“Fuck!” Alexander shouted as he spurted hot and deep within her. She kept her eyes on his as they rode the waves together.
When they quieted, Alexander brushed his lips over Kat’s and pulled back to look into her eyes. “Always look at me. I want you to know it’s me.”
Breathless, Kat reached up to place her palm on the side of his face. “I always know it’s you, Alexander. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Alexander closed his eyes and turned his head to press a kiss into her palm. Emotion welled up inside his chest, and he had an overwhelming urge to make her promise to stay with him always. He had never said I love you to anyone other than his sister. And while he did love Luke like a brother, it didn’t need to be said between the two men. But in this moment the urge to claim Kat with those three words shocked him.
But with everything Alexander wanted, he was decisive, and once the decision was made there was no looking back. It took from the time he withdrew from the warmth of Kat’s body and disposed of the condom to the time he returned to bed to come to terms with the fact that he loved her.
But he was under no illusions that she would be that easy to convince. So instead of professing his undying love for her, Alexander slipped under the covers and pulled her naked body against his. As they lay together, legs entwined, Kat’s head on his chest, Alexander pondered what would happen after the call from Gil came in.
As if she had read his thoughts, Kat said, “When will we hear from Gil?”
Alexander brushed his hand over her hair and down her spine. “Probably tomorrow or the next day at the latest. This man is slippery, but Gil is good. He’ll find him.”
Kat fell silent as she traced her fingers over his chest. It was a long time before either of them drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty Eight
The shrill ring of Alexander’s phone roused them both from sleep a couple of hours later. Alexander knew who it was before he even looked at the screen. From the way Kat’s eyes instantly became alert, Alexander knew she did as well.
“Gil, what have you got?”
“Sir, we’ve got him.”
Alexander briefly closed his eyes. “We will meet you at the warehouse in one hour.”
“Yes, sir.”
Alexander returned his phone to the nightstand and turned to the woman next to him. Kat sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
Kat took a moment to respond, but when she did, it was with a simple, “Yes.”
They shared a long look, neither of them speaking. This was the moment they had been working toward for the last month, and yet neither of them seemed eager to leave.
Finally it was Kat who looked away and got out of bed. Alexander watched as she crossed the room, completely naked and at ease with it, to the bathroom. While she dressed, Alexander warred with the emotions churning inside him. It went against everything he felt for her to allow her to come into contact with this man again. He completely understood her need for vengeance, but he struggled with allowing her to come face to face with the monster who had destroyed her.
With a deep sigh, he went to get dressed himself. Kat opened the bathroom door, and they stood side by side at the sinks, Alexander splashing water on his face, Kat running a brush through her long hair.
She was wearing jeans, brown boots to her knees and a dark fitted jacket. The very same outfit she wore the first time she came to his office. And she exuded the same confidence now that he first detected when he saw her at Dane’s. It seemed that she was the same woman who had first caught his eye. But when her eyes met his in the mirror, Alexander saw just how much she had changed. And he too had been irrevocably changed by her. What would happen after the next few hours was unclear, but Alexander knew that he would never be the same again.
They walked out of his bedroom together. In the kitchen Kat poured herself a glass of orange juice while Alexander placed a call to Luke.
“Yeah?” Luke’s groggy voice answered.
“It’s time. Gil will be meeting us at the warehouse.”
“I’ll be up in ten minutes,” Luke said, his voice now completely alert.
“Is Luke going with us?” Kat asked.
“Going with you where?”
Kat and Alexander both looked over to Natasha standing at the edge of the kitchen. She was in her pajamas but she didn’t look as if she had been sleeping.
“Natasha, what are you doing awake?” Alexander asked.
“Where are you guys going in the middle of the night?” she asked again.
Kat remained silent, letting Alexander take that question.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “Natasha, this isn’t any of your concern. Go back to bed.”
A genuinely pissed off expression crossed her pretty face, and Kat could see that she and her brother shared a temper. “No! Not until you tell me what the hell is going on here.”
“Alexander is helping me with something, Natasha. He can’t tell you what it is, because I asked him not to. It’s…personal.”
Alexander looked at Kat in surprise.
Natasha eyed them suspiciously, but finally relented. “Sorry I got pissy. It’s just sometimes I feel like you still treat me like a little kid. Like I can’t handle stuff.”
Alexander’s face softened as he drew her into a hug. “Go back to bed, Natasha darling. There is nothing for you to worry about.”
He hoped that was true.
The ding of the elevator signaled Luke’s arrival, and he strode into the foyer, stopping short when he saw Natasha.
Alexander released Natasha and held out his hand to Kat. “Are you ready to go?”
With a reassuring smile to Natasha, she placed her hand in his. “Yes.”
Luke followed them onto the elevator, leaving Natasha standing in the kitchen, arms wrapped around herself and a worried expression on her face.
Colin drained the last drop of his stale coffee and checked the time. 4:00 am. He had been up for nearly twenty four hours. When he left the office late last night, he should have gone home. But then he got word that Alexander Petrovsky’s private plane had landed, and Colin couldn’t resist the urge to do some surveillance. Petrovsky had arrived at The Onyx three hours earlier, and though Colin knew it was unlikely he would leave again, he just couldn’t drive away.
Sitting in his car across the street from The Onyx, Colin watched people come and go. The foot traffic was winding down, but would pick back up in just a few hours. He was reaching for the ignition, resigned to going home. Just as Colin eased into the light traffic and drove by the entrance to the underground parking garage he caught a glimpse of movement near the service entrance.
Slamming on the brakes and veering into a parking spot, Colin watched as Luke Wells got in the driver’s seat of a black SUV. Then his gut wrenched as he saw Kat emerge from the hotel - hand in hand with Alexander Petrovsky. Colin very nearly threw open his door and stormed the parking garage, but he somehow reeled himself in.
He watched as Petrovsky held the back door open for Kat and then climbed in beside her. As soon as the SUV pulled out of the garage, Colin did an illegal u-turn and followed. He pulled out his phone, ready to dial for backup. But for what?
At this point, all he had was the three of them out for an early morning drive. No, he would follow from a safe distance. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the time he would catch Petrovsky in the act. Colin just hoped he could keep Kat out of the line of fire.
As he followed the SUV through downtown and toward the west side of the city, a sinking feeling took hold in his gut. He knew all of Petrovsky’s real estate holdings, and he knew the warehouse on this side of town. What reason would Kat have for going to the warehouse - unless… Unless she had found what she’d been looking for. Shit! Colin pounded the steering wheel with his fist when the SUV turned off the main road.
Colin shut off his lights and pulled to the side of the r
oad, watching the taillights of the SUV disappear through the gate that surrounded the seemingly abandoned warehouse. Picking up his phone, he called for backup.
Luke glanced in the rearview mirror as the gate closed behind them. The car that had followed them from the hotel was nowhere to be seen. But Luke knew better than to think it was gone. After months of surveillance, he knew Lewis’ car by sight and his license plate by heart. Drake stood outside the side door to the warehouse. There were two other SUVs in the parking lot, and Luke knew there were others surrounding the perimeter. Gil’s men.
Parking near the side entrance, Luke cut the engine and met Alexander’s eyes in the rearview mirror. With an almost imperceptible nod of his head, Luke motioned for Alexander to join him outside the vehicle.
Alexander gently ran his hand over Kat’s hair and spoke to her quietly. “Wait here for a moment.”
Luke was surprised she actually did as she was told. He got out and met Alexander around the front of the SUV.
“What is it?” Alexander asked.
“The Feds. Lewis tailed us here.”
Alexander didn’t even bother glancing around. “He’s got nothing on me. Or this place. He can sit outside the gate all night for all I care.”
Luke nodded.
Alexander leaned in and spoke quietly. “But if something happens. If the Feds get in here. You let me know. And your number one priority is Katya. Do you understand?” His intense dark gaze burned through Luke.
Luke wasn’t happy about it, but he nodded his agreement. His loyalty was to Alexander. But he begrudgingly understood where Alexander was coming from. Hell, if it was Natasha in a situation like this? He’d willingly turn himself into the FBI before he’d let her be affected in any way.
Colin watched through binoculars as Luke Wells and Petrovsky stood talking at the front of the SUV. They were turned away from him, so he couldn’t see what they were saying. Kat was still inside the vehicle. Sweeping the binoculars from side to side, Colin could see one man guarding the side door to the warehouse near where they had parked. There were two other SUVs in the parking lot, so Colin assumed there were others in the shadows that he couldn’t see.
With every passing minute he became surer that Kat had been brought here to face the man who had abducted her. While Colin understood what that meant to her, his main objective was to bring down Petrovsky and keep Kat safe in the process. He had always viewed Petrovsky as much more than a suspect he investigated. But now? Now this was personal. Seeing that criminal’s hands on Kat? It sparked a fire in Colin.
From his vantage point, there was no sign of any weapons. Nothing that he could get a warrant for. Nothing that would constitute a reason for the FBI to barge the premises.
Colin refocused on the SUV when Petrovsky opened the back door and Kat stepped out. His hands tightened dangerously on the binoculars as he saw Petrovsky tilt Kat’s chin up and kiss her.
Valid reason or not, Colin was going in there when his backup arrived.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Kat watched through the front window as Luke and Alexander talked. Luke didn’t look happy about whatever Alexander was saying, but then again, this wasn’t exactly a picnic they were going to. Her eyes drifted to Drake standing guard at the door. That must be where they were headed. Kat’s heart rate started to pick up as she thought about who was on the other side of that door.
She jumped a little when Alexander opened the door. Taking his outstretched hand, she stepped out of the SUV. Alexander tilted her face up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. His eyes searched hers.
“Is this what you want?” he asked.
Kat wasn’t sure if he was asking about what awaited her in the warehouse or about himself. She nodded yes - to both.
Sliding his hand up her neck to cup the side of her face, he said, “You let me know the second this becomes too much for you, Katya.”
“I will.”
Alexander took one last look at her, to make sure she was ready. He pressed one last kiss to the top of her head and turned to face the warehouse.
Kat’s legs were numb as she walked from the SUV to the side door of the warehouse. She was flanked by Alexander on her left and Luke on her right. Drake stood at the door and nodded to Alexander and Luke as they approached.
“Is he inside?” Alexander asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes, sir. With Mr. Westin.”
“Good.”
Luke handed Alexander a small earpiece, and Kat watched as he inserted it into his ear. His mouth was flattened in a grim line when he nodded at Luke, some unspoken communication passing between the two men.
“Are you ready?” he asked her for the third time that night.
“Yes,” Kat replied with much more confidence than she felt.
Luke took his position on one side of the door with Drake on the other. Alexander turned the knob and opened the door. Kat walked ahead of him through the doorway. A man with a full head of silver hair was holding a gun and standing over another man who knelt on the ground, his head covered with a black hood.
“Gil.”
“Sir.”
The greeting were the only words exchanged between the two men as Gil left, closing the door behind him. Kat stood still just inside the door, and Alexander patiently stood at her side, waiting for her to make a move.
Reaching behind her, Kat pulled the gun from the waistband of her jeans and slowly walked to stand before the kneeling man. His breath was coming in harsh bursts, and he shifted restlessly on his knees with his hands tied behind his back.
Alexander walked silently to the corner of the room and leaned against the wall. Kat glanced over at him. His dark eyes were warm as he looked at her, giving her the reassurance she needed. It was only when he looked to the man on the ground that the calculating coldness returned to his eyes.
The gun rested against her outer thigh, Kat took a step forward, the sole of her boots stepping on the damp concrete of the warehouse floor. Not unlike the concrete floor of the basement she was intimately familiar with - because of this man.
She felt detached from her own body in this surreal experience. Kat tested out her arm by raising the gun. Kat could have sworn she was shaking, trembling so badly she nearly fell to her knees on the concrete floor. Yet when she looked down the barrel of the gun she held pointed at the forehead of the man kneeling before her, her hands were steady. Her body was maintaining the control her mind was quickly losing.
This was the moment she had been working toward for the last eight years. The only thing she had allowed herself to focus on was now before her. It was time to face her past and put it to rest once and for all.
Reaching forward, Kat pulled the black hood covering her enemy’s head. With one swift movement the hood was gone, and the face Kat had been searching for was revealed. Cocking her head to the side, Kat studied the features that held no familiarity for her. And yet the knowledge that he was the one who had been responsible for ruining her life sent a surge of hatred barreling through her body. Her steady hands now began to shake for real, causing the gun to tremble ever so slightly. She heard movement behind her and gave a sharp shake of her head, once again steadying the gun. This man was hers to deal with. This was her revenge.
As he saw who it was he was kneeling before, the man’s face lost its fearful expression and his eyes roamed greedily over Kat’s body. Her skin crawled as surely as if he had touched her with his hands. A low growl rumbled behind her. Kat squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man grunted.
Kat heard movement from behind her again, and the man’s eyes shifted, and his expression once again became fearful. No doubt because he had seen who stood behind Kat, and he clearly understood what that meant for him.
Angry that his reaction was to the man standing quietly behind her in the shadows and not because she held a gun to his head, Kat moved her finger off the trigger and gripped the butt of the gun in her
fist.
“Look at me!” she demanded as she brought the gun swinging across the left side of his face. Not hard enough to knock him out, but with enough force to get his attention. Turning his head, he spit out blood onto the damp concrete floor.
“Cunt,” he muttered under his breath.
Kat smiled to herself and narrowed her eyes. That one word was enough to set her blood boiling and remind her of the reason she was here in the first place. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Kat considered this turning point in her life. Everything she had been and done for the past eight years had led up to this moment. If she did this, there would be no turning back. Taking a life would forever brand her as a killer, regardless of the justification behind the action.
The choice she held in her hands was about more than just pulling the trigger. It was a choice between the frightened girl she had been and the strong fearless woman she had become. For someone who had been denied choice once in her life, Kat fully understood the weight of this decision.
With a deep breath, Kat opened her eyes and made her choice.
Alexander’s casual stance belied his inner turmoil. He leaned his shoulder against the cinderblock wall and watched as Kat closed her eyes and her chest rose on a deep breath. The situation he found himself in was not unfamiliar. This warehouse had been utilized before for activities such as this.
But the emotions coursing through him were completely out of character. Alexander had already come to terms with his feelings for Kat. He loved her. Plain and simple. There was nothing complicated about that.
To have found someone who did not judge his methods of generating income - that was priceless. Yet it was that very thing that had him doing something he had never done before.
Watching Kat decide whether or not to shoot the man kneeling before her, Alexander questioned his choices for the first time in his life. For the first time he found himself regretting becoming a man who would allow the woman he loved to venture down that same dark path.
Black Kat Page 20
