Out Of The Night (3 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Tony’s kiss sent a blaze of need surging through
Abby’s body like a shot of adrenalin straight in the heart. Their break-up had been so long ago and so painful she refused to go there. Yet, his kiss sent her soaring back four years to the exact moment they met.

When he broke the kiss, she stumbled and had to resist the urge to grab on to him, protect him and keep him safe until he could care for himself. When that time
came, Abby knew she would walk away.

On the phone
, Mac had been so concerned about his fellow agent he’d wanted to take her place, but he’d decided Tony must trust her to a degree or he’d have disappeared by now. No one wanted that. If Tony decided to go under, they’d never find him until he was ready and that could be too late.

Careful that her actions didn’t startle or surprise him, she remained quiet and still. Abby had to stay on his good side
, so he wouldn’t bolt. However, she couldn’t afford to stay this close and remain detached. They were once intimate lovers. They’d been an intricate part of each other’s life, and Abby had loved him with all her heart.

Two cars pulled up and stopped
. Tony turned to distance himself from her, but Abby put her hand on his back, encouraging him stay.

“It’s just Mac.” She smiled. “You’re safe.”

Mac approached slowly and kept a respectable distance. “Hey, Tony, you look like you’re freezing.”

Tony swung around and looked in the agent’s direction. “I am.”

Squinting, Mac stepped closer. “I came hoping you might recognize me.”

Tony shook his head.

Disappointment and sadness drew Mac’s features tight as he lowered his head. “Do you remember Frank Hamilton, Brody Hawke, A.J. Roddio, or Nick Steele?”

Tony presented a blank stare.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

“No.” Leery, Tony stepped back and checked his surroundings.

Mac held out his hands and placed more distance between them. “The car has everything you need. There’s a safe house not far. A cell phone has been programmed, so call if you need anything.”

Abby looked between Mac and Tony.
Seeing the raw pain in Mac’s face touched her deeply. These agents were a brotherhood. Tony’s gray eyes darted between her and Mac, and his look of desperation motivated her to try harder.

Mac drove away in the second car, and
she and Tony moved in the direction of the Volvo left at the curb. She slid behind the wheel and waited for Tony to get in. Hopefully, no one would be looking for them in this particular vehicle.

She looked over her shoulder and
spotted two suitcases in the back, apparently containing everything they needed to stay safe. She picked up an envelope wedged between the seats and inside found directions to the safe house, passports, and money.

She set the GPS and followed the voiced directions. The heater kicked on and warm air instantly circulated through the car. “Is that better?”

“Yeah, I’m freezing.” Tony rubbed his bare arms as his gaze searched the area, perhaps looking for something to recognize. Maybe he hoped a familiar place would jog his memory.

“It certainly is. Especially when you don’t have on a shirt or shoes. A nice warm shower will feel good.”

Tony didn’t say anything until she pulled in front of the small house jammed between two large apartment complexes.

“This is it.” She pushed to sound cheerful. “Home, sweet home.”

“We’ll see,” Tony mumbled as he wearily exited the car.

She took a suitcase and Tony retrieved the other. With the key in hand, she moved ahead quickly to unlock the door. Waving him inside, she set the luggage down and relaxed.

The house couldn’t be more than six hundred square feet and basically one square room. The front of the house contained a couch, chair, and a small TV with two end tables. A braided rug covered the wooden floor.

To the left
, a small kitchen held a stove, small fridge, miniscule counter, and a square table pushed up against one of the four windows in the house.

Right across from the kitchen
, a bed, a tiny dresser, and one nightstand functioned as a bedroom. The bathroom had to be around the corner.

It wasn’t a luxury suite by any means, and the sparsely furnished place held only the essentials. They’d never be out of each other’s sight
, except while in the bathroom.

“Well, it’s warm.” She dropped the key on the
top of the television.

“Beats the cold outside.”

She stepped further into the room, put the bag on the cheap coffee table and opened it. “Let’s see what we have.” She pulled out clothes for her and Tony—two warm jackets, shoes, two shirts, and jeans. “Well, we can get you into some decent clothes after you clean up.”

“That sounds good.” He stood awkwardly in the center of the room, his keen gray eyes scan
ning every inch of the interior, weary and cautious as a burglar.

“You get yourself
a shower while I find something to eat.”

Tony looked down at his body and grimaced. “I guess that should be the first order of the day.”

He walked out of sight, and Abby heard water running in a tub. There must not be a shower because Tony wasn’t a bath kind of guy.

He
returned to the front room for the clean clothes and took them with him into the bathroom where she hoped he’d find soap and towels. Refusing to picture Tony naked, Abby busied herself by putting a meal together.

Someone had stocked the cupboards with groceries and the tiny fridge with milk and several slices of meat for sandwiches.

A shrieking noise come from outside.

Abby
rushed to the front window and watched as several Russian policemen scurried out of the neighboring apartment. Her pulse raced and fear bunched her muscles.

Could they be looking for
her and Tony?

Closing the curtains, Abby ran to the bathroom and opened the door. Tony stood
, wearing only a look of surprise, but she didn’t have time to enjoy the view.

“The police are searching. They’re next door.”

She left the room, turned off all the lights and shoved the suitcases under the bed.

Tony stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else.

He’d shaved so he now resembled the old Tony she knew and still loved. Although frustration nipped at her heels, her betraying heart thudded loudly in her chest. She had no time for unwanted emotions.

With well-learned precision, Tony picked up the two guns, made sure they were loaded, and motioned for her to get into the closet.

“No, what if they recognize you.”

“They won’t.” He quickly slipped on a shirt and slid his bare feet into a pair of loafers. He finger-combed his hair and scattered a few personal items around the room.

***

The girl looked none too happy at the prospect of standing in a dark closet, but they had little choice. The police could be looking for a couple. The need to protect and keep her safe pulled at his conscience.

Sensing they might check the closet, he reached down and emptied the bottom cabinets of the kitchen sink. He stashed everything in the fridge then motioned her to crawl inside.

“I won’t fit in there.”

He knocked out the interior wall dividing the sections and said, “You’ll fit. Crawl in and stay in a fetal position until I tell you to come out.”

It took a little pushing and shoving, but he finally managed to shut the door. After taking a beer from the fridge, he guzzled half the contents just as a knock sounded from outside. He concealed an S&W down each side of the chair cushion.

He kicked aside a few chunks of the shelving he’d busted out and went to the door. “Yeah,” he said in Russian. “I am coming.”

He released the lock and two policemen walked in.

They were dressed in the new dark gray Russian uniforms with red piping on the sleeves, pockets, and lapels
—pretty spiffy for a country full of starving peasants and a bad infrastructure.

“We’re looking for an escaped American,” the bigger man said.

Tony didn’t remember seeing the two officers while he’d been locked up. But that didn’t mean anything. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten.

He took a swig of the beer and spread out his arms. “No American here. See for yourselves.”

The smaller, mean-looking officer with a nicely trimmed mustache looked doubtful as he walked around the room, slapping his leather gloves against the side of his pants.

Tony shrugged, sat down in the chair and turned on the TV, his fingers inches away from the gun on his right.

The police checked the bathroom, under the bed and in the closet. Still, they eyed him with an accusing glare.

“You live here alone?”

“Fuck no, I’m not alone. I have a wife that could bitch your dick off.”

“Where is she?”

He nodded to the left. “Working down at the cannery.”

“What
’s her name?”

“Her name is Bepa
…Bepa Chirkoff. And I’m Georgi.”

“Do you work?”

“No, I lost my job last spring.”

“Have you seen anyone strange?”

Tony looked them up and down. “Only you two. How strange is it for policemen to be going around looking for an American?” He made a mental note of the name badges on their uniforms.

“You see anything, let us know.”

Tony took another drink of his beer. “What the fuck am I looking for?”

“You
’ll know this man. He’s tall, bearded and barely dressed.”

Tony
waved his fist in defiance. “That’s half of Moscow, fool.”

The big policeman backhanded him, sending his beer bottle across the floor. He then pointed with his stiff rubber baton. “Do not fuck with us unless you want this shoved up your ass.”

Tony wiped his mouth and gave them a sour look.

The door slammed and the woman crawled out of the cabinet.

“What the hell were you trying to do? You shouldn’t draw attention to yourself like that.”

“They’re stupid and the general population doesn’t trust the police or the government here. He didn’t notice I had just shaved and my jeans weren’t wrinkled. An amateur should’ve spotted those
inconsistencies.”

“It’s a good thing they didn’t.”

“Oh, the one with the mustache did. He spotted it right away.” Tony threw the beer in the sink. “Grab everything. We’re leaving.”

“Leaving?”

“Yes, right now.”

“Where
…where are we going?”

“St. Petersburg.”

“Why?”

He stopped and turned to face her. “I don’t know. I just have to be there. The sooner the better.”

She grabbed the envelope, took the papers and put them in her purse. Not wasting any time, she started packing.

“Don’t bring anything but the papers, the weapons
, and the phone.”

His
directions had her hands shaking, but he had no time to explain. And how could he when he didn’t know why St. Petersburg called him?

Only a sense of urgency pulled at his mind like a puppet on a string, throwing
him further into the dark void of his mind. What waited for him when they got to St. Petersburg? Would he even recognize something so vague when he found whatever that elusive thought led too?

“Won’t they be looking for us?”

“Not if we move fast.”

“They probably have eyes on us.”

“Maybe, but we’re out of here.” He dashed to the bathroom, wrapped a towel around his fist, and punched out the bathroom window. He motioned her to come to him.

“Crawl out the window, go through the backyard and on to the far street, over there. Then come around the corner like you’re returning home from work.”
He didn’t like sending her alone without being able to protect her.

“What if they take me?”

“If my hunch is right, they’re only watching. They’ll need more information before they can come after us. And you walking out of the front door, after I’ve told them you’re at work, would be suspicious.”

“Jesus, you do know I’m not a spy, right?”

“That’s what you keep saying. Now, change into these clothes.”

She stiffened then gently backed him out of the bathroom.

He shrugged. “I’ve seen you naked before.” He didn’t know why that revelation sent surprised alarm down his spine all the way to his toes.

CHAPTER FIVE

“How do you know that?”
Abby stared at him.

A look of wonderment widened
Tony’s eyes.

“Do you remember something?”

He shook his head as if his ears were filled with water. “No, but I can visualize you without your clothes.”

Curious, she stepped closer. “Where am I during this vision?”

“I don’t know. Pictures of me lying in bed watching you walk out of a bathroom popped into my mind.”

Paris
.

Springtime and they’d both taken time off to be together. They’d made love all night, and the next morning when sh
e came back into the bedroom, he’d stared at her with ravenous eyes.

Abby bit her bottom lip and pushed the memory away. Their split had been brutal and only his memory loss kept her anywhere near him. She wouldn’t go back to loving him only to be left with a broken heart, a bruised ego
, and a month’s worth of tears.

Without wasting time, she stripped down to her underwear and pulled on jeans and a sweater. Slipping her shoes on, she put her arms on his shoulders
, and he lifted her to the small opening and sat her down.

“Hold on
,” he said.

While she balanced on the edge of the windowsill, he tossed her purse at her and she caught it in her lap.

The drop from the window couldn’t be more than a few feet, but still she dreaded letting go. Looking around, she hoped some nosy neighbor wouldn’t see her jump and assume she’d robbed the place.

“Act cool and don’t be frightened. They don’t have anything yet, or they’d be in here arresting us.”

She dropped down and huddled against the building.

“Go
,” Tony hissed.

She ran from the back of the safe house for about forty yards before she reached a covered entrance to the neighboring apartments. She shoved open the steel gate
and walked across the courtyard that led to the sidewalk.

She took a left turn and ran onto the chest of a man dressed in a trench coat, wearing a fedora. He grabbed her arms
in a brutal grip. “Where are you going so fast,” he asked in Russian.

“I am just going to the market then home from work.”

He released her and looked up at the apartment building. “You live here?”

“Yes.”

“Alone?”

“With my sick mother.” Abby rubbed her arms and looked away from the man’s mean stare. In her mind
, every Russian wore a suspicious glare.

“What apartment?”

“Building two, apartment three sixty.”

“Let’s go see if you tell the truth.”

He reached for her arm, but she pulled away. “You can go check. I must get to the market. I’m late already.”

He grabbed her by the lapel of her shirt and pulled her against his chest. He snarled in her face. “I can tell when a bitch is lying.”

“No, no.” She struggled to get free. “I’m not lying. I must get back to my mother.”

Another man came up, dressed similar to the one with a grip like a pit bull
, except he wore an ushanka. “What is going on, Petr?”

“I think this woman is lying.”

“Let her go,” he commanded. “We are looking for a couple. Not a lone woman, you idiot.”

“She could be the one who helped the American escape.”

The man with the bushy mustache and a scar on his left cheek looked from her head to her shoes before saying, “The girl had dark hair and was tall. This one has blonde hair and not so tall.”

“I want to check out her story.” He looked at his supervisor. “I think she
’s involved.”

“I am not,” she cried. “I am a poor girl on her way to get food for my sick mother.”

A man called from across the street. “Come, I have a man who says he saw a man and woman go into a house around the corner.”

The Russian shoved her against the building with a grunt then followed his comrade across the street.

Abby swallowed and hoped the entire neighborhood couldn’t hear her heart leaping from her chest. Her throat constricted and for a moment she had to keep her head down until the world stopped spinning.

Knowing she had to get to Tony, she managed to make it around the block without passing out. As she turned down the street where the safe house set, she noticed a car parked across the street with two men inside.

She hadn’t seen the police officers, so she didn’t know if they were the two who had visited the house earlier or if she was just being paranoid.

She lowered her shoulders and slowed her walk.
She hoped to give the impression of a woman returning from a long boring day, working a factory job.

She opened the door to the house and said in Russian, “I’m home. I hope the fuck you have somethin
g cooking for dinner.” Then she slammed the door shut.

Lubyanka Prison

Boris Gurov stood before his commanding office
r and wished he had called in sick today. Right now, even Siberia sounded good.

“You have made a grave mistake. You lost our prisoner.”

“But she had papers.”

“Did you see the papers or were you just looking at her tits?”

“I did not know the value of this man. He was in the common cells. There is no one of importance in there.”

“We put him there to conceal who he was
, so no one could manage an escape.” His commander threw an ashtray across the room. “Now he is free and if anyone should learn what we did to him, there will be severe consequences.”

Boris swallowed and loosened the collar of his shirt that strangled him like a boa constrictor
. Why hadn’t they told him about this valued prisoner? Maybe things would have been different.

Straightening his shoulders, he said, “I did my duty. It is not protocol to notify anyone if a prisoner in the common cells is moved.”

“You are a fool.”

“I am not the fool. I did my job. I do
n’t know what was done to him or why. I was told he was a thief.”

“I should kill you, but I don’t want to clean up the mess.”

Boris relaxed his clenched jaw. He would not die today. But who knew around here? People disappeared all the time. He made a mental note to find a safer job.

“Get out.”

“Yes, sir.”

Boris turned and ran for the door.

“Stop,” his commander shouted.

Boris froze in place.
I am so close to the door, and yet so far away.

“Give me your keys.”

Boris looked down at the symbol of his authority and respect from the other guards. Grudgingly, he turned, unclipped the ring and laid the keys on his superior’s desk. Silently, he turned and walked out.

Outside the office
, he slumped against the wall, grateful to get away with his life, but also batting back tears of shame. He had been a good guard, loyal and dependable. Prisoners feared him and the other guards did his bidding without question. It took one set of tits and a tight ass to be reduced to nothing.

Viktor Pertinolf had sat in the room while his boss scolded and shamed
Boris without mercy. Luckily, Pertinolf had said nothing. Everyone feared the ex-KGB commander and with good reason. The man had murdered many people in this place, and he would kill Boris too if the notion hit him. What a crazy bastard.

Boris
trudged to his car and started the engine. He had family in the Ukraine. He would stop by his flat, pick up a few things, and get out of Moscow. He could not take the risk of staying here when soon his life would be useless.