by JJ Lamb
He laughed to himself.
That hadn’t even been their real names. Their real family name was Antonev. It didn’t matter what name they were using, he’d found them anyway. What he’d failed to do twenty years ago was kill their twelve-year-old son. His boss hadn’t liked that loose thread.
That’s what the pig always said, ‘Alex, you left a loose thread.’
He forced an even longer drag on his cigarette.
Since that day, he was smeared as if he were covered in black tar. That one mistake, that lapse meant a demotion to a low-level nothing. He would never be allowed to move up in the ranks until it was corrected.
One fucking mistake.
He’d been left behind to kill the boy—who was now a man.
* * *
That day twenty years ago was seared into Alexander Yurev’s memory. A sigh escaped his lips, along with a stream of smoke.
His partner, Misha, had been a stupid man. Killing the father should have been a quick, easy kill. But Misha wanted blood. He kept beating the man.
“Where is your son, you fuckin’ traitor?”
“I have no son. He died last year.”
The woman wouldn’t shut up. “Leave my husband alone. Please stop hurting him.”
Misha wouldn’t stop. “You liar. I’ve been in your boy’s room. He has a lot of clothes and books for a dead kid.” He pounded more on the tied-up man’s face, then his gut. “We’re gonna find him ... and kill him. He’ll suffer. I promise you that he’ll suffer.”
“Please, please stop hurting him.”
Alex knew the couple would never give up their son. He lost it then, had screamed out to Misha, “We came here to do a job. Do it!.”
He was in charge, yet, Misha ignored him.
“Please! Please! Please!” The woman was driving him crazy.
Something snapped. He grabbed the woman, stripped off her clothes, cut up the bed sheets, and tied her to the frame. He tried to stop, but looking at her body made him instantly hard. She struggled to pull her arms and legs free of the knotted strips of the sheet. Her hips and pelvis twisted and turned as she fought to break loose. Her desperate efforts only stoked his lust.
He’d never raped a woman . His job was to kill. Brutish sex had nothing to do with his assignment. But he couldn’t help himself. He forced himself inside of her.
Misha stopped beating the man, walked to the bed, dropped his pants, and pulled Alex away. He too, raped the woman.
Alex got into his pants, pulled out his knife, and proceeded to carry out his assignment. He slit the man’s throat and immediately did the same to the woman.
When he finished, the man and woman were dead, and Misha was covered with the woman’s blood.
But the boy got away—the boy who was now a man.
* * *
Alex walked up to the health club’s reception desk. The same pretty tart was sitting there. Her bright red hair didn’t hide the large earrings she wore. She had the same seductive smile.
“Hello, Rosia. Do you remember me? I was in a few days ago.”
“I do remember you and those dark, sexy eyes.” She leaned over the small desk and her full breasts lifted above the scoop-neck blouse.
“I had hoped to set up an appointment for a deep body massage with the man you suggested. Was it Vlad?”
A flash of suspicion deepened the lines in her face. He could feel her doubt, could see that she sensed something more to his request. “Let me look at his schedule.”
“Thank you.”
She scanned the appointment book, looked back up at him, and said, “He’s very busy today, but I think I can squeeze you in, say, two weeks?”
He pulled a twenty from his pocket and tucked it under the corner of the appointment book. Her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. The twenty was gone in a flash.
She tapped a pencil on the desk, flipped it over to the eraser, and then flipped it back to its point and ran her index finger slowly down the center of the book. “Well, I didn’t see that before—I can slip you in a week from today. Would that work for you?”
He nodded.
“What’s your name?”
“Alex.”
“All right, Alex. One week from today at 2 o’clock. Is there a telephone number where I can reach you? I might have an appointment available sooner?”
“That’s okay. This one works into my schedule.”
She gave him a come-on smile.
He let his eyes wander to her bulging breasts and returned her smile.
Chapter 36
Tallent hardly said a word as he made his rounds at Ridgewood Hospital. He moved from patient-to-patient, let them babble on about their pain, their minor complaints, how the hospital staff wasn’t doing this or that, how things weren’t as they should be. He nodded, smiled, said he would look into it, and moved on.
Not one word of gratitude that they’re still alive. Not one word!
We save them. Them, and their dying bodies. We crack open their chests, separate bones, expose and heal their hearts. Instead of thanks, there are only complaints. They lie there, a bunch of fat cats used to getting their own way.
The nurses and their detailed notes allowed him to get a good handle on what was up with each of his patients, but he was having trouble being attentive to anyone lately.
He wandered through the CCU, watched everyone hustle, each staff person focused on the details of an assigned task. They barely paid attention to him. Even though he knew that on some level they were aware that he was there, he felt invisible, as though they could walk right through him.
He caught a glimpse of Gina Mazzio moving down a corridor toward the locker room. He turned to follow her, could almost smell her trailing scent that was cut off when she went through the door.
The lights inside the locker room were dim—an effort to rein in costs, although it probably saved very little money. He could hear her rattling a metal locker door as he walked down the aisles. They were the only ones in the deserted area.
He moved around a blind corner and saw her going through her purse. She looked up, tilted her head to one side.
“What were you and Lolly Stenz doing in my office?”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t speak.
“Well?”
“We were there because Lolly forgot something.”
“In my office? I hardly think so.” He kept looking at that soft neck of hers, imagining his fingers squeezing, cutting off her air.
“She ... she was showing me around and wanted me to see your office since she worked for you.”
He could see she was uncomfortable with this whole business, but not nearly as nervous as he’d like her to be.
He took a few steps closer. “That was damn unprofessional of her to just up and quit, leave us in the lurch like that, without any notice. She left us in one helluva bad position.”
“It wasn’t intentional, I mean, she didn’t mean to leave you hanging ... ”
He moved in closer until he was no more than arm’s length away. She stepped back—up against her opened locker door.
His insides were on fire. He wanted to choke the life out of her. It was eating at him, pushing him, pushing hard.
She slammed her locker door shut, turned, and hurried away.
“You’d better stay out of my way, Gina Mazzio,” he yelled at her back.
* * *
Tallent raced out of the hospital, ignoring people who called out their greetings. He took the elevator down to the underground parking garage and hurried to his Mercedes AMG sedan.
Settling in, he closed his eyes and gulped deep breaths, trying to get control of his anger.
He’d wanted to choke the life out of that Gina Mazzio. She was a threat that he couldn’t get away from.
What exactly did she know?
What did she and Lolly see when they sneaked into his office?
He leaned back and allowed his senses to take over. Every time he sat in thi
s car it reminded him of Annie. She’d chosen it.
He stared straight ahead, seeing nothing. He could almost remember how it had smelled when it was new—leathery, rich.
And he could still catch the scent of Annie’s special perfume in the interior every now and then.
* * *
He meant to drive straight to his office, but instead he drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, headed for Muir Beach in Marin County. That’s where Annie liked to go. Said it was a lovely drive and it took them away from the stuffy crowds into the openness and fresh smells of the ocean.
He got off the freeway at the Mill Valley exit and went through the twisty roads that used to be so much fun to drive. There was only one other car in the Muir Beach parking lot. It was a gray day with drizzle that left tiny blobs of moisture on the surface of his highly waxed car.
He took his shoes off and walked through the icy sand up to the water’s edge.
It was calm here. Off in the distance a man was throwing a stick for his dog to chase. For a moment he thought about stripping off his clothes and walking out into the sea. Tears ran down his cheeks when he remembered how Annie would dance around him, then stand on tip-toes to kiss him.
Where had it all gone wrong? He kept asking himself that question, over and over, even though the answer was one he’d always known.
He’d forgotten the man who lived in his skin. Instead, he became the man who could make money. Large amounts of money.
His mind was spinning.
It had suddenly turned warmer and the sky had become a bright blue. He could feel the sun warming his skin.
It was so good.
He kept looking at the sky as he walked into the water. He was free and the sun was hypnotic. So bright—calling to him.
“Hey, man, it’s pretty cold for you to be out here.”
Tallent was startled. He turned and stared at a young man dressed in a wet suit. He’d taken hold of his arm. A dog yapped at the both of them.
“Why don’t we go on in now? Okay?”
He had kind eyes. Tallent saw himself, as he used to be.
“Yes, thank you. I think it’s time.”
Chapter 37
Gina and Harry sat at a favorite table in the cafeteria—a huge picture window that gave an open view of the hospital’s atrium garden. Though most of the growth was evergreens, the bare deciduous trees and shrubs still gave the garden a snowless, wintery feeling. Rain or no rain, staring out the window always brightened her day.
When Gina first sat down, she was restless, still disturbed by Tallent’s earlier behavior in the locker room. All morning, she’d hardly been able to concentrate on taking care of patients, some of them pretty sick. It had been a real struggle.
Now with Harry, she tried to pretend everything was fine—but keeping secrets from the person she trusted most in the whole world was difficult.
“Okay, there’s no sense trying to hide from me, Gina Mazzio.” He reached for her hand. “What’s bothering you?”
His blue eyes were always her undoing.
She couldn’t stop herself, blurted out, “I think Mort Tallent intended to kill me this morning.”
His mouth dropped open. “Literally kill you, right here in the hospital?”
She nodded, tried to get it together, calm herself, but she knew that wasn’t going to work, not with Harry. She surrendered, let it all come out in a rush.
“I’d gone to the locker room to get something from my purse. There was no one else in the place, everyone was out on the unit. With the dim lights, it’s kind of spooky in there anyway. Then Tallent popped up out of nowhere. I thought I was going to die of fright.”
She forced herself to stop—to quiet down. Her heart was pounding and that trapped feeling was clawing at her chest.
“Go on,” Harry said. He leaned across the Formica table. “What happened next?” He reached over, took her hand, and squeezed. “Tell me!”
“I was scared. He caught me off guard, blurted it out, ‘What were you and Lolly doing in my office after hours?’”
“He’s probably been waiting for an opportunity to catch you alone so he could question you.”
“That wasn’t it.” Gina saw the concern in Harry’s eyes. She wanted to stop, wipe the worry from his face, find something else to talk about. But she could see he wasn’t going to allow that. “He kept moving closer and closer. There was so much venom oozing from him. I swear, if he’d had a gun, he would have shot me.”
“Oh, babe, do you really think so?” Harry squeezed her hand again.
“Listen, he was beyond angry. He was crazed.” She looked up and saw Vinnie and Helen making their way through the cafeteria food line.
“My brother and Helen are almost to the cashier,” she said. “They’ll be here in a minute or so. Please, please don’t say anything. I can’t stand to see Vinnie die a little bit every time something happens to me.”
Harry sat back up in his seat. “You’re right. We’ll keep our lips zipped about any of this. Vinnie’s finally getting it together. He doesn’t need to know.” He glanced from her to Vinnie and Helen, then back at her.
“But did Tallent actually touch you?”
“No!”
They faked interest in the cold food sitting on the table in front of them and sighed in unison as they started picking at the now unappetizing food.
Gina turned and smiled when Vinnie and Helen got to their table.
* * *
Kat Parker couldn’t eat a drop of her enchilada. The melting cheese was oozing from the center of the tortilla, along with the pinto beans. Normally, she would have been fork-deep in the Mexican dish, but not today. Her appetite was gone at the thought of her cardio procedure the next morning. She couldn’t stop thinking about how this could be her last day on earth. Tomorrow she might die.
But there was still time. She could call off the whole thing ... just plain chicken out.
That thought brought a sudden flood of relief—the pain in her neck disappeared and the heaviness in her chest dissipated.
Watching Cal maneuver his way to her table, tray balanced on one hand, burst that escape bubble. How could she start a new life with him and constantly worry about her health? It wouldn’t be fair.
When he reached the table and sat down, she saw that they’d ordered the very same meals, from appetizer through dessert.
“Damn! We even eat alike now.” He laughed and dug in, taking a mouthful of his enchilada, chewing and posing at the same time to take up another forkful. “Hey, your food’s getting cold, Kat.”
“I’m not very hungry today for some reason.”
He looked at her. Worry lines etched his face, then deepened. “You have to eat to keep up your strength. “Please take a couple of bites. Do it for me.”
She hesitated, then took a small bite. The aroma and taste made her feel a little bit better. She decided then and there that she would do what she had to do, no matter what, so she could be free to love again.
“You’re really the best thing that has ever happened to me, Cal.”
“I know.” He gave her a big, exaggerated smile. “Now dig in before I come around there and give you a slobbery kiss right here in front of everyone., then start feeding you one bite at a time.”
* * *
Vlad awakened with a start.
For a long moment he couldn’t remember where he was. He tried to sit up, but pain ripped through every part of him.
He remembered Rosia had been in bed with him. He’d also heard her voice cursing him in the dark before she got up and left. When she didn’t come back right away, he drifted off to sleep. Now, he carefully turned so he could see the clock on the bedside table: 12:30 p.m. He’d slept through the night and half the day.
“Hello,” he semi-shouted.
No response.
“Hello, Rosia?” Again, silence.
What a stupid fool. You know she’s at work now.
He scooted his legs until they hung
over the edge of the bed. But he couldn’t get his upper body off the mattress. It took several more tries before he managed to get into a sitting position. He sat there for awhile, painfully inhaling and exhaling as if he’d just lifted a massive weight.
When he tried to take a deep breath, steel swords jammed into his ribs. “Oh, my God!” he screamed.
You can’t stay here. You need to get up and get the fuck out of here.
He finally got to his feet and swayed from side to side for a few seconds before he felt secure. Soon the room stopped spinning.
Gotta getaway from here, man.
It had taken a long time to sink in, but the pain helped him to understand.
He’d gotten too comfortable. He’d liked this identity, liked being Vlad Folo. Because of that, he hadn’t relocated or changed his name in almost three years—the longest he’d ever stayed in one place, remained a single identity.
Maybe that mugging was a blessing in disguise.
He shuffled to the large full-length mirror against the wall; it took him a few seconds to get steady in front of his reflection. When he had a solid stance, he eyed his body, smothered in a crazy patchwork of bruises from bottom to top. Then he focused on his face.
“Shit!” he screamed out. He looked like he’d been run over by a train.
Nose taped, eyes a vivid purple-blue. It wasn’t him. It was someone else. Someone wearing a mottled blue mask.
Disgusted, he turned around, put one foot slowly in front of the other and scuffled back to the bed.
Until he healed, he was helpless.
* * *
The tiny screen on Harry’s cell showed his brother’s name.
“So?” he said.
“Got you a guy, Harry. Well, actually, I got you a gal. One of the union clerks.”
“She’s really into computers and systems and all that shit?”
“Don’t even ask me to go into it. Half the words she used were so foreign to my poor brain that I almost asked for a translator.”
“Trustworthy! Is she trustworthy?”
“Oh, yeah! Know why? Don’t answer. Either way, I’m gonna tell you. She thinks her mother and aunt were both bullied into surgeries they really didn’t need. Her mother used up all her savings. Worse, the aunt died. This woman is ready to do most anything to yank these kinds of doctors out of hiding, expose any treatment that’s not on the up and up.”
