Page 84 of Red Rabbit
“Get rid of them,” Cooper said, still looking at me with a look I did not like.
“There are four of them. Armed.”
“Expecting company?” He asked, looking past his man down the hallway. He stood up as he drew his gun from his pants.
“Watch her,” he snapped at the others and then headed towards the door.
One of his other men followed, leaving only two that I could see. A few minutes went by and I thought I heard fighting but it was muffled and indistinct. Then the men’s heads jerked as one towards the front door—Cooper must have said something on the radio. I heard a thud and the man closest to me fell, a bullet in his neck. I scrambled backwards towards the corner of the living room as three men in black tactical gear swept in and dropped the remaining two men in the room. I watched them wide eyed and then my eyes fell on the leader and fourth man as he entered the room.
It was Kraven.
This could not be happening. Literally this was something straight out of one of my nightmares. I started hyperventilating and I was fighting violently to use every trick I learned to keep my panic down. I closed my eyes briefly but that made things worse so I opened them again but everywhere I looked there was a dead body bleeding all over my living room.
I looked at Kraven. He was still wearing his suit from the charity although the collar was unbuttoned and now there was blood splattered across his chest and face. His gray eyes were meticulous and cold as he and his men swept through the room with lethal precision. He looked like a fallen angel coming to save me from hell. But I knew better than to call him my savior.
He and his men cleared the room and the rest of the house and only when they returned with an all clear did Kraven look over at me. He dismissed his men with a hand signal and I watched them disappear to other parts of the house, presumably to guard against Cooper’s return.
Kraven put away his gun and came over, grabbing me by the arm as he pulled me to my feet. I yanked away from his hand and immediately backed up into the kitchen.
“What—did you follow me home?” I asked, my voice impossibly shrill as I choked out the words. His mouth twitched in a small smile as he slowly stepped towards me and nodded.
“And I’m glad that I did or Cooper might be halfway back to the Warren with you.”
“Where is he?” I asked. I frantically looked towards my french doors that lead into the backyard as though expecting him to burst through them.
“Gone. He got away.”
Kraven continued to advance on me slowly and soon he backed into the corner of my kitchen. My back hit my counter and I gripped the granite behind me as he stopped in front of me. His hand rose and I flinched hard as he grabbed my chin and turned my face, his eyes darkening in anger. His other hand pulled a towel from somewhere behind me and he gently dabbed at the cut across my cheekbone from when Cooper slapped me. I was shaking and my breath was coming out in sharp gasps as I tried to breathe. He must have seen the terror in my eyes because he dropped the towel and his gaze swept over me. He saw the scar on my forehead near my hairline and ran a finger over it.
“It was bad after I left.” It wasn’t a question.
I couldn’t speak as unshed tears blurred my vision. I tried to jerk my head in a nod but his hand was still gripping my jaw. He let me go and his eyes scanned the rest of the skin he could see.
“How bad?” He demanded.
I suddenly felt suffocated and I slipped out from the corner. He let me move as I grabbed the whiskey Cooper left out and tried to pour myself a glass but my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t pour the bottle. Kraven came over and without a word he took it from me and poured me a finger. I threw it back, letting the warmth flow through me.
“Take Roger’s sadomasochism and turn it up a few notches,” I exhaled after the drink, my voice shaking. This time I managed to pour myself another bit of alcohol, only spilling slightly and threw that back as well. Kraven moved closer and drew a finger over one of the visible scars along my collarbone.
“Is that his handiwork too?”
I nodded.
“He almost killed me.”
My hands were shaking so hard I put the glass down. Kraven’s anger emanated hot in the small space between us.
“Why are you here?” I asked quietly. I was afraid of the answer.
“I was hoping to relive old times,” he said but he didn’t make a move towards me. I still hadn’t really looked at him and I think it was unnerving him. He was so used to my fire. The fire that had been gutted and was only now slowly coming back to life.
“It’s not—I’m not—like before,” I gripped the granite, willing myself to breathe. “My mind and my body—the battle is—twisted and dark now.”
My voice sputtered out on the last words and a few tears slid down my cheeks. I dashed at them angrily and my hand came back bloody.
That unnerved me further.
I reached for the alcohol bottle, bent on drowning myself.
