Chapter 21 #2
“In a way.” He grabbed the bottle of vodka, pouring himself another drink. “I no longer torch homes or interrogate anyone I think was involved, but the anger has never completely left.”
“Instead of acting on your need for revenge, you shut yourself off from being with anyone.”
He lifted his gaze, nodding. “Can you see why?”
“What happened was horrendous. Something tragic that no one should ever be forced to go through, and I am so very sorry for what you endured. I’m not trying to make light of the terrible act, but what good is shutting yourself off from feelings and emotions or from caring about someone?
Your fiancée could have died from the illness she had or from crossing the street. ”
I thought for a few seconds he was going to be furious with me, but he rubbed his jaw and groaned. “Exactly what my cousin and now current Pakhan has told me for years.”
“Why me, Vissarian? Why did you let your guard down with me?”
“Why? I’ve already asked myself that ten times.
Because of your personality. Your damn hot ass.
” He laughed when I gave him a look. “I don’t know all the reasons why, Fallon.
I really don’t. But I’m not going to lie.
You remind me of her. Not completely. Just enough to jar me into accepting that I’d given up living. For fifteen years.”
The moment shared between us was fragile, yet I felt such a strong connection to him.
“What was she like?”
He softened as I sensed memories came into his mind. “Quirky like you. She had a zest for life, but refused to take any crap from anyone.”
I could laugh. At least I knew he was appreciative of my quirky ways. “I wouldn’t think you’d appreciate someone giving you grief.”
His snort was adorable. “She kept me on my toes, but trust me, she needed to. She was good at everything she did. She’d never bartended before and yet was determined to become one.
I helped get her a job in one of our clubs, even keeping her little white lies a secret.
Everybody adored her from day one. Because she was so…
colorful, she made a lot of money. She was an animal lover.
Just like you are. Being around you is the best of the memory while so much of me is hoping to forge new ones. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”
“Not at all.” A faraway look brought another moment of tightness in my chest. “That’s why you helped me save Bella.”
“Maybe.”
We both glanced at the fur baby. She lifted her head and only had eyes for him.
Even the thumping of her tail meant she was happy that he’d noticed her.
Surely, he couldn’t be all bad. That had been something I’d been taught a long time ago by someone very close to me.
A dog was the best warning mechanism against evil creatures.
“She had a pup named Ladybug that she loved more than me. Trust me. She told me as much a half dozen times. Oddly enough, the pup looked a lot like Bella. The damn thing wandered into the loading dock area where the huge dumpsters were. She was hungry. That’s where the love of my life took her cigarette breaks.
No amount of getting her to quit worked, but she saved a pup that day.
They went everywhere together, including to work. That sounds like something you’d do.”
“Bella just might become a frequent flyer.”
At least he was able to laugh. “She’ll do very well. Anyway, when I saw you, I had a feeling my feisty girl had sent you somehow as a kick in my butt.”
“To live amongst humans again.”
“Something like that.” Reaching out, he brushed hair from my shoulder.
“We don’t know each other, but what we’ve shared is undeniable.
A part of me knows that I shouldn’t have you in my life under any circumstances, but the other isn’t ready to give you up.
We’re connected somehow in a way that I can’t explain.
You’re very special. Not because of the likeness, but because of the woman you are.
Bold. Beautiful. Unforgiving and very caring. ”
“But you’re worried if this continues, I’ll be used as another weakness.” Whatever this was. We’d had sex. Granted, the hottest sex I’d had in my life times six, but… A tiny, but very intense shiver rushed down my spine.
“Yes, I am. I can’t help but feel like you were manipulated into coming here with me and it’s driving me crazy.
Whatever game Ludolf is playing isn’t to be taken lightly.
I don’t like feeling that way, but with what Ludolf said to both me and to you, I need to discover what he’s hiding and his future plans.
He alluded that there is some enemy determined to take down the Dmitriyev regime.
I had a feeling it was much more personal than targeting my family in its entirety. ”
I looked away as I thought about what Jasmine had told me. There were too many oddities that I hadn’t paid attention to in my grief.
“What is it?” he asked and the previous demanding side of him had returned.
“I talked with a friend earlier today while you were gone, someone who doesn’t seem to like you very much. She warned me about you. She said something about a wife and that you were responsible for her death. Why would she believe that?”
He exhaled, groaning at the same time. “You kept that from me.”
“I wasn’t certain what to say at first. I needed time to process.”
“Don’t hold anything back from me, Fallon.”
His eyes were so imploring. “I won’t. But why is she so convinced you were responsible for what happened?”
“Well, you see the Jamaican police were not happy that there were five dead bodies dropped in the street. They were determined to charge me with murder. Given the way I listed the reservations at the hotel, they were led to believe she was my wife. A reporter managed to get ahold of the story and before we could prevent him from printing it, it was splashed all over the news. Even now, no number of injunctions will prevent anyone from discovering the article.”
“How did you get out of the charge?”
His smile was almost sly. “It does pay to know people. This friend of yours and her warning, they’re the reason you decided I was no good for you.”
“That and other personal reasons. Anyway, she also used to date Jeffrey. Don’t ask. Our friendship is very unusual, but I can trust her. She mentioned she saw him in a club in Miami the other night, which would be impossible if he’d just had an appendectomy.”
As soon as the words slipped past my lips, he was all business again, closing the distance. “Didn’t you drop him off at a hospital?”
“No. We were supposed to meet for dinner, but he called and asked me to drop by his place. When I did, he had a friend there who was going to take him. That’s when he asked me to take the job.
I only had a few minutes to race back to my apartment and stuff a bag with a few things before heading to the airport. ”
He immediately pulled out his phone. “Had you ever seen this friend before?”
“No, but I’d been taking a number of trips for the airlines. Then I had to return to Chicago for a family situation and had just gotten back a day before. Plus, we were friends, but since we weren’t dating, I certainly didn’t spend much time with him. What are you thinking?”
“Chicago. You’re from Chicago.”
“I lived there for several years.”
Vissarian looked away for a few seconds. His jaw was clenched as it had been before. “Did Jeffrey introduce this person by name? If not, what do you remember about them?”
Exhaling, I was slightly foggy on the details. “No. He was a big guy wearing a suit and he certainly didn’t seem very friendly. Nothing jumped out at me as being off kilter.” My God. What in the hell was going on?
“What hospitals are close to where Jeffrey lives?”
I had to think about his question. “Mount Sinai and Florida Mercy. You think he lured me here?”
“Yes, I do. And I need to find out why, but first, I will discover if he lied to you.”
I touched his arm, shaking my head. “Jeffrey is my friend. He’s your friend as well.”
“Maybe so, but everyone has a price for betrayal.”
A cold shiver skated down my spine. “Not with me.”
“How did you meet him?”
“He saw me in a bar one night when I was extremely distraught.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
The flare of anger in his eyes was terrifying. “Chicago.”
What’s so important about Chicago?
“That’s where I grew up, at least mostly. Jeffrey and I hit it off and one thing led to another. He wooed me. Maybe I just needed an excuse to move on with my life. About three weeks later, he asked me to consider moving to Miami. So I did, believing that I was in love. I wasn’t.”
He sucked in his breath. “Interesting. Stay right here. I need to make some phone calls.”
“What is going on?”
Even the way he took a deep breath scared me. “I hope you’ve told me the truth, Fallon. I really do.”
“I have no reason to lie to you.”
He nodded, but I could tell he had a million questions running through his mind.
At this point, I had no idea what to say to him, but I sensed he was certain I was somehow duping him or worse.
“What was her name?” I asked.
He stopped just before walking inside, his shoulders slumping. “Megan. Her name was Megan.”
With that, he walked into the cottage and out of the line of sight. I gripped the back of the couch and almost instantly, Bella awakened, jumping up on her hind legs and throwing her long front paws around me. A horrible, nauseous feeling pitted my stomach.
“Oh, Bella.” I pressed my face into her fur, shaking to the point I wasn’t certain I could stand. An animal lover. Someone escaping her past. Quirky. Someone who looked like me.
No. No. It wasn’t possible. It just wasn’t possible.
With my vision suddenly foggy, I tried to put pieces together that I’d done my best to drive into a padlocked box.
Would my own friend, a man who still acted as if he cared about me betray me?
Why? Who in God’s name was Vissarian to my past?
No, not my past exactly. To the people my stepfather worked for. Luis had been an assassin.
Was there any chance in hell that…
Oh, my God. What was I missing?
While I was still reeling from everything that he’d told me and his reaction, I heard my phone.
Maybe Jeffrey was checking in. If so, he could clear everything up.
As I jogged into the cottage to try to find my purse, I thought about how odd Jeffrey had seemed when he’d answered the door.
The way his eyes had shifted away from me had seemed so strange, especially after what I’d told him on the phone and his encouragement for me to return to Miami where he promised to help me sort out what to do.
What did I really know about the man?
Hell, what was I saying? What did I know about Vissarian other than what I’d read and the day and a half we’d spent together?
I grabbed my phone on the fourth ring, concerned when I noticed Jasmine was on the line. “Jazzy. What’s up?”
“Oh, Fallon. I’m sorry. I went to your apartment like you asked.”
I heard the urgency in her voice and suddenly felt suffocated.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I don’t know. The whole place was trashed and there’s more. There’s something on the wall. I took a picture, but it’s horrible. I don’t know what else to do. Should I call the police? I just sent it to your email.”
Shit. What had the person been looking for? Where I’d gone? Maybe. Another chill shifted down my spine. I’d left a note I’d written on the kitchen counter. Details about this trip. Fuck.
Don’t jump to conclusions.
“Calm down. I’ll be home tomorrow. I want to see this for myself before I get the police involved.
You said something was written?” I was furious, so much so I couldn’t breathe.
I had no doubt who’d dared destroy everything that mattered to me in my tiny little apartment. Fucking Antonio “What was it?”
“One word,” she said, her voice was shaking. “Mine. The word mine. And Fallon, I think it was written in blood.”
Shocked, when I heard the ping indicating an email, I pulled it up.
The ugly red stain stared back at me.
The meaning clear.
And exactly what Antonio had promised.
Mine…