Page 23 of Hunted

The man was so pale he almost glowed in the dark. He stood right behind Romano, a gun pressed tight to the base of his neck. Romano’s gaze met hers over the top of the car. There was rage in his eyes, but she sensed it wasn’t directed at her. He said a single word, and it dripped with hatred.

“White.”

She wondered at the accuracy of his name, then realized it was probably meant to be ironic. An albino named White. He was the essence of white. The man behind him yanked the duffel from Romano’s shoulder and slung it down onto the pavement. “Your gun, my friend. Drop it.”

He did. Lexi heard the clatter of metal against blacktop. She tried not to sink into a well of panic, tried telling herself it was all right. There were other guns in that duffel. Lots of other guns.

White lifted his gaze, and when it met Lexi’s, she shuddered in revulsion. Cold eyes. Colorless in the darkness, only igniting with neon fire when the sign flickered and buzzed. But evil, unspeakably evil. She felt its touch when he looked at her. The neon illuminated a scar across his cheek, making it seem fresh. Goose bumps rose on her arms, and she felt a crackle of static race over her nape. He had white hair and glowing reddish eyes.

“Put those lovely arms up high, Ms. Stoltz, and come around the car to stand beside your lover, won’t you?”

She opened her mouth to tell him she couldn’t, but no words came out. Seemed she was scared speechless as well as motionless. Her gaze jerked back to Romano’s, and he sent her a nearly imperceptible nod. Somehow, she managed to raise her hands above her head and put one foot in front of the other until she stood beside Romano, facing the car with that monster behind them.

“Turn around,” the monster squeaked. His voice made her teeth hurt. Romano turned to face him. Lexi stood still, trembling until his hands touched her shoulders, turning her gently, telling her with his eyes that it would be okay.

The monster smiled. His eyes flashed red whenever the sign flickered His skin was alabaster. Shorter than Romano, though not by much, he was probably twenty pounds lighter. His long, narrow face ended in a pointed chin.

“Good to see you again, Romano. I barely trusted my instincts when my men described the agent who’d run off with Ms. Stoltz and left them bound, like calves at one of your American rodeos, on her living room floor. I almost convinced myself it was only wishful thinking. But it is you.”

“You shouldn’t be so glad about that,” Romano said softly.

“I enjoy a worthy opponent. Makes the game more interesting.”

“This is no game, White.”

“Of course it is. Shall I tell you the rules?” He laughed softly, pressed his gun’s barrel to Romano’s forehead. Lexi gasped aloud.

“You have something I want,” he said. “The key to Elliot Stoltz's safe deposit box. Give it to me, and I’ll kill you quickly. Otherwise …” He smiled again, a slow, meaningful smile that froze Lexi’s heart. “… it will be slow and extremely painful.”

“What safe deposit box?” Romano’s voice was low, dangerous.

The albino shook his head. “Lies will only earn your beautiful friend more pain, Romano.”

“If there was a box somewhere, do you think I’d keep the key with me? You forget, White, I’ve dealt with you before.”

“And you underestimated me then, too, as I recall. I did think it would take longer for you to take a lover, though. Is your dead wife a faded memory already?”

Lexi felt Romano stiffen beside her, and instantly thought of the woman in the photo. His wife was dead? What about the little boys?

“I’m going to kill this one, too,” White went on. “Will you forget her as quickly?” His gun moved down over Romano’s face, his chin, his neck, finally stopping when it pressed to the center of his chest. Then White reached out with his free hand, ran it slowly over Lexi’s hair. She cringed backward, pressed her back tighter to the car, averted her face, but he still reached her. “I won’t kill her fast like I did your wife, though. I’ll take my time with this one. Shall I make you watch?”

Her stomach heaved and her lungs began to spasm. Lexi whirled, dropping to her knees and retching on the asphalt. She knelt there until she was spent, and when she finally stopped heaving, she knew she couldn’t stand up again if her life depended on it. She collapsed against the duffel, sobs wrenching her body.

White shook his head disdainfully at her before returning his attention to Romano. “I never thought weak women were your type.” He sent her a last glance, then dismissed her with a shrug. “No matter. Where is the key?”

“Not here,” he said calmly, levelly.

Lexi felt her heart trip over itself. Its beat stumbled, fluttered. It was often the first sign of an episode, and she prayed it would stay in control. Her damned PSVT might get them both killed. Moving slowly, so White wouldn’t know, she pawed the spilled contents of the duffel in search of her pills, as her heart switched to full blown tachycardia. Within seconds she was sucking in breaths that didn’t seem enough to sustain her. She felt dizzy already.

“Where, Romano? My patience is running thin.”

He only shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re here alone,” he said. “I thought you never ventured out from under your rock without a half-dozen smaller snakes to do your dirty work.”

“You bested my little snakes. And not for the first time. This is personal now, though, isn’t it, Romano? Just you and I.”

Lexi put her hand into the bag, knocking other items out in her frantic search for her pill bottle, still panting. She closed her fist around something cold and metallic. A gun.

She blinked in stark disbelief. She couldn’t do it. Could she? Bending over herself so her long hair concealed the weapon, she took it out of the bag and turned it so the grip was in her palm and slid her finger carefully over the trigger.

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