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Chapter 12
Gregor
The heat between Alissa and I could have warmed the winter night by itself, but I couldn’t respond to it. She was exhausted, overwrought, full of questions, and worried.
Yet what she had said, what she had asked was clear. She agreed with what I was doing more than I’d expected, but that agreement itself scared her. She didn’t like having a dark side. She didn’t like understanding what it was like to be satisfied by an enemy’s humiliation, their death.
I left her curled around her—our—daughter in my guestroom, sleeping so deeply that a shout might not have woken her up. My whole body wanted to join her in that bed, curl around her in turn, and keep her safe. But I knew my desires went beyond that, and she was in no shape. So, I left her and our child locked behind layers of security and went out to do my duty.
It was time for the remaining Ivanovs to pay the piper.
I got into my car, and was about to turn the key in the ignition, when Sergei called me.
“Hey,” he said, a hushed urgency in his voice. “How is it going over there?”
“I reunited Alissa with her daughter and told her as little as possible. They’re resting someplace safe now. What have you got for me about the Ivanovs?”
“Save that for a minute. That Alissa, she’s got a one-bedroom in Little Village, right?”
I stopped dead, hand still on the key. Christ, Vasily’s been having him keep tabs on me. I should have guessed that, especially since I had a personal stake in the matter. If my judgment slipped, the organization had to be protected.
It still felt invasive, though at least Sergei was good enough to inform me. “Yes, yes, she does.”
“Well, there’s a guy surveilling her place. Big, black hoodie, nondescript rental car. Probably armed.”
“Fuck. Any idea who he is?” My first guess was one of the Ivanovs looking to grab Michelle back, or shoot me for taking her. But would they know? The police had found some charred remains, but the investigation into the explosion was ongoing, and they hadn’t released the number of victims.
“No idea, but whoever he is, he’s agitated and paranoid. I figured you would want to know before you sent her home with her kid. I’m running the plates now to see where he rented it. Once I crack their CCTV, I can get his face and an ID for you.”
“Good. You thought right, and thank you. Are you there now?”
“Not for much longer. Vasily wants me across town.”
That didn’t sound right, not for the first time this evening I wondered if my pakhan was losing his touch. “Even though you just told him there’s a prowler watching the same place you are?”
“Eh, I figured you love this girl, you don’t need any help ripping a guy threatening her into stew-sized chunks.” His tone sounded almost artificially light. I knew he was dubious about the unexpected order too. But duty was duty.
“Thank you for telling me.” By which I meant cluing me in that he was being sent to watch me, and Alissa, as much as letting me know about the prowler. “You think it’s one of the remaining Ivanovs? Or someone they hired?”
“Definitely not a professional. He might have the skills, but he’s unbalanced. Agitated. Not in control. That’s one of the reasons I noticed him so fast.”
“And he’s definitely after Alissa?”
“I caught him putting a tracker on her car.”
Thank God she was safe at my place with this lunatic around.“I’ll deal with this. Go see what Vasily wants across town.”
We hung up and I started my car, a scowl deepening on my face. It seemed like the Ivanovs didn’t know when to quit. Well, if they were so eager to die of their stupidity, I would oblige them.
I parked a block away from Alissa’s apartment and walked over, keeping my eye out for Sergei’s prowler. I caught sight of him pacing back and forth in front of the driveway to her building’s underground parking lot before he stepped back into its shadowed maw. Sergei was right. He didn’t act like a pro. He acted like a serial killer working himself up to find a new victim.
I moved up on the garage entrance from the side, concealing myself behind a snow-covered bush next to it. I could hear the man muttering to himself from my hiding place as he came back out to pace some more.
“Bitch. Block my calls. Threaten to tell my boss. Who the fuck does she think she is?”
I frowned. Could this stalker have nothing to do with the Ivanovs? He sounded like a rejected lover. I watched him, timing things carefully. When he turned in his pacing to walk to the other side of the garage entrance, I emerged and slipped quickly up behind him, pressing the muzzle of my pistol into his back.
“Don’t move,” I growled. He froze. “What’s your business here?” I demanded.
