Page 34 of Fierce Pursuit

“What the fuck is going on?” John’s voice was shrill. “Who the hell is that guy? Who are you? And why is some twelve-foot Russian hothead after you?”

“It’s not important,” I snapped, working at the knots faster. “You need to leave. Now. He’s not after you. As long as you’re gone when he wakes up, you should be fine.”

John and Travis scrambled upright, rubbing at their wrists, still looking dazed.

“We need to call the cops,” Travis said, already reaching for his phone.

“No!” The word came too fast, too sharp.

Both of them froze.

Travis narrowed his eyes. “Why the hell not?”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing, forcing myself to focus. “Because you never know whose payroll they’re on,” I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Because to me, it was.

“The Russian mafia owns cops all over the world. If you call them expecting help, but they’re working for the big guy upstairs? You’re fucked. We’re fucked.”

Travis paled, but John still looked ready to argue.

I didn’t have time for this.

“Just go,” I ordered. “Spend the night somewhere else.”

I bent down, quickly gathering the electrical cords and shoelaces Kostya had used to tie them up.

John grabbed my arm. “What the hell are you going to do?” he demanded.

I ripped free from his grip so fast he barely had time to react. “That’s not your concern.”

“The fucking Russian mob? Who are you, really?” Travis’s voice was sharp, full of suspicion. “We have a right to know.”

I looked up, meeting his gaze dead-on.

“No, you don’t.”

And then I shoved them both toward the door.

Because I had bigger problems to deal with.

“Leave.” I said it again, sharper this time. “Before he wakes up.”

That did the trick.

John and Travis hesitated only a second longer before scrambling to grab their things, throwing on their jackets and stuffing their pockets with their keys and wallets.

The front door slammed behind them.

I barely heard it.

I was already running upstairs.

Kostya was still sprawled out on my bed, motionless.

Still breathing.

Still here.

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