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Which was all well and good for the people who’d already found their way, but that didn’t mean things would work out for her. She cared for Nikolas. If she’d allow herself to think the word, she might even admit that she loved him.
But she’d leaped too easily with Ferdy and was now paying the price.
/> She certainly didn’t think Nikolas was a bad man, so on some level the comparison wasn’t a fair one. And yet at the same time, her bigger fear was that the feelings she had now were something of a mirage. A shiny package of emotion that was nothing more than a box of glitter.
Quickly opened, and even more quickly dissipated.
Nikolas barreled into the director’s office. “Come on down to security. There’s something I want you to see.”
* * *
Nikolas took in the authoritative stance of Spencer Colton, sergeant for the MVPD, his faithful K-9 companion by his side, and hoped like hell the man could work off the slim information they had in order to put out an APB.
Spencer and Marlowe hugged and then Marlowe made quick introductions between Spencer and Nova, giving the two of them a chance to finally meet. Spencer’s work on Ace’s case had kept him busy the past few weeks and he was one of the few members of the Colton family whom Marlowe hadn’t yet wrangled for a visit to meet their newest family member.
His dog, Boris, also took an immediate shine to Nova. The canine seemed to sense her anxiety and had taken up a spot beside her, refusing to move.
“I’m sorry we’re meeting like this, Nova.” Spencer was calm and caring, but Nikolas sensed the impatience quivering beneath the surface. “Slater filled me in on what you think is going on but I’d like to hear it in your own words. Both what happened this morning and then everything you know on Ferdinand Adler.”
Nova recounted each piece to Spencer. Nikolas had been impressed with the MVPD lead’s help on the AAG situation, but his reassuring manner with Nova reinforced every good thing he’d ever heard about Spencer Colton. He asked questions confidently and without agitation, leaving them all with a sense that he had things firmly in hand.
“And you’ve had no contact with him since that day you left New York?” Spencer asked.
“No.” Nova shook her head. “None at all. I’ve deliberately lived in a way that I’d be hard to find, too. No credit cards. No bank accounts. I’ve broken contacts with my former job and all friends. I ran and disappeared.”
Until a few weeks ago.
Nikolas considered that, shocked to realize that the first moment Nova had attempted to put down roots, Adler had found her.
Spencer shifted everyone’s attention to the large bank of security screens filling one of the walls of the room. After a few taps on the control center keyboard, images filled several screens. He’d preset several camera captures and various angles were up on screen. Although it was hard to see anything from the side of the SUV, the tinted windows obscuring the driver to nothing more than a profile, the last camera in the portico got a clean shot of the driver through the front window.
“That’s him.”
Spencer moved into action, directing one of his officers positioned at the door to put out the APB. “Confirm that we have every reason to believe the suspect is armed and dangerous.”
* * *
Ferdy had always known that waiting to hear the sound of sirens meant you were too late. It was why he’d barely gone a mile from the squatty medical building when he dumped the SUV. He’d get farther on foot and he already had another car waiting for him in one of the parking lots in Mustang Valley. It was time to put the second part of his plan in motion.
He’d watched enough this week to know Nova would come back to town with that PI. He’d already set a little surprise for the guy at the office and once he sprang that, it wouldn’t be hard to snatch Nova away.
And then he’d be done with her.
The baby had given him some pause, he wasn’t gonna lie. The idea he might have a son was an awfully powerful motivator to keep her alive. At least until she had the brat. But in the end, he knew it was too risky. She’d formed some attachments here. Which meant people would be out looking for her and he didn’t have time to wait around. He needed to get back to New York.
And what was he going to do with a baby anyway?
Nope. Better to make a clean break and be done with it all. She’d been a blip in time. A relationship that had taken a turn for the worse. End it all and start fresh. His future was way too bright to get bogged down in a past that had been nothing but trouble.
The sirens got louder before passing him in a blur, racing back toward the lab.
The police didn’t seem to pay him any notice and that was by design. He had dressed in the same vacation gear he’d seen people around town wearing. Shorts and hiking boots as well as a T-shirt and hooded sweatshirt for climbing up into the cooler mountain air. A standard-issue backpack was slung over one shoulder, full of regular old hiking equipment. He’d bought it all a few towns away, satisfied that he’d look the part, even if he felt like a total loser. Who cared about this crap? He got all the fresh air he needed on a walk through Central Park and he had zero interest in climbing a mountain. But the hiking gear might come in handy. The rope seemed pretty sturdy and he was going to need something to keep Nova still. And the small pickax he’d picked up could make a wicked sticker if he needed extra backup for his gun.
While he’d like nothing more than to make her suffer, he simply didn’t have time. He’d get the information he needed out of her, enjoy scaring her as he did, and then get rid of her.
Revenge was sweet, but the money and prestige waiting for him back in New York were sweeter.
It was time to get this done.
