Page 37 of The Primary Pest (Iphicles Security #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ajax

Ajax woke in a hospital bed. Mom sat on one side of the cot and Dad sat on the other. His “uncle” Zhenya hovered by the doorway. He said he was splitting his time between Ajax’s room and the ER.

“Your quick thinking saved Dmytro’s life,” said Zhenya. “I can’t decide whether to hire you or refund your parents’ money.”

“Couldn’t you do both?” Violet Fairchild asked coolly.

Zhenya flushed. “Of course, Violet.”

“I’m kidding.” Violet’s sense of humor didn’t track for most people. She was too serious—too dangerous—for anyone to laugh at her jokes. Maybe that’s what Ajax saw in Dmytro. Love and danger in equal measure. She held her hand out to him. “Once again, you saved my baby. I can’t thank you enough.”

Zhenya came forward to hug her. Jackson Fairchild looked on benignly. He turned every so often to read the numbers on the many machines silently scanning Ajax’s vitals.

“You’re out of the woods, son.” He cleared his throat. “Looks like you’re going to be fine.”

God, he hoped so. He and Dmytro had both suffered hypothermia in the frigid water. They’d had to raise his core temperature slowly, and it hadn’t been pleasant.

Now Ajax could say he felt comfortable if utterly drained.

His face throbbed where Chet had beaten him, every muscle ached, and it hurt to breathe. His skin had tightened and cracked like leather. He’d have killed for his mother’s moisturizer. Maybe she’d sneak him some. They wouldn’t let him have a burger, but surely they’d let him have that.

“Dmytro has a concussion from the bullet that grazed him,” his father offered. “Combined with hypothermia, they’re not taking any chances. He’s being treated for the seizures—”

“Seizures?” Ajax tried to sit up, but his mother put her hand out to stop him.

His dad gave a slight wince. “He… um, from what they’ll tell me, had a prior concussion with some seizure activity.”

Zhenya nodded. “That occurred a few months ago. It was no longer affecting his performance on the job, but he couldn’t drive, which is why I sent him with Bartosz in place of Peter.”

“Thank God for Bartosz,” said Jackson.

“Peter.” Violet’s lips tightened. “I will have that bastard’s head.”

“He’ll pay for what he’s done.” The Coast Guard caught Peter piloting the trawler alone. They assumed he’d killed the pilot and Chet, who probably believed he was going to be rich and meet pretty girls in Ukraine until the moment Peter put a bullet between his eyes.

Ajax hated that they still had the power to make him feel anything. He wasn’t afraid anymore, but he carried a kind of bottled-up rage.

Until Chet and Peter, Ajax didn’t know what evil was.

Meeting evil face-to-face had changed him.

“So Dmytro’s over the hypothermia,” his father said, bringing his attention back, “but the bullet that graze his head, and the stress of recent trauma seems to have triggered more seizures. They’ll want to keep a close eye on him.

I imagine he’ll spend some time in the ICU where they can monitor his brain activity and adjust his medications accordingly. ”

“Will he be able to see his daughters?”

“That might have to wait until he’s in a regular room.”

Zhenya added, “Liv will be able to visit for a little while.”

“But who’s going to watch the girls while Liv’s with him?” Ajax asked.

“I will. Don’t worry.” Zhenya put a warm hand on Ajax’s shoulder. “Dmytro is one of my best men. I’ll take good care of him and his family.”

“He’s in good hands, Ajax,” Jackson reassured him.

If Jackson believed it, it must be so. “Okay.”

“Dmytro wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you. You concentrate on healing,” said Violet. “Concentrate on you.”

As if he’d ever concentrated on anyone else.

The Iphicles staff was doing everything they could to clean up the mess. The girls were all right. Liv would be there for Dmytro. Zhenya would be there for Liv.

And they weren’t in the middle of the ocean anymore.

He remembered Dmytro’s advice: never say things can’t get worse .

“Then it’s all over?”

“We believe so. An arrest was made at the safe house. Your biblical critic’s name is Rafe King, and he was fully armed and ready to act on his threats.”

Ajax gulped. “Rafe? I kept thinking…”

“Rafe King suffers from erotomania. In addition to two prior arrests for stalking”—Zhenya’s grim expression didn’t hide how angry he was—“he was wanted in connection with an unrelated hate crime. He will be spending a long time in prison.”

“Prison’s too good for him.” Violet growled the words.

“The rest,” Zhenya continued, “if we can believe Dmytro and Bartosz, was Peter’s doing, along with Chet.

” He pulled a chair up and sat next to Ajax’s dad.

“He deliberately hid Rafe’s connection from me so I would put a detail on Ajax and send him to the safe house.

I don’t mind telling you, I never saw that coming.

Peter was one of my original hires. We worked together for years.

I was so certain of Peter, I’d have trusted him with my life. ”

“Money makes people do all kinds of awful things.” Violet spoke as though she’d seen a lot of them firsthand. “He’s garbage.”

“We had no idea we were fighting a war on two fronts.” Zhenya lowered his gaze. “Peter used Ajax’s threatening letters to drive him straight into a trap.”

Jackson said, “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Nevertheless, I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything—”

“But it didn’t.” Jackson’s voice stayed gentle. “You got our boy back.”

Ajax smiled. Bedside manner was Dad’s A game. It was a shame he spent most of his time in a research lab because he rarely got to use it.

“Your man Dmytro put the tracker in Ajax’s watch. Bartosz found them in the middle of nowhere. I’d say that’s a job well done.”

“Dmytro had a blade in his boot, or I’d still be duct-taped to the railing.” Ajax shivered. “The boat went down so fast. One minute she was there, and the next…”

“It’s horrible when you find out you can’t trust one of your own.” Zhenya glanced away.

“You were so bright and brave, little man.” Violet put a comforting hand on Ajax’s arm. “You kept Dmytro alive until you were rescued. You’re a hero, my darling.”

“ Mom .” Ajax flushed.

“You saved the day in the end.” Jackson tried to hide his tears. “You were amazing.”

“It’s okay, Dad.” Jackson Fairchild was one of the strongest people he knew, and if he cried, that meant something. He’d seen a thousand tragedies in the course of his career. His heart, soft though it might be, was his strength, his empathy a mighty weapon.

Jackson Fairchild believed in miracles. He had the courage to live with the constant pain of failure and still work tirelessly for a cure.

And Violet Jackson always said Ajax was just like him.

Maybe that’s what Ajax had to offer a man like Dmytro.

Maybe the possibility of Dmytro and him being a couple wasn’t nearly as far-fetched as it seemed.

Ajax hid a smile.

“What was that just now?” Violet asked.

“Nothing.”

“You were smiling.” She was never going to let something like that go.

He glanced at the machines as if he knew what all the numbers meant. “I was just thinking about Dmytro.”

Jackson sat back. “So, it’s like that, is it?”

“Like what?” Had his voice cracked?

“Oh, Ajax. Listen.” Shoot. That was the face his mother wore when she fired somebody, told them their pension was gone, and called security to escort them out of the building. “Baby.”

Uh-oh.

“You’ve been through an extremely traumatic experience,” she offered sweetly. “And it’s only natural that you should form a bond with Dmytro since you worked so hard together to solve your problems and stay alive. That was like a team-building exercise. Or a war.”

“One or the other.” Ajax stifled an inappropriate laugh.

“Where do you take your colleagues for team building?” asked Zhenya.

“Oh, there’s a marvelous survival training camp in Costa Rica, you would—”

“Uh, Violet, maybe now’s not the time.” Maybe his dad saw the numbers on those monitors rise to dangerous new levels.

“Sure. The thing is, honey,” she went on, oblivious, “I hope you’re not going to make any serious decisions right now because my guess is you’ll be disappointed by the outcome.

Things happen and you feel one way. And that’s awesome.

But then things change, is all. In the end, you’re still you.

You have your life to live, and Dmytro is—”

“Don’t you dare say he’s just an employee.” Ajax gritted his teeth. “Don’t you dare.”

“Oh. That’s my cue.” Zhenya shot away from the wall. “I’m going to go check on Dmytro for you, Ajax. Would you like that?”

“Don’t handle me, please, Uncle Zhenya. But yes.”

Zhenya nodded once and left the room.

Violet watched him go. “I’m not going to say Dmytro’s an employee. He’s obviously much, much more than that. But he’s thirty-six years old. Nearly twice your age.”

“He has children, Ajax.” His dad met his mother’s worried gaze. “He obviously had a wife in the past whom he loved. He’s still very close with his sister-in-law. We just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“It’s not like that. I love him. Will he wake up and feel the same way about me? I don’t know. Where will I even be in a week, or a month, or a year from now? I have no clue. But that won’t change how I feel about Dmytro.”

“You’ll be fine, no matter what. You know that, right?” Violet said. “You’ll be just fine.”

Jackson cleared his throat. “We think you should come stay at the ranch with us for a while.”

Ajax visualized spending time with his parents at their place in Idaho. The ranch always felt warm and cozy, especially in the fall, but his parents would only make it home on occasion—maybe once or twice a month—and work while they were there.

“Wouldn’t you like that, sweetheart?” Violet asked. “We’d love to have you. We haven’t spent nearly enough time as a family since you graduated from college.”

“I don’t know. I—” He blinked back tears. “I don’t know.”

Jackson held the tissue box for him, and he grabbed a few.

“Thanks.”