Love and Let Die (Masters and Mercenaries #5)(84)

“And I’ve always wanted to see the Amber Room.” Eve smiled steadily. “I’ve heard they have beautiful churches as well.”

“You need visas, too.” Was he really going to let them go to Russia? Alex was a brilliant agent, but he’d worked in the FBI, not the CIA. “No. This is stupid. You don’t speak Russian.”

Alex shrugged. “We don’t need to. We’re tourists.”

Eve smoothed back her hair. “My grandfather was from Russia. I’ve always wanted to see the motherland.”

“I have a friend at the consulate,” Adam said.

Jake slipped a low five. “Magda. Yeah, she was a good friend.”

Adam’s brow furrowed. “Don’t ever let Serena know.”

“You’re afraid your wife would be pissed about a Russian hookup?” Simon asked.

Jake groaned. “No. Magda was in good with a Ukrainian syndicate. They’re in direct competition with Denisovitch. She’ll help us f*ck with them. Do you know what Serena would do if she found out we know real Russian mobsters? She would never stop asking questions. She would want us to take her to the Ukraine and meet with them. Can you see that meeting?”

Adam went a little green. “I have nightmares about it.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? We could just stay out of his business.” Grace spoke for the first time. Her hands were in her lap, tightening around each other.

He reached out to his sister-in-law because Sean wasn’t here. It was something he wouldn’t have even thought about doing before, but Grace was his family. He was going soft. “Grace, he won’t let it lie. Those pictures are proof. He wants us to see him. He’s got something in mind. We have to figure it out.”

“Little one, Ian’s right,” Sean said, his voice low and sweet toward his wife. “He won’t let this go. We’ve hurt him too much. He can’t let up and neither can we. This is a game only one group can win. We have to make sure we take him out.”

“I want to do something,” Jake said.

“Take care of your wife.” He wasn’t about to put Jake in the field when Serena was pregnant. Adam was safe enough behind his computer. He could still do his job.

“You can’t keep me out of the field forever,” Jake shot back. “Serena knew what she was getting into when she married me. She knew what my job was.”

Ian held out a hand. He couldn’t stand the thought of that baby Serena was carrying being down a dad. “Just let me get used to it, man. I’ve got what I need for now. If something else comes up, I’ll send you in the line of fire, okay?”

“All right. I just want to take this f*cker down, you know.”

“I want him dead more than anything.” His eyes trailed toward Charlie’s frame. Phoebe was still talking and she had a Hermione doll in her hand. Maybe he didn’t want Nelson dead more than absolutely anything.

There was something he wanted so much more. He just wasn’t sure he should have it.

“So we’re all good?” Alex asked, getting to his feet. “Because I have some packing to do. And a camera to buy. I’m going to expense that shit.”

“He’s had his eye on a telephoto lens,” Eve said.

So it would be an expensive op. He was willing to pay just about anything if he could get rid of the threat. If he could get rid of both Nelson and Denisovitch, he could figure out what he really wanted. He could figure out how to deal with Charlie. He could decide if he could really forgive her.

Liam walked into the room, his eyes a little wild. Something had happened and it didn’t look good. “Adam, I need your help.”

Ian got to his feet. “What happened?”

Liam’s hands were shaking. “There was an accident. Avery’s car. It’s very bad.”

Ian felt his stomach twist. His day wasn’t done. Not even close.





Eli Nelson looked through the binoculars. Kashmir Kamdar was on his boat, anchored in a particularly beautiful section of Goa. His own small island nation was roughly twenty miles to the west, but King Kash, as they called him in the tabloids, didn’t have to be in his kingdom to hold court. He seemed to be on a perpetual vacation.

Three buxom blondes in barely there bikinis were frolicking on the starboard side of the ridiculous yacht.

He hated the little f*cker. He hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve his wealth except have the very good fortune to be born well. At least Taggart had made his way in the world. Taggart had been past dirt poor before.

He wondered if Taggart knew why his father had left him behind. He’d done a study of Taggart a long time before. He wondered if Taggart knew his father had walked away and started a whole other family after he’d finally gotten off the drugs. It was a fleeting thought. He didn’t really care, but it was interesting given his current surveillance. King Kash had everything handed to him while Taggart had scrapped and fought to put food in his mewling brother’s mouth. Taggart had two more brothers he didn’t even know existed. Apparently the Taggart DNA ran true. Despite the fact that their father was a * retail clerk, the twin brothers Ian didn’t know about were more like him than their father. Both had joined the Navy because their papa couldn’t pay for college and both were up for BUD/S training this year. Nelson had thought seriously about trying to recruit those two. It would be so much fun to have a couple of Taggarts on his side.