“We got word old man Yegor turned up in upstate New York, yesterday. He was seen exiting a gas station restroom.”
“By who?”
“An off duty cop. He thought he recognized Yegor and when he went on duty last night, he checked the wanted postings.”
“Damn. Why didn’t he check right away?” Will’s jaw locked.
“He was off duty and coaches his son’s football pee-wee team. He was on the way to a game.”
Will couldn’t blame the cop for having a life. Didn’t he just not answer his phone because he was busy building his own? “Where was Yegor headed?”
“The cop followed him a bit. He said he got onto the NY expressway and headed south.”
At least the guy had followed his gut and got some worthwhile information. “Gorgon and Donnie are still in New York then.”
“I’d bet my paycheck.”
“Something is up if the old man came back.” The hair on the nape of Will’s neck pickled. “Something big.”
“Yeah, that is what we were thinking. So what do you want to do?”
“Let the guys in New York know. Circulate Yegor, Donnie and Gorgon’s picture again in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Include Maryland and Virginia too, just in case they moved south a bit. We can’t do much more until one of them is sighted again.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Yeah. Request a twenty-four guard on Gary’s room and his family.”
“You think they’d go after them?”
“Like I said, something big is stirring and they might assume Gary knows where we’ve stashed Nicole and Luka. If the commander gives you a hassle about man hours, tell him I don’t give a fuck and if he doesn’t want me leaning over his desk, he better do approve the guards.”
Aden chuckled. “I’ll tell him that first.”
“In the meantime, I think I’m going to stay here in Logan’s Summit and keep an eye on Nicole and Luka.”
“Need help. I mean I wouldn’t mind watching over her.”
Will rolled his shoulder at the wince of jealousy stabbing him in the back. “You just stay where you are, kid. I’ve got this end covered.”
“Nice end.”
Will’s hold on the phone tightened. “Hey, show some respect.” He disconnected without another word. He couldn’t wait until Gary was back and sent a prayer to heaven he won’t nail Aden for his off-color comments beforehand. He knew the kid didn’t mean anything by them. Just man talk, but they still rubbed him the wrong way.
The bathroom door opened and he studied Nicole’s face, searching for how much of his conversation with Aden did she hear?
“Do you have to go in?”
“What?”
“To the office. Has something happened?”
He shook his head. There was no reason to get her upset when he didn’t know what was going on. “No. Aden was just checking in. He’s fairly new to the team and just got nervous when I didn’t answer.”
“Oh, so nothing new on Gorgon?”
“No. All is quiet. Maybe Gorgon decided to take a hike.”
Her chuckle was filled with resentment. “Yeah, right. You don’t know Gorgon.”
“Look, let’s not go there.” He laced his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “I just had the most amazing night of my life and I don’t want to think about anything else.”
She melted against him. “Yeah, it was pretty nice.”
“Just pretty?”
She titled her head side to side as if weighing her thoughts before saying, “Okay, nice.”
He squeezed her. “Just nice?”
“Amazing.” She smiled. “Let’s do it again.”
“Tonight. After we get the work done around here.”
Her brow arched. “You’re staying?”
“No. I’m coming back.” He kissed her nose. “One question though.”
“What?”
He let her go, knowing he could get punched. “What’s for dinner?”
She stood straighter and crossed her arms over her chest. “Depends what you’re cooking?”
“Huh.” He splayed his hand over his heart. “I’ve got to do all the repairs and still make dinner.”
“Okay, I’ll help, but later, after Luka is in bed…” She walked up to him and wound her arms around his neck.
His scalp tingled as she combed her fingertips through his hair. “Yeah.”
“I get to do to you what I want.” She said each word between carefully placed kisses.
“Hmmm. You got it, babe.”
~~
Chapter Thirty
The doors to the bedroom suite opened and crashed against the wall, startling Gorgon from a sound sleep. He scrambled and dropped off the bed’s edge, still in a stupor. A moving target was much harder to hit.
His guard’s name edged his tongue, but Gorgon didn’t call out. If the intruder was here, in his bedroom, his man was already dead. Instead, he huddled against the mattress for protection and skimmed the bed beneath the hotel’s plump pillow for his Glock while feverishly blinking away the sleep from his eyes. His movements felt sluggish. He shouldn’t have taken the sleeping pill last night, but memories of his Katrina had haunted him.
His fingers found the gun and swiftly he took aim and squeezed the trigger a fraction before Donnie cried out. “Gorgon, stop. It’s us.”
Gorgon eased off the trigger and focused past the barrel of his gun. His father stood in the center of the double door threshold with his own Glock pointed at him. The coldness of Papa’s stare left no doubt in Gorgon’s mind that his father, if given no choice, would’ve killed him out of self-preservation and for the good of the family. Everything Papa did was for the good of the family.
Gorgon released the breath lodged behind the lump in his throat and lowered his gun. His knees shook—not from fear, he didn’t fear death. They wobbled on the high of adrenaline while he stood to his full height.
Papa’s nose wrinkled.
Gorgon followed the line of Papa’s stare to the long red scar which ran from his breast bone into the hairs of his manhood and the scars which marked his side where drainage hoses had been inserted. Apparently his father was appalled at the state of his body. Fuck him.
Gorgon squared his shoulders and met his father’s scowl. “What are you doing here?”
The old man nodded toward the gun hanging at his side.
Gorgon tossed the weapon on the bed.
Papa slipped his gun into his belt holster. “I came to take you and Donnie home.”
“Donnie can go, but I’m staying.”
Concern tightened Donnie’s features and Gorgon wondered if his brother had called their father.
“Leave us,” Yegor said to Donnie and Donnie left the room without a glance in his direction.
He was to stand alone against the old man. Gorgon snatched up his sweat pants he’d thrown across the chair the night before and stepped into them.
“I have given you the time you asked for,” Yegor said in an even tone. “It’s done. You will return home with us.”
Gorgon yanked the strings at his waist band and tied them off. “I am not a child, Papa, that you can order me.” He grabbed and slipped his tee shirt on.
“No. You are a man who is crazy.” Yegor thumped his head with the heel of his palm. “Katrina has disappeared. Three months have gone by since you’re out of the hospital and started your hunt, and still you have not found her.”
“I will find her. It took time to set things up. The ads have been out for only two weeks.”
“Ads,” Yegor chided and frowned. “No one looks at those things and in the meantime, you hide. Look at you. You are as pale as a babe’s behind. You can’t walk down the street and feel the sun on your face for fear you’ll be spotted by the Marshals who hunt you. The woman is not worth your life.”
“And my son?” Gorgon’s hands curled into fists. The pressure on his neck veins caused his temples to throb. “What about his
life? My blood. Your blood. Your father’s blood runs through Luka’s veins. He is my son and I want him with me.” He pounded his fist against his chest.
“I know your pain.”
“Do you? How could you? Donnie and I, we are here.” Tasting the bitterness of his father’s betrayal lacing his tongue, Gorgon turned his back on the old man and walked to the window. The sun was a sliver of yellow breaking through the murky, gray sky above the Atlantic Ocean. Somewhere out there, Katrina and Luka slept soundly. She thought she was safe. She thought she had seen the last of him. She was wrong.
He inhaled deeply and turned to face his father. “Take Donnie and go. I’m staying and when I have Luka back, then maybe, I will come home.”
“You’re being a fool, my son.”
“I am your son.”
Yegor’s jaw tightened. He turned on his heel.
“Tell mama…”
The old man stopped but did not turn to face him.
“Tell her I love her and to expect us for the Christmas holiday.”
Before the sun hovered above the lowest of rooftops in lower Manhattan, his father and Donnie left the suite and then from his twentieth floor window, Gorgon watched while his father’s limo pulled out and disappeared around the corner.
~~
Chapter Thirty-one
Will gasped for air and fell to the mattress next to Nicole. For three weeks, they’d tumbled into bed at every opportunity when he was in town, and that they could steal while Luka was out of the house or fast asleep. Today, Luka was at a friend’s birthday party for a couple of hours. At first, the sneaking around had been part of the thrill of being with Nicole. Now, doing so was a pain in the ass. “You’re going to kill me,” he managed to say between dragged breaths.
Nicole’s breasts rose and fell in unison with his chest. In the afternoon sun, her dusty rose areolas called to him and even though he just spent himself, he felt his groin tighten.
She darted her tongue across her lips, causing his pulse race.
“Killing you wasn’t in my plan.”
Will wished they could be open about their relationship. He wanted every guy in town to know she belonged to him. He brushed a lone strand of hair off of her cheek. “What is your plan for me?”
Her finger latched onto his. “I just want to make you so happy you won’t even think of looking at another woman.”
“There are no worries there, sweetheart. I don’t want anyone but you.”
“Seriously?”
He shifted on his side and stared into her gorgeous eyes. “Have I ever lied to you?”
She pulled the sheet over her breasts and wearing a smirk said, “Not today—that I know of.”
Through the sheet, he pinched her nipple a little. “Never.”
“Ouch.” She laughed. “Okay, never.”
He rolled over and sat up.
“Where are you going?”
“The john.” He pointed to the condom sheathing his penis. “Want to come with me?”
“Sorry. No. I like my privacy. I’ll give you yours.”
“You want to go first?”
“No. I’m fine.” She snuggled under the comforter. “I’ll keep the bed warm. Hurry back.”
Will crossed the room.
“Nice ass,” she called after him.
He looked over his shoulder. “It’s all yours.” And so was his heart. The thought smacked him across the head. And, either the comment hit Nicole too or she saw his reaction to realizing he was totally in love with her because her smile faded from her lips and a mixture of joy and fear sparked in her eyes.
“Be out in a minute.” He closed the bathroom door behind him and then flipped the water on, and with his hands on the counter stared into the mirror. He was in love with Nicole. He loved Luka like a son. He didn’t ever want to give them up. Ever.
How could he ask her to stay with him without giving her the opportunity to experience life first? He couldn’t. That decision had to be hers and by the startled look she’d just given him, he had just scared the hell out of her.
What was he going to do? He asked himself as he washed up. He had to be cool, as if they were just having fun. He couldn’t push her, and somehow he had to make her love him.
***
A whirlwind of emotions spun through Nicole. She pressed her hands over her eyes and then combed them back through her hair. She trapped the joy threatening to escape her. Had she heard Will right? Did he really mean his ass belonged to her? Did he mean he was hers to keep forever?
She closed her eyes and relaxed onto the pillow and allowed herself the dream of Will, Luka and her becoming a real family. Maybe, one day, they’d have a baby together.
Her hands curled into fists over the comforter’s edge. Why was she setting herself up for heartache? Will hadn’t meant anything but that she could have sex with him anytime she wanted. Yes, he was attracted to her. He’d said as much. And yes, he said he didn’t want her to see other men, but that was a guy thing. He didn’t want to share what he had going on here.
She stared at the bathroom door. She wished he’d hurry. Every second Will was in there, doubts piled on top of her heart.
The bed groaned while Nicole pushed up on the mattress and repositioned herself, fluffing the pillows. She couldn’t just come out and ask him if he was serious about her—if he was falling in love with her, could she?
She slid out from under the comforter. She needed to get dressed. If they were going discuss this, she wanted the conversation to be face to face and them on their feet.
Nicole slipped on her clothing before the door opened. Facing Will, she said, “We need to talk.”
~~
Chapter Thirty-two
The mid-sized sedan issued to her by the agency was nothing shiny and new. The car had a slight dent in its rear passenger panel and the metallic gray paint was sun-blasted to a flat shale color, but it was clean inside the heater blasted like a furnace, and ran like a charm. The vehicle fit her persona perfectly—a single mom with more lint in her pockets than money.
Over the past four months, she’d become a faceless single mother who made ends meet working as a clerk in a gift shop. With the exception of tumbling into bed with Will, her days were filled with normal activities like heading into a grocery store and arguing with Luka about sleepovers at his friend’s house.
Pulling into a parking spot at Rex’s Grocery, Nicole jammed the vehicle into park and climbed out. She hurried around the front of the van and opened the rear door just as Luka unsnapped his seat belt and his toes touched the floorboard.
“Put your game under the front seat please. Out of sight.” Will had given the DS to Luka as a birthday present and the device immediately became an extension of her son’s hand.
She entwined her fingers with Luka’s the moment he jumped from the van and they turned into the scent of fresh baked goods wafting in the crisp autumn air. “Let’s hurry. I have a million things to do today.”
“Is Thanksgiving tomorrow?”
“No. Tomorrow is Wednesday. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday and that is the day after. But, I have to work tomorrow afternoon, so I need to get a few things done if we’re going to have a feast. You do want a feast, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
A frosty gust swept across the grocery store’s parking lot, making pre-thanksgiving shoppers scurry, load their bags into their cars, and then take shelter in their cabs.
“Hi, Becca and Luke,” Margie Ballietson, the nice woman from the church they started attending, called out before slamming her car door closed and waving a gloved greeting from inside.
Nicole waved back with her free hand before pulling her parka’s collar closer to prevent the wind from sending another chill through her. Becca Smith wasn’t her name, but it was the one she went by now. And Logan’s Summit wasn’t her hometown, but the sleepy village nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania was where the government had chosen to place
her and Luka, near Will.
She hated deceiving the people who were becoming her friends and wondered would she ever be Nicole again? As much as she longed to see her family and friends from the past, she didn’t want to leave Will. If her secret was ever revealed, she hoped her new friends wouldn’t hold her past against her.
No. They could never know her past.
Pulling a grocery cart from the cart return, Nicole took a double take toward the highway where a car resembling Will’s passed by. She’d seen him several times over the past week, at a distance watching her, and every time her heart had jumped and then plummeted as he smiled, waved and then disappeared into the shadows. They couldn’t expose their relationship. Not yet. Maybe never.
Nicole stared at the car now sitting at the stop sign, waiting for the man driving to turn and smile, but he didn’t. The car surged forward and disappeared from view.
“I’m cold.” Luka broke her train of thought. With his arms huddled close to his sides and his hands shoved deep into his coat’s pockets, Luka’s bottom lip quivered. She needed to buy him a pair of gloves too. A couple pairs, because he’d lose one within forty-eight hours.
“Sure, babe.” Throwing a glance over her shoulder one more time at the highway and the surrounding area, she yanked the shopping cart free from another cart. “I was just running my list of things I need through my head, so I don’t forget anything and have to come back again. We want Thanksgiving to be special, don’t we?”
“Is dad coming?”
Cold dread ran its finger up her spine. Luka hadn’t mentioned his father in weeks. She’d hoped maybe he’d begun to forget Gorgon. God. She prayed he would. “No. He’s still on his business trip.”
“Will he be home for Christmas?”
“I don’t think so. He said it would be a very long time until he can come back.” She had to change the subject before anyone overheard this conversation. Nicole tossed her purse onto the cart’s upper shelf and headed toward the automatic doors. “Let’s pick up some cherries and we’ll put them into the brownies. What do you think?”
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