Chapter Thirteen

Venus

"Why the fuck did no one think to call this bastard before now?" Ripper, the tech guy for Salvation's Bane, grumbled as he rattled off Victor Zaitsev's phone number. Though I hadn't wanted to involve Giovanni out of spite, I was smart enough to know we'd need his help. He was at Bane. I knew Ripper would stand up to the man if he tried to take over. Other clubs' tech people would too, but Ripper could be special kind of scary if he wanted to be.

"I never wanted to call him before now," I said, waving off Ripper's blunt and disgruntled question. I had to grin at expression on his face during video call. The man was always sour on the outside, but I saw the way he treated Emmanuell, his woman and daughters. Man was big softie. "Now I do."

"Keep him talking as long as you can." Giovanni moved into the camera view. "He has a secure phone, but me and Ripper together should be able to find his location, then hack into the security system. It's not going to be a simple, straightforward job though, so keep the call active."

Ripper snorted, rolling his eyes and giving the other man an impatient look. "It'll be more than just me and you, scooter." Apparently, Giovanni was getting on Ripper's nerves as well. "Venus, every single person with technical and advanced computer skills in every one of our clubs is networked and working on this. I'll let you know when we've got him pinned. When we're done, we'll have access to every fuckin' thing the man owns connected to any kind of network. Including his ride." Ripper's grin was positively evil. "You get him in any kind of self-driving vehicle, and this whole thing just got way the fuck more simple."

I raised my eyebrows at that. "Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah. I can lock him in and drive him anywhere you want him to go. All from the comfort of my gaming chair."

"Assuming he has a self-driving vehicle," Giovanni qualified.

Ripper gave Gio side-eye. "Because it's questionable whether or not one of the richest men in Europe has a self-driving car, or that he'd prefer to drive himself when Venus baits him into meeting her?" I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. Luckily, Giovanni was too busy blustering to notice.

"Bastard," Gio muttered.

"All right." Ripper sat up straighter and cracked his knuckles before starting to work. "I have a secure video conference with each club's command center. Bones, Tzars, Bane, Grim, and Black Reign. We're live."

"Do we know where he is now?" I didn't want to do this in Nashville. Giovanni was right that Bohannon didn't have everything we needed for something like this yet.

"He's in London, Kentucky. Likely on his way to forcibly remove Katya from Bones." Millie had taken responsibility for our half-sister because Katya was more comfortable with her. After our father died and our mother married Victor, Millie had raised Katya practically on her own.

"I don't want him anywhere near Katya," I said immediately. "We need to meet away from Somerset. London is less than hour from Bones compound."

"Do it in Evansville." Sting appeared alongside Wylde on the team conference, leaning over the other man so he was in camera frame.

"You sure?" All the presidents must have been close by because Rocket now came into camera behind Crush. "Grim Road is as private as it gets. Bit far, though."

"I'm sure," Sting said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Bring him here to the barn, Venus. Take as long as you like."

"Appreciate it, Sting," I said, sincerely.

Sting raised his chin, a cocky smirk on his face. "Got purely selfish reasons for the offer, Venus. We'll talk later."

"Good." Ripper waved us on, not inviting Sting to elaborate. "We'll set up a meeting with him in London, then transport him to Iron Tzars once we have him." He did something on his computer before continuing. "As each stage in this takeover is complete, let me know in the chat window. If anyone needs help in their area, communicate that to me in the chat also. Questions?" When there was none, Ripper turned it over to me. "Whenever you're ready, Venus."

I looked at Piston for reassurance. He gave me nod of encouragement and I punched in number, putting call on speaker. Call was answered on second ring.

" Da ?"

"Victor Zaitsev," I said in a silky purr. "So glad I caught you. I hope I'm interrupting something very important."

There was a pause. "Ulyana?"

"You were expecting someone else?"

"I'd hoped you'd be dead by now." His voice sounded strained, which was good. I wanted him to know what he'd unleashed.

"Hope in one hand, shit in other. See which fills up first."

" Suka . What do you want?"

"I want you dead."

"Good luck with that," he snapped. "I will kill you before you even know I'm around."

"Word is you're in US to get Katya back."

"She's my daughter. My property. You took what didn't belong to you and you'll die for it. Give her back to me and I might let you and Millie live."

I bared my teeth on instinct but kept my breathing smooth and even. Last thing I needed was to let Victor know he'd gotten to me. That threat to Millie had been to get reaction from me. I absolutely would not give it to him.

"Millie can take care of herself. I'm calling you now because, for reasons she won't divulge, Katya says she wants to go back with you." A blatant lie, but I knew Victor well enough to know, if I stroked his ego hard enough, he'd fall for any trap I set hook, line, and sinker. He was intelligent, but always thought he was smartest man in room when he was nowhere near.

"Because she knows I can give her whatever she wants. She misses her creature comforts."

"You and I both know you terrorized her. Katya was isolated in what amounted to prison cell when we rescued her from you. Whatever you're holding over her head, don't. You'll only piss me off and that's not something you want to do." Too late, but I wasn't telling him that.

"No. Give me my daughter. She wants to come home. If you love her like you say you do, you'll honor her wishes."

"She is child, Victor. She's scared. If not for her fear, she'd never want to go back with you. I'm asking you to let her go."

"No. Now, we can do this easy or hard way. Choice is yours."

I'd never wanted to kill someone so badly in my life. Ripper, still in the background but ever alert, started tapping at his keyboard with an increased urgency, the clicks sounding like rapid gunfire. I winced, hoping Victor didn't hear. Piston muted the volume on the conference call before I could indicate he should. Giovanni's face was mask of concentration mixed with determination as he watched on in background.

I let out a slow breath, keeping my voice steady. "Victor, you're not understanding. This isn't negotiation. Is ultimatum. Leave. Katya. Alone."

Victor laughed loudly, his humor laced liberally with disbelief. "You really are full of yourself, aren't you? You've tried several times to take me down and missed, Ulyana. What makes you think anything will change?"

"You can only run for so long. Eventually, I will find you. When I do, I'm going to kill you."

"You're as delusional as you are stupid," he snapped. "Give me Katya and I'll leave you and Millie alone. You can live your life as you wish, not looking over your shoulders anymore."

I didn't respond for a moment, giving the illusion I was thinking when I was really stalling. I glanced at Ripper on video call. He held up one finger, indicating they were close. Moments later he gave me thumbs-up. They were in.

"Fine, Victor. She wants to go with you, I'll bring her to you. But I want your word you won't harm her."

"You're in no position to demand anything, girl." He was angry now. Likely because he knew he was on the verge of getting what he wanted, but thought I was holding back his prize out of spite. "Now, bring her to me. I'll text you a location."

"I don't think so. We meet at time I set and place of my choosing. You will come alone, or I keep Katya with me."

"Time will depend on where. Regardless of what you might think, I can't be everywhere at once."

"Tell me where you are, and I'll choose reasonable place and time."

I thought I heard him growl in frustration, but he said nothing for several seconds. Then, he capitulated. "Fine."

Ripper gave fist pump. I'd led Victor exactly way we wanted him to go. He gave up his location without fight, so we didn't have to show our hand. At this point in time, Victor had no idea we knew exactly where he was.

I gave him address. It was bogus, of course, but I just needed him in vehicle team could control. I knew Victor well enough to know any vehicle he owned would have absolute latest technology. Including self-driving.

When call ended, I heard Wylde in background. "Got that son of a bitch! I'm in his phone and can hear everything he says while he has it on him. He's slumming it at a big-ass estate farm he paid a boatload of money to rent for a few weeks. Private and out of the way. I'm into every smart device on the place's personal network or the local cellular network. His phone is a satphone. He's using a Russian satellite network with that. It's the phone Venus just called. I can hear, see, and control everything around him."

"I've got Trucker and a team on the way to meet him," Ice said in a low voice. When we get there, can you drive his vehicle into the back of the trailer?"

"No sweat. I'm following your team, too. We'll get him loaded. You get him to Evansville and the party will begin."

"Sorry I'm gonna miss this one, Venus." Lemon grinned at me from where she stood next to Rocket. "I'm there in spirit. Cut off his nuts for me, ‘cause if I was there, that's the part I'd take." She gave me a bright smile and a big thumbs-up.

"I will most certainly take care of that for you, little sister." I chuckled.

"OK," Piston said as we ended the connections. "We've got a two-and-a-half-hour ride to the Tzars compound. You ready?"

"I've never been more ready in my life." I wrapped my arms around Piston, resting my head on his shoulder and turning my face up to press my lips to skin of his neck. "Let's go kill son of bitch."