by K. J. Dahlen
“Do you have anything to say?” he asked.
Kevy let the smirk she was holding in, show on her face. No fear, no disgust, just the smirk.
“Fine, the hard way it is,” he stated in a cold tone. He turned around and left the room.
Kevy was no stranger to wet t-shirt contests as that had been part of the stripper-rape case. She told herself that she would eventually dry off. She stood up from the cot to get the ice off her lap. Squeezing out the wet bedding, she then dumped the water off the cot. It was the only place she would be able to sit that hadn’t absorbed water.
No, she didn’t feel uncomfortable in her wet clothes. Of course, she didn’t and they reeked too. She swallowed some foul spit in her mouth as she fought not to puke. She went behind the screen, took off her clothes and draped them over the screen to dry out. Yes, he got his way, but the stupid ass, left her a towel? Her brow furrowed. Why would he leave that? It disconcerted her thinking. One of those damn puzzle pieces that drove her mad.
She walked out from behind the screen, dressed only in the bath towel. It was the only dry thing big enough for her to wear. She sat in the chair, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them to consolidate her body heat.
As Kevy was still trying to figure out a way to get out of the cage, the air conditioning came on.
Oh, now she knew. The towel would do her little good.
The puzzle piece then clicked into place in her mind as her shivering started in now. Hypothermia? She would die of this? Not by throat slit, bullet hole, but Hypothermia? She had to hope this couldn’t be as he killed the women with his blade.
Now another horrid thought crept in. Hypothermia brought sleep just before you died.
Kevy wanted to laugh and cry at the same time as she shivered with the cold air creeping in. He was a genius…God dammit, he was.
Andrey was nearly insane as they watched the little green dot track on the screen. He had all his weapons, his gear and he was so ready. His pulse was out of control and it took everything he had to suppress the scream in his head. He looked over at Viktor.
Viktor was looking back. He nodded. “Take Grisha and Adrik, keep your cell phone handy as we will lead you.”
That was all he needed to hear. He was out of the building and into an SUV in sixty seconds flat.
Adrik and Grisha could barely get in as he was already pulling away.
He set his cell onto the console and hooked it up to the Bluetooth. Tapping it, Viktor answered.
“The dot…” Viktor paused.
“What about it?” Andrey asked as he headed south where he knew the tracking was, last he saw.
“It disappeared,” Viktor stated.
Andrey held his breath then asked, “What?”
Ivan’s voice came on, “We don’t know what happened, but here are the last coordinates. 10 points longitude, 20 latitude, south, then north.”
Andrey then tapped that into the console and allowed the GPS to retrieve it and give instructions.
The ride was tense and silent. Andrey knew his friends were watching him. He fully realized, he had been on edge all day. He hadn’t said two words to any of them. They had all served together for all this time and they knew him better than brothers would.
Adrik looked perplexed.
Grisha looked curious.
“I love her okay?” he finally spoke.
They said not a thing.
He answered it and they simply nodded.
Finally, they got to an industrial area, out of the slums but close still.
They all got out.
“We approach this warehouse first,” Adrik suggested.
“We are out of fucking time,” Andrey seethed. “We split up.”
His two team members shrugged then nodded.
“Okay,” Grisha replied.
“But we stay hooked up,” Adrik added as he handed them comms.
Andrey shoved it into his ear and then tapped the mic as he walked toward the warehouse. “Testing.”
“Da,” came Adrik’s response.
“We are on,” Grisha came on after.
“You hail as soon as you find him,” Andrey said. “Or her.” His chest tightened. They needed to find her alive. He also needed to kill this bastard and he didn’t care how.
Chapter Thirteen
Suddenly, Kevy bolted upright. She had been dozing off. It was so cold and staying awake was so hard. When would Andrey come? Or would he? She looked around again. This cage was pretty far underground. So did the tracker even work down here… Her spirits plummeted. It was highly possible that they weren’t coming at all.
This meant she had to do this, somehow.
She took a deep breath, highly aware that she was being watched by the killer.
She had a plan and it was the only plan… she would fake falling asleep. Wait for him to come into the cage and then get him.
Could she do it though? Her teeth were chattering now and her skin looked pink. Sometime soon, it would turn blue, then she would be near death. She closed her eyes and pictured Andrey. Her mind burst with the memory of Andrey’s sexy body. Maybe if she could envision it enough her body would heat up? She intended to trace over every bit of last night. Every lick, every thrust, and every sexy groan he’d made. She would use the best moments of her life… to save her life.
It came alive in her mind as she stilled and even her teeth chattering faded. She mentally licked his skin now in a fantasy, not a memory, and this kept her busy for at least ten more minutes, but her body was giving in. It had its own clock its own dealings and the mind would not override that after a time.
And…her time was almost up.
Funny, how the cold could do this. Lull you into sleep. She kept her expression blank so she would look entirely asleep, all while she fought real sleep.
The room was utterly silent.
Now she was going over the FSS manual of warfare, hand to hand against a felon. Not boring but one of her favorites and it would be what she would use when and if he came into the cage to get her.
Then she heard it.
The door to the room creaked open.
The drowsiness had almost taken over but the door creak saved her. Kevy lay perfectly still, entirely frozen but awake. She could not feel her toes and wondered if she did survive, would she have any left. She could hear his steps coming. Closer and closer.
She fought sleep… it was coming for her—death was coming for her. Its cold talons reaching out, stretching toward her. Her mind went blank. Dammit, she was going under.
Then she heard metal clanging.
Her senses jolted her back.
Now she could hear him breathing. The ugly huffing sound of it came closer and closer.
A hand grabbed her arm, though she wasn’t sure of this, as she was entirely numb.
Then she was sure as his wretched breath puffed over her face and she smelled it. Sweeping her stiff limbs, she grabbed the hand and tried to maneuver herself to flip him off the cot.
He yelled and the sound of his voice rose to a shriek.
Kevy had him in a hold as she used her body weight in a wrestling submission move to break his arm. Finally, as her breathing was ragged and she was almost warmed up in fact—she heard a crack.
“Ahh… you biatch!” he screamed in pain.
Fury suddenly overwhelmed her as she thought of all those poor women he had terrorized and tortured then killed. Rage like she had never known added fuel to her strength. She rose up and used her weight to snap his arm and body against the cage bars.
Screaming in pain, he fought but she knew counters to every move he might make as she wrapped her body up around his.
Then she felt the nick of the knife he must still have had in his hand. It cut her at the waist though her body was so numb now that she barely felt it.
His fury now grew as he forgot his surprise, his pain, his broken arm and he shouted, as he broke loose while kicking at her. He stumbled back,
the knife still in his good hand while he was nearly frothing at the mouth.
Kevy didn’t care anymore either, she felt no fear, just rage and a yearning to survive. She swiftly picked up the towel that had slipped from her body and wrapped it around her arm to protect it. Her fingers were numb but she managed to do it.
He was gasping as spittle came from his bloody lip and his arm hung at a grotesque angle. “I will kill you now, whore.”
Nude, cold and ready to fight, Kevy raised her towel covered arm. “Come on fucker!”
He hesitated as he stared at her and sudden realization came into his cold, dark eyes. “You are not a…” He swallowed heavily and raised his knife.
“You fucking better believe I’m not. FSS Inspector Kevy Gavirla, the female that is gonna end you!”
Realizing all his plans had been ruined by this female cop, he yelled out mindlessly and ran toward her.
A shot rang out just as she raised her arm and was ready to defend.
The freakish killer froze as a hole appeared in his head and blood dripped down his nose. He fell forward and landed on the knife as it made a ripping flesh sound when he hit the cold cement.
With her nude body shaking and her arm slowly lowering, she stared down in surprise at the dead ghoul at her feet. “Andrey?” she called out, just before she fell forward as her knees gave out and everything went black.
Two days later…
Kevy had only needed a day in the hospital, she had suffered from hypothermia and dehydration. She took six stitches to her side but she had been bitching to get out after she’d slept for ten hours straight. Andrey had been there with her the entire time.
He had gotten called away though and he told her he would be back. The Council had called a final meeting to conclude the matter of the Magician killer.
Sergi had already informed them that before Anosk died, he told them that the killer was his brother. One he hadn’t seen or heard of for at least five years.
It all came out, how he had believed that Len his brother had taught Vacilli how to kill. The pain and misery of this truth seemed to make the old man give up and he died in the hospital despite the best treatment the world could provide to such a high member of the Bratva.
Andrey didn’t know how to feel about it. He settled it in his mind as just the way it unfolded and he tried to forgive, at least in his heart.
Now, he was baffled though and it wasn’t about the case. It was Kevy. She had seemed to pull away from him at the hospital. At first, he’d thought it was just shock and trauma then the meds. But his gut told him, it wasn’t.
She simply pleaded that she needed rest and she would be right as rain later.
He needed to talk to her but he decided to give her a couple of days.
Now it had been two days, and he had hunted high and low for her. He went to her flat to find that it was dark and empty. He even went to see Angus her partner. The man knew nothing. He called everyone she knew. Her bosses, everyone.
No sign of her.
So, he had to resort to having Adrik track her down using Bratva resources. Next, he got a text and what it said filled him with confusion.
Andrey,
I know you have been looking for me. I want you to know, I care deeply for you, but what we had cannot become more.
I wish for you to have a great life and I will never forget you.
Kevy
Disbelief flooded his mind. She had blown him off? He thought when he read it that maybe he should just leave and go back to America. Yes, he was pissed at first.
He then went out with Adrik, Ivan and Grisha and got immensely drunk the following night.
Then the next day, while hungover and lying in bed, he put more thought into it. More logic to the puzzle that was Kevy. This woman had felt more for him than just sex, he knew this deep down.
After Adrik gave him the hotel address where she had checked in, under an assumed name. Andrey was determined to face her and have this out.
She was his dammit. And he knew his heart belonged to her. If he could just talk to her, show her. And so he would. Talk was cheap though. He smiled as he got off the elevator and headed to her room.
He pulled out a device that he’d used many times while on missions. A card skipper. Slipping it in, he saw the green light as the door opened just a crack.
Chapter Fourteen
With boredom and disdain, Kevy surveyed the over-sized bed and realized the room she’d paid for might just drive her insane. There was nothing to do, but think and she’d had enough of that already.
She just had to wait it out until she knew the enforcers had left the country. She was so torn up inside. God, how she already missed his face, his voice, his scent. But they couldn’t have a future. Not a realistic one. She had never thought to have a steady man, a boyfriend even. It just never fit in with her life.
What am I doing here? Why did I run? She walked over to the mirror to take a look at the cowardly woman standing there gazing back at her. Yes, a coward. She could face madmen, beat anyone. But she had run from a man. It was true and she needed to face this. “I’ve never run from anything or anyone.” She raised her head as the door opened and light dipped into the room.
“You’re afraid,” he spoke from behind her.
She spun around. “Andrey! How did you find me?” His sudden appearance baffled her.
“Really, Miss Cop. I am an Enforcer. We have better intel than anyone in the world.” He narrowed his gaze at her. “Talk.”
“I just felt overwhelmed, so many things have happened at the same time.”
“So, you run?”
“I have never been in…”
“Been in what, Kevy?” A smile tugged at his lips. “In a fight. In trouble. In a hotel room?”
She refused to play and remained mute.
He grasped her arms and he waited, perhaps to see if she would out maneuver him again. “Are you going to tell me?” He spun her around and pushed her skirt down.
“Andrey?” Goose bumps rose on her arms while he lowered the straps of her top, his fingers smoothing over her skin.
Kevy willed herself to remain impassive. This man cannot be allowed to see that I need him, that I love him beyond all reason. I cannot be weak. I cannot give in.
He let her top and skirt drop to the floor then gathered her lace underwear in his fingers, towing her closer while lowering his face to her neck.
Her throat closed when she felt his hot mouth on her skin. Oh, ignoring this will be tough. Kevy raised her eyes to the ceiling.
He turned her to face the mirror as he unsnapped her bra. Then reached around her and stroked her nipples with his warm fingers.
Despite her resolution to remain unaffected, she trembled at the image of his hands in the mirror, passing over her rosy, erect nipples. Why don’t I stop him? I can. He could be on the floor on his back, looking up at me.
Andrey’s expression remained intense as he continued to play with them, squeezing and circling the hardening tips of her breasts with his fingers.
Kevy watched and grew wet at the intense expression his reflection wore. I see why. I want this. I want him. I don’t want him to stop.
The nipple play halted and she stood frozen, attempting to shove the disappointment away.
After a long moment, his sleek, bare muscled body rubbed against her back. “You are mine.”
Dammit, he was right. I am his. She shivered from his hot breath grazing her ear. Kevy held her breath as his hands smoothed over her stomach and trailed down her skin in a slow, sensuous journey, which ended with his fingers rubbing her clit. With unavoidable fascination, she continued to watch his physical seduction in the mirror.
“You’re so wet.” Andrey slipped a finger into her.
She could feel her own moisture sliding around his finger while she gazed at their reflections in the mirror.
“Tell me why you’re so wet,” he urged, his other hand passing teasingly over her sensitive nipp
le.
“Tell you?” She knew what he meant, but she was too scared to declare her love for this powerful man.
“Talk to me.”
“I can’t.”
Caressing her nipple, he increased his finger thrusts. “Just tell me.” He lowered his hot mouth to her neck again.
Oh, God! Kevy’s body shook helplessly. “I want...” She became breathless as he kept up the rhythmic actions and moisture trickled to her inner thighs while she panted.
“Tell me.” He continued his seductive prompting.
“I do want you, Andrey!”
Abruptly, he spun her around.
She stared into his intense eyes and drew in a surprised breath.
“Tell me, why you want me. Why did you run away from something that you want?” His eyes glinted angrily at her.
Kevy had never bared her soul to a man, or to anyone. Pride prevented her; her way of life prevented her. She remained mute, she just couldn’t trust herself.
Andrey glared at her while propelling her back to the wall. He tugged her closer to his hips. Smothering her breathless pants, he kissed her hard.
Kevy gloried in the bruising of her lips. God, he could kiss.
He tilted her hips and shoved into her.
“Ahh...” she moaned.
He pumped her hard and fast, her body slammed to the wall by his deep, powerful thrusts. “Oh, oh...” she panted while he grasped her hips harder and tilted her higher.
“I will fuck the truth from you then,” he growled in a furious tone.
She became so wet, she could even hear the smacking sound of him pulling in and out of her.
Grinding his cock into her, Andrey held her tightly to him, as though he held her pinned to the wall to prevent her escape from him, her escape from the truth.
The power that this man possessed overwhelmed her senses while the sensation of his hard, unrelenting shoves, made her feel plundered with a delicious satisfied capitulation. She wanted to open herself even more to him as she breathlessly held onto his shoulders.
Halting his grinds, he set her away from him, pulling out of her. “Do you see what we have?”