I slowly shut my eyes to prevent the tears from falling that so desperately wanted to escape, and I vowed I would get out of this alive.
Alfred knocked his elbow against something in the closet, and I immediately felt the tension in the air change when he realized his mistake. I slowly turned over on my side and pretended to sink deeper under the comforter as if I’d naturally rustled in sleep but nothing more.
I played the part of Sleeping Beauty as best I could, and after several seconds, I heard Alfred slide the drawer closed, but I didn’t hear him move.
I only heard his breathing quicken to a disturbing pace that made every single cell in my body ache with a horror and fright few in this world would know. With the sheet shielding most of my view, I slowly opened my eyes to a sliver and saw Alfred arch his spine slowly. His head tipped back as his chest puffed out from the breath he drew, and disgust filled my body with every passing second.
Even in the darkness of night, Alfred’s face looked sallow and gaunt compared to when I last saw him in the hospital.
My arms were heavy with fear that he wouldn’t stick to his routine. That he’d decide to claim his reward now instead of finishing his ritualized hunt.
His shadow crossed the bedroom, and in an instant, he was gone. Every possible emotion engulfed my senses, but I lay still until I heard the creak of the stairs and the click of the front door. I wanted to believe I’d imagined the entire thing, but I knew better, and the moment I heard the squeak of the first step, I knew I had made it out alive.
This time.
But I’d never be able to claim the peace that was rightfully mine.
Not because I didn’t believe we would catch Alfred, but because I knew there were others out there just like him.
I studied them and promised myself there was a cure.
That we could fix the human brain.
The click of the front door brought absolutely no comfort, but I quickly rolled out of bed and made my way to the window, careful not to cause any shadows as I peeked out the window.
This wasn’t a neighborhood where people loitered on the sidewalks, or late-night parties erupted, or neighbors drunkenly crawled into their homes at night’s end. No one would notice he’d been here. Alfred would become a figment of my imagination in a moment’s time.
I watched him cross the street at a leisurely pace, probably congratulating himself on a job well done. His car wasn’t anywhere I could see it. I reached for my phone on the nightstand and quickly dialed 9-1-1.
The moment the operator answered and I explained the situation, she promised a patrol car would arrive as soon as it could, but I knew that wouldn’t be soon enough. I knew word would get to my dad in a matter of minutes. I didn’t have the strength to call him.
I thanked her and crawled back onto my bed. I didn’t want to disturb anything in my home. I refused to look in the closet. He didn’t usually take trophies until the final act was committed, but I couldn’t bear to find out if he’d stolen something from my mom’s jewelry box.
I brought my knees into my chest as my body trembled and I tried to calm myself down. I didn’t understand how he’d gotten in. All the doors and windows had been locked.
Unless he’d been here the entire time.
The nausea in my stomach burned up my throat, and I sat in my bed shaking, waiting for the sounds of a patrol car. There was a part of me that wanted to reach out to Blake, but I knew that would only bring trouble, and at the very least, complication. This wasn’t his problem.
I wasn’t Blake’s problem. There was nothing he could do to make things better.
Alfred was going to slip into the night again, but it had been the only option if I wanted to survive. If I had attempted to flee or tried to call for help, he would’ve done to me what he’d done to all the others.
Another shiver ran through me, and my phone rang. It was my dad. I picked up my phone and couldn’t even say hi. All I wanted was for Alfred to go away.
In the darkest part of my heart, I wanted Alfred shown absolutely no mercy when he was caught, but I knew that wasn’t the world we lived in.
Chapter Seventeen
Blake
Drake sank down next to me on the leather couch with a sigh.
“This is too early, man.” Drake rubbed his palms over his face and groaned.
“Devin’s got a location on Max,” I informed him.
“At six in the morning?” Drake stretched his legs in front of him and looked toward his kitchen. “The coffee pot’s not even scheduled to go off for another fifteen minutes.”
I smiled and shook my head.
This was a man who never strolled into his house until this time, and now he was dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and slippers waiting for his coffee.
“What?” he growled.
“You’re softening.”
“Not even in the slightest.” His smile widened. “But would I rather be in bed with the woman I love than hear you chatter at six in the morning? Hell yeah.” His dark brows furled. “What’s got you up so early anyway?”
“I haven’t been to bed yet.” I squeezed the muscles in my neck and stretched my spine.
“Rough night?”
“I was with Ava.”
“The doctor?”
“She’s gotten under my skin.”
“Well, if you’re already unable to sleep . . .” He grimaced.
I laughed. “She’s got a situation.”
“And needs our help?” Drake rolled his eyes. “Funny how we’re the bad guys until we’re the good guys.”
“No. I don’t think she’d ever ask for our help.”
The coffee pot beeped on, and Drake stood up and stretched.
“So what’s up then?”
“Some guy’s been stalking her.”
“An old boyfriend?” he asked.
“Worse.”
“What could be worse?”
“A patient.”
My brother eyed me cautiously. “What kind of patient?”
“Well, she didn’t give me his official diagnosis. He escaped from prison.”
“He was in prison and escaped?” My brother was shocked.
“He was in the state hospital on the prison grounds,” I corrected. “But yeah.”
“What’s his name?”
“Only have the first name. Alfred. He’s been sending her things, taunting her, and she just realized he’s back in town.” I scratched the stubble on my chin. “When Devin and I were at her clinic, we saw a creep roaming around the campus, eyeing her office. When he left, we decided to follow him, and it turned out he went to her house and left a note. He’s a really skittish guy, wiry . . .” I scowled. “A real loser.”
“Surprised the authorities haven’t caught up to him yet.” The sarcasm was easy to miss.
“Anyway, between that and going over the information about Max, I was too jacked to get any sleep.”
My brother filled two cups with coffee and handed me one.
“Max is in Miami. I think it’s time Devin and I pay him a visit, find out what made him think what he did was a good idea.”
“He was sending a message, but I haven’t a clue what it is.” Drake leaned against the granite counter and looked out the window. The sun was just starting to appear over the city. “Mia’s gonna be getting up soon. She’s working on an installation at a gallery on 42nd.” I followed his gaze to his gun cabinet. No one else would know what sat concealed behind the doors. “The Sokolovs want nothing to do with us. They don’t want any trouble after Anton and Artur. They understand what was done and left it at that. Max went at this alone.”
“Soon, we’ll find out why,” I added.
“Send the Pacans,” Drake mumbled and eyed me. It appeared the decision had already been made.
It was unusual for my brother to pull rank or mention the Bratva structure. Since my father’s death, the role of the Pakhan, the mob boss, went to my brother, Jaxson. The Pacans, who reported to m
y brothers, did most of their dirty work. I supposed that meant they reported to me, as well, but I had no reason to call on them.
They were our warriors, but this fight was personal. I wanted to look into the eyes of the man who ordered the hit on me. I needed to make him pay.
“Mom wanted me to handle it.”
“This is your way of handling it.”
I shook my head. “I want to come face-to-face with this coward.”
Drake hid a smile and poured another cup of coffee as Mia trundled down the hall.
Surprise registered on her face when she spotted me, but she hid it quickly.
“Morning,” I said, suddenly feeling like I was intruding.
“Morning, Blake.” She smiled, resting her hand on her belly over the red fleece robe. “Rough night?”
“Wouldn’t know yet.” I grinned.
“Sounds familiar.” She took a deep breath of Drake’s cup of coffee. “Someday, I’ll get the good stuff again.”
“Want me to make you decaf?” Drake asked, already moving to the cabinet.
“Nah. It’ll just remind me of what I’m missing.” She opened the fridge and poured apple juice in a large glass. “So what brings you here this fine morning?”
I glanced at Drake and he gave a nod.
“We found the guy who—”
“Ahh.” She put her hand up. “Gotcha.”
“Drake’s trying to convince me not to go meet him in Miami.”
“Don’t you think he deserves the chance?” Mia asked my brother.
Her response took me off-guard, and I realized my mom was right about her on many levels. Mia was the perfect addition to our family.
“I mean, that guy took away what was most important to Blake.” Her eyes connected with mine and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “It can’t be easy to think your life is going in one direction and then you wind up doing a complete U-turn.”
“He knew it would happen someday,” Drake said quietly.
“I’d have preferred it on my terms.”
“Absolutely,” Drake agreed. “I do think if you and Devin insist on going down there, you should let the guys do the actual work.”
“I was looking forward to the opportunity.”
Drake sighed and nodded. “We know, which is precisely why Jaxson and I thought it would be better for you not to be involved. You might get sloppy on accident. It’s been a while.”
My phone vibrated, and I slid it out of my back pocket. Expecting to see a text from Devin, I was surprised when it was a message from Ava. My blood ran cold when I read her text. It was like the entire room fell away.
“What’s wrong?” Drake asked, setting his coffee cup down.
“That guy I told you about who’s after Ava?”
“Yeah?”
“He was inside her house last night while she was sleeping.”
“Is she okay?” Drake asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I doubt it.”
I no longer cared about Max. Send the Pacans to take care of business. This was more important.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let her go home alone last night.”
“What’s going on?” Mia asked as I quickly dialed Ava’s number.
I heard Drake explaining as the phone rang and rang. After what seemed like countless rings, she picked up.
“Ava? What happened? Are you hurt?” I walked into the living room and sat on the couch.
She sniffed in and let out a sigh.
“He got in my house. Alfred was here.” I heard a cry catch in her throat, and I wanted to hold her and promise her that nothing like this would happen again. “He snuck in while I was sleeping. I—” she stopped.
“You what, baby?” I prompted.
“I don’t know what made me wake up. I don’t know if he touched me. I just don’t know, but he was watching me, going through my things.”
A chill came over the room, and I realized the anger I had toward Max was nothing compared to what I felt for this man.
“What can I do? How can I help?” I asked.
“There’s nothing . . .” she sniffled. “The police are doing everything they can. My father’s beside himself.”
“I can only imagine. You’re not going into work today, are you?” I asked.
“I have to. I can’t stay here. I need to stay busy.”
“Do you have a place to stay tonight?” I asked.
“I’ll be at my house. I’m not going to let this man run me out of my home.”
Mia walked into the living room and waved at me.
“I can send security,” she mouthed. “Luke’s got several teams here.”
I nodded and smiled.
“Let me send security over. They can—”
“I make a good living, but I can’t afford that,” she interrupted.
“You can’t afford not to.” I took in a deep breath. “Besides, it’s all in the family. No charge.”
“I just can’t take a gift like that.”
“Ava, it’s not a gift. It’s a necessity.” I nodded at Mia, and she began making a call to her brother, Luke Fletcher, as she walked into the kitchen.
“The police are on it. He left behind some evidence, which will tie him directly to this. He’s not going to get off when they catch him.”
The way her voice changed brought a sharp pain to my chest. What kind of evidence?
“I mean absolutely no disrespect to our police or your father, but if they were on it, Alfred would be in custody. The police have many people to protect. Our men will only have you to protect.” I was met with silence. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for a day or two.” She finally relented.
“Or until he’s apprehended.”
“The way it’s going, that could be a while.”
“You’ve just proven my point.”
She chuckled, and my chest loosened slightly.
“What can I do to help?” I asked again, hoping she’d want me to come over.
Ava was extremely independent, and I didn’t want to overstep my bounds.
“It was just nice to have someone to listen,” she confessed.
“That is a job I can handle.”
“I should probably head to work.” She sighed, and I could tell she wasn’t ready to hang up.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked.
“Positive.”
“Text me when you get into the office. I want to make sure everything’s okay, and the moment I know what time and who will be assigned to you, I’ll let you know.”
She brought in a shaky breath and thanked me again before quickly hanging up.
“You know we can find him,” Drake said, taking a seat in the chair across from me.
“You think?” I asked.
“I know.” He propped his elbows on his knees. “We’ve got the dark internet at our fingertips. We found Max.”
“True.” I nodded, unable to shake the fear threaded through Ava’s voice. “I can’t believe he got to her.” I shook my head. “I just can’t believe it.”
“The police have any leads?” Drake asked, his gaze darkening. We were used to solving our own problems for so long that it was almost comical to discuss the authorities in times of crisis.
“Lots of evidence, but no man.” I pressed my lips together and let out a deep breath. “What would you do?”
Drake’s familiar grin spread across his face. “I’d take care of business.”
“Personally?” My brow arched.
“However it gets done.”
“He can’t go missing.”
“He’s already missing.”
“True.”
“But what do you mean he can’t go missing?” His eyes narrowed on me.
“Her father’s a cop and she really believes in the system.”
“And the longer this continues, the less she’ll believe.” He shrugged.
Mia waltzed back into
the room with her glass of juice.
“Things always work out.” She beamed. “My brother has two men free and can get them into the city by lunch.”
“He doesn’t mind?” I asked.
“Not at all. Believe me, he’s got more than enough men to spare a couple.” She winked.
“Thanks, Mia.”
“That’s what family is for.” She leaned down and gave Drake a kiss on his cheek before going down the hall to their bedroom.
“I think this Max thing has to go on hold,” I told my brother, but he shook his head.
“Not how it works.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ava
The police couldn’t figure out how Alfred got into my home. They were certain I’d left the doors unlocked. I was positive I’d locked them, but there was no use in arguing. My dad circled the property several times and didn’t see any forced entry or footprints either, which only led to a complex mystery that gave me a pounding headache.
Alfred somehow broke into my home without a trace, and I was no longer safe anywhere. No one would dare say it, but I saw it in everyone’s eyes. My father wanted me to come to his house to stay, but I knew if Alfred wanted to get to me, he would.
He may have touched all of my jewelry and clothing, but he didn’t take anything. I didn’t know if that made it better or worse. Alfred’s pattern had always been that when he was moving closer to his final act, he’d take something. He was a man of routine, so I didn’t know if that meant he was going to be stringing me along a little longer or if something made him change his way of operating. I’d been counting on his history to try to stay one step ahead, so the last thought was worrisome.
I glanced out my living room window and saw the large, black SUV with two very large men sitting inside. The first day Paul and Adam showed up, I felt foolish, but I also experienced something I hadn’t since Alfred began his game with me.
Relief.
I knew this was only temporary. There was no way I would be able to afford private security, and it made absolutely no sense to keep them longer than a day or two more, but I was grateful for their presence now.
I’d spent the last couple of days at the clinic finishing up my work affairs, transferring notes on my patients to other doctors, and cleaning out my office. With the latest development, Dr. Phillips didn’t feel it was necessary to finish my week out, so other than a farewell lunch tomorrow, I was officially done.
Blake: A Romantic Suspense (V Mafia Series Book 1) Page 14
