Page 12 of Devil's Retribution
“What’s that?”
“Medium-sized pound mutt, or whatever pups are most in need of homes.” Which circled back to pit bulls.
“Always a good choice. I never understood the need for those places. Who the hell dumps a perfectly good dog?”
“You know, I work in psychology, and I still don’t understand that.” If I was honest about it, people did a lot of things that baffled me still. “But I don’t think doing things like that says anything good about a person.”
He flashed me an oddly guilty look and coughed into his fist. “Well, I’ve got to get going. Have a good evening.”
He scooped up the pup a little awkwardly and carried it to his car instead of attaching a leash. It seemed a little strange to me, but I shrugged it off because right now, I couldn’t trust my own emotions.
Everything seemed scary. I imagined I was being watched even when that wasn’t possible. My judgment, my instincts—they didn’t seem to make any sense today.
The hottest man I have ever met also scares me for reasons I can’t put my finger on. Some nice guy with his first dog suddenly makes me nervous out of nowhere because… why? Because he left his leash in the car? This is getting ridiculous.
Finally, my phone alarm beeped, the hour was up. I called out to Nick, who came over reluctantly. “Gotta get home if you want to get in some game time tonight,” I pointed out, and he brightened and took my hand.
I couldn’t stop myself from checking my rearview mirror way too often on the drive home. There was no evidence at all that I had been watched in the park, no evidence at all that anyone had followed us home. But if I hadn’t checked, and something had happened, I knew I would never have forgiven myself.
Better to look dumb and paranoid than to be dumb and have something happen I might have avoided. But it still bothered me that I couldn’t seem to pin down the real cause of these fleeting attacks of fear. That sense of being watched. My odd reactions to people.
Does the therapist need a therapist now? I had been to one for years, both because it was good praxis when you were in the business, and because of what had happened to my family. Maybe it’s time to go back?
***
In spite of my earlier worries and catastrophizing, we had a quiet night. No strange phone calls, no knocks on the door, nothing to disturb dinner, games, chores, reading time, or bath time. It was completely ordinary.
I still checked the locks on every door and window more times than I could count. And once, headed for bed in my nightie after turning off most of the lights, that sense of being watched returned, and froze me in my tracks.
I looked outside and couldn’t tell where it was coming from. The silhouettes of the bushes made man-shapes to paranoid eyes, but when the breeze hit the leaves, they broke up into ordinary shadows. My gaze flitted around to every dark spot in my side yard, in the neighbor’s side yard. Then, frustrated, I yanked the drapes closed.
I checked the locks one last time before I went to bed, and even then, sat up for a long time, listening hard for anything that would make my fear make sense.
Chapter 6
Viktor
“Please tell me you won’t hurt that woman or her kid,” Alexei begged as he sat down at my booth. A live quartet filled the background with music, but his words drew me away from trying to enjoy it. So did the look on his face.
I sat back, sighing through my nose as I looked at him. It had been a very long thirty-six hours of surveilling Dr. Martinez, and Alexei had participated. He had done adequately, but had been acting oddly ever since. I remembered his protests from when we’d first committed to this plan, and I asked drily, “What happened?”
“I got the puppy from a guy I knew, and took her to that dog park the doctor goes to with the boy, like you suggested—”
“That would be the fluffy, yellow puppy you’ve ended up keeping, yes?” I was a little annoyed and a little amused all at once. It showed in my tone.
“I told him to take the damn dog to the pound, but he wouldn’t,” Tolya cut in quickly, shifting uncomfortably on my other side. His small, dark eyes mixed annoyance with amusement. “He’s already buying dog toys for the little beast.”
“Her name is Mila,” Alexei grumbled, and Tolya stifled a laugh.
“Let’s get back to the subject,” I said in the slow, careful voice I used when they were testing my patience. We could tease Alexei about going mushy over a damn dog when we weren’t in the middle of an important job.
“I talked to her,” Alexei said, refocusing quickly. “The woman’s nice, Viktor. She’s kind. The kid’s great. I get you said we have to take them, but—”
I shook my head. “I have no intention of harming either of them. But they must be taken. It is regrettably necessary. Graves will not emerge from his secure tower for anything less, and I’m not wasting your lives storming that fucking place.”
Alexei nodded, lips pressed together, his eyes troubled. “She can’t know the kind of shit her uncle is into. There’s no way.”
I looked over at him pensively, Tolya shifted again. Then he spoke up. “Boss, when is this going down, and how should we handle it?”