Vow of Justice

by Lynette Eason

  Linc searched for Daria for the next ten minutes, doing his best to stay focused, but he was worried about Allie, not sure whether to hope she had caught up with the gunman or that he had slipped away without hurting anyone else. “Allie? You there?”

  Silence.

  She’d gotten too far out of range for the COMMS to work.

  Guilt slammed him as he slowed to try to figure out which way Daria had run. Of course, he wanted to find Daria and get her somewhere safe, but Allie . . .

  Linc listened. Heard nothing. Either Daria was so far ahead of him he couldn’t hear her moving, or she had stopped and was hiding somewhere.

  For several seconds he simply stood there. He’d completely lost her. If he wasn’t so worried about Allie, he might spend a little more time looking for the teen. However, for now she was safe, out of the hands of the killer. Unfortunately, Allie might have just propelled herself right into them.

  15

  The hairs on her neck spiked. Allie stood next to the tree, hovering behind it, hoping it would be enough shelter if the shooter could see her and decided to take aim and fire.

  Heart pounding, she tried to listen, to hear any sound that he might make to indicate his location. She’d caught a glimpse of him only a few seconds earlier when he passed under the light of the moon filtering through the branches just ahead.

  And then he was gone. Like smoke in the wind.

  For a brief moment, in their struggle, their eyes had met. She didn’t think he’d recognized her, but she certainly knew him.

  Gregori Radchenko.

  Just the possibility that she’d finally found him spurred her on. Granted, it was completely by accident, but she was desperate not to lose him.

  Allie tried to calm her pounding heart. Deep breath in, then out. And again. The smell of rotting wood and wildflowers registered even as her eyes probed the area. She walked the perimeter of the tree, keeping the trunk against her back.

  She almost expected to feel the slam of a bullet into her chest, and when it didn’t come, she moved forward, nerves tight, muscles bunched, ears tuned to the sounds around her. Which wasn’t much. Her shallow breaths, the crunch of the underbrush, the whisper of the wind through the trees. But the insects were quiet, as though they knew something was wrong. And then a flash of movement caught her eye just ahead. A branch falling from a tree? Or had he thrown it? Or was there a second person around?

  She stayed put.

  He wasn’t such an amateur that he would allow himself the mistake of breaking the branch, and she figured he was trying to draw her out.

  Instead of moving toward him, she slipped sideways, doing her best to stay behind the cover of the trees—until something hard pressed against the back of her head. She froze, her heart flipped. Somehow, he’d doubled back.

  Her fingers twitched around the grip of her weapon, but she held every muscle frozen, grappling with the best way to handle this. “Hello, Gregori, long time no see.” She hoped she kept the fear out of her voice.

  For a moment, he stood still. If he hadn’t had the gun against her head, she wouldn’t have known he was there.

  “How do you know who I am?” His voice had changed, deepened. But it was still the voice from her childhood.

  Would he kill her if she told him who she was? No, he was going to kill her regardless. “Guess it’s time for you to finish the job you started fifteen years ago, huh?”

  His stillness multiplied exponentially. “Alina?” Her name—a name she hadn’t heard since her mother’s death—was barely a whisper on his lips. One filled with . . . shock? Maybe.

  Silence.

  “Just tell me why,” she said.

  “Why what? Why did I kill them?”

  The shock was gone—if it had ever been there—replaced with a nonchalant coldness that chilled her to the core.

  Allie curled the fingers of her left hand into a fist while her right gripped her weapon. All kinds of defense moves ran through her brain at warp speed.

  And yet, she couldn’t move.

  She had to know. “Of course, why did you kill them?”

  “Because your father was a liar and he deserved to suffer the consequences of his choices.”

  He’d been hanging out with Daria too long. “Can you not speak in riddles?” She gritted her teeth against the need to hurl. She’d dreamed of this moment. And now that it was here, she almost couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stand. Couldn’t shoot.

  “How would you feel if you had been lied to your entire life?” he asked.

  “What did he lie about?”

  “Everything. And she went along with it.”

  “Mom?”

  “Yes, Mom.” The sneer made her blink. “A liar and a cheat,” he said. “She cheated her family and she cheated on her husband. She deserved to die.”

  Allie was horribly confused, but she continued to scramble for a plan while keeping him talking.

  “And Misha? Eight-year-old Misha? What about her? Was she a liar and a cheat too? What’s your excuse for killing her?” She went to her knees on the last word and kicked back with her right foot. She caught him with a glancing blow to the thigh that he ignored. His right hand shot out and he caught her shoulder, giving it a hard push.

  Allie landed on the ground with a harsh grunt, rolled, and brought her weapon up. Quicker than anyone should be able to move, he kicked her in the wrist. Pain radiated up her arm and she lost her grip on the gun. He pointed his gun at her forehead while blood dripped from the wound in his biceps.

  She glared up at him. Familiar gray eyes glittered down at her. “You’d better kill me now,” she ground between clenched teeth. “Otherwise I will hunt you down and kill you myself.”

  His brow rose and he actually smiled. “Hunt me down? Really? Do you even realize what I do for a living?”

  Of course she did. Now. “Do you even realize what I do?”

  “No, but I’m interested now.”

  “FBI! Put it down!” Linc’s shout came from her left. “Drop it now.”

  “Don’t shoot him!” The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

  Linc didn’t shoot.

  Radchenko stepped behind the nearest tree without taking his eyes off her, effectively preventing Linc from having a clear shot at him. He gave her a slow smile and it left her colder than she thought possible. “And so, the hunter becomes the prey?” he asked. “We shall see.”

  Then once again, he was gone, fading into the trees as though he belonged there.

  Linc started to go after him and she grabbed his arm. “Don’t,” she said. “You won’t find him.”

  He spun. “What?”

  “He’s gone.”

  “I’m calling it in anyway.” He did, then came to her side and helped her up. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better,” she muttered.

  He studied her. “You know him.”

  “Yes.”

  “I recognize him. He was on your wall in your apartment. He’s the guy who killed your family, isn’t he?”

  She locked her eyes on his. “He is. He was also in one of those surveillance pictures Henry showed us of Nevsky before I went undercover. I knew he worked for Nevsky, but he’d been dark for so long that I was starting to think he was dead. And then when I saw that picture—”

  “You decided to go after him.”

  She shrugged. “We were going after Nevsky. Radchenko is one of his assassins. It was only a matter of time before he showed up.” She paused. “Although I’ll admit, I didn’t expect him to show up the way he did.”

  Linc shook his head. “Let’s get out of here, then we’re going to have a talk.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the cabin.”

  “It’s a crime scene. CSU will be all over it.”

  “Maybe so, but Daria went there for a reason. You’ll just have to keep a low profile.”

  The sirens were finally approaching along with
the helicopter overhead. Radchenko would be on the run but hopefully wouldn’t get far. Linc’s phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. “Henry.”

  “Don’t answer,” she said. “There’s no way I want to explain all this to him right now.”

  “I feel that. Henry can wait a bit.”

  Once they were back at the cabin, Allie pulled her hoodie up and kept her glasses on. Linc led her inside and flashed his badge. “She’s with me,” he said, signing the crime scene log, then pulling on gloves.

  No one questioned him.

  “Anything in particular we’re looking for?” One of the investigators glanced up, then returned to dig the slugs out of the door.

  “See if you can find Radchenko’s vehicle or evidence of where one was parked. Look for tire tracks as well as slugs and casings outside and in the front room,” Linc said.

  “You got it.”

  Allie kept her head down, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Linc tugged on her sleeve. The conversation she knew was waiting to happen between them made her want to drag her feet. Only the fact that Daria was still out there kept her moving with quick efficiency.

  Out of sight and hearing range of any of the CSU members, she caught Linc’s arm. “How did he know to come here?” she asked.

  “He had to have followed Daria. Her father must have installed some kind of tracker or something on her.”

  It made sense. Allie grimaced. “And he’s going to keep her on the run until he finally catches up with her.” She shook her head. “It has to be on her laptop or backpack.”

  Linc’s head snapped up. “Can we track her laptop?”

  “I wouldn’t know how to do that. Ask Annie.”

  While his fingers worked the screen, Allie walked down the hall to the attic. The stairs were just as she’d left them. One of the CSU members was already up there going through everything. She’d have to see if Henry could do something about any DNA that turned up matching hers. He’d have to make up some story, like Daria was wearing one of Allie’s hoodies. She climbed the stairs and her head popped through the opening. This time the area was lit up and she could see from one end to the other. She stepped onto the wood flooring and did a one-eighty. “Anything?”

  The woman at the far end looked up. “Nothing significant, sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I didn’t really expect you to find anything anyway.”

  The words Daria had flung at her before running now echoed in her mind. You’re a traitor!

  Allie slipped back downstairs and out to Linc’s SUV before dropping her head into her hands. God, are you there? I think we need to talk.

  Silence.

  Okay, so I’ll talk. Daria’s innocent in this whole mess. I don’t know what I’ve done to make her think I’m a traitor, but you do. Can you please just watch out for her? Keep her safe? Let us catch up to her before her father or one of his hired killers does? As far as Gregori’s concerned, I . . . I don’t know what to say there. He deserves to die and you and I both know it.

  She paused to see if she could discern anything in her spirit. Or mind.

  But again, she got nothing but silence. “Yeah,” she whispered into the empty vehicle. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk to me. I guess I shouldn’t talk to you when I’ve got murder on my mind, huh? I think there’s a commandment about that somewhere, isn’t there?”

  The door opened and Linc slid into the passenger’s seat. “Who are you talking to?”

  “No one who appears to be interested in listening.”

  Okay. That was a strange answer. “God hears you, Allie.”

  “Hmm.”

  Fine. He’d let it drop for now. They both needed sleep, not to mention that they had a mess of legal issues to wade through. Linc had fired his weapon. Allie had fired hers. They’d have to give them up to Henry once again.

  Hopefully, he would be able to pull some strings with those, and the powers that be would work out everything necessary to keep Linc from having to abandon Allie to talk to Internal Affairs. Henry. He glanced at his phone. The man had called nonstop for the past hour.

  Allie climbed into the driver’s seat and waited for Linc to buckle his seat belt before pulling away from the curb.

  “I’m beat,” he said.

  “Yep. I’m familiar with that one.”

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “I still don’t have a place to stay, do I?”

  “Nope.”

  “I don’t suppose you want to go to Henry’s?”

  He paused as though considering it. “You think he’d let us sleep before yelling at us?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Then my place it is.”

  “Linc, I can’t go there. Someone will see me or one of your siblings will drop by.”

  “By the time we get there, it will be three o’clock in the morning, but our arrival might stir some neighbor interest. Although they’re pretty used to my crazy hours at this point.” He paused. “Okay, a nearby hotel, then. At least for tonight in a town where no one knows us and until we figure out something more permanent.”

  “Where do you think Daria’s sleeping tonight?” she asked softly.

  “I don’t know. I wish we could figure out what set her against you.” He held his phone up. “Annie texted. No luck tracking the laptop or Daria’s phone. Which brings us to you.”

  She groaned.

  “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

  “You’re not going to let that drop, huh?”

  “Only for the next ten minutes.”

  “What’s the nearest decent-sized city that has a hotel we can blend in with?” she asked.

  Linc looked it up on his phone and punched in the navigation.

  “Better call Henry,” she said.

  “First things first.”

  Thirty minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and he entered the lobby to check them in under his name. “It’s a two-bedroom suite,” he said when he returned. “We’ll leave the doors open for safety reasons, but still be able to have a bit of privacy.” He handed her a key and she tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans.

  “At least I have a box with a few changes of clothes and some toiletries,” she said. “What are you going to do?”

  “I always have a go-bag in my vehicle.”

  “Right. So, no shopping tonight?”

  “I never took you for a coward.”

  Allie snapped her lips shut and glared at him. He kept the satisfied smile from curving his lips. Good. He needed her mad so he could get answers. If she cried, he’d be putty in her hands. Once inside the suite, Linc waved her to the couch.

  “You’re not even going to let me wash my face before we do this, are you?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  “What about calling Henry? How many times has he called?”

  “Twelve.”

  She winced. “We need to check in with him.”

  “I texted him and said I’d call him as soon as I could. After we talk will be the soonest I can call.”

  He wasn’t going to budge on this. She set her box just inside the door, then slumped onto the couch and dropped her face into her hands while Linc paced in front of her.

  “I heard your statement about hunting him down and killing him,” Linc said. “Allie, that’s . . . that’s . . . we don’t do that. Well, we hunt them down, yes. But we try to avoid killing them, remember? I mean, that’s a last resort because we’re the good guys.”

  His concern pierced her, and for some reason, that made her mad. She sprang to her feet. “Don’t you think I know that?”

  “Well, why’d you say it? Did you mean it?”

  “I . . .” Her anger faded as fast as it had bubbled up, only to be replaced with a cold resolve. She settled back onto the couch and looked away from him. “Yes.”

  For a moment, he didn’t speak, just continued his scrutiny. Long enough to make her want to squirm. She refused to give
in to the urge.

  “Allie?”

  “What?” Her eyes met his again.

  “You said before that you knew the killer before he slaughtered your family.”

  She blinked. “Yes.”

  “How did you know him? What was he to you? A friend? A boyfriend?”

  “No.” She studied him a moment longer. “My brother.”

  16

  Linc went still. “What?”

  “My brother. My older brother, who was supposed to protect me and my little sister no matter what. Instead, he killed my dad and my sister, and essentially my mother, who wound up committing suicide four weeks after I came home from the hospital because she couldn’t live with what had happened. And, of course, he tried to kill me.” Tears shimmered for a brief moment before they were gone. “I went into the foster care system and actually had a fairly good experience. My foster dad was a cop, the mom a special education teacher. I was there for two years. We exchange Christmas cards, but that’s about it.”

  He had no words. The silence stretched. She rose to pace.

  “And you don’t know why he did this,” he finally said, forcing the words through his tight throat.

  Allie shook her head. “I’ve thought about it. Endlessly. I wondered if he’d suffered something like a psychotic break or had some kind of brain issue. Like an aneurysm or something. Anything but that he chose to do what he did. But, after tonight, I think he did. He made the choice to kill his family and apparently holds no regrets for doing so.”

  “I’m sorry, Allie.”

  “So am I, but he said some things that make me think I’m a little closer to figuring out his motives.”

  “How so?”

  “Gregori said my father was a liar, but . . .” Frustration tightened her jaw.

  “But what?”

  “I already knew that and so did Gregori.”

  “So you need to know which lie it was he told your brother that would send him over the edge into such a rage that he wanted to wipe out his entire family.”