King's Ransom (Man on a Mission 2)

“Oh God,” Juliana said helplessly before she pulled herself together. Twins, she knew, usually had lower birth weights, which would explain why Sabrina didn’t want to risk premature delivery at this stage. “Think positive,” she told Dirk stoutly. Her assistant, Maddie, came up to them just then, with bottles of water for both of them.

“I’m trying,” Dirk said. “I’ve got plans for tonight. There’s a full moon and I’ve arranged to take Bree sightseeing...in a horse-drawn carriage.”

Juliana’s face softened. “That’s so romantic, Dirk.” She raised her hand to cup his cheek. “Bree is lucky to have you,” she said, blinking back unexpected tears. “I wish...” She never got the chance to say what she wished, because all at once she saw Andre standing off to one side watching her. Watching Dirk. A brooding expression on his face. She drew her hand away from Dirk’s cheek sharply, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. It had been an innocent gesture, but Andre wouldn’t know that.

“Come on,” Dirk said, helping her off the bed. “Let’s get these duds back to Wardrobe before we hold them up.”

I haven’t done anything wrong, she told herself as she walked past Andre toward Wardrobe with her head held high, refusing to look in his direction. No matter what he thinks, I haven’t done anything wrong.

* * *

“How the hell did it happen?” Andre demanded of his cousin Zax in the privacy of his office, cold anger making him pace and ramping up his blood pressure. “Do you have any idea? Who was guarding Juliana? I thought you doubled the security around her. How did security break down?”

“Be reasonable,” Zax said, answering the last of the machine-gunned questions first. “Who could have predicted this? You cannot blame the men guarding her any more than you can enclose Juliana in a bubble to keep her safe from every possible threat.”

“If she were yours, Zax,” Andre said fiercely, “you would not say that.”

Zax waited until Andre calmed down enough to listen to reason, then offered up what evidence had been collected so far. “It was no accident. That much we know. The anchor points were nearly filed through on two sides, leaving enough to bear the light’s weight for a time, but eventually gravity would cause a stress failure. Other than that...”

Andre stopped pacing to nail his cousin with an angry flash of his eyes. “Who is responsible?”

Zax shook his head. “It could be anyone. One of the crew...or not. According to the producer, those lights were set up yesterday in preparation for today’s filming. Again, according to the producer, it was not necessarily aimed at harming anyone. Filming of that scene was expected to be completed long before the light actually fell, so it might have been merely someone with a grudge against the film. According to the producer.”

“No, Zax. Juliana was targeted, the same way she was targeted when she was nearly run down weeks ago. Follow the money trail. Someone was paid to do this.” Andre clenched his fist as tight as his jaw. “Somewhere there is a record. Find it for me, Zax. Find whoever is trying to kill Juliana.”

Chapter 10

“Another failure.” The man tried to hold on to his temper because the Russian’s cold stare unnerved him, but it wasn’t easy. “That makes twice you have failed to eliminate the threat Juliana Richardson entails.”

“The first failure—yes,” the Russian nodded, “I will take responsibility for that. My man failed to run her down. He should have been successful despite the interference—we will not be surprised like that again. But you were the one who wanted to try the ‘accident’ on the set,” the Russian reminded him. “Not us. We arranged it...at your insistence.” His expression clearly conveyed what he thought of that amateurish attempt.

“Juliana’s death has to appear accidental,” he justified. “With the tight security around her, what else could we have done? I cannot afford to—”

“Yes, yes,” the Russian said, cutting him off. “You cannot afford to show your hand in this, not if you are to achieve your goal. I am aware. But the head of my organization is displeased with the lack of progress in the overall plan. Not the woman—he cares nothing for her—it is the king who stands in his way. And when Aleksandrov Vishenko is unhappy, unpleasant things happen...to everyone.”

The deadly tone in the Russian’s voice sent a chill down his spine, and his bowels cramped. I should never have gotten involved with the Russian Mafia, he realized now. Now...when it was too late. But he could not draw back at this stage. He could not become uninvolved with the Brotherhood. And the reason he’d cut a deal with Vishenko in the first place—that reason still existed.