Chapter 14 Asher
ASHER
Iloosen my tie and groan as I slump into a chair in my hotel suite after a long day of meetings.
Only one more meeting to go.
I can’t wait to get home. This entire trip has been mediocre at best as far as business pursuits, and it’s only been made worse by the fact that I feel like I can’t breathe without Ella. All I want is to get home to her.
“I got an interesting call from Jenkins,” Robert says, entering the common space of the suite.
I sit up, my back rigid. “What happened?”
Robert waves a reassuring hand. “Nothing. It’s not security related, exactly. He told me he accompanied Ella and her friends to a gun range yesterday. Apparently, Ms. Morozov attempted to teach Ella to shoot a gun.”
By the smirk on Robert’s face, I can tell he’s trying not to laugh.
“Ella went shooting with Lucy?”
Robert’s smirk cracks into a twitching smile as he nods. “Jenkins reported to me that Ella did not take to shooting well and is not interested in further tactical training.”
“She needs to learn for her own safety.”
“Jenkins let me know that for her own safety, as well as anyone around her, she should never touch a firearm again.”
I raise my brows.
“Apparently Ms. Hale screams and waves the gun around in fear every time she fires it. She could miss a target from a few feet away.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, exhaling heavily, as my worries over Ella’s safety go up another notch.
“But Waters reports that she’s making very good progress in self-defense, so there’s a bit of a silver lining.”
“Small mercies.”
I stand to make my way to the wet bar when a chemical smell assaults my nose. I freeze, sniffing.
“Do you smell gas?” I ask Robert.
He stands frozen, his eyes wide as his eyes scan the room.
“Fuck! Get down!” he cries out.
Shock flares through me as I notice a white vapor pouring into the room through the vents. I drop to my hands and knees to keep below the vapor, but within seconds, my head swims and I’m coughing and retching so hard that I crumple to the floor. I hear Robert yelling in his coms for backup.
And everything turns black.
I wake with a cry of shock as freezing water spills over my face. I gasp and splutter, choking as it runs into my mouth and up my nose. I try to sit up, but bands that cross my chest keep me bound to the bed, on my back.
What’s going on? Where am I?
I blink, my eyes burning as I glance around, recognizing my hotel room. It’s dark, only the dim lights of the city outside provide any light. And then it all comes rushing back. My gut sinks.
Where is Robert? Is he okay?
“Good evening, Mr. Langford,” a male voice with a thick Russian accent says near me.
He steps up to the bed, and with the dimness of the room, it’s hard to see him clearly as he hovers like a shadow over me. “I hope you’ll forgive my intrusion. You are a very difficult man to access. Your security team is quite good at their jobs, so I had to find a way around their protocols.”
Tendrils of fear begin to spread through me, but I batter them down before they can overtake me. One mistake could mean the difference between life and death. And I refuse to die.
I open my mouth to respond, but I only manage a hoarse cough.
My throat burns from the chemicals I inhaled along with the water I choked on.
As my mind clears more from the fog it was under, I remember my own protocols, and shift against my bonds, bringing my left wrist to touch my leg.
I push the crown of my watch against my thigh and hold it down for five seconds.
I hide my sigh of relief when the light buzz of vibration lets me know it’s activated.
The man bends slightly, smiling down at me. “I think you know why I am here, but just in case there is any confusion, let me speak plainly. My cousin Sergei tells me you are still being stubborn. His offer to your board was shot down because of you . . . yet again.”
“Sergei and his offer can fuck right off,” I croak out.
The man, who I can only assume is Yegor Volkov in the fucking flesh, laughs.
“I have heard you have a fiery spirit. I’m glad to see it doesn’t evade you even when your life is threatened.
But let me be very clear, Mr. Langford, I am growing tired.
Your grandfather tried to make things difficult for Sergei almost thirty years ago.
And now, you’re proving to be difficult as well.
When Sergei’s business suffers, my business suffers.
And I do not like it when my business suffers.
“Your green energy business has been a threat to Sergei and me for many years now. But it was a threat we could keep small by poking at it from time to time. A little damage here and there was all that was needed to keep it from growing into a real problem. But those days are over. Your green energy business is no longer a little threat. It is a major threat, and I am done playing quietly.”
My breaths quicken as the cold steel of his Glock presses into my forehead.
“We tried the diplomatic route. We tried to buy the company from you legally, through all the correct channels. Wasn’t that nice of us?
We even offered you a fair deal. And you couldn’t be persuaded.
So now, we’re done being nice. I have the paperwork ready to go.
You sign Greenspan over to Sergei and me, at a fraction of the price we initially offered, or I put a bullet through your skull. ”
He lifts a packet of papers for me to see in the dim light and waves them, a smirk of triumph tugging at his lips.
With a snap, the band holding my wrists to the bed retracts.
Yegor removes the bite of his Glock, but keeps it pointed at me as he steps back to flick on the bedside lamp.
I wince at the sudden brightness, and my head thrums in pain.
I take a deep breath. And another, as I push the pain of my head and body down and focus on the man standing over me.
He’s non-descript in every way. His height and build are average.
His face is neither handsome nor ugly. His light brown hair is graying at the temples, and there’s more gray spotted throughout his short beard.
His eyes are a bland hazel. He’s the type of man you would pass on the street without a second thought, a second glance.
No wonder he’s been so hard to track down all these years.
Not only is he a master at keeping his businesses’ finances hidden in various illegal accounts scattered throughout the world, but he’s also used his appearance to blend in.
His suit is clearly well-made, but it’s a classic cut—nothing flashy or ostentatious.
Nothing about this man speaks of a powerful mobster at first glance.
But now that I’ve seen his face, I’ll never forget it.
And I’ll make sure he pays for this in blood.
Yegor sets the paperwork in front of me, holding it upright, then he places a pen in my right hand.
“Sign, and I’ll let you live.”
I press the crown of my watch into my thigh again, this time in a specific patterned rhythm, until it buzzes twice in confirmation.
I lift my hands, holding the paperwork in my left hand, and pressing the pen to the signature line with my right.
But before I scrawl my signature over the page, I drop the pen, unclasp my watch, and toss it at Yegor’s feet.
Then I roll as far onto my right side as I can and close my eyes.
“What the fuck?” Yegor growls right before a low boom rumbles through the room.
I hiss and cry out as small slices tear across my back. Yegor screams and lands heavily a few feet away. Debris clatters like confetti down on top of me, but I take the small reprieve of time to yank off the bonds tying me to the bed.
“You son of a bitch!” Yegor yells, his voice ringing with agony.
Serves him fucking right.
I scramble off the bed and search for the gun, but just as I make it to my feet, Yegor gingerly stands as well.
We face one another, both injured, but he’s much worse for wear.
Cuts crisscross his hands, arms, and legs.
Blood oozes from his abdomen and from his temple, and the right half of his face is shredded.
I rush at him and slam my fist into his jaw, and he crumples to the floor again.
The door slams open, and half a dozen of Yegor’s men flood into the room.
Fuck!
I race to the bathroom and slam the door shut. I’m out of options until my security gets here. I have no more weapons since my gun was stripped off me and I already used my watch. I can’t take on six armed men while weaponless.
The men shout at one another in Russian and bang around the room, but thirty seconds later, everything falls silent.
I wait another minute to be certain, but when nothing but silence stretches through the room, I crack the door open and peek out.
I let out a sigh of relief at the empty room.
It seems Yegor’s men prioritized getting him medical attention over apprehending me.
Thank god for that.
Just as I exit the bathroom, the door to the suite opens with a bang.
I rush over to the bedroom door and cautiously look out.
Relief floods me again when this time it’s my men rushing into the suite.
Seconds later, Robert bursts out of his bedroom, opposite mine, stumbling and bleeding from his wrists and temple.
“Fuck!” he yells when he sees me. He slams into me with a hug and claps me on the back.
“What happened to you?” I ask, my voice laced with concern.
“I woke up tied to a chair in my room. I only just got myself loose.”
“Dammit,” I growl, taking in his hands and wrists, which are littered with rope burns and slashing cuts. “You about took off your hands to get free.”
He shrugs. “I had to do what was necessary.”
“Yegor just left with his men,” I tell my security team.
“They’re gone,” Sorenson says, pressing the com at his ear. “The front desk just confirmed it.”