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“Why can’t you just tell me where she is? All of this cloak-and-dagger stuff is bullshit. How do I know you’re not leading me away from where I need to be? How do I know you’re not lying to me because you’re Sergei?”
A deep-throated laugh filled the night air. “Unlike your boyfriend, you have a great imagination. I can’t tell you because I don’t know. That’s why I need you. I’m giving you the information I have and hoping you can prove my theories true. If they’re not, if I’m wrong . . . well, I don’t even like to think about that. I don’t particularly want to live in that world. So do what you do and make it all nice and shiny for me, Lara Armstrong. I’ll contact you again.”
She took the paper and secured it in her pocket. She wouldn’t waste time studying it until she was safely home. “I still have questions.”
He’d already turned away. “Of course you do. That’s why you’re perfect. You won’t stop trying to solve the puzzle. Just make sure you’re using the right pieces. Now hurry back or that man of yours is sure to get upset. I don’t think you’ll like him when he’s upset. People tend to die around Connor Sparks. Ask him what he was doing that night in the Crawford Building a few weeks ago.”
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Time was up.
Damn it. He disappeared into the shadows and she had to go.
Before she could shove her phone back into her pocket, a text came through. Unknown. A chill went down her spine.
She opened it though she knew she should wait.
I warned you to get rid of him. This blood is on your hands.
Nausea threatened. She looked out into the night. It had seemed so peaceful before. The informant had told her the Russians were after her. The Russian mob? That part made sense, but it also made sense that they wouldn’t want her dead. She couldn’t lead them to Natalia if she was cold and in the ground. Why would they start this slow, mental torture? Why did it feel so very personal?
She paused on the top step. Was her would-be killer out there? Had he followed her and sent that text? Pure primal instinct sent a shiver through her. He was a hunter and she was prey. He wanted her blood on his hands and she was a sitting duck until she got back to Everly.
Run. Something deep inside her told her to take off and not look back. It was the same little voice that had told her to run as a child, to try to get to safety. She needed to stay in the light. He would be in the darkness, watching and waiting for her to make a mistake.
Her heart was racing as she pounded down the steps. She would make for the car and Everly. Once there, she could take a deep breath and think about everything the informant had said. With every word, she felt as if he’d sent her world spinning a little faster. Even now she wasn’t sure where she’d landed. What had he meant about Connor? How did he even know who Connor was? Was that his real name? Lara knew she’d heard it before but where?
She ran. Why the hell were there so freaking many stairs? They seemed to never end.
She got to the bottom and a figure stepped out in front of her.
Lara stopped and fell back because she recognized him. The homeless man from earlier, the one with the hood. She saw the glint of metal in his hand and opened her mouth to scream.
* * *
Hiding in the lobby of Lara’s building, Connor stared at the elevator, willing it not to open. Let her stay in her place. Let her be real and honest. If she would just prove him wrong, he would spend the rest of the evening making it up to her. She would never know he’d been suspicious, but she would get a night of pleasure she’d never forget.
The elevator dinged and his heart fell.
Lara walked out dressed in all black. She strode through the lobby and toward the back exit.
Connor touched his earpiece. “She’s on the move.”
Dax’s voice came over the Bluetooth. “Damn, man. I’m sorry to hear that. I’m approaching the door. It’s been a while since I picked a lock. I hope I’m not rusty. If I get caught doing this, you better be down to bail me out ASAP. I am not spending the night in jail.”
“I promise, but I happen to know you’re fairly safe. I checked earlier today while Lara was showering. The units around Freddy’s are all empty. Two congressmen are back in their districts for the weekend and Mrs. Sullivan is gone for the next two weeks visiting her grandkids.” Maybe Lara hadn’t known. Or maybe she had and simply planned to stall him to coincide his break-in with her rendezvous. He’d been getting in good with the elderly couple next door. They liked to gossip. They also liked Lara. They talked incessantly about how wonderful she was.
Did they know she liked to lie?
“I’m taking the bike if it looks like she’s not going on foot.” Connor pulled the hood to his jacket over his head.
He’d traded assignments—and coats—with Dax, worried that Lara might recognize his jacket. Dax was bigger and broader than he was. The jacket hung off him, the hood drawing down over his eyes. He pulled the keys to Dax’s motorcycle and headed out of the building. He eased around the corner. Even if he lost sight of her, he could track her using her phone. He touched his own, making sure the connection was working and that she’d brought it with her. Sure enough, there was a little blue dot marking her movements.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Won’t your fiancé be upset?” Lara’s voice was quiet, but he could hear her speaking to someone at the other end of the alley.
“I can handle it,” a familiar voice replied.
Son of a bitch. Connor knew they’d been plotting. Everly Parker was waiting for Lara.
“I think in this case everyone will agree it’s better I go with you than let you go alone,” Gabe’s fiancée continued. “We have fifteen minutes to make the meeting, then another fifteen to get back here and have you safely ensconced in your apartment. To be safe, you shouldn’t talk to our CI for more than ten minutes, in case we run into traffic. Set a timer on your phone so you don’t get lost in conversation. You remember what questions we agreed on?”
They kept speaking but he was busy texting Gabe. There was no way he was keeping quiet about this.
Your future wife is a bad fucking influence and if she gets Lara killed, we’re going to have trouble.
They were obviously using Everly’s car. He would have to find out what she was driving.
His cell trilled as he shoved the helmet on his head.
My future wife is sleeping at the hotel.
He smiled with savage satisfaction. Check again, buddy.
She’s with Lara. What’s she driving? I’m going to follow and make sure they don’t die.
Lara needed to live long enough for him to get his hands on her. If anyone was going to murder that woman, it was him.
Lexus SUV. White. Shit, man, I’m so sorry. Where do you need me?
He switched over to his locator app and discovered Lara was moving west on Independence. He revved the Harley and took off after her.
“I can hear you,” Dax said into his ear. “You better not kill that bike. I know the rest of you might have come into your billion-dollar trust funds or blackmailed daddy and hit it big on the stock market, but my mother is still alive. That bike set me back more than a freaking house. Don’t dent it.”
It was good to know he had his friends with him. “I’ll try not to dent your bike. Where the hell is she going?”
“Try not to dent your girlfriend, either.”
He resisted the urge to claim she wasn’t his girlfriend. Dax knew better. At least he wasn’t alone in the deceptive girlfriend column. “She’s got a partner in crime. She’s with Everly.”
A whistle came over the line. “Nice. Gabe is going to be pissed. Look on the bright side. Lara probably isn’t heading out for a booty call with another man.”
He pulled in behind them and revved the engine just a little. Sure enough, Lara turned in the passenger seat. She was probably afraid since someone had tried to murder her the last time she’d been followed by a motorcycle. Good. He wanted her afrai
d. After he got through with her she would wince every time she heard one of the things. And was Dax high? “You thought she was seeing another man?”
“The thought didn’t occur to you? I thought that was what we were afraid of.”
