Chapter14
Kendra woke in the middle of the night. Sacha was snoring lightly. His hand rested on her, but otherwise he wasn’t right up next to her. She’d planned this after overhearing his conversation with his lawyer.
As long as Kendra was around, Sacha would be on the run. As long as he was on the run, he wouldn’t get his son. She’d leave. She had no choice.
Besides, she was developing feelings for him. That was forbidden. She had to leave him behind and get over him. At some point, when she got settled somewhere, after Lopez was caught, she’d collect Cliff. He’d be safe where he was.
She could no longer sit around and make the Kozlovs’ lives dangerous. They’d taken her in. They’d accepted her how she was, but she couldn’t rely on them anymore. She wouldn’t.
What a bad role model she was being for Cliff. She had to teach him how to be self-sufficient. Just the way their mother had taught her.
She found a suitcase earlier when Sacha was in the shower. The man took more showers than she did, but she used the time to her advantage. She packed some clothes that she found in a closet. Probably Alia’s, but she would give them back when she was safe.
Since there was food in the truck, Kendra didn’t pack any of that. She dressed, then glanced back at Sacha. The moonlight came in the window and fell across his face. He was a good man. Too good not to have his son.
She had plans. She would get far enough away, back closer to Manhattan, then call Nik. He could protect her. She would help him find Lopez.
Tiptoeing down the steps, Kendra was sure that Sacha would wake up. They’d had sex again, so he must be exhausted. Good. She would have given him a blowjob to knock him out. She didn’t want him talking her out of this.
She crept into the kitchen to write him a note.
Dear Sacha,
I had to leave. You and your family have been more than generous to me. It’s past time that I left you alone. I will always remember our time together, but you need to get your son back. I know how awful foster care can be. Give your son a home.
Kendra
She didn’t know how to sign it. Love seemed too personal, so she just signed her name. She listened. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t awake. He wasn’t walking around. She shed a tear as she closed the door.
She’d find a place to ditch the truck then let him know where it was. Right now, it was her only transportation out of here. She didn’t like leaving him stranded, but she had no choice.
She sniffed, refusing to cry right now. When she found a place, she would figure it all out. For now, she had to go back to New York. Nik would find a way to protect her.
This was the right decision.
Her heart didn’t think so as she drove away from the only man she’d ever had feelings for. Was it love? She didn’t know. She wasn’t ready to think about it. Kendra knew that she had to get past this. She had to get on with her life.
In time, Sacha would understand. He’d have his son and he’d be happy. They’d be a family. What Sacha could do for that boy, not just with his money, but with his sweet heart, staggered Kendra. What he’d done for her and Cliff had taken her breath away.
Reflecting on it all as she drove, she had tears in her eyes. At one point, she had to pull over. Sacha had been better to her than most of the other people in her life. Probably, no one would ever be as good to her again. If she found a man to do that, she’d marry him.
In fact, if she dated anyone, ever, they would be measured against Sacha. So many men would come up lacking, but now that she’d been to the Promised Land, she wasn’t settling. Ever again. She’d be treated properly or that person wouldn’t be in her life.
She wiped away tears, blew her nose, then pulled back out onto the road. She called Nik while she was driving.
“Hey Kendra. Did Sacha tell you the news about Lopez?”
“No.”
“We thought we had him cornered, but he got away. I hope you’re safe wherever you are.”
Why hadn’t Sacha mentioned it? He probably didn’t want to worry her. He should have said something. “That bites. I want this to be over. With that in mind, I’m coming to see you.”
“Coming to see me?”
“Yes. Sacha doesn’t know and if you tell him, I’ll disappear. I’ll never testify against Lopez.”
She had no idea if she was pivotal to the case or not.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this.”
“I’m a witness, Nik. I need protection. I know that you can provide it.”
She heard him sigh. “Okay, Kendra. I’ll text you a place to meet me. It’ll be outside of Manhattan. That would be better. Go right there. Some agents will be there, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll tell them you sent me?”
“They’ll be waiting for you.”
He didn’t sound happy with her.
“Good. Thanks Nik. I want this over with and I’m tired of sitting around waiting to be a lamb to slaughter. I have to do something. It’s in my nature.”
“Fine, Kendra, but I don’t like it. Sacha won’t either.”
“He won’t know until it’s over.”
“He’ll have my head.”
“You’re an FBI man. You afraid of Sacha?”
“Well, yes. He has lots of money and he can probably get the Russian Mafia after me. They’re brutal. Worse than any other Mafia I’ve encountered.”
“Then he can’t find out, can he?”
Another sigh. “You drive a hard bargain, Kendra.”
“Yes, I do.”
***
Sacha woke as he did every morning, as if a switch had been turned on. Kendra had remarked about that often. She took some time to wake up enough to be vertical. In that first moment of waking up, Sacha knew that Kendra was not in bed with him.
He always sensed her presence before he opened his eyes each day she was with him. It was odd that she woke before he did. That didn’t happen often. He didn’t need much sleep, though their lovemaking had been pretty energetic last night. Which made him a little more tired than usual.
Still, it should have made Kendra more tired.
He sniffed. He didn’t smell coffee. He didn’t smell breakfast either. His stomach rumbled, but he chose to take a shower first.
With wet hair and just a pair of jeans on, he went in search of Kendra. She wasn’t in the kitchen, so he got the coffee brewing. She’d be a bear if she was up and hadn’t had her coffee yet.
He pulled out the fixings for pancakes then set off to find Kendra. She wasn’t on the deck.
“Kendra?”
No answer. He walked back into the house. He didn’t hear another soul and his heart began to beat rapidly. Where was she? That’s when he found the note. He picked it up, dread making his limbs heavy.
He read it. She was gone? His heart hurt. He ran to the garage, but knew the truck would be gone. He didn’t care that she’d left him stranded. He had resources. He simply cared that she’d left him.
Why? What had he done wrong? He read the note again. It didn’t reveal any more information than it had done the first time he read it. He sighed.
“What the hell, Kendra?”
What was she thinking? They were after her. Why did she run? Damn.
It was probably too early to call Viktor, but he was going to call the house anyway. Maybe she said something to Alia. Given them a hint of where she was going.
A sleepy Viktor answered. “Is someone dead?”
Sacha didn’t laugh. Viktor didn’t like to be awakened.
“No, but Kendra is missing.”
“What?” Viktor said.
“I woke up and she was gone. She took my truck and left.”
“What did you do to her?”
Fucked her senseless, or so he thought. Obviously, she wasn’t thinking clearly if she’d left his protection. Left his bed. “I don’t think I did anything.”
“You must have. Why else would she have left?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t know. “I don’t know what I did. She left a note, but it didn’t really say anything.”
“Does she have location services on her phone?”
“I doubt it. She’s pretty smart.”
“You’re at my house?”
“Yes.”
“Go boot up the computer in the office.”
Sacha brought his phone with him. He sat at Viktor’s desk, turning on the computer. It was an older one so it took a minute. “You need to upgrade. This is slow.”
“Is it going to get you the answer you need?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t knock it.”
His brother could always make him smile. The compute finally booted up. He clicked the necessary key. Then he slammed his hand on the desk. “Damn.”
“She turned off location services?”
“Yes. She didn’t say anything to you? Or Alia?”
“Alia just woke up. Give her a second.” Sacha could hear Viktor talking to Alia. “No, they haven’t talked in a few days.”
“I don’t know where she would go. She doesn’t have any family besides Cliff. She wouldn’t put him in danger.”
“What did the letter say?”
He sighed. “Well, I need to tell you something before I describe the letter.”
“Go ahead.”
“I have a son.”
“Okay. Recently?”
“No, he’s about five. I signed away my rights. I’m trying to get him back,” Sacha said.
He held his breath. He wasn’t sure what Viktor’s reaction would be.
“You never said.”
“I was young and dumb and maybe a little embarrassed,” Sacha said. “I think I’ve found him. Waiting on DNA testing.”
“You found him?”
“Yes. I tracked him down through the adoption agency. He lives in foster care in New Jersey. I will sue the courts for custody of him as soon as I know he’s mine.”
“So what did the letter say?”
“Kendra must have heard the lawyer say that my chances of getting custody were threatened by my being on the run with Kendra. She said that with her gone I’d be able to get my son.”
Viktor whistled. “Wow. That girl loves you.”
Loves him? “Kendra and I aren’t like that.”
Viktor chuckled. “You keep thinking that.”
He would. Kendra didn’t love him. Emotion wasn’t supposed to enter into their relationship. They’d agreed. “So what do I do?”
“Are you actually asking me for advice, little brother?”
Yes, he was. This was new territory for him. “Yes.”
“I think I need to gloat for a moment.” He heard a slap. “Ouch. Alia just hit me.”
“Good. I hope she hits you harder next time.”
He could hear the love in his brother’s voice. Did he want that? Did he have that with Kendra? Had she left because she wanted it? This was all so confusing. This was why he didn’t do emotion. Too complicated. Sex was better without it.
He put his head down on the desk. “I really don’t know what to do next. I don’t know her friends. I don’t know where she would go.”
“She’s an independent and headstrong woman, right?” Viktor said.
“Yes.” He’d never thought he’d like that in a woman.
“Alia says she’s probably gone off to figure out a way to fix this Lopez situation.”
“You think?”
That means she’d put herself in danger.
“Yes. I agree with Alia. She did it to me at one point.”
“Oh, no. I know whom to call, Viktor. Kiss that wife of yours for me.”
“I plan to do more than that,” Viktor said.
Not what Sacha needed to hear about his brother.
*
Kendra parked the SUV in a parking deck near the address that Nik had given her. The place was a brownstone in Brooklyn. Before she left the truck, she sent a text to Sacha, who had been calling and texting her the whole trip. She let him know where his truck was.
She also told him goodbye one more time. She looked at the message with tears in her eyes. Then she sent it. She turned off her phone so she wouldn’t know if he called her. She might break down and want to hear his voice one more time.
With a deep breath in and out, she steeled herself for her next adventure. She was trying to think of it that way and not as a death sentence. She might not make it out alive. She’d write out a will so that Alia and Viktor could adopt Cliff if they wanted.
First, she had to get protection. She checked the address again as she stood in front of the house. It was identical to all of the others on the street. She rang the doorbell. A man in a gray suit answered the door, letting her in.
“You must be Kendra Elliot.”
“Yes.”
“I’m Special Agent Maxwell.” They shook hands. “Special Agent Alman said you’d be arriving today. We’re just about to order lunch if you want to get in on it.”
She was hungry, surprisingly. “Sure. I don’t have any cash.”
“It’s okay. We’ll cover it for now. You are our guest at this point. I’m going to ask for your cell phone. It’s standard procedure.”
“Okay.”
She handed it to him. She wasn’t making any calls, anyway.
“Nik will be here in about an hour.”
He led her up the steps. “I’ll show you your room and the bathroom if you want to freshen up.”
He left her alone. She dropped her suitcase on the bed, then found them in the kitchen. A female agent sat at the table. She rose, holding out her hand. “I’m Special Agent Jenna Carlyle.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Jenna handed her a menu. “What would you like?”
Kendra read the menu, and then told her what she wanted. The food came. They ate. Nik arrived just as she was finishing up. He took her into the dining room.
“Do you think you were followed?”
“No, I don’t. I looked around as I walked here and didn’t notice anyone.”
“Okay. So we keep you safe until you are ready to testify.”
“No, that’s not my plan. I want to be more proactive.”
Nik eyed her, his brow knit. “What do you mean?”
“You need to flush out Lopez. Use me. I’m his target. He isn’t going to turn down a chance to get me himself. Even if someone else gets me, he’ll want to face me.”
Nik frowned. “I can’t authorize that.”
“Then ask the person who can. I’m serious, Nik. Otherwise, I’m this man’s hostage for the rest of my life. I have my little brother to think of.”
“What happens if I can’t keep you safe?” Nik said.
“Then Cliff can be adopted by Sacha’s brother and his wife. He’ll have a good life with them. He’ll have a family. I can’t offer him normalcy as long as Lopez is after me.”
He frowned. “Sacha isn’t going to like this.”
“Sacha has no say in what I do. We’re not together,” Kendra said.
“I’ll have to talk to my boss. I can’t promise he’ll go for it.”
“Try. I can’t live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder,” Kendra said.
Sacha should have his son. He’d get him with Kendra out of the picture. She didn’t have a death wish. She just wanted this situation taken care of. She’d always been the one to step up. The one to take responsibility. As much was it was nice to let Sacha be in control for a a change, she couldn’t do it any longer.
It was time. She had to fix this situation. Even if she, herself, didn’t make it out alive. Cliff would have a better life. If she did stay alive, she could take care of him without the worry that Lopez would surface.
“I don’t like this. I don’t like to use civilians,” Nik said.
“You don’t have a lot of choices. You’ve built this case. All you need is Lopez to make it work. You’ve done a lot of background work. Let me help you finish the deal,” Kendra said.
She held her breath, but she’d be relentless. She wasn’t giving up on this idea. No way. This was her ticket to freedom.
“You won’t be talked out of this, will you?”
“No.”
He frowned again. His steel blue eyes looked at her. “Okay. Let me talk to my boss.”
He left her in the dining room. She went upstairs to sit on her bed and wait. She would have loved to take a nap, but she knew that sleep would have been elusive until she knew the answer.
Nik found her there, perusing a magazine.
“You talk to your boss?”
He leaned on the doorjamb. “I don’t like this, but he’s approved you as bait. We have to map out a plan, and then I’ll let you know your role in it.”
“It’s the only way, Nik. We’ll flush him out. You’ll catch him. I get my life back.”
“And Sacha chops off my balls.”
“You can’t worry about him. He won’t know what’s going on until we’re done.”
“He’s already been calling me,” Nik said.
“Then don’t answer.”
“Somehow I think that Sacha will not be satisfied with that. He’s going to show up here.”
“He doesn’t know where I am. All he knows is where I left his truck.”
“Still, I don’t like this.”
“Your boss approved it. Time to get over it. I’m in this with you until the end.”
***
Sacha was out of his mind with worry. Where was Kendra? She wasn’t answering her phone. Nik wasn’t answering his phone either. That disturbed him.
He paced in the kitchen. His rental car hadn’t been delivered yet so he couldn’t go anywhere. He couldn’t ask Viktor to do anything because Alia was in her last month of pregnancy and Viktor didn’t want to leave her. Sacha had never felt so powerless in his life.
“Damn it.”
Kendra had become such a part of his life that he missed her. Right now, he missed her. He was angry, but he wouldn’t be once he knew she was safe. He’d hold her and never let her go.
Holy shit. Had he fallen in love with Kendra? Oh. No. Not what he had intended, but he was out of his mind with worry for her. This wasn’t normal. Well, it was if you were in love with the woman.
How was he going to tell her? She didn’t want a relationship. She’d signed that agreement willingly. She didn’t want this emotion from him. Viktor had been right. He was in love with Kendra. What would he do if she never came back?
He sat on a stool, unable to hold himself upright. He was a captain of industry. He could hold his own with anyone in a courtroom. Here he was, sideswiped by one mocha woman who had no idea that she held his heart in her hands.
“Oh shit.”
He would find her. He’d tell her. If he had to go around Manhattan screaming her name. Damn. He’d adopt Cliff, too. He’d have to. He liked Cliff and the little boy was a part of Kendra. He could do this. He’d go from bachelor to family in three point two seconds.
As much as the whole idea scared him, it had a certain warmth to it. He’d be surrounded by family. They’d get a bigger place. A more family-friendly place.
First, he had to find Kendra.
A knock sounded on his front door. He opened it to find a man in a suit.
“Mr. Kozlov? I’m Jeremy with your car.”
Sacha looked behind the man to see an unassuming SUV. Perfect. “Yes. Come in. You need me to sign some paperwork?”
The man held up a folder. “I have it right here. You just have to drive me back to the rental office.”
“Not a problem.”
Sacha signed the paperwork then drove the man back to the office. When he returned to Viktor’s house, he continued to pace, but he made plans. He knew what he’d say to Kendra. What he’d do to make her want to be in his life.
For the long haul. Because if Sacha was going to do this, he was going to do this properly. An engagement and a big wedding. Whatever Kendra wanted. He’d move Heaven and Earth to make her happy. He didn’t like this feeling. He didn’t want to be alone, but he only wanted to be with Kendra.
The damn woman had wormed her way into a heart that he’d thought too barren to nurture love.
He jumped when his phone rang. Nik.
“Do you have good news for me?” Sacha said.
“Good and bad news.”
“What’s wrong? What happened to Kendra?”
“Relax. She’s safe.”
“Then what’s the bad news?”
“She wants to be used as bait to flush out Lopez.”
Sacha stood. He couldn’t let her do this. “You aren’t going to go through with this, are you?”
“My boss likes the idea. I can ensure her safety.”
“No, Nik. I won’t allow it.”
Nik laughed. “You won’t allow it? I’d like to see you stop her.”
“You will. Tell me where she is. I’ll can be there in an hour and half, I think.”
Nik sighed. “She’s at one of our safe houses in Brooklyn.”
Nik gave him the address.
“I’ll be there. Don’t do anything until I get there.”
“We haven’t formulated a plan yet. We aren’t even sure where Lopez is at this moment. The Mexican Mafia is keeping him under wraps. I haven’t heard anything about him on the streets.”
“That’s fine. You’ll have to find another way. I’m not letting Kendra put herself in danger.”
“I’d pay to see you try that. You think she’s going to listen to you?”
“I’ll make her listen to me.”
Nik chuckled again. “You have it bad.”
“Yes, I do, Nik. She means the world to me.”
“Never thought I’d see that. First Viktor, now you. What is the world coming to?”
“It isn’t funny, Nik. I’d be lost without her. She’s everything to me and I can’t let anything happen to her.”
“Good luck with that. She’s pretty determined. She took your truck, then drove to Brooklyn. All by herself. Knew that her life was in danger. That’s not done by a weak woman.”
Sacha knew that. He knew all about Kendra’s strength. It was one of the things he loved about her. He knew convincing her to come home with him would be difficult, but he had to try. He couldn’t lose her now that he knew how he felt about her. He could only hope, that in time, she’d learn to love him back.
He wouldn’t force it, but he had to save her. Convince her that she had to stay alive. If not for his sake, then for Cliff’s sake.
“Let me get on the road, Nik. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“It’ll be entertaining.”
He disconnected. His phone rang instantly. His lawyer.
“I can’t talk, Tom.”
“He’s yours,” Tom said.
What? Ethan was his? “That’s great news. I can’t stay on the line, but please let me know what my next move is to get custody. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“I know that. I’ll send you the report via email later today.”
Sacha hung up. Now he needed her even more. Cliff and Ethan both needed a mother.