Authors: Karen Troxel
Even after all this time, even after the reams of paper and tapes the government had presented to her before the trial, she hadn’t wanted to believe that he was a—what was it the FBI agents had called him?—a hit man for the mob.
Even after she had heard her own fiancé order her father’s death, she hadn’t wanted to believe her father could be involved with a family who thought so little of life.
Now, nearly fifteen months after her father’s death, she shook her head at how naive she’d been.
Kerry’s panic attacks had begun shortly after her mother’s death. The panic attacks that had been almost a constant companion ever since.
She looked back on that younger version of herself with nothing but loathing now. And fear. She knew what Dom and his family were capable of. She knew it better than most. And she knew if he found her, her nightmares would become reality.
No matter what Cutter Snead wanted her to do, she’d do it without complaining. Because Kerry knew the alternative would be much, much worse.
She waited until they were headed down the road in the same direction as their hideaway, but on the other side of the creek, before speaking. She crossed her arms over her chest in hopes he wouldn’t notice how much her hands were shaking.
“So what’s our plan now?” she asked.
“First we need to get around people. Lots of people. It’s harder to take out one or even two people in a large crowd than in a secluded spot. Especially when you’re trying to make it look like an accident. Or make it so people don’t find out about it quickly.”
“So why not just go back to the mall?”
“We could do that,” he said, “but we can’t stay at the mall indefinitely. Eventually we’d have to leave. Then we’d be in trouble.”
“So why are we heading in the same direction we just left?”
Cutter laughed. “It does seem that way, doesn’t it? But just a little way up this road we’ll turn east and then we’re heading for Niagara Falls. It’s still the busy tourist season there, so we should be able to get lost in the crowd hiding among the sightseers. Once there, I’ll call my boss and my partner. Three brains are better than one on this one.”
Kerry nodded. “Okay. Do you think they know about the cabin?”
“Yeah. They probably got the warning about the sensors at the same time we did. That house was hardwired to headquarters. They’ve probably got squads out everywhere looking for us now.”
“Won’t Dom be able to track them tracking us?” Kerry asked.
“That’s always a concern with a big manhunt, but most of the squads will be strictly for show. They’ll be around the cabin going through evidence, searching for bodies. They’ll let the local law enforcement do their turn, mugging it up for the media and stuff.”
“The media, that’s good. Dom hates the media.”
“Yeah, it can be useful sometimes. Of course, most of the game now is disinformation. We want to lead the media and Dom to the conclusions we want them to have. But your ex-pals are experts at this game. They won’t be fooled by a little public relations mumbo-jumbo.”
Some of Kerry’s euphoria faded. “That’s right. The helicopter did see us driving away.”
“Yes. But don’t worry. I’ve been a marshal for fifteen years. I know procedure, and the book says when things go bad to follow the steps we are taking. Mostly, my boss will wait until I contact him before trying to make contact with us. Right now, they’re busy lining up your new ID.”
Kerry rocked and nodded until she nearly rapped her head on the car’s sun visor. She bit her lip and tried to control the outward sign of stress.
“That’s good,” she said, then lapsed into silence as she tried to get the picture of the cabin exploding out of her mind. “The quicker everything is set up and I can get out of here, the better.”
Kerry bit the inside of her lip to keep the tears from flowing. She was so tired of this, so tired of the running. Sometimes she wished she’d never agreed to testify against Dom. But after her father had been murdered, after she’d heard Dom discuss it, she hadn’t had a choice. At least, she hadn’t thought she had a choice then. Now, not for the first time in the last year, she wondered if she wouldn’t have been more successful running away.
***
Saturday, 7:00 P.M.
“Mr. Giancarlo?”
Dom looked up slowly. He had left strict orders not to be disturbed. He really needed to crack down on the discipline here. He sighed. Well, you had to work with what was available, especially when incarcerated.
“I told you not to disturb me for thirty minutes.” He glared at the imbecile who had dared to risk his wrath. The man was Little Billy Joe Hacksaw. He had the brain of a fly and the size of a giant, which was the source of humor behind his nickname. He also had a childlike desire to please his superiors, no matter what they asked of him. Dom tamped down on his anger. No use going for the psychological discipline. It would go right over Billy Joe’s head. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry to bother your thinking time, sir, but one of the guards passed me this note for you. I was out on my exercise period.”
Dom shook his head. Billy Joe was like an overenthusiastic puppy now—an overenthusiastic mutt, that is.
“Give me the message.”
Billy Joe handed Dom the wrinkled and stained sheet of paper. He scanned it, then crumpled it into a ball.
“This is completely unacceptable,” he raged. He turned and kicked the wastebasket sitting beside his bed. “How is it one simple task cannot be completed?”
Dom felt the rage almost engulf him, but managed to pull it back when he saw the haze of red fogging his vision. He looked at his hands, which were inexplicably wrapped around Billy Joe’s throat, with his thumbs pressing into the man’s carotid artery. He looked down at the previously unnoticed scratches on his hands and arms where Billy Joe had tried to get away. Now the idiot had passed out from the pressure. Dom shook his head and looked at the crowd of inmates now surrounding the open door of his cell.
He let Billy Joe drop to the floor and adjusted his prison uniform shirt. “Please take him back to his cell.”
“Is he dead?” one of the prisoners asked.
“What? No. I don’t think so. But you’d better tell the guards to take him to the infirmary just in case.”
Dom turned his back on the mop-up scene. He really hated it when he lost control. It wasn’t acceptable. Neither was incompetence. Obviously things within the organization had grown lax in his absence. He had a lot of business to take care of when he was released in less than three days. And people would pay for their incompetence.
Saturday, 7:00 P.M.
Cutter looked over at his latest case and watched as she rocked, then held herself still, then rocked some more. The rocking was oddly reassuring. Her voice had been calm and collected when she’d asked questions about what they were doing. In fact, her demeanor through this whole ordeal had been much too calm. But the rocking, which she’d done in the mall when he first met her and was now doing again, was a sure sign things on the inside weren’t quite the reactions of the calm, cool veteran of this kind of action she presented on the outside.
He felt his heart soften toward her a little and wished he could tell her something to reassure her.
He went over his mental file on her. She was twenty-five, but at a glance, wearing the tee and leggings with those amazing, shapely legs, she didn’t look a day over sixteen. Jailbait.
Her blue eyes and startling strawberry blonde hair were like a beacon claiming “bohemian—trouble here.” All together it made an enticing, way-too-noticeable picture that told his body to stand at attention and howl at the moon.
“You won’t do.”
“I’m sorry?” Kerry said. “No, I’m confused. What am I supposed to do? I know I don’t look the best, but all my clothes are at my apartment. These are all I have to wear. If we can stop somewhere, maybe I can rinse the blood out of the shirt.”
Cutter shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Now I’m even more confused.”
“You stand out like a sore thumb. Didn’t they tell you not to do anything to call attention to yourself? Look at that hair. It’s like a signal.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do? My hair is naturally blonde. In my last town, they had it black. In the town before that, I had brown hair. Dom found me anyway. I’m running out of hair color possibilities here.”
Cutter sighed. She was right. But… Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reached over and felt the long curls. They were soft and shimmering. He had an instant picture of him wrapping that hair around his wrist, pulling her hair back, and savaging her neck and more as she moaned her pleasure.
“What you need is to get rid of the curls.” He paused, remembering the time his sister had come home from school with bubble gum in her hair. “How about a pixie?”
“A pixie?” Kerry’s voice and face were a study of horror. But she was so cute Cutter could barely stifle his chuckle.
“But I haven’t done more than trim my hair for nearly five years.” Before he could respond, she sighed and added, “But if you think that’s the only way… Maybe I could get a wig.”
She started fingering a necklace that had been hiding under her t-shirt as she considered the options.
Again, he felt the tug of attraction he ruthlessly suppressed. He had to concentrate on the important aspects of this job. First, he had to keep both of them alive. That job had suddenly gotten more complex.
So far, she hadn’t connected the most crucial and glaring fact of this whole thing.
The safe house they’d left was so safe it wasn’t on any property or tax books in the world. There wasn’t power going in there to follow electrical lines. No record of utilities or anything, despite having all the modern amenities.
There were only three people in the whole western New York region that knew its location before they arrived. Four after they got there. Since one of the foursome was himself, Cutter knew he had more of a problem than just keeping them safe. As he drove them down Route 62 to Niagara Falls, his mind worried three options. Was it his boss, his partner, or the witness who’d sold out to the mob?
***
Saturday, 7:25 P.M.
Cutter bought prepaid cell phone in a dive on the outskirts of Niagara Falls. It wasn’t completely invisible but it was disposable. Anyone looking would have to find the video of him buying it, then track the cell towers, and that would give time. He wasn’t going to have it that long.
He called his office. He was taking a risk, but being a lone ranger with a notorious witness was a dead-end street.
He reached his boss first.
“Denver, Cutter here.”
“What the hell happened?” Denver was a man Cutter had always trusted with his life. Although he’d been a paper-pusher and supervisor for over five years, the man still had the instincts of an active field agent.
“You tell me. All I know is all hell broke loose. I thought that place was supposedly secure.”
“Yeah, obviously there’s one big hole and we’ve got to plug it.”
“Not we,
you
. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“I’m not going to ask where you’re going,” Denver said.
Cutter wondered if that was a ploy or if the man was just being cautious.
“Is there anything you need?”
Cutter shook his head even though he knew Denver couldn’t see the motion. “No. Transfer me to Johnson if you can. Did he learn anything watching her apartment?”
“Nothing he reported. But I’ll let you talk to him. He just came in my office.”
There was a moment of dead air, then Johnson was on the phone.
“Well, buddy, you sure know how to turn an easy babysitting job into one hell of a blowup.”
“Johnson, you’ve always had one lousy sense of humor,” Cutter said. “That may be okay when you’re sitting nice and comfy in an office, but out here that bites the big one.”
“Sorry, buddy.” Johnson’s voice was immediately somber. “Nothing major to report, except two thugs, one of whom matches the description of the man in the mall, visited our little songbird’s place shortly after you guys left the mall. They ransacked it, but I couldn’t tell if they took anything.”
“Where they the ones in the helicopter?”
“I don’t think so. But I have no way of knowing if they made or received any calls while they were inside. We know they didn’t use her apartment phone, but they probably have cells.”
“Damn. What happened to all those high-tech gadgets the tech boys had watching the place?”
There was a pause as Johnson spoke to Denver. Then the boss came back on the line.
“Snafu. The techno-geeks got caught in a traffic jam caused by a wreck on the Kensington Expressway. They didn’t get there until after the suspects had left.”
“Great.” Cutter knew the sarcastic tone of his voice bordered on insubordination. But what the hell was Denver going to do—fire him? That’d be the day. “Well, I’m going under. I’m taking the girl with me. Don’t expect to hear from me until you hear from me.”
Denver sighed. It was not what he wanted, but Cutter didn’t really give a damn. He looked over at Kerry watching the water boil over the falls. It was now them against the world.
***
Niagara Falls, still a honeymoon destination, was trying desperately to shake off the ravages the area had felt throughout most of the last two decades. People were starting to come back, drawn by casinos and sightseeing, but the factories and mills that had brought high-paying jobs to the region were dead and gone. Some artsy-crafty shops and trendy restaurants couldn’t erase the rundown houses and empty buildings dominating the landscape.
Kerry stood at the edge of the great river and watched the rapids boiling and churning in the setting sun. She tried not to keep running her hand over where her hair had been only twenty minutes before. They had just emerged from a unisex salon where a beautician, probably on her fiftieth cut in the last seven-and-a-half hours, had chopped without comment. She was also wearing what had to be the worst hat ever designed. It was a bucket hat like some retired old geezer would wear. She sighed. She supposed she couldn’t complain. Cutter had also gotten her some more clothes she hadn’t put on yet. She didn’t want them to get bloodstained and, though her shoulder had finally stopped bleeding, it was starting to ache a bit. She hoped they’d soon get somewhere with a shower. To cover her stained shirt, she was wearing his shirt. He wore a tank type undershirt, but didn’t look out of place at all.
Cutter was on a cell he’d bought at a convenience store just a few minutes ago. Kerry assumed he was afraid someone would intercept calls from all the other phones he’d disposed of. If she hadn’t known who and what he was, Kerry knew his eyes would have given him away. Even while on the phone, his gaze darted to any passersby or tourist in the area. It seemed he noted every person and sized up their potential as a threat.
Kerry felt a chill run up her arms as she realized just how vulnerable they were. For a second, just a second, she wanted to run—as fast and as far as she could. Canada. She could see Canada from where she stood. Would it be as simple as it looked to walk across the pedestrian bridge and disappear? One step, two. No, now with security so tight she would need to show her passport. She had some fake IDs but nothing that would stand up to hard scrutiny.
Or perhaps she should just jump in the water. She shivered at the thought. She’d been terrified walking through the calm water of the creek. How could she even hope to jump into water running with a force that it seemed more powerful than any other on earth.
Kerry trembled when she saw a large log pushed against a rock jutting out of the foam of the rapids. The log splintered like a toothpick. She was looking at an instrument of death, cold and unbiased. Taking that route would be a quick way to end her troubles. She wouldn’t have to worry about Dom ever again.
She closed her eyes and turned back to open them and look at Cutter. He was solid. He was real. He would never consider jumping. Somehow she knew he would be disappointed knowing she was considering it. And it mattered to her what he thought. Feeling strength she didn’t know she had surge in her, Kerry knew she wouldn’t be jumping.
Finally relaxing a little, she felt a sense of peace roll over her. Whatever faults the city of Niagara Falls endured, the waterfalls it was named for were simply overwhelming. Standing near the edge of the rapids where they tumbled over the escarpment, Kerry felt the sting of the windblown spray whip into her face. The sound of the water falling one hundred eighty-four feet knocked out everything else. She felt as if she were surrounded by the power of something that couldn’t be harnessed or controlled.
This was her first visit to the Falls. She wished she could count on coming here again and again. She knew her wish would never come true.
Kerry turned, instinctively sensing Cutter was through with his calls. As if on cue, he quit speaking and folded up the phone. She tried not to shiver when he took her hand in his and led her to a bench a short distance away. No one else probably noticed he’d dropped the phone just over the edge into the Niagara River.
Remember the act, she warned herself, not the tingling feel of his rough skin meeting her own palm. She looked down and tried ignore the way their fingers entwined as naturally as if they were extensions of each other.
“You okay?”
Kerry knew, despite everything, she was telling the truth when she answered, “Yes.”
Cutter looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. Then the look in his eyes changed.
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Cutter smiled, put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close.
Kerry felt her heart speed a little at his touch and wondered if he felt anything like that. His words however, were cool and calm. She was anything but calm as his breath whispered over her brow and into her ear.
“We’re going to walk around for a few minutes, then head back to the car. There are some problems that have to be worked out and it’s going to take some time. Longer than I’d like. We have to stay underground.”
Kerry nodded her head. “All right. How?”
Cutter thought for a moment. “There’re two ways to go. We could make like honeymooners. If we stay in our hotel room and order in, it’s probably pretty safe.”
Kerry heard the hesitation in his voice. “But?”
“But there’s a risk. Your old boyfriend has a lot of friends around here. There’s always a chance a waiter or housekeeping staff member will talk. It’s impossible to stay in a room around the clock without raising some suspicions. Even honeymooners come up for air once in a while.”
“I see. So what’s Plan B?”
Cutter released a sigh. “I have a house. No one knows about it. It’s on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation. It belonged to my wife’s family.”
“That sounds fine to me.”
“You’ve got to understand. It’s really more of a cabin than a house. It’s very rough. We…I never took the time to modernize it.”
“Do we have any other choice?”
“I don’t think so. I just want you to understand, it isn’t in the same league as the safe house.
Kerry laughed. “Believe me, that’s not a problem.”
Cutter smiled. This one was real, not the phony I’m-putting-on-a-show-for-anyone-watching variety. “Tell me that after you’ve seen it. On the positive side, we probably won’t be there for long.”
“And on the negative side?” Kerry asked.
“We haven’t hit any positives yet, so I have to tell you I’m not confident about the time factor.” He stood and pulled her up as well, wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. Anyone looking at them would have bought their cover as a couple. “Let’s go. I don’t like being out in the open like this. It’s making me hinky.”