I only needed one flash of a muzzle, and I could pin down our unfriendly fire and end this game. Unfortunately, that one bullet could cost someone their life. “Can you be careful, asshole?”
I heard the laughter in his voice. “The guys rigged up my side window with a metal plate.”
My muscles relaxed a bit. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Fifteen seconds.”
“Go.”
I counted backwards, watching the hills. I heard the squeal of tires, and then I saw the flash from the hills. The Hummer rolled to a stop, but I didn’t hear anything over the comms. Not a good sign. Cold rage washed over me. I pointed my scope at the hill where the flash had come from and started repeatedly firing in that area. Is Andrusha dead? Why isn’t Andrusha speaking? I just kept shooting and reloading. Anything moving should have been mowed down by my hail of bullets. After a minute of relentlessly shooting, I stopped and listened. Nothing but the echoes of my last shots rang around me.
And then Andrusha’s voice came over the comms. “Fucker won’t die, hey?”
All the air went out of my lungs. “Just making sure.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Back the Hummer into the hangar. I’m heading up the hill to make sure he’s gone.”
Andrusha argued, “You cover me instead. I’ll head up with two guys.”
That made the most sense, but I hated sending those guys up into the dark.
It was a tense hour in the dark while I scoured the hillside and my team slowly made their way up the hill. I guarded over them with my rifle, aware that one lax moment could cost someone their life.
Finally, one of the guys stood, holding something up. “Found his nest.”
Another one of the guys said, “Looks like he went up this way, to the top of the hill. He’s bleeding, but not enough to die. I would say he’s gone for the night.”
“Take photos, and then bag everything and bring it down. I want to study this guy.”
An hour later, I found Andrusha in his office, holding his phone.
“You got a minute?”
“Just got off the phone with our insurance. They need to send out an adjuster before we can make repairs.”
“How many guys, including you and me, were here tonight?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Sixteen souls.”
I tossed the bag of empty casings on his desk. “He left sixteen casings behind. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”
Andrusha gave me a dark look but didn’t speak. “What else?”
“We also found this.” I handed him the crumpled pamphlet from Edward Asterdam’s funeral. He had used something sharp to scratch out the eyes of Edward’s face.
“Yeah, that’s not creepy.” Andrusha tossed it aside. “Fuck, this asshole is really starting to get on my nerves.”
“We need to figure out how to get ahead of this guy, or this will go badly for us.”
“Agreed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
The next day
BLAIRE
I had just finished running some errands downtown, and now I was at a loss as to what to do. I had heard nothing from Viktor after Andrusha had burst in on us and announced that the sniper was at their property.
Were they okay? Had they caught him? What had happened last night?
I dialed Andrusha’s cell.
“Andrusha speaking.”
“This is Blaire. Sorry to bother you.”
His tone softened. “No bother. What can I do for you, Blaire?”
“I was hoping to talk to Viktor.”
“He just left, but I’ll text him and have him call you. Is this number okay?”
“Yes, thank you.” I hesitated. “Did everything go okay?”
“No one got hurt, but we’re still chasing him.”
Which meant that the sniper was still a threat to Viktor.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked. “How is your grandma doing?”
“We are trying to figure out our new normal.”
“I was glad to see you and Viktor talking last night. Sorry I had to interrupt.”
“I was hoping to catch up with him.”
I could hear the smile in his voice. “I think he’d like that very much. I’ll let him know right away.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I hung up and walked to the curb. I looked down the busy street for a cab. Maybe I would get really bold and invite Viktor over for dinner.
A text came in from an unknown number.
Unknown: Miss me?
Viktor! My heart skipped a couple of beats. I decided to play coy.
Blaire: Who is this?
Unknown: I need to see you.
Relief, anticipation, and excitement flooded me. This was my do-or-die moment. I would tell him how I felt, and he would either shove me away or pull me close.
Blaire: Okay, when and where?
Unknown: Meet me outside the aquarium in Stanley Park
Blaire: I can be there in 15 mins
It wasn’t raining, but the sky was overcast. A cold breeze tossed dead leaves across the footpath in front of me. I should have worn my winter boots. The aquarium wasn’t open, so the front waiting area was deserted. It was also the shoulder season for tourism, so there was no one around. I wondered why he had chosen this place.
I couldn’t wait to see him. I decided I would break the ice and just run into his arms. I needed to hug him, and if he held me back, I would know where his feelings lay.
My phone rang, and it was an unknown number.
“Hi.”
“Hey yourself.” His voice sounded warm in my ear. “Andrusha said you called.”
“I don’t know your number.”
“It’s been really busy here. I was going to call you tonight, I promise, when there were no distractions.”
I looked around. The wind whipped against my legs. “What do you mean tonight? Where are you?”
“I’m heading home.”
I looked around. “So why did you ask me to meet you at the aquarium? Do you live near here?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your text. You told me to meet you here.”
“Blaire?” He sounded pained. “I didn’t text you.”
I stood there, completely frozen. “Well, if you didn’t text me, who did?”
I felt a small prick against my neck, and then I couldn’t feel my legs. I tried to speak, but no words came out. And then everything went black.
It was my headache that woke me up. I startled and realized that my hands were tied behind me and my feet were bound to the legs of the chair I sat on. It was pitch black, and I also had a gag in my throat. Eyes rolling, I fought my captivity, but to no avail.
Then a dim light glowed from behind me. I couldn’t see the person who turned on the light, but I could sense them.
“You’re awake.” He had a low, smooth French accent and a soothing tone.
From behind, I could feel big hands push down the gag in my mouth. My mouth was so dry it felt like I had tried to swallow cotton balls.
Hands from behind guided a water bottle to my lips. “Drink up, now.”