by Powers, Jade
Because that’s what any smart man would do.
She said, “I was on a deadline packing. No time for the finer points.”
“Ah.” Sven changed the subject, “Where would you like to eat? My treat.”
Minka led the way down the stairs, her feet at a dancer’s tempo. She needed a moment to think. While she had lived in Spokane for five years, Minka had rarely gone out to eat. She said, “I don’t really eat out much. I saw an IHOP sign from the freeway.”
The International House of Pancakes. Sven said, “Sure.”
Sven had leased a black pickup parked just outside the apartment building. He opened the door for Minka. The interior was immaculate. Minka climbed up, needing the runner. As she settled into the passenger seat, her shoulder blades itched. She felt watched.
Minka didn’t dare look around. Sven would think she was paranoid. Maybe she was, but for good reason. Joe was a long-haul semi driver and would be off his run by now. He would know she was gone.
As Sven backed out of the parking space, Minka caught a glimpse of Joe’s old beat-up Chevy. It could have been a fluke, maybe someone else in the apartment had a truck like that. Not a likely scenario. Minka felt as if ice water were trickling down her spine, making her shiver.
“Are you okay? You look scared. I promise I’m one of the good guys,” Sven joked.
Minka played with the handle, her face turned away from Sven. She didn’t want him to see how humiliated she felt, how terrified. Completely missing the jest, she said, “No, it’s not you. I thought I saw someone I knew. I left my ex because he thought it was okay to throw me around. He might show up at some point. It’s made me cautious. ”
The forced cheerfulness twisted in Sven’s gut. Throw me around. At least she got out. What a conversation starter. Sven said, “Do you think he’ll come after you?”
“If he finds out where I live, yeah.” Minka hated admitting it. Hated her weakness. She said, “He’s a long haul trucker. After the last time, my coworker and I threw as many of my things together as possible, and I fled. My new address isn’t supposed to be public, but he knows where I work, so I have to drive in figure eights on the way home just to make sure I’m not followed.”
Sven studied the mirrors as he turned into traffic. There had only been one occupied car in the parking lot, the old beat-up Chevy with dings on the driver door. Sven didn’t think Minka could see the driver. Sven had a few inches on her and had seen a guy slouched down in the driver’s side, wearing a baseball cap and trying his best to look inconspicuous.
The Chevy tailed them, keeping a respectable distance. The crosswalk sign started blinking, indicating a yellow light was coming. The right lane had space.
“Hang tight,” Sven said. He turned on his blinker and dodged into the right lane, taking the turn while the light turned yellow. Instead of slowing down, he poured on the gas and then turned into the back of a car wash.
Sven drove slowly around the building. He said, “Does your ex drive a Chevy pickup?”
To her credit, Minka took the whole sudden turn and crazy driving well. She sat perfectly still, her expression the picture of calm, although her eyes had widened slightly, betraying her fear. She said, “Yes. I had hoped I was just being paranoid.”
“The car followed us out of the apartment by about twenty seconds. Your ex found you.” Sven tapped the gas and pulled away from the building, re-entering traffic. The idea of Minka’s ex hung heavy in the cab. Sven was glad he hadn’t made this a formal date. He didn’t need the kind of trouble a stalker would bring.
“We were together in high school.” Minka said, her eyes haunted by the memories.
Sven wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be an explanation of something. He drove back roads and quiet streets and made appropriate noises to indicate that he was listening. The last thing he wanted was the play book to Minka’s former relationships.
“It started a few years ago. Nothing huge. He barely pushed me the first time, but I guess it got easier as time went on. Memories of how things had been trapped me for a while. I went home for Thanksgiving. My little niece was four years old when I met her the first time. Somehow I’d spent all that time a few hours drive from my family and never went to visit. He didn’t want me to travel alone and wouldn’t come with me.”
“Control freak.” Sven said. He leaned in that direction himself, but only in his personal life. He didn’t organize other people into little boxes of behavior.
“At first I thought he was just tired from the road. He was gone for weeks at a time, so when he was home, I was, too.”
That was the moment when Sven decided definitely and without doubt that he would never ask Minka out on another date. He needed a woman who could stand up for herself, who could take the weeks of loneliness when Drake needed his Security Chief on site in Miami or New York. So far, finding that woman had proved elusive.
He just had to get through this date.
They arrived at the restaurant without further incident. Sven ordered bacon and eggs, Minka the strawberry waffle. Somehow the topic of conversation turned to giant squid which had them cracking up. When Sven returned with Minka, he skimmed the parking lot looking for the Chevy truck. He returned Minka to her door without a kiss or a request for another date.
Sven unlocked the door to his own apartment, but he couldn’t get his mind off Minka. He paced the living room, thinking. She was gorgeous, true. But the past she carried weighed a ton. Somehow, he clicked with Minka, which was unusual. He closed himself off to most people. Yesterday he had laughed out loud three times, and that was a record.
The phone rang, interrupting Sven’s internal chaos. It was Drake, his boss and owner of Advanced Innovative Technology. Sven said, “Hey, man. Get that situation settled in Florida?”
“Someone tried to hack into our server today. Only for a few minutes, but long enough to be a concern. Lauren thinks someone tampered with the tapes, but she doesn’t see anything to prove it,” Drake said. Drake was his boss and best friend. They had been together in the armed forces. When he inherited his dad’s biotech company, he invited Sven to join him.
“I’ll go in and see what’s up.” Sven said.
Drake cleared his throat. “I have something else in mind. Don’t go into the lab for a few weeks. Consider this an extended vacation. I want this bastard to feel comfortable. We’re setting a trap.”
“The facility is not as secure as I’d like,” Sven said. Sure they had scans and codes and cameras, but for the level of technology they were protecting, he wanted an impregnable fortress, especially now that their security was thrown into doubt.
“Sven, someone is systematically compromising my people. This is personal. I know McFarland is supposedly on our team this go-around, but I’ve had too many employees tell me that they were threatened for this to be coincidental. Someone who knows our operations is in the middle of this. I need you to back off so that the intruder tips his hand. My gut isn’t proof that McFarland is behind this.”
“Proof enough for me.” Sven heard footsteps on the stairs outside. Terrible Timing! He heard a thump and then a key in the lock. Minka must have had a bag in her hands.
Sven thought it was probably just as well that he was on the phone with Drake. Otherwise, his attraction might get the better of him. Drake said, “Just lay low for a few weeks. I think they’re going to make a move. I’d like to catch them at it.”
“Yes, sir.” Sven said. He could think of one very good reason to take a couple weeks of forced vacation, even if it went against all logic. Maybe they could have one more date before he gave up on Minka.
After disconnecting the call, he heard the sound of the door opening again and Minka running down the stairs for more bags.
A minute later Minka’s scream pierced the air.
Chapter 3
SVEN MOVED QUICKLY to the door, hand on his weapon. He heard a man’s voice say, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Minka’s v
oice went up a pitch. She sounded annoyed when she asked, “What are you doing here?” Beneath that annoyance was genuine fear. Her words were brave, but Sven detected a tremor in her voice.
“I was in the neighborhood. Wondered how you’re doing. Do you need help moving in?”
Sven listened from the other side of the door. The guy talking to Minka acted as if he knew her well. Probably the ex.
That was when things got rough.
Minka said, “Get your hands off me. We’re through, Joe. I don’t want help moving in. I want you to leave me the hell alone.”
Sven almost opened the door then to ask if she was okay, but he heard her coming up the stairs. He figured the guy turned away, until he heard a booming voice ask, “Who was that guy you were with? I saw you in his car.”
Sven wondered what her answer would be. Minka didn’t bother responding to the question. She said, “Get away from me, Joe. We’re done.”
Sven heard her rabbit back into the room and shut the door. Then he heard the sound of a sharp crack as her ex slammed against the door, forcing his way in. Sven was already moving when he heard Minka tell the guy to get out. It was a scared order, one without power, one that wouldn’t stick.
Sven didn’t hesitate. With his current job and a past in the military, he had a concealed-carry, a Glock. It gave him a sense of security when he was in public. He knew it didn’t make him invincible, and he’d never actually drawn on anybody outside of a war zone or work for the company. His gun was fired in target practice.
This was a first. Sven drew his gun.
He heard Minka scream and the sound of a blow. The door was ajar. He could see where the faux wood was damaged by Joe’s forced entry. Apparently Minka had retreated, thinking that she would be safe with the closed door. He heard Minka say, “This is my apartment. This is my life. Get out of it.”
“I’m going to kill you, Bitch. What kind of life will you have then?”
Sven pushed the door all the way open and stepped in. In an instant he took in the scene. Amidst the sea of boxes, a man with a goatee shot with gray straddled Minka with his fingers wrapped around her throat. She twisted and turned, her own fingers trying to pry him off.
Sven aimed his gun at Joe and shouted, “Step away from her or I’ll blow your brains out."
It took a second for Joe to register that there was someone in the room with them, and another second to realize that he was in mortal danger. When he did, he pushed away from Minka, his hands up. Joe didn’t stop talking, even with a gun pointed in his direction. He asked, “What the hell were you doing with Minka? I saw the way you looked at her. She’s my fiancée.”
“You never asked me to marry you, and I sure as hell never said yes,” Minka said.
Minka slid out from under Joe. She recoiled from him, pulling away as if he were a giant spider, her face a mixture of revulsion and horror. Her hair had been half-pulled out of its ponytail and the wisps made her look young. Sven stepped further inside and backed into the space between kitchen and the dining room. He wanted to provide a healthy distance between himself and Joe.
Joe held his hands in the air, but he did a small circle with his right hand as he said, “It was understood.”
Sven’s gun was trained on Joe. He felt cold furor. Ice swept through his mind, clarity of the moment. It was as if the world had slowed down to a crawl and the edges of reality had hardened until the world was only visible in sharp edges. There was Sven and Joe. That was it.
“Lay down flat out on the floor, face down and put your hands behind your head.” Sven said. Joe flexed his fingers a few times and Sven waited. He could almost see Joe calculating his odds against Sven if he tried to attack and take the gun. In the end Joe lowered himself to the floor between two of Minka’s boxes.
Minka stumbled away from Joe. Her face was pale but for a welt on her cheek. Sven wanted to help her but didn’t dare lose sight of the real danger. She blinked when she saw Sven and the gun pointed at Joe.
“Minka, call the police,” Sven said. He watched Joe. Tough guy when he was beating up Minka, but a coward when faced with real threat.
Joe couldn’t keep his mouth shut though. He said, “Hey, man. Don’t do that. This is just a thing between a guy and his girl. You know how it is.”
“Yeah. You’re an ass. I know how it is,” Sven said. He stood stock still, his focus clean. It was one of his strengths, that focus. No gun of his would accidentally go off. Accidents were emotion. Accidents were a lack of attention either to your weapon or the world around you.
Minka picked up the phone and dialed. Her hands shook. Her voice shook. She froze when they asked for the address. In a small voice she said, “I don’t know the address.”
Sven said, “Tell them it’s across from my apartment.” He gave her his address, and she repeated it to the operator.
They waited a while for the police to show. Every second felt like an eternity. Sven didn’t talk to Minka, didn’t talk to Joe. He told Minka to stay back, and together they waited.
The police arrived and arrested Joe. They checked Sven’s I.D. and concealed carry permit. When they finally hauled him out and were done with the questions, it was as if Minka deflated. All of her energy just fled. She sat with her back against one of the empty walls and stared at the carpet.
When the door shut behind the last officer, the room fell into awkward silence.
Sven broke the silence first. “Are you okay? Do you need ice?”
“Just a little shaken. Do you want to stay a bit? I don’t have a place to sit, but I could use the company.”
The room was a mess, boxes strewn everywhere and no furniture. It gave Sven a slightly claustrophobic feeling. Sven said, “Why don’t you come over to my apartment instead?”
Minka lifted her chin. Her eyes were red from crying. There were red spots on her neck from where her ex had choked her, and her cheek was turning a darker shade of pink. She said, “I want to finish unpacking.”
“Let’s get you some ice for that cheek first. I’ll unpack. You point.” Sven made her an icepack with a plastic freezer bag, ice, and a dishtowel. Functional at least.
Sven didn’t talk her out of unpacking. She seemed to need some semblance of control in her life. Her kitchen chairs were covered with shopping bags full of utensils and kitchen items. He moved the bags and settled her into one of the chairs.
With firm gentleness, he asked, “Do you have more in the car? I’ll bring them up.”
Minka nodded, wiping another tear out of her eye, “Thanks. That would be nice. I went shopping for some things. That damn jerk. I’m not sad. I’m angry, but it comes out as tears.”
Sven didn’t trust himself to say anything. His own rage gave him an unquenchable desire to commit murder on the guy who hurt her. While Minka held the icepack to her cheek, he double-timed it down the stairs to get her stuff. It was good to be able to do something to help, to get rid of all that adrenaline. He grabbed the book shelves box she had purchased for her books and carried it up, lowering it to the carpet.
“I don’t know how to thank you. I’ve seen him angry before, but this time...I really thought he was going to kill me.”
Her hair was half out of the loose ponytail she had been wearing, and her face was blotchy from crying. Somehow it made her even prettier. He said, “I’m glad I could help.”
Sven spent the next hour with Minka. She couldn’t sit still for more than a few minutes. She put the bag of ice in the freezer and started pulling pots and pans out of a giant box and settling them in the cupboards. She didn’t have a large quantity of anything, but what she had was well-cared for.
Once her car was empty, Sven locked the car for Minka. He wasn’t ready to leave her alone yet. The cautious way she watched the door, as if her ex was going to blast through at any moment made him long to care for her, protect her. He asked, “Do you have someone who can stay with you?”
Minka stepped past a pile of bags, opening the coat closet.
Her purse hung on the hook on the door. Sven found it a little funny. Amidst the sea of boxes Minka’s phone was hooked up and her purse put away. Nothing else was settled. She pulled an address book out of her purse and held it up. “My friend and coworker. Just a phone call away, but I can’t call every time I’m scared of shadows.”
“You have a legitimate reason to be scared.” Sven said. He watched her flip through the address book. She wanted to be independent. She also wanted security. He could understand the dilemma.
Minka didn’t meet his eyes when she said, “He wasn’t always like this. There’s no love left between us, but I have a hard time reconciling the person he is with the person he was.”
“In my experience people don’t change all that much. They just become more of what they were. He probably had the same traits but hid them from you,” Sven said. Giving her reason to like or forgive the jerk certainly wouldn’t help Minka. He watched her with that address book. She didn’t want to call. That was fine. Sven could stay a while more. He said, “Let’s start with that box in the corner. Where do you want it?”
Minka’s eyes flicked to his hip where his gun was holstered as if she couldn’t help herself. She said, “Long-term storage.”
Sven lifted the box. “The storage room off the patio?”
“Yes, that would be great.” Minka said. She grabbed a handful of utensils out of a kitchen box and a metal container. As Sven closed the sliding door, Minka admitted, “This isn’t how I wanted to meet you the second time.”
Her eyes caught his. Hell’s bells. She was interested, and so was he.
Sven shrugged with an impish grin, “Then we’d better start over.”
“And you’ll still help me unpack?” Minka asked. Her heart was pounding and her head ached a little. The idea of a new relationship thrilled her, but it terrified her even more. This man could be a serial killer. He could be a murderer or a rapist. He could turn out to be as bad as Joe, worse than Joe. Minka took a deep shuddering breath and tried to turn off her racing thoughts, all of them warning of danger.
