Tell Me No Lies (27 page)

She swallowed, clutching her hands together in hopes that would keep her voice steady. "I heard a long, terrifying scream." The sound echoed in her head, an endless, world-shattering siren. "I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe." She felt that way now, frozen in time, eyes fixed on Nadya Novikova's shiny pink lips. "I
let
Petrov get away."

"And probably saved your life, Sasha," Mason said softly.

But she didn't want to admit that. She only wanted to remember that if she had moved faster, she might have prevented Miki Petrov from escaping.

"When I
finally crept out, the window was open, and my father... my father was six stories below, on the ground." The horror rose up from the place she'd hidden it, her father's broken body, bloody and mangled.

Papa. Papa.

She heard the moan. Who was moaning? Were those her teeth chattering? She was so cold. Papa, so cold.

And then he was beside her, holding her, saying her name.

"Alex. Alex, you're all right."

Not her papa.

"Look at me. Shh. Look at me."

With gentle pressure he forced her head to turn. To face arm. Lean against him.

Hank.

She sank into his arms.

"I've got you," he whispered, and pressed her tight against his chest. "It's all right."

He felt so good, so strong. Slowly she stopped shaking, and Hank stepped back, tilted her chin. "All right?"

She missed his warmth but nodded. Edward handed her a cup of coffee. She wrapped her hands around the cup, letting the heat seep into her ice-cold fingers.

"Kholodov got her out of there," Mason said, giving her more time to recover. "He was Baklanov's bodyguard. They came to me."

"You? Why you?"

"Kholodov was afraid Petrov would find out she'd been there. He wanted to get her out of the country. He needed help. We were comrades in arms, so to speak, though on opposite sides."

"You and Kholodov?"

"He was KGB until the Soviet Union fell. Then like many in his position, he hired out as freelance protection. Russia was a dangerous place. Assassinations and mob hits were endemic. Here and there Kholodov had been useful to us, so I did what I could. I got them out of Russia, got them new identities, new lives." He turned to Alex, his face suddenly hard. "I gave you a second chance, Sasha. Don't screw that up."

"I won't let him get away with stealing my country's assets and murdering my father."

"He already has. Short of revealing yourself to him, which is suicide, there's nothing you can do."

"There's a lot I can do," she snapped. "Luka called me two weeks ago and told me he had something we could use on Petrov. He refused to say what it was, just that all of this would be over soon."

"It is over." Mason was blunt. "For Luka."

She felt her face drain of blood. Bad enough to accuse herself, but to hear it said out loud was like being pierced by an arrow.

"That's enough, Mason," Hank said.

"It's the truth, and she'd better face it." Mason's rough voice softened. He put a fatherly arm around her shoulders. "Leave it alone, Sasha. Move on, enjoy yourself. You're a beautiful woman, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't throw it away on a pipe dream."

Pipe dream? Outrage boiled up. Getting Petrov was no fantasy. It was her life's work. "Fine." She disentangled herself. She'd made a mistake coming here. She could see that now. She'd relied too much on Edward, expected too much. There'd be no help here.

She stalked toward the door. Outside, the car waited. She was alone again, but there was nothing new about that

"Whoa!" A hand pulled her back. Hank spun her around. "Hold on. Where are you going?"

"Out of here."

"Really? How are you getting there?" He held up a hand. Car keys dangled from one finger.

She swiped at them, but he jerked them out of her grasp.

"You can't keep me here." She glared at him. "I'm not a prisoner. I'll call a cab." She started toward the kitchen; Hank blocked her way.

"Look, you told me that Miki Petrov was responsible for Kholodov's death. You also told me why. He has the means and the motive. Let me prove he had the opportunity."

The words were out of Hank's mouth before he knew they were coming. Christ. When would he learn? If she wanted to jump off a rooftop, who was he to stop her?

He was a cop. With a job to do.

A job that hinged on a string of dead ends and only four days left to make them pay off.

A lot could happen in four days.

Yeah. All of it trouble.

As if she'd come to the same conclusion, Alex's eyes narrowed, and indecision warred in her face. She didn't trust him, and who could blame her?

"Prove it how?"

He shook his head. Bad idea on top of bad idea. He felt the universe stir, that old, cold gust of fate blowing through him. Reluctantly, he reviewed what he had. The cigarette that could have been dropped anytime, the damaged bullet that didn't lead to a weapon, a set of partials that were dubious at best A house of cards on top of a moving train. But the flimsy nature of the evidence didn't matter as long as he could use it to stall her. Keep her there where she'd be safe and out of the way until he came up with a better plan.

"I've got a chain of evidence that could link back to Yuri."

"What evidence?" Mason asked.

In for a penny, in for a pound. "A cigarette butt at Alex's house. Ballistics I can try to tie to Yuri's gun. A partial set of latents found at the store and Kole's house. If I can bring Yuri in, maybe I can flip him."

He beard himself. I, I, I. As if he'd be there to do it The hero, the protector, the saver of worlds.

Alex snorted with derision, a perfect response. "You think Yuri will turn on his boss? That will never happen. He knows what Petrov would do to him. Besides, what does any of that prove?"

Carefully, he built the case, going with the theory even if he couldn't prove it. "That Yuri was there. At the store, in the house. That he had something to do with Luka's death, with Sonya's."

"Sonya died of a heart attack," Alex said. "Even if Yuri was there, and believe me, I'd bet he was, you can't hold that over him."

"Yes, I can." He cocked his head, leaned against the kitchen table. Hoped she'd go for it "It's called felony murder. If someone dies, even unintentionally, during the course of a crimes let's say a burglary the burglar can be charged with murder. If Yuri was there, he entered your home illegally. That's a crime."

Alex turned to Mason, who nodded in confirmation.

"But he was at the party," Alex said, "Smoking. A hundred people saw him, including you. Yuri could have left the cigarette then, and any defense attorney would say so."

A pang of frustration and admiration hit him. God, she was smart. Wasn't going to be easy putting anything past her.

She shook her head. "You're grabbing at straws."

"Better than throwing yourself into the lion's den," Mason said, then turned to Hank. "What else have you got?"

Not much, but he didn't say so. "Ballistics. Luka was shot with a .38." He didn't bother with the fact that he didn't have a lead on the weapon. "If I can tie the gun to Petrov "

"Petrov wouldn't do the job himself." Alex waved the idea away with an impatient flick of her wrist. "He doesn't work that way. Second, whoever did do it let's say Yuri or Vassily, or one of his other thugs wouldn't have kept the weapon. And even if you found it, the gun would be un-traceable. Have you found it?" "No, but "

"It's a start," Mason said. "At least let him " "I've got prints," Hank said, a desperate, last-ditch effort. "Give me some time to check them out" "Partials, you said. Nothing solid." "You never know. All I need is a few days." Alex shook her head. She was tired of talking about it. "No. None of that's going to work. Even if it did, you'd only have Yuri, and we're back to him betraying Miki, which will never happen."

"Look, Mason and I agree." Hank signaled to the older man. The two of them were nodding at each other, a brotherhood of testosterone lined up against her. "We follow the evidence, put the pressure on "

"He'll make a mistake, Sasha, you'll see, and " "You're right." She looked between the two men, her goal suddenly clear. She saw Miki's face at the parly, the invitation in his eyes. Sexual. Lethal. That part of her scheme had always gone as planned. And if he hadn't killed Luka, she would have followed through. Gone home with him. Slept with him. Twined her way into his confidence. Bled him dry. "Leaving would be foolish."

Hank exhaled a breath of relief. "Good. That's good. You'll be safe here, and I can "

"We'll bring Petrov to the cabin." Her statement stopped the discussion like a shot Hank's eyes narrowed to a slit of green. "What for?' "If I bring him here, I can get him to confess." Mason threw up his hands. "That's crazy, Sasha. No." "Confess? How? Hypnosis? I don't think so." She raised her chin, determined. "He wants me. He's always wanted me. It's time I give him what he wants."

Hank glowered at her through disbelieving eyes. "What you're going to do a little cha-cha with him? You think he'll give himself up over some pillow talk?' "He's not stupid, Sasha."

"Stupid? No. But he's blinded by arrogance, and that's a kind of stupidity." She stared out the porch window into the night. Could she do it? Could she make herself do it?

Why not? It's what she'd intended all along. She reached for the ice she'd nurtured over the years, the frozen shell that kept her true feelings carefully shielded, but found a tremor of horror threatening to overtake her. She struggled to suppress it, and Hank grabbed her arm.

"Forget it." He dragged her from the door into the living room. "You're not going near Miki Petrov." He bulldozed her into the recliner, where she gazed up at him.

"I'll do what I have to," she said, perfectly calm, perfectly composed. Now that she'd made her decision, fear oozed to the edge, replaced by a numb certainty. This had always been the way. Always the plan. In the chaos that had surrounded her lately she had almost forgotten. Petrov had tried to rattle her. He had almost succeeded.

"What if he already knows who you are?" Hank said. "What do you think those shots were about?"

She didn't flinch. "If he knew who I was, I'd be dead. Those shots were about something else."

"Lousy shooter," Mason said.

"No. He's stirring the pot. Miki likes to get people off-balance. See if they'll trip themselves up. Reveal something useful."

Hank said, "You don't know that."

She rose, feeling sure and in control for the first time in days. "Ah, but I do. I've done business with him. I know how he thinks. I know what he wants. He'll take the bait." She circled the room, a predator plotting the kill.

"He'll take it and gobble you up," Mason warned.

"Tell me this." Hank stepped in front of her. "How the hell will you stop him from shooting you point-blank?"

"I won't." She watched him, sadness breaking through her iron will. She could no longer protect him; he was part of this now. "You will."

16

Hank's blood chilled. Images flitted through his brain. The screwdriver plunging toward him. Maureen dead on the toolshed floor. "No. It's too risky."

Alex smiled, cool and confident. "I have a high tolerance for risk, remember?"

Damn, it was like talking to a brick wall. Or a steel one.

"It's a bad idea, Sasha."

She rounded on Mason, smoky eyes hot. 'It's the only idea we've got. Whatever proof Luka had is gone. Hank's evidence is flimsy at best. We have nothing. Only me." Her voice deepened, passionate and unwavering. "Miki Petrov killed my father. He killed Luka. He probably hurried Sonya's death. I'm not letting Mm off the hook this lime."

"He'll kill you." Mason didn't mince words.

She shook her head. "That's why you're both here. You'll stop him."

Another earthquake rocked through Hank. "No. We won't. I won't I don't want your life in my hands."

"They're strong hands, Hank. I trust them." She gazed into his eyes, the look softly determined.

"Then you're a fool." He looked from her to Mason, who gazed back with sympathy. "Excuse me."

He walked out into the night. The fresh air cooled the sweat he hadn't even known was filming the back of his neck.

Christ Almighty.
His hands were shaking.

Mind whirling, he stumbled the ten yards down to the lake. Moonlight silvered the surface, glazing the water with a hard sheen.

How did he get caught up in this mess? It had nothing to do with him. Luka Kole Kholodov was killed because of something that happened years ago in another country. It had nothing to do with the Hudson Valley, Van Dekker County, or the Sokanan PD. A few more days and he wouldn't even be a cop. He should walk away. Now, while he still had the chance.

Chance. The word reverberated inside him. Take your chance. Chance of a lifetime. Game of chance. He closed his eyes, acid coating his mouth.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

"Better lock up your keys." Mason positioned himself beside Hank and stared out at the lake. Behind him, Hank felt Alex's spirit lurking like a heavy weight.

"Has she always been suicidal?"