by Katie Reus
Inhaling the fresh air, she savored the quiet of the neighborhood as she made her way to her favorite park. This early, she didn’t run through the park, just around it, where she was still visible along main roads. She also didn’t run with an MP3 player because she liked the time to be alone with her own thoughts without any outside noise. She rarely got that with her high-pressure job at the NSA. Even if she didn’t have the job she had, she still wouldn’t have run with noise pumping in her ears. She liked to be aware of her surroundings at all times.
She carried bear spray with her—because no mugger or would-be rapist was going to be able to withstand that kind of pain—and a switchblade. A gift from her brother, Clint, who’d died in Afghanistan seven years ago. Whenever he’d been home he’d always brought her gifts. Usually weapons, because he’d been determined that she protect herself, since he couldn’t have been there. As if he could have watched out for her twenty-four/seven if he’d been there anyway, which was a ridiculous concept. But he’d always been so protective. He’d been more like a parent to her than their own damn father had ever been.
Shaking those thoughts away, Karen increased her pace, enjoying the way her muscles burned and stretched. She ran every day, like clockwork. If it rained, she used the treadmill in her condo’s gym, but she much preferred being outdoors.
When she came up to a four-way intersection, she slowed and jogged in place as she looked both ways before crossing. There weren’t any cars or people out this morning, which was a little creepy. Feeling paranoid, she unhooked her bear spray from her hip holster and held it loosely in her hand. Her friends made fun of her for the precautions she took, but she’d seen too much shit at her job to take safety lightly.
As she reached the sidewalk that stretched along the park’s small strip of a dozen parking spots, she slowed. A dark SUV with tinted windows sat in one of the spots, the engine running. The exhaust from the tailpipe was visible and, in the quiet, she could hear the distinct hum of the engine. Glancing around, she didn’t see anyone else.
Not caring if she was being paranoid, she slowed and turned back around to avoid going past the vehicle. She’d just take a different route that didn’t involve the park.
At the sound of an engine revving, she glanced over her shoulder. The SUV was pulling out of the spot and heading in her direction. Her heart rate kicked up. She knew she was probably acting crazy but didn’t care. Veering off the sidewalk, she raced through the park where vehicles couldn’t go. As she cleared a cluster of trees without the sound of running feet coming after her, she let out a shaky breath and kept up her pace.
Holy Shit. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she nearly stumbled when she saw a man dressed in all black step out from the trees.
That face.
Recognition slammed into her with the intensity of a battering ram. Since he wore a scarf around his neck and a knit cap on his head, she couldn’t spot one of the distinguishing features she’d seen in the file she had on him. But she knew he had a jagged scar around his neck and tended to favor shaving his head.
She knew it was him from his icy blue eyes.
Grisha. A murdering psychopath.
Fear took hold, its unforgiving grip squeezing around her chest like a vise, colder than the winter-morning air.
Though she wanted to run, she stopped and spun around on the sidewalk, pulling up her bear spray with a steady hand. No one could withstand this, and she just wanted the chance to get away. “Get back!” she shouted, her finger steady on the trigger. She was glad she wasn’t outwardly shaking. She needed to paint a picture of calm even if she was trembling inside.
To her surprise, he held up his hands and almost looked apologetic as he watched her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Karen.”
Holy hell, he knew her name. So this definitely wasn’t random. Because why would this guy be in Baltimore of all places, in the same park she ran by almost every day? Did he know whom she worked for? God, he probably wanted to torture her for information. She wasn’t going to stand around and ask him a bunch of questions. She was too far away to spray him. The fact that he knew her name and was a violent criminal was enough for her to run for her life.
Turning, she raced down the sidewalk, her heart beating out of control, the sound of her blood rushing in her ears so loud, she couldn’t tell how close he was behind her.
She wanted to pull out her phone, but she’d strapped it around her ankle so it would be out of her way. She couldn’t risk slowing down. If she could just get somewhere public, maybe she could flag someone for help.
As she moved deeper into the park, she cursed herself for coming this way. As she risked another glance over her shoulder, full-blown panic exploded inside her like fireworks. He was about twenty feet behind her and closing. He moved fast for such a big man. The range on her spray was thirty feet, so she could take him. She’d only get one shot at this so she had to do it right.
His expression was grim and he said something to her, but she couldn’t hear anything above the blood rushing in her ears.
She could keep running, but he was going to reach her soon. And she knew without a doubt she’d lose against him in any sort of hand-to-hand combat. She’d seen pictures of what he’d done to someone who’d crossed him. This might be her only chance to get away or at least get help. Drawing in a deep breath, she let out a bloodcurdling scream, hoping someone would hear her, as she stopped and turned to spray him.
Still screaming, she started to press the trigger when a blur of motion out of the corner of her eye made her stumble backward.
A man burst from the trees lining the sidewalk, wearing the same attire as Grisha. There were two of them!
Pressing the trigger, she started spraying wildly as the newcomer tackled her. She flew back against the sidewalk, her head slamming against it as she lost her grip on the bear spray.
“Don’t hurt her!” Grisha shouted.
But that couldn’t be right. Unless he wanted to be the one to inflict pain. She tried to struggle, but the other man had her in a firm grip and she couldn’t stop gasping, her chest terrifyingly tight. She couldn’t breathe through the panic suffocating her. Every horrible photo or crime scene she’d ever seen at work crashed in on her at once. She didn’t want to be a fucking statistic! She blinked as everything around her became fuzzy. Stay awake, she ordered herself as the edges of her vision started to fade.
No, no, no. She couldn’t be unconscious around these monsters. But she couldn’t control her breathing. It was too fast, too panicked. Pins and needles erupted in her hands and feet. Her eyeballs felt like they were bulging. The edges of her vision closed in. Her body refused to listen as darkness swept her under.
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