Ginny closed her eyes again. There was no hope. She had no idea what they were seeking. Lord, help! I need a way out of this.
Sokolov stood. “What about the safe deposit box? Is there anything else in it?”
“It’s empty,” she said. “I closed it and turned in the key yesterday.”
Pavlo smirked at her. “We’re supposed to just believe that?”
“We can call later,” Ginny said. “We can call and ask about it, if you want.”
Sokolov bobbed his head and focused on Pavlo. “We will call when they open.”
Pavlo glanced at her, licked his bottom lip. “What do we do ’til then?”
“She worked in that trailer on the property,” Sokolov said. “Maybe the information is there.”
They both looked at her. It seemed a waste of time to argue, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to waste time. Why rush the inevitable? So she said only, “Can I at least put on some clothes?”
Sokolov pulled her to her feet and marched her to her bedroom. Pavlo followed. When they were all three standing beside her bed, Sokolov cut the plastic ties holding her hands together. “You have two minutes.”
Now? With both of them watching? She’d glanced at Pavlo, and Sokolov said, “Turn around, Kris.”
The man huffed and turned.
Sokolov kept his eyes on her.
She dug through the clothes they’d strewn all over her floor, finally locating what she needed. She pulled on her jeans and slid into a roomy T-shirt—it snagged on her necklace but didn’t break it—all without taking off her nightgown.
Sokolov seemed amused.
Then, she pulled the thin straps of her nightgown down her arms one by one and slid her arms out. She shimmied out of the gown and tossed it aside.
“Impressive.” Sokolov pulled more zip ties from his pocket. “Turn around.”
“I promise I won’t run,” Ginny said. “Can you please just leave them off?”
“Alas, no,” Sokolov said.
“Can you bind them in front, then?” she asked. “How much damage could I do with my hands tied in front?”
His eyes narrowed to slits.
Pavlo swiveled and gazed at her. “She needs to stay bound.” He closed the distance between them, stopped inches behind her. The heat from his body warmed her back, made her want to step forward. “I prefer her defenseless.”
She swallowed and focused on Sokolov. “Please?”
The man looked over her shoulder at Kris, then back at her. “Okay.” He silenced Pavlo’s protest with a look.
A few minutes later, hands tied in front of her, Sokolov held her arm and waited at the front door while Pavlo went out the back. A few minutes passed, and then Pavlo pulled into the driveway in a big black sedan.
She’d glanced at the clock on the dashboard when Sokolov pushed her into the backseat. Six-fifty in the morning.
Chapter Nineteen
Kade glanced at the cloudy sky as he parked in front of McNeal’s. It was drizzling still. He was going to lose another day of construction on the property.
He imagined workers looking out their windows and going back to sleep even now.
He grabbed his laptop bag, slammed the door too hard, and made his way into the restaurant. He’d come here to prepare for his meeting at the bank. He could have worked at home, but after getting dumped the day before, he craved a friendly conversation. Most of his friends had turned on him, though. At least at McNeal’s, Bonnie would chat with him when she delivered his coffee, and strangers would smile, would make him feel welcome.
But when he walked inside, the glances from the patrons were anything but friendly. Suddenly, everyone in town was a local news aficionado. He decided to order his breakfast to go.
After he snatched the sack from Bonnie, who gave him an encouraging smile, he dashed through the rain to his pickup.
What now? He didn’t want to go home. He had hours before his meeting. This meeting that could shift the course of his life. Maybe he should drive to Manchester and find a place to work there. On Sunday, he and Ginny had been able to relax in Manchester despite everything that had happened. It had been a good day. Their last good day together.
It was all wrong. Her family, this mess they’d put her in… it was all so weird and crazy. So unlike his normal, ordered life.
Maybe it would be for the best to let Ginny go.
Even as he had the thought, he took a left toward her house. He’d just drive by, see if there was a moving truck outside yet.
As he turned onto her street, he tried to decide if he was behaving like a jilted boyfriend or a creepy stalker. Hopefully, if she caught him on her street, she’d think the former.
But when he neared her house, something didn’t seem right. He slowed the car to a crawl and studied the sight.
Her car was parked in the garage, which made sense. But the door on the detached garage was open. He glanced at the clock—not quite seven in the morning. How strange. Maybe she’d gotten an early start. Except that the blinds were all closed. If she was still asleep, then that would make sense, but he’d never been here after the sun had risen that the blinds were closed, even on rainy days. She liked natural light.
Had she been too busy to open the blinds? Or perhaps too depressed?
With everything in him, he wanted to walk to the door. He wanted to hear that awful doorbell screech, then see her beautiful face. He desperately wanted to see her smile at him as she had before the story came out on Saturday.
It was a stupid decision, but he couldn’t seem to help himself as he pulled over to the side of the road and jogged through the wet grass to her house. He would just check on her, make sure she was okay, see if she needed help. He’d be a friend. If he couldn’t be more, then he’d just be a friend.
He hit the doorbell and listened to the screech inside.
No answer.
He knocked, but she didn’t answer that, either.
He dialed her number, then pressed his ear against her screen door to listen for her ring.
Faintly, he heard it.
She was there.
Ignoring him, of course.
He backed into the yard and stared at her bedroom window. Had she looked out, seen his car? He should have hidden it.
Nope. That would have put him squarely in the stalker camp.
He waited another minute, then took the walkway to avoid getting his shoes any wetter than they already were. When he reached the driveway, he glanced at the garage.
The boxes that had been stacked there the day before were gone.
Had she already had someone take them to… wherever it was she was moving? Why would she send the boxes if she wasn’t ready to go?
He peered in the garage. It was empty except for the lawn mower and other garden tools. How strange. Why wouldn’t she have had them taken, too?
And why did he think it was any of his business?
If she came out and caught him in her garage again, she’d have every right to call the police. And wouldn’t that be a nice addition for Larry to put in his newspaper. Sleazy Real Estate Developer Caught Stalking.
He was losing his mind. He stormed down the driveway and back to his car. He refused to look back as he drove away.
Chapter Twenty
The drive was silent except for the sound of tires on the wet streets and the rhythmic hum of windshield wipers. The constant stream of prayers Ginny sent made no noise in the car, but she hoped Someone in heaven was hearing them.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Clearwater Heights. Pavlo let her and Sokolov out in front of the trailer.
“Hide the car and hurry back,” Sokolov said.
Pavlo nodded, and Sokolov pushed her toward the door. “Are you expecting anybody today?”
The associate she’d hired to help her with the properties had resigned, apologizing and explaining he had to protect his reputation. She shook her head.
Sokolov used her keys to open the trai
ler door, and they stepped inside.
Another place for them to leave in shambles, and this one wasn’t hers. I’m so sorry, Kade. So sorry.
But whatever state they left the trailer in would be the least of Kade’s worries if Sokolov made good on his threats.
Sokolov pushed Ginny into one of the metal-and-fabric guest chairs. “Don’t move.”
He started the search at the file cabinet, opening every file and tossing papers on the floor after he looked at them.
Pavlo returned a few minutes later, and together, they tore the space apart.
It took a couple of hours for them to look at everything. When they were finished, Sokolov’s lips were set in an angry line.
Pavlo’s face was red, his eyes bulging.
He stalked behind her and grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked. Her head snapped back, and she pushed on her toes to try to relieve the pressure. But he pushed her shoulder down with his other hand. “Where is it?”
“I swear, I don’t know anything.”
Pavlo dug his fingers into her flesh.
She gasped, tried to duck away, but with his grip on her hair, she couldn’t move.
Sokolov stepped in front of her, looked down at her, and shook his head. “We don’t want to kill her yet.”
“I’m not going to kill her.” Pavlo squeezed harder. “I’m just going to hurt her.”
“Stop,” the older man said.
Pavlo let her go, and she pulled in a deep breath, closed her eyes. She couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t take another minute of it.
Please, Lord…
Pavlo said, “You told me if we didn’t find it—”
“I know what I told you.”
She kept her eyes closed. She didn’t want to see what was coming. She wanted to float away.
The sound of something being dragged, then a gentle whoosh of air. “Open your eyes,” Sokolov said.
She did and found him seated in front of her.
“I do not want to let my friend violate you. I’ve seen what he does to women, and it is not pretty. However, you will tell us anything we want to know when he’s done with you. So please, make it easier on yourself. Just tell us now.”
She said nothing. There was nothing else to say. She had no idea what he was looking for. She had no idea what her father had given her.
Nothing. He’d given her nothing.
Dad had spared her a few moments of conversation now and then when she was a kid. He’d smiled at her, he’d asked about her days sometimes, and she’d called his casual concern love.
No father who loved his child would put her in this position.
Her mother had betrayed her. Her sister had abandoned her. Her father was about to get her killed.
And the God she’d desperately wanted to believe in was nowhere to be found.
There were no words for any of that.
While Pavlo was gone to get the car, Sokolov stared at her. “I am very disappointed.”
“Me, too,” she said. “I’d love nothing more than to give you what you want and send you on your way.”
Which wasn’t true. What she wanted was for these men to pay for what they’d done to her mother. And she wanted to protect Kade. And she didn’t want to die. Not like this, not now.
“Your father gave it to you,” he said.
She shook her head and looked away. Her gaze snagged on the poster-sized artist’s rending of Clearwater Heights, which had been tossed on the floor and walked on.
What a beautiful dream. She hoped and prayed Kade would live to see it come true. These men had no reason to kill Kade or anybody else. They would kill her, no doubt, but why would they risk murdering a bunch of other people who had nothing to do with any of this? Maybe, if Sokolov could stay out of prison, he’d let Kade use his money and develop this property. Maybe it would be built and Kade would never know his business partner had murdered the woman he loved.
The thought brought tears to her eyes. Funny, she hadn’t cried all morning. Not while she’d witnessed Pavlo and Sokolov destroy her home. Not when Sokolov had watched her change her clothes. But now, at the thought of Kade’s love, tears dripped from her eyes.
“Your father gave you nothing?” Sokolov said. “In those final few months before he died, he handed over nothing to you.”
“I already told you,” she said, “he gave me no papers, no books, nothing he could have written instructions on.”
“Not even a birthday present?”
She shook her head, lifted her bound hands, and touched her fingertips to the pendant hanging from her neck. It had been a gift from Dad.
The door banged open. Pavlo said, “Let’s go.”
Sokolov was watching her closely. He nodded, and they both stood.
They were settled in the car when he said, “That pendant… Did your father give you that?”
She sighed. Of course he would take her last connection to her family. He’d destroyed everything else. Why not that, too? They would strip her of everything that mattered before she died. She nodded. “He gave it to me a few days before he died.”
Pavlo backed away from the trailer and angled the car toward the highway.
“Wait,” Sokolov said.
Pavlo braked hard.
Sokolov reached out, grabbed the pendant, and yanked.
The chain broke easily, and he held the black crystal—or glass, probably—up to the dim light outside. “Go to the clubhouse.”
“Boss, we gotta get—”
“Nobody is coming here today. We are all alone.”
Pavlo parked on the far side of the partially constructed structure so that if anybody did go to the trailer, they wouldn’t see the car.
Usually, Sokolov managed her, but as soon as the vehicle stopped, he opened the car door and rushed inside.
Pavlo came around and pulled her from the backseat. He pushed her through the mud to what would eventually be oversize French doors. Right now it was simply a gaping hole framed by two-by-fours. They stepped onto the concrete slab.
The roof and exterior walls had been built. Inside, it was dark and dreary and creepy.
Sokolov was on the far side of the room looking at his phone. What was that about?
But no. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was able to see better. He was holding his phone in one hand and the pendant in the other. He had the camera app on and pointed at the pendant.
The flash went off.
“I need it…” Sokolov’s voice trailed as he messed with his phone.
“Whatcha looking for, boss?”
“I need your flashlight,” Sokolov snapped. “It’s too dark in here.”
Pavlo pushed her to the floor. “Don’t move.” Then he crossed to Sokolov. “What’s going—?”
“Just get out your flashlight and don’t ask any questions.”
She’d never heard Sokolov be so short with anybody. But it wasn’t anger in his voice. It was eagerness.
Which made no sense.
Pavlo lifted the flashlight to shine on the pendant.
Sokolov grinned. “And there it is.”
“What?” Pavlo angled to look.
Sokolov slipped the pendant into his pocket. “When we were in China, I saw them in souvenir shops. They weren’t as nice as hers. That’s why I didn’t realize they were the same.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Necklaces. The ones in China, when you looked into the crystal with a light, they had I love you written in all different languages. Typical foolishness aimed at tourists. Hers was different.”
They both glanced at Ginny, who hadn’t moved. Who should have moved, should have run. Except both Pavlo and Sokolov were armed. Now that they had what they wanted, they had no reason to shoot her.
Now that they had what they wanted, they had no reason not to.
She couldn’t seem to get herself to move. Moving meant getting shot in the back. Staying meant… Would Pavlo get his way, or w
ould Sokolov make it simple?
This was it. This was when she’d die. This was where she’d die. And nobody was here to stop it.
She needed to run.
Pavlo focused on Sokolov. “What did you see?”
Ginny shifted slowly forward and set her hands on the concrete.
“The instructions, of course,” Sokolov said. “Just like I told you.”
She very slowly turned her toes beneath her so she was on her hands and feet.
Pavlo glanced at the man’s pocket. “I don’t get to see?”
She looked around. She’d go out the door and around the building. Her best shot would be the woods, but they were a good fifty yards from here. She’d head in that direction. Maybe if she caught them off guard…
There was no way she’d make it, but she had to try.
“Of course you do. But right now, we must take care of her.”
She pushed to her feet.
Pavlo glanced her way.
She sat back down, but it was too late. He walked over to her and kicked her in the side.
The force knocked her sideways. She landed on her shoulder on the concrete.
“I told you to stay put.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Kade had gone home to work, typed a document with details about his investors to take with him to his meeting at the bank. He’d sent it to the printer and then remembered… He’d taken his printer to the trailer weeks before.
He could send the documents to the office store in town. He used them for big print jobs. They could have this ready in minutes.
And then he had a thought. Ginny had things at the trailer. Maybe she’d go there before she left town. Maybe he could accidentally run into her. Accidentally on purpose, now that the thought had occurred to him. But she didn’t need to know that.
He’d snatched his laptop and headed to the property. He was just about to go down the hill when he’d seen a big black sedan backing away from the trailer. A prospective buyer? On a day like this?
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