“Nailed it in one,” she said happily. “Think you might want to nail me?”
He dropped the towel and came around the island. He put his hands on the granite, trapping her between his arms. She inhaled the scent of him—soap and steel, gun oil and determination—and shuddered with delight.
“I always want to nail you, baby.”
His mouth settled over hers and Kat was lost.
7
December 20th
He hated keeping secrets from Kat, but this was the kind of secret he couldn’t tell a woman about to give birth. Not when it might amount to nothing. Mendez sat at his desk at work and stared at the photos of Kazimir Rybakov. The resemblance was strong, and yet he wondered if it was real. It could simply be the camera angle, or even a deliberate attempt with Photoshop to make this kid look more like Mendez than he really did.
But that didn’t explain Ian’s operative, who’d thought the resemblance enough to mention it, did it?
Mendez shook his head to clear the chaotic thoughts. He remembered Kat last night, how passionate she’d been, and then how happy when they’d settled in to watch a Christmas movie together. She’d laughed at Ralphie’s antics as he schemed for a BB gun, and then they’d watched a movie with Kurt Russell as a cool Santa Claus who sang the blues. She’d wondered aloud whether or not he could pull off long hair and a beard like Kurt, and he’d had to remind her it wasn’t in military regs.
“Too bad,” she’d said with a little pout. “You’d be so handsome, Johnny.”
“I already thought I was handsome enough for you.”
She’d laughed, and he’d loved the way the sound stroked his senses. He was so gone for this woman. “You are always the best-looking man in the world to me. But a girl can have a little fantasy, right?”
“You have Santa Claus fantasies?” he’d teased.
She’d swatted him and pointed at the television. “Only if he looks like that.”
His cell phone rang. He picked it up, glancing at the screen. “Ian,” he said after he’d swiped to take the call.
“John,” Ian replied. “How’re things at HOT HQ today?”
“Quiet,” Mendez said. “Thankfully. Got anything for me?”
“Not enough, unfortunately. Rybakov has gone to ground. We don’t know where he is at the moment.”
Mendez hated the way his heart twisted at the news. He didn’t even know if this kid was really Roman, and already he was feeling the desperate pull of a parent wanting news about his child. “Where was he the last time your people saw him?”
“His apartment in Vladivostok. He went in two nights ago and that’s the last we’ve seen of him.”
“He knew he was being watched.”
“That’s what I think too. But I don’t think it was my people. They’re careful. He wouldn’t have known they were there.”
“Are you suggesting he’s being watched by someone else?”
“If he’s really Roman Rostov, then it’s possible. Dmitri Leonov might not have been the only person who knew of Roman’s real parentage. You gotta admit he’d be a helluva lever to use against you, John.”
Mendez’s gut tightened. “That’s assuming a lot, don’t you think? They can’t know how I’d react to finding out he was alive. I never knew him. Maybe I wouldn’t care.”
Ian snorted. “You’ve married his mother and she’s pregnant with another child. You’d care. Any spy worth their salt knows it, too.”
Fuck. He hated it when Ian was right—but Ian was right.
“What if the whole thing is a setup? What if Kazimir Rybakov is really who he claims to be and someone with a grudge or an agenda is using him as bait for me and Kat?”
“It’s possible,” Ian said slowly. “It could also be bait for Kat alone, you know.”
Mendez’s blood ran cold. Sergei Turov’s son Misha was still out there, still capable of carrying out an act of revenge for his father. Sergei was a monster. He’d held Kat prisoner for years with his hold over Roman, and he’d abused her both mentally and sexually. He was in prison now, awaiting execution, but so far he’d managed to avoid the death sentence with delays and bribes.
It would be like Sergei to want to torture Kat one last time. And Mendez through her. Through Misha, he could’ve organized the whole thing.
“You’ve heard of Calypso, right?” Ian asked.
“The assassin? She’s not someone we’ve dealt with, but yeah, I know about her. You’ve had some run-ins with her, I believe.”
“A couple,” Ian said. “She’s an interesting character. She reminds me of Kat in a way. But I digress. The point is she’s a master of disguise. She can be tall or short, fat or thin—whatever the situation requires. She made us think she was someone else. So much so that we captured the wrong person because she’d done everything necessary to point us in that direction. Which brings me to my main point—that it’s possible to mimic just about anyone if you’re skilled enough.”
“And yet you brought this situation to my attention when you showed me the photos.”
“I told you I had to think about it, but in the end I did what I would have wanted done for me. I’d want to know. You’re a smart man and you’ve seen a lot. You know what people are capable of, and you also know that things aren’t always what they seem. You thought Kat was dead for twenty years, and she wasn’t. So yeah, it’s possible this kid is really your son. It’s also possible it’s a setup. If it is a setup, then he’ll turn up whether or not I look for him. So do I keep my people on it, or do I sit back and let it happen if that’s what’s going on?”
Mendez knew what Ian was asking him. Whether or not he wanted to pursue Kazimir Rybakov. Backing off would give them an answer eventually, but Mendez didn’t think he could do that. He needed to know. “Have your people been inside his apartment since he disappeared?”
“Yes. Only six hours ago. He’s not there, and there are no signs of a struggle. He left again under his own power, probably in disguise. We’re going over surveillance footage from the past two days to see if we can’t pinpoint which person is most likely him.”
“Keep looking, Ian. If it’s a setup, then I’ll deal with it when I find out that’s what it is.”
“And if it’s too late by then?”
The knot in his gut tightened. “It won’t be. I won’t let that happen. Neither will you. If nothing else, you care about Kat. You won’t let him get to her if this whole thing goes wrong.”
“If this is Sergei Turov’s idea of revenge, I’d prefer Rybakov not get to either one of you. Kat would never forgive me if anything happened to you, so don’t do something stupid.”
Mendez laughed. “I never do anything stupid, Ian. I’m deliberate and methodical. You know that.”
“I’m not so sure. You walked into the center of a lion’s den this past spring when you were being hunted instead of lying low until the danger passed. That was kind of stupid, don’t you think?”