Page 32 of Off the Grid
“Um, I wish I could say yes, but honestly, I’m not sure. It all happened so fast. I didn’t see anything when they grabbed me, and there was a bag over my head most of the time. In the garage, one of them was wearing sunglasses, but he had short black hair, light skin, the beginnings of a beard.”
“That’s good.”
“No, it’s not.” McKenzie snorted. “Don’t agent-speak me, Leo.”
“Sorry.” He met her gaze apologetically. “Force of habit.”
She opened her mouth as though to retort, but then stilled. Her brows twitched and her eyes glazed over, just for a second, but he recognized the signs.
“What?”
She turned her face forward, staring at the trees. “It’s probably nothing.”
“I’ll determine that. Tell me, what?”
“It’s just— There was one man…” She paused, licking her lips. “I wanted to see more of the room, so I ran through the door and lunged.” The edge of his lip quirked into a smile at her foolish bravery. “Before they shoved me back inside, I made eye contact with this man. He had white hair, and leathery skin, like he spent too much time in the sun. He wore a button-down shirt, and he had these really dark brown eyes. Something about him seemed, well, familiar.”
That caught Leo’s attention. “Familiar how?”
“I’m not sure, like I’d seen him before, in a movie or something. Maybe in the news? There’s been so much about the mob on TV these past two weeks. It must’ve been that.”
It was possible. Leo didn’t remember that house or a man of that description being on the bureau’s radar, but that didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t. He was only one agent—he couldn’t possibly know everything the FBI was investigating, or hell, even everything his own department was currently investigating. Still though, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this entire situation. It didn’t fit the MO. The Russians didn’t kidnap civilians, not unless they had to. Ryder had just been spotted in South Carolina, hundreds of miles away. And the mob had nothing to gain from kidnapping McKenzie. So why now? Why her?
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Just the look in his eyes.” She reached her hand out and placed it on his forearm, stopping them both. Leo met her gaze, reading the confusion and the questions swirling within her eyes. “He was afraid. I know he was, but I don’t know why. And don’t give me some smart-ass excuse like it’s because he knew you were coming.”
“I don’t know,” Leo teased, trying to lighten her mood. McKenzie had been through enough. She didn’t need more weight on her shoulders. “I can be pretty intimidating when I want to be.”
“Guess I’m immune.” Her tone was flat and sharp enough to cut through all his crap.
So much for that.Leo sighed. “Have you ever heard of Nikolai Sokolov?”
“He’s the boss, right?”
He was impressed. “Yeah, and—”
“Was that him?” Her eyes bulged.
“No.” She deflated. Leo dipped his head, catching her gaze before it fell. “You should be happy it wasn’t him. He’s a cold-blooded bastard. We put him in jail two weeks ago, and I have it on good authority that his bail is about to be denied. With him away, there’s no clear leadership. The pieces haven’t started falling yet, but it’s only a matter of time before the tower crumbles from within. Without Sokolov to enforce loyalty, someone will turn, then another, until it’s chaos. For them, at least. I prefer to think of it as justice.”
“And that’s why this guy is scared?”
“Probably.”
McKenzie picked up on the hesitation in his tone. “But you think it could be something else?”
Yes?
No?
He settled on, “I’m not sure. But it’s not something you should concern yourself with.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because you’ve been through enough,” he told her, making his voice firm. For her own safety, she needed to understand what he was saying. “When we get out of these woods, I’m going to call my team, and the Feds will handle it from there. You’ll go back to your apartment, back to your life, and you won’t think about it anymore. Don’t go digging for answers you shouldn’t find, especially where the mob is concerned. It’s a good way to get yourself killed.”
She gritted her teeth as her nostrils flared. Then she paused and took a deep breath before opening her mouth. “Fine.”
