the feel of a gun in his hand.

  Playing dumb was his only option. He let desperation creep into his voice. “If you’re looking for money, I can get you plenty of it.”

  Where was she? Had Dax figured out the situation and hidden with her?

  “He is the plane builder?” The Russian stepped forward, looking him over.

  “Yes, uncle. And he’s loaded. What are you doing here this late, Bond?” Suspicion crept across Scott’s face, and he looked around as though trying to decide if they were alone.

  If they didn’t know Everly and Dax were up here, then he wasn’t about to give them away. He needed to give Dax a shot at getting her out of here. “I left some paperwork. I need it for the lawyers. God, why would you kill Tavia?” Because she was obviously involved. He didn’t say that. He looked down at her and shook his head. “She did so much good in the world.”

  “My sister was a coke head who liked to sell little girls to the highest bidder,” Scott said. “How would it affect the old bottom line if everyone knew that Crawford Industries has been a front for human trafficking for years?”

  Mad had been looking for the girls. Mad had figured out something was wrong. Despite the situation, one worry eased in his chest. Mad had been trying to do some good of his own. “I don’t believe it.”

  “You don’t have to.” Scott stepped forward. “All you have to do is get Everly Parker up here.”

  “I’m not supposed to see her tonight. She told me she was going back to her place,” Gabe lied.

  “Step away from the elevators, Bond.” Scott moved around the last line of cubicles and started to trek the rows, looking down each.

  Was Everly there?

  “Why do you want Everly?” He had to keep them talking.

  “That is none of your business,” Scott’s uncle said. “If you don’t get the Parker woman up here, I will kill you. You’re no use to me, and our plan to clean up this mess is now blown, no?”

  Scott’s jaw tightened, showing his anger. “Yes, it is. Still, you might want to leave him alive. I think he might be very useful in getting Everly to talk. I don’t think she’ll come if I call since it appears she stood me up.” He regarded Gabe. “She’s hot, as you know. I tried to hit on her when we first met. I guess she’s only willing to give it up for a billionaire.”

  “Why were you stalking Everly at all?”

  “We figure out that she’s Crawford’s sister long before he does,” the Russian said. “We use Crawford Industries for many years. His father was easy man to deal with. The son, not so much. I think you will be easier, though. You seem like reasonable man.”

  “He has a sister, too. I could always send the boys to find her. You didn’t think we were alone, did you? I have several of the most sadistic criminals the brotherhood has ever seen going through Tavia’s office even as we speak. I think you’ll like them.” Scott pulled out a walkie-talkie. It would work despite the jammer because it would be tuned to a frequency of the user’s choice. “Niles, come in. I have a new job for you.” Scott smirked Gabe’s way. “He’ll be more than happy to entertain your sister until you take me to Everly. I’ll ride along with you to make sure you don’t get lost. If you and Miss Parker give me what I want, your sister won’t be damaged. Too much.”

  Gabe’s heart stopped.

  “Are you sure we need the Parker woman?” The Russian stared at Scott.

  “If there is a computer element to this clusterfuck, Everly is very good with hacking a system. It occurs to me that she might be helpful in case there’s some security on the diary, and she would likely be more willing to lend a hand if we have her boyfriend here.” He looked down at the wal
kie-talkie and pressed the button again. “Niles? Come in.”

  “Everly is probably in Brooklyn.” Once Gabe got the Russians outside, Dax would have some freedom of movement to get Everly to safety. Connor would likely be waiting for them when they went downstairs. God, he’d joked with the man about being more than an analyst. He prayed he’d been right now. He didn’t need Connor’s brains. He needed a hunter.

  She was either here or she was on her way back to Connor’s, where she would be safe. Either way, he had a better chance of getting out of this if they took to the streets. No one knew where Sara was and he wasn’t about to tell these men where his sister and her unborn child were. He would die first.

  “Niles, come in.” Scott cursed at the walkie-talkie. “I thought Everly was staying with you. Isn’t she at your place?”

  It would take them longer to get to Brooklyn. It would buy him