Page 103 of Poison Evidence

In the past, he’d thought of Sophia and Yulian, conjuring the need to protect them. That had brought out the darkness inside him, the fierce warrior. Today he added Ivy to his mental lineup. He would protect her at all costs. Do whatever he had to do. Kill whomever he had to kill.

No remorse. This asshole had it coming.

He’d threatened his sister. Threatened his nephew. This asshole would kill Ivy without a second thought if needed to control Dimitri.

This was his last time acting as anyone’s weapon, but today, for only the third time in his life, he’d been the one to select his target. Today, he was a weapon for Ivy.

The satellite phone he’d placed in the center of the gun emplacement rang.

Luke watched Dimitri’s transformation with a hint of awe. Without a word, all vestiges of Parker Reeves disappeared. Here he saw a glimpse of the man who’d been on the Interceptor that night in November.

Dimitri had been rattled by what was about to take place and had lost sight, for a moment, of his own readiness and training. BUD/S training for SEALs was notoriously hard, but Luke had a feeling it was nothing compared to the years Dimitri had spent as a student in the embed unit.

He never wanted to go up against Dimitri Veselov hand to hand or any other way. It was a marvel how much the man had contained himself in Neah Bay last year.

Lukealmostfelt sorry for whoever was about to enter the jungle with Dimitri’s little sister.

He could only hear Dimitri’s side of the conversation, and that was in Russian. Ian, thoughtfully, translated. “D is refusing to leave the gun emplacement. He’s sticking to the plan.”

Dimitri spoke into the phone again, then Ian said, “Cover your ears. D’s about to blow the warning charge.”

A moment later, an explosion rocked the jungle.

Luke grimaced. Cressida, Ivy, and Undine were all going to be pissed at the damage they were wreaking upon the National Historic Landmark that Ivy had repeatedly referred to as the largest and best preserved World War II battlefield in the Pacific. No one had informed Ivy about the charges they’d set today, knowing she’d freak.

“Shit. They’re still holding back. D’s about to blow number two,” Ian said.

Another explosion, this one closer.

Crap. Two minutes in and they were already on plan B.

“Stop wasting my fucking time,” Dimitri said into the phone. “If Sophia and Yulian don’t step into the jungle in the next ten seconds, I’m going to shoot your stooge, Fredrickson.”

“What the fuck?” Fredrickson shouted in his ear.

Dimitri dropped the phone. They could hear him without it, and he was done playing games. He pulled his gun, pointing toward the DIA agent concealed in the vegetation. “I’m going to count to five,” he shouted. “Produce Sophia, or Rudy dies.”

He was going off script, but he knew in his gut Rudy Fredrickson was complicit. He might not be the one who attacked Ulai, but he was involved. Fuck him. “One,” he shouted then paused for a moment. “Two!”

He stepped to the side, keeping his gun where he knew Rudy was, his other hand gripped the remote for the C-4.

“Where do you think you’re going, Rudy?” Ian said in his ear. “Move andI’llshoot you.”

So this was what being on a team felt like. Dimitri would enjoy the warm fuzzies later. “Three.”

A snap of branches to the right caught his attention. “Four.” He turned, keeping his gun on Fredrickson. “I’m done fucking around.” He tightened his grip on the trigger.

“Dimitri! Stop!”

He turned toward the voice. A woman’s. One he hadn’t heard in years. Broad leaves parted as she stepped through the thick vegetation. She brushed aside vines with one hand, while the other supported a child, sleeping against her chest.

She had their mother’s eyes and their father’s hair. The last time he’d seen her was the day he’d become the Hammer, to protect her.

His baby sister.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“Shoot Rudy and you’ll be killing your nephew’s father,” Sophia said.