Page 13 of Devil's Retribution
“That is the question. Surveillance is pretty much complete at this point. We have access to her both physically and via her computer. We have her schedule, we have the boy’s schedule, her security habits, and the layout of her home. We have her security system’s codes. When Vanya comes back from his shop, we’ll have the keys as well. I even have their medical records.”
Through the surveillance and our meeting, I had learned many things about the young therapist and the boy she treated as her own son. He was actually her nephew by her deceased sister, the father was unknown. Apparently, she had taken him in as soon as she’d learned about the death and gotten her uncle’s help fast-tracking a legal adoption.
Her life had been steeped in tragedy—first the loss of her parents, then the loss of her sister. Yet Alexei was right, the woman I had met, though hiding nervously behind a professional mask, had a kindness to her. Courage. And certainly, brains and good instincts—she had almost caught me or one of my men surveilling her on multiple occasions.
Not just a pretty face, that one.
I had been attracted to her immediately, on a primal, sexual level that had only intensified when I had looked into her eyes and seen wariness fighting with desire. I could tell when a woman wanted me, even when she was trying like hell not to.
In a better world, I would have scrapped the whole plan, charmed her into a long vacation with me, and then lied to her asshole uncle about a kidnapping that hadn’t even happened. I didn’t want to use her as leverage against anyone. I wanted her in my bed.
But my brother deserved his revenge.
Tolya was saying something. I looked up at him. “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”
“I asked why you got their medical records.”
I smiled faintly. “The least violent way to kidnap them involves drugging them. Making certain we don’t accidentally kill them with a drug interaction or allergy is trickier than you might think. It isn’t like darting an animal for examination.”
Alexei looked relieved. I was a little insulted, he should have trusted me more. But perhaps my behavior had shifted more than I realized, since learning who was responsible for Leon’s death.
I shook off the moment of self-doubt and said sternly, “We will collect them before dawn. Is the room ready?”
Tolya nodded, going serious again. “Yes. It should accommodate them and keep them out of sight while making sure they can’t leave until we let them go.”
“Fine. Call up one of our chemical guys and have them replicate this formula exactly.” I wrote it down on a slip of paper and handed it over. “I want it introduced in a propylene glycol fog. We’ll pipe it into the bedrooms, knock them out, and then collect them.”
“And then you make the call to Graves?”
I nodded. “I’ll use a voice disguiser. But it should definitely be me.” Anatoly towered over almost everyone and was even taller than me, but he was nowhere near as good at intimidation. My guess was, that looking like a brick wall with eyes, really did much of the intimidating for him.
Alexei hesitated. “What happens if Graves won’t cooperate?”
I frowned. “He’ll cooperate. We’ll have the last of his family, and we’ll make it look like he can buy his way out of the situation easily if he just shows up. Rich men always try to solve their problems with money.”
“And you’re sure he cares enough about his niece and great-nephew to follow through?”
I was getting a little tired of Alexei. “This is a man who swept in and took care of her and her sister after they were orphaned, and who would still be doing it if they hadn’t left on their own.
“Even now he has her watched even more closely than we have. When we used our stingray to inject spyware into her phone, I started keeping track of the results on mine. Fifteen minutes after my meeting with her, he was calling her to ask about it.”
Alexei huffed. “You couldn’t find the surveillance team?” He sounded surprised. Usually I was sharper. No one could get the drop on me.
“He can afford to hire the best. I suspect his team uses a mix of electronic and physical surveillance, same as us. Just tapping into her office security cameras would have been enough.” I didn’t care if Graves found out who I was, in the end. The law couldn’t touch me now—and anyway, by the time that Graves figured out his family was in danger, they would already be in my hands.
“We should be prepared to deal with them anyway,” I conceded, and both my lieutenants relaxed a little. “They will definitely be present at the meet. I don’t want us contending with snipers or a tail when we grab him.”
Tolya sniffed. “Then we should get some guys on finding this team and stopping them.”
I turned to Alexei. “I want you on that, you have most of our tech guys. We need that team neutralized before Graves shows up with his bag of money.”
But what if he doesn’t? The question that Alexei had posed echoed in my head suddenly. I pushed the thought away. Graves had to take the bait. His family was going to be on the line—at least as far as he knew. He might be a complete prick, but he’s done too much for his niece for him to not care about her. This will work.
It has to work.
***
Two hours before dawn, Tolya, four of his men and I, pulled up in Dr. Martinez’s neighborhood in a transport van with two stretchers in the back. Two large canvas sacks lay empty on them, ready for their slumbering cargo. With luck, neither of our targets would even wake up until we had them relocated.