“What is that?” His eyes shot to the ink scrawled on my forearm, and I lowered it quickly but not too quick. Hopefully, he’d seen enough and would remember.
“Just a note to myself. Mind your own business.” I put as much nastiness into the reply as I could squeeze in. I had to. If they knew what I was about, it could be a disaster.
I strode off down the hallway with him staring at my back. He’d be there.
Chapter 19
Domestic Bliss
The blinds were up at the Cape Cod house located at the address on the instructions. It was a nice home on a quiet street. There was a reserve along their backyard, and I hid easily among the trees as I peered inside the large windows.
A couple in their early thirties sat on the couch, watching Lord of the Rings in their den. The guy’s karma wasn’t horrible, but he was a bit dull around the eyes. The girl, also my supposed target, was glowing. It made it all the worse.
It’s not like I was going to kill her; not for good, anyway. But the risk would’ve been easier to handle if she’d been all dark and dingy. What if I didn’t manage to get this worked out, would she end up dead by someone else’s hand later?
I couldn’t worry about it tonight. In approximately twenty minutes, something was going to happen. No clue what but something. That would be my opening to push things in the direction Malokin wanted. Hopefully, Fate would show up and undo whatever horrible thing I was about to set into motion.
The clock on the wall ticked along the slowest fifteen minutes of my life as I waited. I knew Fate would come, but where was he? What if he’d read the address wrong? What if he hadn’t read it at all and I’d misinterpreted the entire hallway scene?
Three minutes left on the clock when she reached for the remote and paused the movie. The light turned on in the kitchen as I saw the man open the back door. I ducked further into the shadows.
He shut the back door and walked around to the trashcans for garbage night. She was making popcorn in the kitchen. She was the one in trouble, so I had to keep my eyes on her, but the sound of the loud wheels of the can grinding against the pavement drew my attention back to him.
He pulled them to the corner and turned around. I looked back at the woman standing in the kitchen. She was choking.
He was just about to go inside, and I knew what was supposed to happen. I was supposed to stop him.
She couldn’t breathe. If I stopped him—or even simply delayed him—she’d die. If he went in, he’d save her.
The man’s hand was on the door and Fate still hadn’t arrived.
Kitty’s face in my mind urged me forward and I took a step toward him but froze. I couldn’t do this. Not for anyone. Not if I wanted to be able to live with myself. This was a decision that would define who I was, and I didn’t like the definition attached to the action.
The man walked into the house and I took a step closer. Not to stop him, but to help if he failed to save her.
“Why are you here?” Fate stepped forward to stand beside me. I hadn’t heard him approach, not even with my improved hearing. How long had he been there watching?
“Nothing. Was just in the neighborhood,” I said, for the benefit of whoever might be listening.
When Fate didn’t say anything, I looked at him. I was letting him in on what was happening and he knew. It wasn’t a lot. There wasn’t some great opening up of details and information, but it was acknowledged, and I guess it was enough for him. For now, anyway.
We stood next to each other as we watched the man in the kitchen giving her the Heimlich. Once, twice, then she was breathing. Their panic slowly turned into relief and then the type of elated laughter that’s born from escaping a close call.
As I watched their shared joy of surviving, I couldn’t stop feeling the dread of Kitty’s possible death that might accompany it. I hated that their happiness was causing me such dread.
I started to walk away, and Fate’s hand reached out, grabbing my wrist and stopping me. My eyes immediately shot to where we made contact, as if that were the only part of my body I was aware of anymore. Why did I react so strongly to his simplest touch?
“You touch me a lot,” I said it before I thought better of it. He immediately dropped his hand from me, as if trying to prove he didn’t have to touch me at all.
“No, I don’t.”
But he did. He touched me every time I saw him.
“Should I expect more of these meetings?” Fate asked, changing the subject.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I threw my hands up in the air, silently gesturing his guess was as good as mine as I did walk away this time.
There wasn’t a doubt that as soon as I got in my car, my phone in the glove compartment would be ringing. Time to give the devil his pound of flesh, if he hadn’t already taken it himself.
Chapter 20
Born to Fight
We stood in a different hotel suite, this one a block away from the first. It was equally elegant and the top floor again. Constantly changing things up had distinct advantages for him and made it impossible for me to find them.
“How did Fate know that you’d be there?” Malokin asked from where he stood, facing out the window. He watched my every move in the reflection.
“I can’t imagine.”
“But I think you can.” He turned back to me and walked over, propping a hip on a table, leaning just like Fate did. I rejected the thought immediately. He was nothing like Fate.
“We could have a beautiful relationship. Don’t make this ugly.” He picked up a random pen, letting it drop and bounce off the wooden surface.
“I’m telling you, I have no idea how he ended up there.” What did liars always say? Deny until you die? I might be taking that advice quite literally, today.
His eyes shot to where I had my arms crossed in front of my chest. “Did you wash all the ink off your arm yet?” He took a step forward and yanked my arm away from my body. I let him, without putting up a struggle, while I stared at his neck. He was so close. Could I take him on? Reach over and break it, ridding the world of this monstrosity. Risky or not, I’d try, if it weren’t for Kitty.
“I see you did.” He dropped my arm and I wanted to run in the bathroom and scrub where he’d touched me.
“I do things like this all the time. I’ve got a horrible memory.” I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger, as if implying, what’s a ditzy girl to do?
His lips pursed into a thin line. “You gave him your location.”
“Prove it.” My hands started shaking in anger, and the words came out before I thought about it. I wasn’t a meek person, ever. Certain pretenses were a real stretch.
“I guess it’s going to be the hard way, then.” He walked away from me toward the door to exit the suite.
He was leaving, and I had no idea what was happening to Kitty. If I asked, it gave him more control, but he had it anyway. I had to know. “What about Kitty?”
I heard him stop somewhere behind me. “We’ll call this your first infraction and leave her out of the repercussions for now.”
“Because the second she’s gone, so am I.”
“Don’t press the issue. You don’t know what I’m capable of.” He was inches away from my back now and I forced myself to remain calm.
“Are we done?” I didn’t bother turning around. I already knew it wouldn’t be this easy.
“I am. You’re not.”
I didn’t breathe right until I heard his steps retreat away from me.
He walked out and several new sets of feet walked in. The door closed. Instead of turning to see them, I kept staring straight ahead. It was an arrogant move—maybe even stupid—but I just didn’t care at the moment. I wouldn’t huddle in fear and I wouldn’t go down easy.
Three of Malokin’s thugs came and stood before me. They were all much taller than I and easily twice my weight. This wasn’t going to be pretty.
But they were human. I could tell by the dull skin and rank odor. That gave me an edge.
“Malokin said no marks on her face,” one guy with light brown hair said to his two companions.
“We allowed to rape her?” the other one asked.