Summer Kisses (216 page)

“Leave us.” The marshal’s deep tone revealed his authority.

Nicole peeked over her dark bangs and noted his attention passed over her shoulder.

The cop’s grasp loosened and his hand fell from her arm leaving coolness where his heat had scorched her. He obeyed the man’s order without so much as a stumbled objection.

This officer could only know part of her story, she thought. She had been fingerprinted as a first grader at her elementary school twenty some years ago, so the likelihood of the officers finding out her true identity anytime soon was good. And that would be bad.

Her parents couldn’t be told she’d been found. Not yet. Maybe never. If the Novokoffs thought they had any contact with her, Gorgon’s family would wipe hers away. Killing Gorgon had signed her death warrant. Vanishing from the Earth’s crust was her only hope, and her family’s.

This man was strong. His chest and arms stretched his navy T-shirt to
the
point that every slight movement of his pecs and biceps showed. A shadow of whiskers lined his strong jaw and his upper lip was set with determination.

Nicole’s hands curled into fists. She had to be strong too, damn it. She couldn’t let this cop see the quake that made her knees knock. This man was just like Gorgon. He wanted something from her. Well, she wanted something too. She wanted to disappear to a place where the Novokoffs would never find her or Luka.

The door clicked closed behind Nicole.

She steeled her nerves and met the marshal’s somber eyes. “Who are you?”

“U.S. Marshal William Haus.” He flipped the round badge clipped to his belt with a hook of his thumb before walking toward her. “And you are?”

“Becca Smith.”

An amused twinkle flashed in his eyes. “Really? Is that the story you want to stick with?”

William Haus toyed with her. By the way his gaze traveled over her, she’d say he knew who she’d been the last eight years.
Katrina.
“Are you in charge?”

His brow cocked. “Of?”

“This. The captain and his men.”

“No.” He shook his head and pointed to the chair. “Sit.”

“I think I would like to stand.”

“Suit yourself.” He pulled out a chair and took a seat, extending his long legs beneath the table and leaning back on the chair. Like his jeans, his boots had seen better days. The toes were scuffed and the heels well rounded.

Several hours ago, on that back road, for a few brief minutes, her lungs had rejoiced with the exhilaration of freedom. Now with each pulse of her digital watch, the stale air surrounding her grew thicker, like sewer sludge. “The captain said I could see Luka if I cooperated and allowed my prints to be taken.”

“You will, but when I say so.”

She tamped down her temper. Showing her anger would do her no good. “Why are you keeping us?”

“I think the captain already covered this. You were found with a kidnapped girl, Katrina. Does Gorgon know she’s gone?”

She fought to keep her surprise from reaching her eyes. He knew the name given to her by Gorgon.

Nicole smoothed her moistened palms along the seams of her skirt. How well did the marshal know the bastard who now faced the devil? William Haus could be a cop on the take, working for the Novokoffs. The family had many connections. She knew this by their conversations. The Russian bastards thought she’d paid no attention to them, but over the years she had learned bits of their language—enough to understand most of what they said. She had to be careful. “How do you know my name?”

“We have our ways.” Drawing his legs back, he shifted up and forward in the chair. “Look, I don’t have time to waste. I have a woman who isn’t responding after she put a bug on Susie before the girl was handed off to Gorgon. Gorgon took the girl, but before we could move in on him, all hell broke loose at the SOB’s place. Then you show up here with Susie. You want to tell me what happened tonight?”

He sounded sincere. Nicole kept her facial expression blank. How could she be sure Will Haus told the truth?

She decided to play stupid. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m sure you do.” Will tapped the desk in front of him three times. “Here’s how I think things went down. Gorgon brought Susie home, which pissed you off.”

He said the word home like she’d played house with the Russian bastard. This cop who glared at her with disdain had no clue what a living hell she’d survived.

“He never brought any other girls home before, right?”

“You don’t know what Gorgon did or didn’t do.”

“I know when he takes a piss.”

His frankness made her blink. If that was so, why had he and his agency not saved her? “I don’t believe you. Who are your inside people?”

“I can’t tell you who they are. You’re Gorgon’s woman.”

“I am not his woman.” Fury burnt her tongue and she clamped her lips tight before she’d let her secret slip.

“Really? My man said just the opposite.”

The way his eyes filled with repugnance and fell away from her made Nicole feel unclean. She ran her hands up and down her arms as if she could brush away the filth of her past.

William Haus sighed before looking at her again. “Look, we can do this dance all night, days even, but we’re not going to. I’ve got a feeling my people might be in big trouble. Tell me what happened tonight.”

“You could work for the Novokoffs.” The words had tumbled past her lips and she saw the agent’s face turn stonelike.

“I want the son of a bitch dead.”

His cold tone caused her hair to prickle on her arms.

Nicole refused to lower her gaze from his. She dipped deep into that well that had given her the strength to kill Gorgon and grabbed the courage necessary to stand her ground. “That is a nice speech, but why should I trust you?”

“I could’ve whisked you away from here to a high security jail and locked you up. I could’ve taken your son into protective custody where in two days he’d disappear, and believe me, you’d never see him again. But, as you can see, you’re here and your son is down the hall, and I’m giving you a chance to tell your side of the story.”

Will’s words cut into her soul. She would go insane not knowing where her son was. She’d die without him. “How do I know Luka is still here?”

“Okay. You need proof. I get that.” The chair scraped the floor as he rose. “Come with me.”

Opening the door, he motioned with a simple nod for her to exit the room.

She hesitated before rounding the table and walking past him.

“This way.” He latched onto her left elbow.

Nicole’s nerves tingled under his touch.

As they walked a short distance through the hall, she noticed the earthy smell of his cologne. The scent reminded her of a warm sunny day at the beach. Nicole peeked at William Haus from the corner of her eye. A two-inch, jagged, white scar cut through his whiskers near the back of his strong jaw and extended down his throat. She wondered how he’d been cut.

Ahead, an officer stood guard at a door.

“The boy inside?” Will asked him as they approached.

“Yes, sir. Officer Wagnall was great with him. She read him to sleep.”

Nicole’s pulse quickened knowing her son was on the other side of the door. She swore Will had to have felt the rush of her blood because he shot her a glance before he said, “Open the door a second.”

The officer did as he was told.

Seeing Luka curled up on a couch, Nicole’s heart cried out. She wanted to run to him, gather her son in her arms and feel Luka’s heartbeat against her palm but Will’s strong grasp kept her rooted in place.

After a few seconds, the officer closed the door and Luka disappeared from her view. She looked up at Will. “Thank you.”

Without acknowledgement, he turned her toward the interrogation room and once the door closed behind them again, he hooked a thumb through his belt loop and said, “Okay. You saw I haven’t lied to you.”

She drew a breath of warm air. Beads of perspiration formed on her upper lip while her stomach rolled tighter. “If I tell you what you want to know, will you promise to keep Luka and me together—somewhere safe from the Novokoffs?”

“Why would you need protection from them?” Confusion wrinkled Will’s brow.

Ridding the earth of Gorgon’s presence was the right thing to do. There wasn’t a bit of doubt in her mind that she’d done humanity a favor, or an ounce of regret, but would this cop see Gorgon’s demise the same way? Or would he call it murder? What jury would convict her of the crime, if she killed him in self-defense? None.

“Are you going to answer me?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“Because Gorgon is no more.”

The marshal stepped up to the table between them. “Are you saying Gorgon is dead?”

She nodded without hesitation, not wanting to give herself a chance to back out of the confession.

“You killed him.”

“It was self-defense. Luka and I must disappear. The Novokoffs will kill me. Can you help us?”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

Katrina folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side, looking down her nose at the officer with every ounce of confidence she could muster. “Until your man tells you it is so, you must trust me.”

“I told Gorgon a thousand times that woman would be the death of him. I could see it in her eyes. She is the devil’s bitch.” The heels of Yegor Novokoff’s Italian loafers slapped the vinyl flooring like rapid gunfire as he stalked through the halls of the local hospital with his bodyguard close behind him. “Would he listen to me? Nah. Gorgon always thought he was a smart boy. He’s an idiot who thinks with his dick. Tonight he’s proven me right.”

His own use of the past tense and the very thought of his son dead, strangled his rant. He fought to keep the pain attacking his heart, at bay. He was the head of the Novokoff family, and needed to be strong and think clearly about the revenge the family would take against the attacker of his eldest child.

Rounding the corner, he entered the puke green cubical known as the emergency waiting room and pulled up short. The optimistic view he clung to fell into the burning acid churning in his gut. Sofia, his wife, sat hunched over, leaning against her sister. Tears streamed down Sofia’s thin cheeks and her complexion was washed of the ivory tone he loved. The smiling green eyes he looked into every night over the past forty years, before he closed his own, were dull and erased of any Sofia’s witty humor.

His Sofia, his wife of many years, she seemed to have aged twenty years since this morning when he’d kissed her good-bye and left to take care of a business matter gone awry in Atlantic City.

Yegor drew a quick breath, trying to calm the tremor that quaked the marrow in his bones. He had to be strong for the dozen or so family members that had gathered, and for his Sofia.

He stepped forward and Sofia’s red-rimmed eyes lifted from their study of the space beyond the commercial carpet.

“Yegor, our boy. He’s been hurt.” She pushed from the chair and teetered toward him.

Yegor rushed forward and gathered Sofia into his embrace just as her knees gave out. Her breath warmed the hollow of his neck and he found comfort resting his cheek against her silky, brown hair. He rubbed her back. She felt thinner than he remembered and he loosened his hold, thinking he might break her brittle bones if he cradled her too tight.

Sofia’s tears moistened the breast of his golf shirt. “
Shhh,
my love. You gave me a strong son.” He planted a reassuring kiss on her temple and continued to rock her for a moment longer before he peered up at the stone-like expression of his man, who’d stood guard over his son tonight.

Marco blinked.

What had gone wrong?
He would question the man soon, but not now. Not in front of Sofia. Not until he knew his son would live. And God help Marco if he’d screwed up. “What say the doctors? Are they the best?”

“Ya. I made sure they understood. Only the best.” Marco glanced at his wrist. “They’ve been in surgery for almost two hours. We should know soon whether—”

Yegor cut him off with a glare. “Go find a nurse, someone who can give us news.” He waved Marco off and then turned to his wife.

Her soft hands cupped his face as she stared up at him. “This is not supposed to happen, Yegor. A mother is not supposed to bury her children. They are to bury her.”

Not only a mother, he thought. Yegor bit back his own fears, grasped her by the forearms and said, “Don’t talk as if Gorgon is already with his maker. Sit. We will know soon when we can see our son.”

He helped his love to the same chair she arose from a moment earlier. Then he thanked his sister-in-law when she vacated her chair, allowing him to sit next to his wife. He nodded his appreciation of support to the family members who filled the room and who witnessed his and Sofia’s pain.

Did he look as frightened as they?

Sofia sought and gripped his hand so hard he felt the circulation to his fingers dwindle. “You must have faith in our Lord,” he whispered.

“The doctor said Gorgon’s chances were very small. The stabbing had done much damage and Gorgon—” She sobbed. “He had lost too much blood.”

“The doctor doesn’t know what a fighter our son is. Gorgon will live to seek his revenge. Mark my words.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Sofia’s fingers tightened around his and she stared deeply into his eyes. “What will you promise me?”

“I promise, his murderer will know our revenge.”

Will shoved open the door to the observation room. Gary waited inside. “Where’s Ebberts?”

“A couple tractor-trailers played chicken and got tangled up in a fog patch. He had to handle a few things. I guess Interstate 80 is shut down on the eastbound side just west of the Hazelton exit. So what do you think? Do you believe her?” Gary indicated Katrina through the two-way glass.

Will pursed his lips for a second before answering, “Why would she lie about killing Gorgon?”

“Why would she kill him?”

Will shrugged. “He pissed her off. Someone paid her. I don’t know.”

“Oh. Oh. Wait. Do you think they found the trace-maker on Susie and know about Kyle and Jolene? This all could be a ploy to expose them?” Gary’s finger waggled in midair while he continued. “Think about it. We catch a break to nail Gorgon and the opportunity is snatched away from us. Then Katrina shows up with this story. You really think Gorgon’s men would let her out without his approval. I mean, from what Intel has told us, Gorgon kept her on a six-inch leash. And here’s another thought. Maybe the Novokoffs are trying to find Louie Betts.”