Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“You’d better keep it that way.”
He steps so close I can smell stale cigarettes on his breath.
“People who talk have accidents.”
Fear rushes through me so fast my vision blurs. My hand instinctively moves to my belly. His eyes flick down and narrow.
“You keep your mouth shut,” he says, tapping a finger under my chin. “Before it’s too late for you.”
He walks away and doesn’t look back. He just disappears between the rows of cars, blending into the world like nothing happened.
My knees buckle the second he’s gone.
I drop into the driver’s seat and slam the lock button so hard my finger stings. I fold forward, pressing my forehead to the steering wheel, shaking so violently I can barely breathe. My hands clutch my belly, instinctively protecting the life inside me even though logic tells me nothing can touch it yet.
Tears burn my eyes, but I force them back. I don’t know who to tell. I don’t know who to call. I don’t know who can help me. Because the one man I want to tell has ghosted me.
7
SAMUIL
Iget the call in the middle of a meeting. Davýd and I are going over ledgers with our accounting manager, trying to determine whether our last few shipments have been coming in a little light. I’m sure Lebedev’s men have been stealing from me; I just can’t prove it yet. But when Vlad calls me to tell me there’s a problem with the woman I now know is named Molly, I tell them I need to reschedule the meeting. Davýd watches me curiously, but I just dismiss him.
“Talk,” I command.
His voice is low and clipped, trained to give information as quickly as possible.
“Your girl was approached by a shady-looking character outside her school.”
My blood runs hot and electric in my veins.
“Who was it?” I ask, seething.
“His description matches the one you gave me of her attacker. He waited by her car for over an hour and was clearly threatening her. The good news is, he walked away without touching her, but she looked pretty shaken when he finally left.”
A sharp and ugly anger tears through my chest.
“Any idea what he said?”
“We couldn’t get close enough to hear what they were saying without revealing ourselves, but she sat in the car for almost ten minutes before driving off.”
I grip the edge of my desk so hard my knuckles whiten. I stare at the grain of the wood but see nothing except the image of her in that parking lot, frozen, scared, and cornered by a man who should have been dead the night he laid hands on her.
I should have finished the job. This is completely my fault. I should never have left him breathing. I should have followed protocol. But I broke every rule that night. I walked away to carry her through the rain. Now she’s paying the price for my distraction.
“Where is she now?” I ask.
“Home,” he confirms. “She locked the door behind her and drew the curtains. She hasn’t left since she got inside.”
Good. That means she’s frightened enough to be cautious. But fear won’t save her. Fear won’t stop a man who already crossed the line of violence and lived to stalk her again.
“Keep the car on her street. I want eyes on every entrance.”
“Understood.”
I end the call and turn slowly to find Davýd back in the room, eyeing me suspiciously.
“What happened?” he asks.
I sigh warily, knowing that I’m going to have to tell him eventually. I’ve kept the details of that night closely guarded. He was already so distracted handling Lebedev that I didn’t want to bother him with this, too. He’s a dog with a bone, though, and he won’t take kindly to being lied to. So I tell him the truth, sparing some details.
“Leaving him alive isn’t like you,” he says after hearing the sordid details. “Although saving some damsel in distress isn’t like you, either.”
I groan because he’s right.
“Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it?” I say. “I did do both of those things, and now he’s threatening her.”
Davýd swears under his breath, low and vicious.
“You want me to send some guys after him?” he offers, ever the faithful soldier.
“We don’t know enough about him,” I answer, anger sharpening every word. “I’m such a fucking idiot. I should have done more recon on him.”
“Don’t blame yourself for what you didn’t do,” Davýd says patiently. “Let’s focus on what you’re going to do next. You’ve got a tail on the girl. Add in a protection detail.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not enough,” I say, distracted almost to madness by the idea of her caught in this man’s crossfire.
He tilts his head. “Then what do you want to do?”
I inhale once, slowly and deliberately. “I want her brought to my apartment.”
His eyebrows lift in surprise. “You think she’ll come willingly?”