by Rachel Dylan
“Where do we even begin?” Val asked.
“How much has Jay told you?”
“Nothing beyond the fact that he needed my help immediately. We didn’t want to talk on our cells.”
“Well,” she said as she reached down and patted Zoe’s head. “It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got all night. I’m not going anywhere.”
And it took over an hour for Sadie to rehash the entire story, top to bottom, not leaving out any details. Kip had given them their privacy, popping in once to make sure they were okay. He surely didn’t want to be in the middle of their conversation. He was probably plotting something. As she was winding down, she looked over at Val. “What’s taking Jay so long?”
“I don’t know.” Val frowned. “Let me call him.” She picked up her phone and dialed. She waited. “It went to voice mail.”
Sadie made eye contact with Val, and they were both thinking the same thing. Something was wrong. “It could be that he’s just out of cell range up here in the mountains,” Sadie suggested.
“That’s possible. But I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I’d like to do a security sweep of the cabin. Stay here.”
When Val didn’t return after a few minutes, Sadie grew concerned.
“Kip,” Sadie called out. Then Zoe’s ears perked up.
Kip ran down the stairs taking them two at a time. “What’s wrong?”
“We couldn’t get in contact with Jay. Then Val wanted to do a security sweep, but she hasn’t come back yet.”
He reached over and pulled her to him. “We may need to get out of here.”
Glass broke behind her—a shot whizzed by her ear. She hit the ground and planned to stay low.
“Stay down, Sadie,” he said.
They could try to exit through the back. But what if someone was out there waiting for her?
Kip slid down beside her. “I’ll cover you. Make a run for the back door.”
“And if someone’s there?”
“Shoot to kill,” Kip said.
Sadie nodded. Kip put his hand on Sadie’s. “Sadie, this isn’t the time to shy away from using that gun. You’re highly trained. It’s either our lives or his. This is justified.”
“I don’t know what happened to Val.”
“It’s okay. I’ll handle everything here. Then I’ll come and get you. Find someplace secure to hide with Zoe.”
Panic ripped through her body. This was it. They were trapped. And she had no clue where Val was.
Sadie looked at Zoe. She had no idea if Zoe would follow or stay behind. Would she even listen to her? Once Barry had given the guard command, he was probably the only one who could break it. She hated to put Zoe in danger. But she hoped that the attacker would target her and not the dog.
“On three,” Kip said. “One, two, three.”
Sadie sprinted for the back door with Zoe in tow. A few shots rang out, but she didn’t turn back. She prayed as she ran through the back door and outside into the backyard. She kept running into the dark woods. She had no idea where she was going or if anyone was following her. Zoe seemed comfortable. Maybe she knew the woods. “You lead, Zoe. I’ll follow.”
As if Zoe understood, she took charge, and Sadie ran behind her through the woods. Ducking and moving around all the huge tree limbs and debris. Thank the Lord it wasn’t winter. But it was still cool in the mountains at night. Would she be able to survive out here? Could she find help before Igor or his men found her? While all of those thoughts rang through her head, she kept pace with Zoe. And prayed that Kip and Val were okay. She feared the worse for Jay.
Sadie didn’t know how far she and Zoe had run. Her body ached, and she struggled to catch her breath as the cool breeze filled the air. Knowing she couldn’t go much longer, she whispered to Zoe. “Zoe, stay.”
The dog stopped in her tracks. Sadie sat down against a large tree and held Zoe close to her. “Do you hear anything, girl?”
Zoe didn’t seem particularly on alert. Maybe they’d put some distance between them and whoever was coming after her.
“What are we going to do?” A chill ran through her as she assessed the situation. She needed to keep moving, and the only help she had was Zoe. Thank God for her. But with no supplies, neither of them would make it very long in the Rockies. If Kip made it, he would come looking for her. She was sure of it. But what if he hadn’t? That thought made her sick. Igor’s killing had to stop.
She had to find her way back to civilization and then figure out what to do. It was so dark; the moon provided the only light. She needed some serious guidance from God right about now. Which way to go? There were so many options. Zoe nudged her hand, and she prayed that Zoe would be able to lead her to safety. Please, Lord—protect us both right now. She also said another prayer for everyone’s safety.
Sadie continued to let Zoe lead. Still a long night ahead—assuming they both survived. Sadie felt as if she and Zoe had been hiking through the woods for hours. Her feet were killing her, and she was pushing forward only on adrenaline. When she stopped to lean up against a tree for a brief moment of respite, that’s when she heard the crunching noise. Someone was closing in on her, and she had missed the sounds until now.
Zoe started barking loudly, and Sadie feared the noise would give away her location. She started running, knowing that was her only hope. She could hear the loud footsteps bearing down behind her. This was it. She was going to die. She couldn’t take the risk of stopping to try to get off a shot—her only hope was to outrun him.
She felt like she had put some distance between her and the assailant. She couldn’t even hear the footsteps. But now was no time to rest. She’d lost Zoe somewhere along the way. Had Zoe slowed him down?
As she ran by a large tree, a big mass jumped out in front of her. It was too late. She ran directly into him. Right into the arms of the man she feared the most. Igor Vladimir.
ELEVEN
Kip searched the cabin. The shooter was long gone. He’d found Val knocked out on the front porch. There was still no word from Jay. And of course, Sadie was out there somewhere alone and being hunted by Igor and his men. He had to find her.
He called in the police and FBI. He wasn’t going to wait for them to get there. He had to start searching those woods. But there was also one more call he needed to make before he headed out on his search. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number that he had tried to erase from his memory. Brad answered on the third ring.
“Kip? Is that you?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, his voice low.
“What’s wrong, man? Can’t say I ever expected to hear from you again. You know. After everything.”
“I’ve got a situation. Are you in town?”
“I’m actually out in Colorado at my cabin. You remember that place, right? We went there once before our first deployment?”
“Yes.” He thanked the Lord and breathed a sigh of relief. “I do.”
Kip proceeded to provide as much detail as he could over the phone. Brad took it all in and asked a lot of questions.
“Here’s the address,” he told him. “Can you meet me here as soon as you can?”
“Kip, this isn’t the right time for me to issue apologies. So I’ll just say that I’m here for whatever you need. I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.” He’d never expected to have to talk to Brad again. But Sadie’s life was on the line, and he would do anything for her. Even if she hadn’t been honest about her true self. She was actually doing the right thing. She had followed protocol. It was hard to fault her for that. He understood the importance of witness safety. Even if it hurt him that she couldn’t have told him about her past. He’d fallen for her, and he certainly wasn’t ready to let her go.
Kip felt warm, almost as if he was running a fever. It had to be the stress. He’d been through some unimaginable things in his life as an army ranger. But the absolute fear and dread he was feeling right now for Sadie was even worse. He felt helpless. That summed it up.
He’d searched the woods for hours all night long and found nothing. Finally, he went back to the cabin to meet with the authorities.
He had turned away from his faith for too long. He needed the Lord to get through this. He understood that. He also knew that Sadie had amazingly strong faith. She would fight, and God would protect her. He couldn’t believe that this would be the end for her. She was still young and had so much life left to lead. So much to give. Even in the short time he’d known her, she’d changed his life forever. Filling his heart with faith and love again. Faith in God, a love for her and a respect for himself again.
* * *
Sadie’s arms felt heavy, and her neck ached. Where was she? Light streamed in from a window, but it hurt to open her eyes. Her vision blurred. Then she took in a deep breath. The realization hit her. Igor. He’d taken her.
She was sitting in a hard wooden chair, with her hands handcuffed behind her. No doubt he’d taken her gun. Where was he? She took a moment to try to assess her surroundings. Another cabin. This one not nearly as nice as Barry’s. She was in the living room. The only other furniture was a beat-up sofa and a ragged chair. She could see the dark musty kitchen from where she was sitting.
She knew as surely as she was still breathing that she wouldn’t be alive for long if Igor had his way. The fact that he didn’t kill her immediately scared her even more. What did he have in mind? Torture? She tried to put those thoughts aside and develop a strategy. Was there anything she could do to save herself? She was great at talking herself out of situations, but she’d gotten in so deep on this one. Igor would be out for revenge—just as she had been. The embarrassment of being duped by a woman wouldn’t help either. Their past couldn’t be undone.
She still had nightmares about the day Igor had killed her parents. She could hear the pop, pop, pop of gunshots. She had been so young. Hearing the noises that sounded like firecrackers had made her afraid. She’d walked down the stairs and saw an unspeakable horror. Igor standing over her parents’ lifeless bodies. Her entire life. Shattered. Taken away all too soon. Because Igor, little more than a child himself at eighteen, had walked into her house and shot her mom and dad in cold blood. Why?
Even if Igor was going to kill her, she needed answers. Why? Why? Why? What could’ve been so important that he’d broken into her house and shot them both? And she’d never forget the look in his eyes as he saw her standing there on the stairs trembling as she gripped her teddy bear. For a moment, she thought he might raise his gun at her. But for some reason he didn’t. He’d looked at her with disdain. Maybe even pity. Then he’d run out the door.
She was left with a broken life. Social services had taken her in. But it wasn’t long before Witness Protection took over. And when she was being ripped apart by that defense attorney on the stand, she’d known she’d never be the same. How badly she wished she could’ve done more to make Igor pay for his crimes. A tear slid down her cheek. Look where her pursuit of revenge had gotten her. Deep down she knew that she should’ve never have gone after Igor. She was safe. Had a good life and job. But no matter what she did, she could never forget him. Never forget how he had wronged her. And while she prayed every day that God would help her move past her anger and quest for revenge, it was her greatest failing. Because she hadn’t moved on. And now, because of that, she would most likely be killed by the same man who killed her parents.
A door slammed, and she jumped. Igor strode through the front door, his eyes blazing with anger.
“Ms. Lane, you leave me speechless.” He paused. “Or actually, I guess I need to be calling you Ms. Mars. Lydia Mars.”
She couldn’t let him see weakness. No fear. Not now. “Lydia died years ago. You’re responsible for her death.” She refused to break eye contact. She had to find out what was driving this man.
“You are so wrong, Lydia. I saved you.”
“By killing my parents. By forcing me into Witness Protection. By taking away everything I loved. Destroying the life of an eight-year-old girl?”
“You have no idea.”
“I wish I did. I’m here now. Why don’t you give me the answers?”
He paced back and forth clenching his fists as he walked. Then he turned to her. “You really have no clue, do you?”
“Why you murdered my family in cold blood? No, I have no idea. No one has ever been able to tell me.”
“Your mother,” he said with narrowed eyes. “You do not know the truth about your mother.” She had no idea what he was talking about. Was he delusional?
Then he turned away for a minute. She sat afraid of what his next move might be. When he twisted around to face her, his face reddened. A vein popped up on the top of his forehead. Was this going to be it? He looked like he could kill her with his bare hands.
“Tell me what you know,” she said evenly.
“Your mother was an undercover FBI agent.”
“What?” There was no way. Her mom was a librarian. Right? Sadie had only been eight years old when she died, but she remembered her mom’s occupation vividly. She’d loved to read and often read books to Sadie at night.
“But that’s not the reason why I killed her.”
She sucked in a breath. Her heart pounded.
“Your mother seduced my father. She had evidence against him. She gave him an ultimatum. Either he would turn himself in or she would do it.”
“This is crazy.”
“It’s the truth,” he yelled. “My father is such a weak man. He fell for your mother’s clever ruse. I was smarter than him, even as a boy. I saw her come and go. I knew something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I never trusted her. They broke it off. But years later, she was back in his life. In our lives. Then one day I overhear her threatening him. Everything. Everything we worked for. Everything our family built. Would be gone. Because of one woman. I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice, Igor. You were just eighteen. Why didn’t you let your father fight his own battles?”
“Because he wouldn’t! He loved your mother. For some reason I will never understand. Even after he found out that she had used him. Set him up. He still loved her.”
“Why kill my father?”
“I wasn’t trying to. He took the first bullet aimed for your mother. Crazy man. Sacrificing his life for hers.”
She couldn’t believe all of this. It was so much to comprehend. Her entire understanding of her childhood—of her birth parents—had just been flipped upside down. She had to ask the final question though. The one that haunted her each day.
“Then why didn’t you kill me?”
“Because of what your mother told me seconds before I killed her.”
“And what is that?”
He looked down and then back up again taking a few steps closer. Then he knelt down in front of her. “You’re my half sister.”
Sadie felt her mouth drop open. This couldn’t be true. There was no way. Her mother would’ve never actually cheated on her father. And had a child with another man? Impossible! But the timing. She thought back to the date of her parents’ marriage. Could her mother have been with Sergei before her parents got married? Oh no. “No. No. There’s no way.”
“Believe me I was skeptical too. I thought she was just trying to save her young child’s life. What you would expect out of a mother who knew she was about to die. I was also very young. In that moment, I couldn’t make that decision. Looking at you and not knowing. I had a moment of sentimental weakness. So I left you there. And then you testified against me.”
“Look at us. We don’t look ali
ke. It’s not possible.”
“Unfortunately, it is. And even though you don’t look like me, I certainly see the resemblance between you Artur. Now that I know, it is quite striking. I had a DNA test run from a hairbrush my men collected when your true identity came to my attention earlier this week. They said your house in El Paso is quite charming. However, the DNA test is undeniable proof.” He paused. “I’m certain you are my half sister.”
She was speechless. She was a part of the Vladimir family. The family that had killed her parents.
He leaned down until he was inches away from her face. “You are just like your traitor of a mother. I should’ve killed you eighteen years ago.” He spit in her face, and she recoiled.
“But because you’ve made such a mess of my life yet again, I’m going to make you pay. I know you care about that FBI suit Kip. He’ll come looking for you. I’m sure of it.” He paused taking a step back, “And when he does, you’ll watch him die.”
Pain ripped through her body as he slapped her hard across the face. But she wouldn’t let him see her cry. She’d die first. She started praying again. When his fist connected to her face again, her world turned to darkness.
* * *
Kip walked through Barry’s cabin which was full of FBI agents and a local police presence. The thought of sleeping never crossed his mind. It was barely dawn, and he was ready to put in a plan of action because his first search had failed. He wasn’t going to fail again. He’d also been working all his FBI contacts and briefed the agents on the scene. He was going to update the DEA contact named Agent Maynard that he’d tracked down thanks to one of the FBI agent’s laptops. Maynard was en route to Colorado. It was time to bust this thing wide open. They needed every resource available tracking Igor so they could find Sadie. Hopefully, the DEA would have some additional insights or resources.
“Agent Maynard, it’s Agent Moore.”
“We just landed in Denver,” Agent Maynard said.
“We?”
“Yeah. I’ve got company with me. Related to our suspect.”
