Page 101 of No More Lies
Steve swallowed. This is why he loved this team. Loved what he did. They were a family and one of their family was missing. They would not stop until she was found.
***
DIANE SAT IN THE BACK of the minivan, next to Natasha. Surprisingly, they weren’t tied up or gagged, but with a gun aimed at them, any thoughts of escaping were fruitless. Sitting up front, Oleg held the gun. Another man was driving. A black Range Rover was ahead of them, which carried Volkov and his daughter. Melanie had been put in a blue Honda, but Diane didn’t see it behind them. At no point had she seen Megan, and she was beginning to think Volkov had lied about taking her. Maybe it had been a ruse to get her to go to him, and she’d fallen for it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she cursed her own stupidity. If only she had gone straight to Steve when she’d got the text. Whatever happened to her now was her own fault for not talking to her husband. Again.
The minivan hit a bump in the road, and she stifled a scream as her arm bounced in the makeshift sling. Melanie and Natasha had done the best they could to clean up her cuts and give support to her arm, which was either dislocated or broken. She wasn’t too sure. It hurt like hell. Some of the cuts were still bleeding and blood already seeped through the small bandages. Her chest and stomach felt bruised from having been dragged back through the window.
“Do you think we’re going to the airport?” Natasha asked quietly. The windows in the back were blacked out. From what she could see through the front windshield, it appeared they were on a highway, but Diane couldn’t be sure; she was too scared to move.
“Probably.” It seemed the logical destination. How was he getting them out of the country without passports? Then again, a man like Volkov could easily bribe someone. Money really could buy you just about anything.
“What about Melanie? Where is she?” Natasha whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Quiet!” Oleg hissed, stopping Diane from saying anything more.
If what she heard at the house was correct, Melanie was being taken to wherever the sarin was being released. Had Onyx found the sarin? Had they managed to stop the attack? She had no idea what was happening, and an overwhelming sadness engulfed her as she contemplated never seeing Megan or Steve again. She was going to be handed off to someone called Hakim Aziz. She shuddered at the thought of what could happen to her. Maybe it would be better if she just died in the sarin attack, too.
A short time later, the minivan came to a stop. The two men stepped from the front and slid open the side doors. Diane and Natasha got out as instructed. The black Range Rover was beside them, but no sign of the Honda.
Gun waving, Oleg gestured for them to walk towards a small hanger. Diane looked around as they moved forward. It appeared to be a small airstrip, but she didn’t see a plane. Volkov was already inside the hanger, holding Anya. The moment Anya saw her mom she babbled and held out her arms. Volkov set down his daughter and let her toddle over to her mom. Natasha swept her up in her arms, hugging her tightly.
“Make yourselves comfortable. Our transportation will be here shortly.” Volkov gestured to plastic chairs off to one side. “Mrs. Williams, please do not try to get away again. I don’t want to have to break your other arm.” Volkov smirked before walking away toward a man in overalls.
Diane wasn’t about to try anything. She was in no shape. Her head was dizzy from the pain, not to mention the nausea. She gratefully sank into one of the plastic chairs and tried to take her mind off what might lie ahead.
“She’s a lovely little girl,” she said to Natasha.
“She’s my world. I’ll do anything he wants to keep her safe.” Natasha sat and settled Anya on her lap. “I haven’t seen Megan. Do you think he has her somewhere else?”
“I’m not sure he ever took her. He hasn’t mentioned her. I think he may have tricked me.”
“I’m so sorry. What he’s done... He was not like that when I met him. Well, maybe he was but I didn’t see it.”
“What was he like?”
“He was charming and attentive every time he came to the bar. I liked him. I wanted to get to know him, date him, but he made it clear he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend. He offered one night, and I said yes. I’m not proud of myself for that.”
As Natasha stroked her daughter’s hair lovingly, Diane knew without any doubt this woman had never done any of the things Volkov had accused her of.
“It’s OK to have a one-night stand. You were both consenting adults, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Diane hated that society still portrayed that men could have one-night stands, but women couldn’t.
“We used protection. I don’t know what happened, it must have ripped or something. I don’t regret it though. How can I ever regret having this beautiful child?”
Diane watched her hug her daughter and kiss the top of her head. Tears threatened as her heart throbbed with the need to hug Megan.
“I regret letting Vlad set me up in a house. I didn’t realize until it was too late that I was basically controlled by him. The house, the money, the car. It was a thrill. I won’t lie. I enjoyed it, and deep down I thought he might change his mind, and we might be together.”
“That’s why you continued to sleep with him?” Diane asked softly.
Natasha nodded sadly. “Yes. But he was just using me. I see that now. When his father passed last year, he started to change. Wouldn’t stop talking about Russia and how American women were trash. It hurt. Things started to get strained between us. But I didn’t see how I could get away from him and provide for Anya by myself, so I kept quiet. When he said he was taking Anya to Russia, I finally snapped. He got angry and I saw a side of him I had never seen before. He scared me.”
“That’s when he hit you?”
“Yes. I was screaming at him, and then he grabbed me. I fought but he is much stronger than me.”
“Did he...?” Diane let the question hang. Volkov had told her Natasha liked it rough. But rough and rape were two different things.