Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
With a groan, I fall flat on my ass… Again.
Sweat drips down my forehead, and my breathing is labored. My entire body is aching — my arms, legs, chest, and even my ass feel like they’re on fire. My throat is dry, and I’m thirsty as hell, but I know she won’t let me take a single sip before I can get a solid hit in.
“This is — what — the fourth time you’ve landed on your ass?”
Kaya looks so damn good. There’s not a single drop of sweat on her face, or body. This sparring has been happening for the past hour, yet she looks as perfect as always. Her hair is up in a high pony, and not a single hair has fallen out.
Meanwhile, I look like death.
“Give me a break,” I scoff, then hop back to my feet. “You’ve been doing this since you were a kid. I’m still fairly new to this, of course I won’t be able to take you down with ease.”
“Yeah, but at this point, are you even trying?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, Ekaterina, I’m trying my best.”
“Alright, no need for full name calling,” she laughs. “But seriously, you’re improving. It’s not much, but at least you’re not staying in one place. I like that.”
“Good.”
“Out of curiosity…” Kaya trails off, glancing out the window. “How will Arlo feel when he finds out about your extracurricular activities?”
The thought of it makes my stomach drop, my heart sinking to my feet. All of a sudden, I’m cold, my body shivers. Kaya notices it, and raises a brow in a silent question, one I’m not quite ready to respond to.
“He will never, ever find out.”
“Mhm sure thing,” she muses. “Because that’s possible. At some point, you’ll either start craving more heroin, or something stronger. Trust me, it’ll show — it’s already showing.”
“What?” Panic immediately sets in. “Where is it showing?”
“Your nose area,” she motions with her index finger. “Your eyes, too. They’re always bloodshot, and it looks like you haven’t slept in weeks. How much are you taking nowadays?”
“Uh… three times a day.”
“That’s just wonderful,” sarcasm falls from her lips. “Yeah, there’s no chance Arlo will ever figure that out.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, alright?”
She raises her hands up in mock surrender. “Alright, fine. I won’t be pressing further. Just know, it won’t end like you want it to. The sooner you try getting clean, the bigger the chances are of you not having any long-term consequences.”
“I will,” I mutter. “I really will. But not now. I can’t do it now, because it’ll take away attention from dealing with Paul.”
“I wouldn’t recommend doing it now, either. Now, take a break, then we’ll start again.”
I blink. “I’m allowed to take a break?”
Kaya lifts a brow. “Do you want me to give you new exercises to do?”
“No, ma’am,” I shake my head. “I’ll take a break.”
“Perfect, in the meantime, I’ll go deal with my stalker.”
“Oh, I completely forgot about that,” I frown. “Are you okay?”
“Perfect. This is just a game the two of us are playing. It’s the classic game of cat and mouse.”
“Who’s the cat, then?”
Kaya smirks. “I guess we’ll never know.”
Her cryptic response leaves me with more questions than answers. However, I don’t get the chance to pry further, as Kaya exits the room, closing the door behind her.
I’ve been staying with her for the past few weeks, and it’s not in her main residency.
For whatever reason, she keeps that location a secret.
This is a small house that she converted into something akin the base Arlo has.
The main area is everything — her surveillance room, gym, kitchen and a small living room.
There are two small bedrooms, and a bathroom, and that’s about it. It’s small, but for this? It’s perfect.
Now that I’m all alone with my thoughts, I hate it.
No matter what I do to occupy my mind, it always circles back to Arlo.
From what Kaya’s told me, he’s been doing as well as expected.
He continues letting the Ghost roam the streets of New York, wreaking havoc wherever he goes.
All that’s left is a trail of bodies in his wake, and everyone knows who the culprit is.
My Arlo.
Kaya’s in contact with Cove, and although it’s minimal and I wish I knew more, it has to be enough for now.
Arlo has been pouring his entire soul into tracking down Theodosia and Raven, which I will forever be grateful for.
Even when we’re apart, he’s doing things with my best interest at heart because no matter how far we’re from each other, the red string that runs between us will not snap.
The bond, and the love we share is too great for it to end suddenly.
“My Arlo,” I mutter, lying down on the mat, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts are overwhelmed with Arlo, all the things we’ve done together, and how far we’ve come. I still remember seeing the Ghost for the first time.
It was back in Long Grove, and I was riding the bus home from the diner.
Fuck, that seems like a lifetime ago, when in reality, it’s been only a year.
He whisked me away from the pretend-life I had created as Amy Marshall, and brought Blair Hawke back to life.
I still remember so vividly how he brought me to his penthouse, and how he was playing the piano for me.
Tears swell in my eyes when the memories flood my mind.
When I close my eyes, all I see is his smile, telling me everything will be okay because it has to be.
At the end of the day, we have each other.
He’s my biggest weakness, and proudest strength.
He made me into a fearless woman, someone who is no longer scared of the monsters that hurt her.
The nightmares are there, but as soon as Simmons dies, they’ll disappear. He’ll die soon. I will not stop until he’s dead, until he can no longer hurt me.
Kaya returns, and there’s a bright smile on her face. Quite frankly, it’s terrifying. It’s wide, and there’s a glint in her eyes that’s making me uneasy. I sit up straight, staring as she’s approaching me.
“What is it?”
“Guess who was just spotted?”
My eyes widen. “Paul?”
“Not just yet, but,” she grins. “Someone equally as good.”
“Raven.”
“Bingo.”
“Fuck,” I scramble to my feet. “What do we do now?”
“Now, you should probably check your phone.”
Without questioning her, I run toward the kitchen area. My phone is charging, and as always, on silent. Is it the smartest choice given the things we’re dealing with? No, but I also cannot handle the constant noise coming from the irritating device, hence it’s always on silent.
It’s a text message.
From X.
“What do you want me to do with Raven?”
My hands are trembling, and I can’t help the smile that tugs on my lips as I type in my response.
“Take him to Arlo, unharmed.”
There’s the typing bubble, but it disappears for a moment. My heart is beating rapidly inside of my chest, excitement unlike anything I’ve known lately slowly filling my veins.
“And the girl?”
“Take her to Arlo, too. He’ll know what to do with her.”
???
“Is this everything you’ve got on her?”
Kaya nods. “That’s everything there is on her. Trust me, my sources have never failed me.”
I’m sitting on the floor, with a cigarette in my hands.
I’m no smoker, but Kaya says it’s a good stress reliever.
Besides, she’s been trying to get my heroin usage down to a minimum, and I guess, it’s a substitute, although I’m slowly feeling the withdrawal symptoms. Though, it could be just in my head.
I took a line this afternoon. I can hold it off for a while, right?
There are papers spread all around, with Kaya sitting right across from me. It’s everything she’s compiled about Amy Marshall. From her early childhood, to the time she left Long Grove and was presumed dead, to the moment we captured her. And God, did she keep herself busy all these years.
“Somehow, it’s not really that far-fetched that she became a serial killer, but why am I struggling to come to terms with that?”
Kaya shrugs. “Probably because most serial killers, who are also paid hitmen, don’t leave traces the way she does. The only reason she’s yet to be caught is the fact that she has powerful people behind her. Otherwise, she would’ve been caught ages ago.”
“Mmm, and she has quite the name in the media, no? The Death Angel.”
Kaya rolls her eyes. “Please, the name is as cliché as they get. But this is what you needed, isn’t it?”
I smile. “Absolutely. All I need now is for Arnault to take the bait.”
“I wouldn’t be quick to trust him, though. If he does agree to the meeting, I’m coming with you. Who knows if he’ll have you cornered? It won’t be easy to get you out of prison a second time,” Kaya’s tone comes as a warning, and given her expertise, I’m inclined to take it into consideration.
“This is enough, I think. He’ll want Amy more than he wants Arlo. Especially now, with Hudson dead, he won’t have much use of the De Santis family,” I rub my temples, praying a headache doesn’t appear.
“Let’s just pray you’re right, because if you’re not, we’ll get into even deeper shit,” she mutters.
“Do you think I should give him another call?”
“I mean, yeah, if you want to. You gave him a month, but if you want to speed it up, set up a meeting for tomorrow night. I’d just be careful. If you call him too soon, he might think you’re panicking and in a bind.”
I sigh, grabbing another sheet of paper, studying Amy’s crimes. Before I make the decision whether or not to give agent Arnault a call, I need to memorize and learn everything there is to know about Amy.