Chapter 22
Sklad . . .
The seconds ticked by in Orrin’s head as he thought over everything Yuri had told him—and what he hadn’t.
What did he believe? Did he dare to trust his old friend? Yuri’s explanation sounded good, but that could be all it was. Then again, it might very well be the truth.
That was a sobering thought. A terrifying one, as well.
What he did know was that Yuri was scared. A bone-chilling, soul-deep fear that kept a man awake at night. It was that alone that prevented Orrin from dismissing Yuri’s statements out of hand.
Orrin’s thoughts shifted to Ragnarok. He rubbed his chest as he imagined the potential outcome if such a weapon were released. It didn’t matter if it was a small village or an entire country—the results would be staggering.
The door opened to his room, and the doctor walked in. She kept her gaze averted from him as she moved her hair from behind her ear.
His mind was too occupied with everything to worry about why she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He closed his eyes while she began her routine.
“There’s a camera,” she whispered. “In the left corner facing you.”
He opened his eyes into slits to glance at her. She kept her back toward where she’d said the camera was. Orrin thought back to when the soldiers had come in, and he was given something to knock him unconscious.
“They’re watching everything.”
Obviously. Was it Yuri, though? Or the Saints? He couldn’t ask Yuri about it in case it was his doing. Then Yuri would know that she was talking to him.
Shit. He hated situations like this.
What to believe? Who to trust? One wrong move, and it could mean his life or his sons’. Too many people had died already, but he knew things weren’t finished by far. More would die.
It was inevitable. A truth every man and woman in uniform understood. But people like the doctor didn’t comprehend such things. Neither did Natalie.
He’d gotten Natalie involved, and Orrin would have to live with that. There were too many factors at work for him to feel confident about an outcome now.
“Orrin?”
The sound of her whisper dragged him from his thoughts. He grunted, letting her know he’d heard her words. There was a need swelling inside him to shield her and her son, but how could he when he couldn’t help himself or his own family?
The helplessness that assaulted him was horrendous. He’d never felt anything like it before, and he loathed it. He couldn’t wait until he could shake off the feeling and get back to doing what he was meant to do.
He wasn’t surprised to find Yuri strolling into the room with two of his armed men beside him. Orrin opened his eyes and watched his old friend.
“How is he, Doc?” Yuri asked.
She closed the chart. “He has improved at a remarkable rate.”
“Improved enough to return to his cell?” Yuri asked with a raised brow.
There was a bit of hesitation from her before she said, “I wouldn’t recommend it. Not yet.”
“It is . . . how do you say? Out of your hands,” Yuri replied with a cold smile.
Orrin watched the exchange with interest. The doctor was trying to protect him the only way she could, but that time was over now. And in some ways, that was a good thing.
“You’re right, Yuri.” He waved his hand at the monitor and IV. “I no longer need any of this.”
Which meant, Yuri could let the doc return to her life and her son.
Yuri nodded to the IV. “Unhook him.”
Once more, he made sure not to look at the doctor, even as her hands shook while she removed the IV.
When he was freed from everything, Orrin threw off the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His body twinged, but the pain wasn’t as severe as he’d expected. Even his ribs didn’t hurt as badly as they should. Then he looked at Yuri, waiting to see what would happen.
Yuri swung his gaze to the soldier on his left, the tall blond who always seemed to be about. The soldier left the room, only to return a second later with clothes and boots.
They were placed at the foot of the bed. Orrin stared at them. The only thing better than clean clothes would be a shower.
“Get dressed,” Yuri ordered. “Come, Doctor.”
Once everyone had departed, Orrin gingerly stood, testing his legs and the rest of his injuries. Whatever the doc had given him had rapidly helped him heal. And he was more than thankful.
He pulled on the olive green tee first. Then he removed his dirty, bloody pants and reached for the tactical trousers. It wasn’t easy fastening them with his broken wrist. Then came the boots. It wasn’t until he’d grabbed them that he saw the fresh pair of socks.
Wiggling his toes against the cold tile, Orrin sat back on the bed and put on the socks and shoes. By the time he’d finished, his wrist throbbed, his broken ribs made it impossible to breathe deeply, and any movement caused pain.
But it wasn’t the first time he’d had broken ribs in a combat situation.
He was still sitting on the bed, attempting to push the pain down when the door swung open, and Yuri filled the doorway. Yuri looked him over before he motioned for Orrin to follow with a tilt of his head.
Orrin rose and trailed Yuri, expecting that he would return to the small, damp prison he’d originally been in. He wasn’t wrong.
The door slammed shut behind him. He turned but found himself alone. Just what was Yuri up to?
It was several hours later before Yuri returned. To Orrin’s surprise, there were no soldiers with him. While Yuri leaned back against the door, Orrin got to his feet.
They stared at each other for a long while. Then Yuri said, “Your youngest is in Delaware.”
He’d anticipated that at least one of them would return to the last place he’d been seen. A smile threatened as he imagined Cullen and Mia together. Both could be reckless, but they would work well together.
“I’m sure you predicted that.”
Yuri shrugged. “A decision needs to be made. My loyalty to the Saints has come into question.”
“Is that why I was drugged? What did they do in that room I was in?”
“Installed a camera.”
So maybe it wasn’t Yuri. Orrin still wasn’t completely sure yet. It could all be a trick. “To watch me?”
“To make sure I am doing my job.”
“There could be a camera in here.”
Yuri gave a single shake of his head. “There is not. I checked.”
“So what now?”
“Now, we decide what to do. You say Ragnarok is somewhere no one can get it. That is good to know, but it does not stop everything else. The scientist who made Ragnarok, Jankovic, can make more.”
Orrin moved slowly, so as not to aggravate his injuries. “He needs to be found.”
“And the Saints stopped.”
“Agreed. How do we do that?”
Yuri smiled slowly. “We leave here, of course.”
“Of course.” It wouldn’t be nearly that easy. “And your men?”
“Are still mine. There are several of the Saints’ men here, though.”
“Watching and listening,” he said with a nod.
Yuri pushed away from the door and walked to Orrin. “We leave in the night.”
“If you leave your men behind, they’ll be killed.”
“There is an exit strategy I put into place before we left Moscow. They will split up, depart separately.”
Orrin leaned against the wall. “How will they return to Russia?”
“A man named Sergei Chzov.”
Orrin didn’t bother to tell Yuri that he knew Sergei.
Though that was only because of Mia. Whenever someone told Mia it was impossible, she made sure that it wasn’t.
Many had told her it was impossible to get involved with Chzov if you didn’t have Russian roots.
And yet Mia had developed a bond with Sergei.
Orrin said, “You need to let the doctor go.”
“Already done. I no longer need her services.”
He felt better knowing she was away from Yuri. Still, he was going to miss those gray eyes of hers and that amazing red hair.
“She demanded to know what I had done with you. Can you believe that?” Yuri asked with a snort.
He smiled because he could. “What did you tell her?”
“To leave well enough alone.”
If they left, he was going to have to get her a message not to contact the government. Not yet anyway. There was too much he and Yuri had to do before anyone discovered what they were up to.
“Can you do what is needed?”
He shot Yuri a hard look. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You are hurt.”
“I’ve had worse.” A lot worse, actually.
Yuri’s grin held a note of misery. “We are not as young as we used to be.”
That was for sure. Even ten years ago, Orrin would’ve bounced back quickly from such a beating. But he wouldn’t be feeling as good as he was if it weren’t for whatever the doc had given him.
“I’ll do what I have to do. It’s what I’ve always done.”
“Da. You and me both,” Yuri said. He pulled a gun from the back of the waist of his pants and held it out, butt first, to Orrin. “We will have to leave quickly.”
Orrin grasped the warm metal of the Glock, the weight familiar—and welcome. “I’ll be ready.”
After Yuri had left, Orrin put his back to the wall and slowly lowered himself to the floor. There were so many things that could go wrong.
He had no idea of their exact location or the layout of the building. That meant Orrin had to trust Yuri. There was no other choice. If he wanted out, he had to follow his old friend.
Just because he was willing to work with Yuri now didn’t mean he trusted him. In fact, Orrin didn’t. There was some truth to what Yuri had told him, but there were other parts that he wasn’t so sure about.
From the very beginning, nearly thirty years ago, when he and Yuri had first met, they’d had a contentious relationship. Their friendship would begin to strengthen, and then something would make one of them mistrust the other, destroying whatever had begun.
It was a bitter circle they had never been able to halt. The current situation changed things a little, but not nearly enough.
Yet Orrin knew there would come a point in the very near future when he would have to decide whether to trust everything Yuri said—or walk away.
In this cat and mouse game, he would have to keep his wits about him at all times and trust his instincts. They had gotten him out of bad situations before.
He’d be calling on them soon because Orrin was determined to see his sons again. He wanted to see Callie, Natalie, and Mia, as well.
There was so much he hadn’t told his sons. He’d always thought there would be time. However, time was running out.
And he still hadn’t caught Melanie’s killer. He’d vowed to find the bastard, and if it was the last thing Orrin did, he would do that for his beloved wife.