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Across the room sat his desk and computer, but I thought it would be unwise to mess with them. He would probably find out I had touched them. Instead, I picked up a piece of paper on the table and unfolded it. It was a map of South Africa. He had drawn red circles in some areas. I checked the other places he’d marked, trying to figure out their connections but couldn’t.
So I moved on, inspecting the rest of the room, but there wasn’t much except for some clothes and hats. There were only a few more places left to hide things: the drawers and under the bed.
I pulled at the nightstand drawer, but it was empty expect for a few more books. Then I knelt on all fours and peeked under the bed.
My eyes narrowed at a big box. I drew it out and popped open the lid. It was full of files, black-and-white photocopies, and various official-looking reports. The stamp at the top pictured an eagle above the text:Central Intelligence Agency, United States of America. I flipped through the pages, my eyes scanning them ravenously. Andrei's name was listed again and again. They accused him of killing people—senators, mobsters, hedge fund traders. Most of them were killed the same way. “Gunshot wound to the head from a long-range sniper rifle.” Some of the mobsters I even recognized, such as Luka Rizzon, a higher-up in the sex trafficking ring my husband, that piece of shit, operated in.
The files almost slipped from my grip as I glanced over at the sniper rifle leaning against the wall. Memories of Luka’s death flooded me. It was a huge deal in the underworld. But nobody dared to avenge it. Why?
Because he was killed by the fucking “Eagle,” the deadliest assassin who ever walked this earth.
Nobody really knew who the Eagle was or why he killed the people he did. Everybody just knew one thing, Marcello included: never, ever land on his god-damn list or piss him off. Never. Ever. Period.
Everything started to make sense. The way he killed. Why he was so quiet and detached, and more so, why Andrei choose to live in an isolated cabin, far away from cameras or anyone who would rat him out.
Andrei was the deadliest monster known to the underworld and law enforcement alike.
The Eagle.
I ran a hand through my hair, thinking. I should have been scared... No, not scared. Fucking terrified! But for some reason... I wasn’t. Part of it was because I knew some of the people he’d killed. And frankly, if those stories about them were right, they deserved to die. Then there was also the way he promised me that he would never hurt me like Marcello did. There was an honesty in his eyes and tone I had never encountered before. I believed this deadly assassin. With heart and soul.
Then it hit me. The underworld was a small circle of elite criminals and their thugs. Sooner or later, Andrei would find out who my husband was and then he’d kick me out for sure. I would be on the run again. For how long this time before Marcello would find me and finally kill me?
I somehow had to convince Andrei to let me stay with him for a little while. Just long enough until I figured something else out—or… until Andrei decided to kill Marcello for me.
No other place on Earth would be safer than at the Eagle’s side. I had to make him let me stay. No matter the cost.Seriously.No. Matter. The. Cost.
I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, gathering myself. Then I put the file back into the box and pushed it under the bed again.
As I rose to my knees, I caught the sight of a white envelope that must have fallen out of the file. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. It had been opened, but there was no name or address on the front.
Carefully, I slid a photo out of the envelope. It was a wedding photograph, showing a man and a pretty woman in her twenties who looked a lot like Andrei. I flipped it over and read the writing on its back.
You were there with me, Andrei. You always are in my heart.
I put the picture back in its envelope and sat down on the bed to process everything. The wedding he couldn’t attend, the CIA files, and this nomad lifestyle.
No doubt, he was on the run.
I knew he was hiding something, but I would never have guessed he was one of the most notorious assassins the world had ever seen. And here I was, suddenly thrown into his life like a force that came to cause more problems. If Andrei truly was not only the Eagle but also on the run, then there was no chance in hell I could make him let me stay with him. Marcello was relentless at hunting me, but the CIA was a whole different ball game. No doubt Andrei saw me as a threat to his own survival. And Andrei wasn’t someone to piss off.
I placed the envelope back in the box and put everything how it was before. With a feeling of defeat, I walked out of the bedroom and took off his large shirt. After I folded it up on the couch, I retrieved my clothes from the bathroom, dressed quickly, and then looked around the cabin. Maybe it was better to take the passport and ticket and run again.
I slid my sandals on and sat on the couch to wait for Andrei, reaching for theAnna Kareninabook, when a knock on the door literally froze me with my arm stretched out.
“Hello?” a man’s voice said in a South African accent. I jumped for the gun and pointed it at the door. But then, I’d never shot anybody before, and if Marcello had sent more than one guy this time, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Hello!” the voice said in a firm tone.
My head was spinning, my heart racing against my chest like a wild stallion fighting to free itself. I was so close, so close to freedom. But now... it was time to run again.
The bathroom window!
I turned and thundered toward the bathroom door, almost taking it off its hinges when I pushed it open. The window was cracked, so I was able to push it wide open with ease and slip through it, but not without cutting my thigh on a metal hinge or something.
Without looking back, gun still in hand, I ran into the bush as fast as I could. The surrounding forest was so much brighter than last night. I briefly stopped to listen if the man was running after me, but he wasn’t, so I glanced across the bushes and grass, noting a path to follow. I put the gun into safety and slipped it into the back of my underwear under my dress. Then I started walking with fast steps, constantly listening to footsteps behind me.
I didn't know how far it was to town, but I didn’t want to think about it. I just needed to move away from the cabin as quickly and far away as possible. At this point I had no idea who had found us. Was it Marcello’s thugs or the fucking CIA for Andrei?
