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His atrocities included murdering women and children, his love of knives and machetes an established fact. His monstrous feats jumped leaps and bounds over anything the Kozlov family had ever done.
I shuddered just thinking about what level of violence he was planning given his escape from the supermax prison in Colorado. While Harry hadn’t found out but so many details, it would appear walking away from the high security facility had been easy and well planned.
Which meant he had help from the outside.
There were three dead guards, an explosion used as a distraction.
There wasn’t a state trooper from Colorado to New York who wasn’t on the lookout for him.
And there was no doubt I was on his hit list.
I’d driven out of the city, wanting to find some respite, a quiet place to figure out what the hell I should do and where I should go. A part of me wanted to ask for Alexei’s help, which was completely ridiculous. The vendetta Sergei had was also against the entire Kozlov family. It had never been determined why. Vladimir Kozlov, the family’s patriarch, hadn’t said a word, neither had a single other member of the family. They’d refused to testify, but their statements weren’t needed. Sergei had been caught with a specialized saber in his hand after carving up one of the victims.
A headache had formed behind my eyes, my mind still trying to process how the hell the man could have escaped. I rubbed my forehead as I pulled to a stop at a red light, trying to keep from hyperventilating. I’d been offered twenty-four-hour protection, but at this point, I wasn’t ready to go into lockdown mode. At least not until I was certain he was spotted in New York. Then again, my decisions the last week had been mostly irresponsible.
What I was certain of is that the man was prepared to make good on the threats he’d made in open court.
“When I get out, and I will get out, I’m coming for you, doll face. I’m going to take my time with you, tasting every inch of your body before carving it up for dinner.”
It hadn’t been the blatant words he’d issued that had given me the nightmares. It had been his laugh. After eight years, I could still hear the deep baritone in my ears, his heavy accent making it difficult for anyone who wasn’t standing in front of him to understand what he was saying.
When he’d dragged his tongue across his lips, the suckling noise finally yanked out the terror inside. He’d seen it. He’d fed off it. That had been the exact moment I’d promised myself that no matter how horrible the man or the situation, he would never see me frightened again.
What a crock of shit. I’d failed myself with Alexei. Or had I?
God. When I heard a series of horns behind me, I jumped. After going a few more blocks, I finally turned into the parking lot of a quaint strip mall. At least I could sit here and get my shit together. Maybe I could go and stay with Amelia or Jessica. No, that would be placing their lives in danger.
I still couldn’t get ahold of Gregory, although Harry had assured me my ex had been warned.
There was something strange about the way Harry had presented the situation, both he and Frank tight lipped about why Gregory had taken a leave of absence. That added to my belief Gregory had been involved with something more nefarious than just fucking other women.
That’s when I’d grilled them, finally learning the truth.
Everything was spiraling out of control, Gregory not the man I’d known years before.
Why did I have the feeling I’d been played by all parties involved? Goddamn, that pissed me off. I was an intelligent woman. Why hadn’t I acted on the red flags long before this?
Because you wanted to believe in the man.
Once. That had been a long time ago.
Now I really was all alone. After resting on the steering wheel for a few minutes, I finally lifted my head, noticing a coffee shop. Caffeine. That’s exactly what I needed. After grabbing my purse, I climbed outside, the feeling of suffocation overwhelming. The jacket had to go. I headed inside, glancing over my shoulder twice then laughing at myself. There were dozens of state troopers on the interstates and other roads into New York, roadblocks established in a few locations. There was no chance in hell the man was getting in.
Or so I prayed.
I ordered a tall cup of coffee and moved to a table away from the window, trying to calm my nerves. At least the brew was fantastic, the taste exactly what I needed. Within seconds, I felt stronger. I’d stay at a hotel under an assumed name for a while until he was captured. That way there would be always dozens of people around me. All I had to do was grab a few things from my house, a couple of books, and I’d check in and pamper myself.
My breathing calmer, I was ready to get settled when I felt a presence near me. I looked up, ready to reach into my purse to grab my weapon, but the face of the man smiling down at me was one I didn’t recognize. While he was impeccably dressed in a tailored suit and crisp white shirt, somehow his attire didn’t fit the crawling mass of ink covering his bulging neck or the single scar under his one eye.
In his hand was a silver envelope complete with a huge stick-on red bow. Instantly, my skin prickled, my heart racing. However, the man standing in front of me looked nothing like Sergei Politoff.
“May I help you?” I asked, darting another look at the file in his hand.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he answered. There was no hint of an accent, none, and I’d been around enough criminals to instinctively know when they were attempting to hide their identity.
“That’s fine.”
“I was asked to give the most beautiful woman in the store this gift. Without hesitation, I knew it was you.”
