Seized By Darkness Read online

  “Let me try Jolene again. Maybe she contacted Kyle.” Gary pulled his cell from the front pocket of his Dockers. The guy always dressed like he was heading out to a golf match. Will preferred the cowboy look minus a Stetson. Worn jeans, worn boots and a tee shirt so thin he could use it to strain coffee grounds.

  While Gary tried to reach the agency’s undercover woman, Will’s cell vibrated on his hip. He snagged the phone from his belt and read the text message from his office, his boss. “Damn.”

  “What’s wrong?” Gary said at the same time he’d said damn.

  “Linkson wants a report now.”

  “Bad news travels fast.”

  “You get Jolene?”

  “Nah. She went silent too.”

  Will’s cell phone buzzed again and he frowned at his boss’s insistence.

  “He knows you’re not in Jersey anymore.”

  Will shut his phone down and shoved it into his belt pouch. “Yeah, well until I find out what happened, I can’t give him the answers he wants. I’m going in there. With Kyle and Jolene both silent, Katrina is the only one who can tell me why Kyle screamed code wolf.”

  Inside the interrogation room, the captain stood up from his chair.

  Will wasted no time heading for the door. Gary grabbed his files and followed on his heels.

  A second later, Ebberts met them in the hall. “Will. Gary. Let’s talk in here.”

  “I need to talk to her ASAP.” Will pressed past Ebberts. A vice grip slapped his shoulder.

  “Whoa. Give me one minute, guys. She agreed to fingerprints as long as I let her see the boy. My guy is going to take her down the hall to processing. While he’s doing that, let’s talk.”

  “We already identified her. The fingerprints will confirm who she is.”

  Ebberts’s hand fell from his shoulder. “You did?”

  “She’s Novokoff’s mistress.” Will turned to Gary and snagged the file from under his partner’s arm.

  At that moment, the door behind Ebberts swung open and an officer led Katrina by the elbow out of the room. The handcuffs she wore hung loose around her thin wrists.

  Something inside Will stirred as her wary eyes latched onto his. Her thick black lashes batted, concealing her thoughts and she turned away.

  “Come with me.” Ebberts led the way into his office where he rounded his desk and took a seat.

  Gary nodded to him to follow and Will’s teeth ground at the delay, but he had no choice. The officer led Katrina down the hall. Will watched the easy sway of her hips for a moment before he turned and headed into the captain’s office.

  Ebberts moved aside his mug containing cold coffee, clearing his desk pad. “Novokoff’s woman, uh? The only ID, a birth certificate she had on her, was for a Becca Smith. Ring any bells?”

  The captain gained his interest fast and Will shook his head. “No.”

  “I’ll have Lucy run the name.” Gary pulled his phone again and moved to the back corner of the office, already texting a message.

  “Take a seat.” Ebberts indicated the chair in front of Will.

  He shook his head and kept his stance behind the hardback chair. He didn’t have time for a chit-chat. His people could be in danger. He needed to know what was going on with them.

  Will flipped a picture of Novokoff with his arm around Katrina onto the captain’s desk. “We know her as Katrina. She has been sighted with him numerous times over the past five years. The boy is most likely hers and Novokoff’s.”

  Ebberts studied the picture and then looked up at him. “The pictures are not very clear. You can’t see her whole face. How can you be sure?”

  “We’re sure. And there’s more. We were seconds away from a sting op when the operation was called off. My undercover agents have gone silent. Then Katrina shows up here with Susie Lakes. The only way we’re going to know what happened is from Katrina.”

  Ebberts handed the picture back to him.

  Gary flipped his phone closed and looked at Will. “Becca Smith disappeared from her home in Wyoming eight years ago. Lucy is sending the info over to your desk officer, captain.”

  “You think she’s Becca?” Ebberts asked pointing to the door.

  “Fingerprints will tell,” Gary responded.

  Will saw hope in the captain’s eyes. Unfortunately, his gut told him Becca Smith was gone. “Get Katrina back to the interrogation room as soon as your man is finished with her.”

  “I promised her she could see the boy.” Ebberts stood and hiked his belt as if to say, ‘my word will stand’.

  “Sorry. I didn’t.” Will ignored Ebberts’s huff and turned to his partner. “As soon as you get any additional details on her, on Kyle and Jolene, on any fuckin’ thing that has to do with this operation, bring them to me ASAP. I’m going to talk to Gorgon’s woman.”

  ~~

  Chapter Five

  Seeing they were headed to the interrogation room again, Nicole skidded to a stop, yanking her arm from the officer’s grip. “Wait a minute. Where’s Luka? Your boss said I could see my son.”

  “I have my orders.” The state trooper’s fingers bit into the sensitive underside of Nicole’s upper arm again, causing her to wince. He flung open the door with his free hand and forced her inside the tiny room. He treated her like the Russian whore he thought she was and for the sake of the safety of her family, she bit back the urge to set him straight.

  “And I know my rights—” Her protest cut off in mid-sentence. One of the strangers she’d seen standing in the hallway with the captain a few minutes earlier, the one whose intense glare made her feel lower than the underside of a leech’s belly leaned against the back wall, apparently waiting for her return.

  A silver badge hung from the belt circling his trim waist. He tucked his cell phone into his jean’s pocket and pushed off the wall.

  Like many men, his blue eyes trailed over her, except his scrutiny held not a hint of lust. Loathing laid in their coolness.

  Nicole dropped her gaze to the murky gray pattern of the floor and folded her fingers in prayer like fashion even though she didn’t believe in prayers. God had abandoned her a long time ago.

  She had to remain strong and use her head. These cops believed she had a part in Susie’s kidnapping. She had to make them believe her when she said she did not. She had to get away from the Novokoffs, and she had a feeling this man who stood as tall as Gorgon’s six-foot-two frame was her best hope to do so.

  “Leave us.” The marshal’s deep tone revealed his authority.

  Nicole peeked between her dark bangs and noted his attention passed over her shoulder.

  The cop’s grasp fell from her arm leaving coolness where his heat had scorched her. He obeyed the man’s order without so much as a stumbled objection.

  This officer could only know part of her story, she thought. She had been fingerprinted as a first grader at her elementary school twenty some years ago, so the likelihood of the officers finding out her true identity anytime soon was not good.

  Her parents couldn’t be told she’d been found. Not yet. Maybe never. If the Novokoffs thought they had any contact with her, Gorgon’s family would wipe hers away. Killing Gorgon had signed her death warrant. Vanishing from the Earth’s crust was her only hope, and her family’s.

  This man was strong. His chest and arms stretched his navy tee shirt to the point that every slight movement of his pecs and biceps showed. A shadow of whiskers lined his strong jaw and his upper lip was set with determination.

  Nicole’s hands curled into fists. She had to be strong too, damn it. She couldn’t let this cop see the quake that made her knees knock. This man was just like Gorgon. He wanted something from her. Well, she wanted something too. She wanted to disappear to a place where the Novokoff’s would never find her or Luka.

  The door clicked closed behind Nicole.

  She steeled her nerves and met the marshal’s somber eyes. “Who are you?”

  “U.S. Marshal William Haus.” He fl
ipped the round badge clipped to his belt with a hook of his thumb before walking toward her. “And you are?”

  “Becca Smith.”

  An amused twinkle flashed in his eyes. “Really? Is that the story you want to stick with?”

  William Haus toyed with her. By the way his gaze traveled over her, she’d say he knew who she’d been the last eight years. Katrina. “Are you in charge?”

  His brow cocked. “Of?”

  “This. The captain and his men.”

  “No.” He shook his head and pointed to the chair. “Sit.”

  “I think I would like to stand.”

  “Suit yourself.” He pulled out a chair and took a seat, extending his long legs beneath the table and leaning back onto the chair. Like his jeans, his boots had seen better days. The toes were scuffed and the heels well rounded.

  Several hours ago, on that back road, for a few brief minutes, her lungs had rejoiced with the exhilaration of freedom. Now with each pulse of her digital watch, the stale air surrounding her grew thicker, like sewer sludge. “The captain said I could see Luka if I cooperated and allowed my prints to be taken.”

  “You will, but when I say so.”

  She tamped down her temper. Showing her anger would do her no good. “Why are you keeping us?”

  “I think the captain already covered this. You were found with a kidnapped girl, Katrina. Does Gorgon know she’s gone?”

  She fought to keep her surprise from reaching her eyes. He knew the name given to her by Gorgon.

  Nicole smoothed her moistened palms along the seams of her skirt. How well did the marshal know the bastard who now faced the devil? William Haus could be a cop on the take, working for the Novokoffs. The family had many connections. She knew this by their conversations. The Russian bastards thought she’d paid no attention to them, but over the years she had learned bits of their language—enough to understand most of what they said. She had to be careful. “How do you know my name?”

  “We have our ways.” Drawing his legs back, he shifted up and forward in the chair. “Look, I don’t have time to waste. I have a woman who isn’t responding after she put a bug on Susie. Gorgon took the girl, but before we could move in on him, all hell broke loose at the SOB’s place. Then you show up here with Susie. You want to tell me what happened tonight?”

  He sounded sincere. Nicole kept her facial expression blank. How could she be sure Will Haus told the truth?

  She decided to play stupid. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I’m sure you do.” Will tapped the desk in front of him three times. “Here’s how I think things went down. Gorgon brought Susie home, which pissed you off.”

  He said the word home like she’d played house with the Russian bastard. This cop who glared at her with disdain had no clue what a living hell she’d survived.

  “He never brought any other girls home before, right?”

  “You don’t know what Gorgon did or didn’t do.”

  “I know when he takes a piss.”

  His frankness made her blink. If that was so, why had he and his agency not saved her? “I don’t believe you. Who are your inside people?”

  “I can’t tell you who they are. You’re Gorgon’s woman.”

  “I am not his woman.” Fury burnt her tongue and she clamped her lips tight before she’d let her secret slip.

  “Really? My man said just the opposite.”

  The way his eyes filled with repugnance and fell away from her made Nicole feel unclean. She ran her hands up and down her arms as if she could brush away the filth of her past.

  William Haus sighed before looking at her again. “Look, we can do this dance all night, days even, but we’re not going to. I’ve got a feeling my people might be in big trouble. Tell me what happened tonight.”

  “You could work for the Novokoff’s.” The words had tumbled past her lips and she saw the agent’s face turn stone-like.

  “I want the son of a bitch dead.”

  His cold tone caused her hair to prickle on her arms.

  Nicole refused to lower her gaze from his. She dipped deep into that well that had given her the strength to kill Gorgon and grabbed the courage necessary to stand her ground. “That is a nice speech, but why should I trust you?”

  “I could’ve whisked you away from here to a high security jail and locked you up. I could’ve taken your son into protective custody where in two days he’d disappear, and believe me, you’d never see him again. But, as you can see, you’re here and your son is down the hall, and I’m giving you a chance to tell your side of the story.”

  Will’s words cut into her soul. She would go insane not knowing where her son was. She’d die without him. “How do I know Luka is still here?”

  “Okay. You need proof. I get that.” The chair scraped the floor as he rose. “Come with me.”

  Opening the door, he motioned with a simple nod for her to exit the room.

  She hesitated before rounding the table and passed by him.

  “This way.” He latched onto her left elbow.

  Nicole’s nerves tingled under his touch.

  As they walked a short distance through the hall, she noticed the earthy smell of his cologne. The scent reminded her of a warm sunny day at the beach. Nicole peeked at William Haus from the corner of her eye. A two-inch, jagged, white scar cut through his whiskers near the back of his strong jaw and extended down his throat. She wondered how he’d been cut.

  Ahead, an officer stood guard at a door.

  “The boy inside?” Will asked him as they approached.

  “Yes, sir. Officer Wagnall was great with him. She read him to sleep.”

  Nicole’s pulse quickened knowing her son was on the other side of the door. She swore Will had to have felt the rush of her blood because he shot her a glance before he said, “Open the door a second.”

  The officer did as he was told.

  Seeing Luka curled up on a couch, Nicole’s heart cried out. She wanted to run to him, gather her son in her arms and feel Luka’s heartbeat against her palm but Will’s strong grasp kept her rooted in place.

  After a few seconds, the officer closed the door and Luka disappeared from her view. She looked up at Will. “Thank you.”

  Without acknowledgement, he turned her toward the interrogation room and once the door closed behind them again, he hooked a thumb through his belt loop and said, “Okay. You saw I haven’t lied to you.”

  She drew a breath of warm air. Beads of perspiration formed on her upper lip while her stomach rolled tighter. “If I tell you what you want to know, will you promise to keep Luka and I together—somewhere safe from the Novokoffs?”

  “Why would you need protection from them?” Confusion wrinkled Will’s brow.

  Ridding the earth of Gorgon’s presence was the right thing to do. There wasn’t a bit of doubt in her mind that she’d done humanity a favor, or an ounce of regret, but would this cop see Gorgon’s demise the same way? Or would he call it murder? What jury would convict her of the crime, if she killed him in self-defense? None.

  “Are you going to answer me?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  “Because Gorgon is no more.”

  The marshal stepped up to the table between them. “Are you saying Gorgon is dead?”

  She nodded without hesitation, not wanting to give herself a chance to back out of the confession.

  “You killed him.”

  “It was self-defense. Luka and I must disappear. The Novokoffs will kill me. Can you help us?”

  “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

  Katrina folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side, looking down her nose at the officer with every ounce of confidence she could muster. “Until your man tells you it is so, you must trust me.”

  ~~

  Chapter Six

  “I told Gorgon a thousand times that woman would be the death of him. I could see it in her eyes. She is the devil’s bitch.” The
heels of Yegor Novokoff’s Italian loafers slapped the vinyl flooring like rapid gunfire as he stalked through the halls of the local hospital with his bodyguard close behind him. “Would he listen to me? Nah. Gorgon always thought he was a smart boy. He’s an idiot who thinks with his dick. Tonight he’s proven me right.”

  His own use of the past tense and the very thought of his son dead, strangled his rant. He fought to keep the pain attacking his heart at bay. He was the head of the Novokoff family, and needed to be strong and think clearly about the revenge the family would take against the attacker of his eldest child.

  Rounding the corner, he entered the puke green cubical known as the emergency waiting room and pulled up short. The optimistic view he clung to fell into the burning acid churning in his gut. Sofia, his wife, sat hunched over, leaning against her sister. Tears streamed down Sofia’s thin cheeks and her complexion was washed of the ivory tone he loved. The smiling green eyes he looked into every night over the past forty years, before he closed his own, were dull and erased of any Sofia’s witty humor.

  His Sofia, she seemed to have aged twenty years since this morning when he’d kissed her goodbye and left to take care of a business matter gone awry in Atlantic City.

  Yegor drew a quick breath, trying to calm the tremor that quaked the morrow in his bones. He had to be strong for the dozen or so family members that had gathered, and for his Sofia.

  He stepped forward and Sofia’s red-rimmed eyes lifted from their study of the space beyond the commercial carpet.

  “Yegor, our boy.” She pushed from the chair and teetered toward him.

  Yegor rushed forward and gathered Sofia into his embrace just as her knees gave out. Her breath warmed the hollow of his neck and he found comfort resting his cheek against her silky, brown hair. He rubbed her back. She felt thinner than he remembered and he loosened his hold, thinking he might break her brittle bones if he cradled her too tight.

  Sofia’s tears moistened the breast of his golf shirt. “Shhh, my love. You gave me a strong son.” He planted a reassuring kiss on her temple and continued to rock her for a moment longer before he peered up at the stone-like expression of his man, who’d stood guard over his son tonight.