Page 42 of Waiting for Him (Trident Security #3)
Chapter Twenty-Three
S hivering , Kat tried to sit as far away from the man she now recognized as Viktor “ The Bull ” Dryagin , Volkov’s right-hand man and self-appointed heir to the dead man’s criminal empire.
Ian had shown her pictures of the man who Benny and Jake had confirmed was the leader of the group who’d tried to kidnap her from the motel in Norfolk .
Dryagin and Pig -face hadn’t spoken to her since they’d fled the compound about ten minutes ago. They only conversed with each other in Russian , which only enhanced her fear and anxiety.
What were they planning on doing to her to get the money? She’d gladly give it to them if she could only be certain she would still be alive once they had it in their greedy little hands. The only thing she wanted was the chance to have the life she craved . . . the life she deserved with Benny .
She didn’t even know if Rick and Eileen were alive and doubted the Russians would tell her. All she could do was pray Jake and Tanner were tracking her and creating a rescue plan. Benny had assured her that was what his team specialized in, and she trusted them to get her out of this damn mess.
“ Blyat !”
Kat didn’t know what Pig -face had said, but by how he'd spat it out, she guessed it was a curse word.
A split second later, he slammed on the brakes, sending her flying forward, her head smashing against the headrest of the seat in front of her.
Black spots and white stars filled her vision as myriad sounds assaulted her ears.
Loud screeching, yelling, whaps, pops, and the rush of air escaping surrounded her.
It took her a moment to realize both her head and the car were spinning as Pig -face tried to control it on four shredded tires.
The bare rims ground against the asphalt as the vehicle rapidly slowed. What the hell was happening?
Somehow , he managed to keep them from flipping over, and the vehicle finally came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the highway.
Before Kat could think about escaping, Dryagin snatched her by the hair and hauled her to his side, his weapon pressed against her temple.
Tears filled her eyes as she tried to ease the pressure on her scalp.
Outside the SUV , smoke from the blown tires began to settle, and all was quiet except the three occupants’ heavy breathing and Pig -face’s cursing in both languages.
“ Yobaniyi ment! Fucking cops blew tires. Vhat now?”
Hope flared in Kat’s chest as she heard sirens approaching. She just prayed these two men didn’t do anything stupid that would get them all killed. The sirens switched off one by one as several vehicles came to a screeching halt, surrounding them at a distance.
Kat tried to glimpse what was going on, but the only direction Dryagin’s grasp allowed her to see was through the window next to him.
She realized they were turned sideways on the highway, facing the southbound lanes.
Further past the line of idling patrol cars with their flashing lights and unmarked SUVs , she saw the signs of traffic beginning to build beyond the roadblock which had been quickly put in place.
Police officers—some in uniform, others dressed in all black—used their vehicles as cover and pointed handguns, shotguns, and rifles at the getaway vehicle.
If Kat thought she was scared earlier, she was now beyond terrified.
Please , God , don’t let them decide to go down in a hail of bullets.
Several minutes passed before two men behind one of the police cars caught Kat’s attention, and she gasped when she focused on Jake .
His arms gesturing wildly, Boomer’s teammate argued with a red-faced man in an ill-fitting suit.
It was apparent the man wanted Jake away from the scene, but he wouldn’t budge.
A sudden voice over a loudspeaker interrupted the Russians ’ rapid conversation in their native language. “ Throw out your weapons and come out with your hands in the air.”
Pig -face rolled his window down halfway and yelled, “ Fuck you.”
Okay , Kat thought, that command didn’t go over well. Now what?
“ Please let me go. We’re surrounded. If you cooperate, I’m sure the judge will go easier on you.” Actually , she wasn’t sure of it at all, but it sounded good, right?
“ Shut up.” Dryagin’s head swiveled as he eyed what was going on around them. “ Ruslan , demand new car or ve kill girl.”
Well , shit, that didn’t sound comforting, but at least the bastard had let go of his grip on her hair, and she could sit up a little better.
Before she could move away from him, the big man grabbed her upper arm, pulled her across his lap, and switched their positions in the backseat, putting her between him and most of the police officers.
He held her close, still pointing the deadly end of his pistol at her head.
She listened as Ruslan , aka Pig -face, shouted their demand out the window, and the hostage negotiator on the megaphone responded. Kat got the feeling she was in for a very long and stressful afternoon.
* * *
Standing about twenty-five yards from the disabled Escalade , Jake gritted his teeth as SAC Frank Stonewall got in his face, demanding he and Tanner leave the area.
“ You’re fucking civilians, and this situation is now under the jurisdiction of the FBI .
Get back in your fucking truck, and get the hell out of here, so we can do our jobs. ”
Keeping his voice low and threatening, Jake towered over the shorter man and leaned in so he wasn’t overheard by anyone else.
“ Listen , you fucktard. The only reason you were called in was because we were short-handed, and Ian couldn’t get a hold of us.
You know damn fucking well Keon will ream you a new asshole with one quick phone call.
Now , we’re willing to step back and let the SWAT commander take over, but I’ll be fucking damned if I let that woman out of my sight again, so take your attitude and shove it up your ass. ”
The SAC looked ready to explode but held his tongue when a tall, dark-haired man dressed all in black and carrying a megaphone approached them. “ Jake ? I hear this mess started at Trident . Fill me in so I know what we’re dealing with. You’ll have to tell me what’s up with the eye patch later.”
Jake shook Calvin Watts’s extended hand.
The agent was the lead negotiator in charge of the Tampa area FBI SWAT team.
Having mutual friends, they played basketball against each other almost every Tuesday night at the local YMCA , and Jake was relieved the man was there.
He’d seen Watts’s team in action before and was confident they could get Kat out of this in one piece.
“ Hey , Cal . I appreciate the fast response. Thank God Ian had you en route, and TPD had cars nearby with the spike strips available. The tangos kidnapped Boomer’s woman from the compound.
They shot our guard in the shoulder, but he was able to drop the original driver, so now it’s just two of them in there, plus Kat .
Tangos are Russian mobsters from Virginia .
Kat’s father appropriated a large sum of money from their boss about twelve years ago, and they want it back. ”
Ignoring the SAC who stood by, still seething, Watts , who was officially in charge of the incident, gestured then started walking toward the newly arrived SWAT command van, and Jake followed.
“ Okay , how much money are we talking about here? I doubt they’d be taking such a big risk for a few thousand. ”
“ Try fifteen million, plus twelve years’ interest, sitting in the Cayman Islands .
” Cal whistled his amazement as he opened the back door of the large truck and climbed in after Jake .
“ Yeah , I know, far from chump change. From what I understand, Kat’s dad was an accountant for the mob but didn’t realize who he was really dealing with until he was too far in.
After keeping his nose clean for a few years, he discovered evidence of white slavery and gave it to the FBI .
A few days later, Kat’s family was run off the road.
The crash killed her mother and brother and sent her and her dad into the Witness Protection Program .
Kat didn’t know it until her father died recently, but the old man transferred money out of the mob’s accounts a few days after the accident and sent it to a dummy account.
Revenge , I guess. A string of unrelated events put these bastards back on her trail, leading us here. ”
Watts shook his head. “ Damn , you boys don’t like anything simple, do you?
All right, let’s get this rescue underway.
They’re demanding another car and a free pass, or they’ll kill her.
The usual shit these idiots think we’ll cave for.
Any idea what their names are so we can start developing profiles? ”
A tech typing away on a nearby computer keyboard eyed Jake , waiting for his answer.
“ No ID on the driver, but the guy in the back seat with Kat is Viktor Dryagin , a trained assassin who took his boss’s place in the organization after he got the okay to off the guy.
From what I hear, he won’t go down easy. ”
“ Guys like him never do. Anyone else here from Trident ?”
“ One of our contract guys, Tanner , is over by his truck, staying out of the way and keeping our dog from staging his own rescue. The rest are on their way. When Brody gets here, he can listen in on a microphone Kat’s wearing. It’s one of his toys we’ve used before.”
Picking up two headsets, Watts tossed one to Jake .
“ Okay . Stick around and stay out of Stonewall’s face.
I’m not in the mood for his fucking blubbering.
And ears only. Keep your microphone off—you’re here out of professional courtesy, and I trust your input, but I won’t have you interfering with the negotiations. ”