15

A man was knocking on her door.

Her pulse spiked, and then she felt silly. Not everyone in the world was out to get her. He was probably just a neighbor. Still, she took a step down so the man couldn’t see her. She peeked around the corner. Maybe it was the district attorney. She dismissed that idea. If he’d wanted to talk with her, he wouldn’t show up unannounced. As if in response to her unspoken questions, the guy turned toward her.

Chryssie gasped.

Their gazes met for a brief moment.

Run. She stumbled down the steps but tripped, only stopping as she came to the landing. Her elbow and shoulder smashed into the hard wooden floor. Ignoring the pain, she jumped up as he came bounding down the steps. Run.

He grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her close. His fingers bit into her arm. “You seem to like running from me. Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk to you.”

He was hurting her arm. Chryssie looked into the eyes of a killer—Roman, Marv’s cousin. She twisted away. “Let go of me. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“That’s OK, I’ll do the talking and you can do the listening.” As he spoke he moved up the steps, dragging her along.

Her eyes filled with tears. “Help! Help!” She screamed.

Her neighbor’s door opened. “What’s going on?”

His fingers gripped harder into her flesh. “I will kill her if you say a thing,” he whispered. Looking back at the neighbor, he smiled. “Nothing to worry about ma’am. Just a small misunderstanding. You know how relationships can be.”

The woman looked at Chryssie as if waiting for her to deny it.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Chryssie forced a smile.

“Are you sure? Are you OK?” Her neighbor’s gaze was skeptical.

Something pressed against the small of Chryssie’s back. Roman would have no qualms about killing her neighbor just as he’d killed that man in the alley.

“I’m fine. Thanks for checking. I sort of fell down the steps. Clumsy me. Good thing he was here to catch me.”

“And I always will be, sweetheart.” He twisted her arm.

The woman nodded and stepped back inside her own apartment.

The gun stayed pressed against Chryssie’s back. He propelled her forward to her apartment door. “Open it.”

Her hand shook as she slid the key into the keyhole. He pushed her inside. She stumbled and fell to the floor. Her gaze moved to the knife block on the kitchen counter. Could she grab the butcher knife and stab him? She wasn’t sure, but she’d…

“Forget about it, girly. You don’t have the guts even if you could get to it before I shoot you.” He aimed the gun at her. “But we both know I have the guts to use this, don’t we?”

She stood up, pretending not to be terrified. “Why are you here? I already confessed to the murder. Marv—”

“Yeah, Marv seems to have a soft spot when it comes to you. He assures me that you won’t cause me any problems. I’m just not sure I agree with him.” His hands moved to her chest and shoved her. She fell backwards on the sofa.

“I’m not going to cause you any problems. I promise. If I have to go to jail, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Yeah? That’s what Marv tells me, but why would you do that?”

“Because…because…ask Marv. The whole thing was his idea. Didn’t Marv tell you?”

“Don’t worry about what Marv told me. I want to hear it from your own sweet lips. Why are you doing this?”

Marv had told her never to mention Gabriella to anyone. If he didn’t know and she told him, her sister might not ever be safe from this maniac. Mustering up her courage, she looked at him. “Ask Marv if you want to know. I’m not telling you anything else. He’s my boss. Not you. I do what he tells me to do. Not you.” Summoning her courage, she stood up and met his gaze. “And—”

“And what?” His hand shot up and he punched her in the stomach.

Chryssie’s already sore stomach radiated so much pain she screamed in agony. She crumpled to the floor, arms cradling herself, gasping as tears gushed.

“I think that’s enough.” Zack stepped in front of Chryssie, with a gun aimed at her attacker. “Marv won’t be happy about this when I tell him, Roman.”

What was Zack doing in her apartment? How had he gotten in? And why was he protecting her?

Roman lowered his gun slightly, no longer pointing it at Zack. “Well, you know, I was just doing what I had to do. I wasn’t going to kill her or anything. Just wanted to scare her so she knew I meant business. In case she thought about changing her mind.”

Zack kept his gun aimed. “Well, I’ll be sure to tell Marv that when I tell him what happened here tonight.”

“There’s no reason to tell Marv anything. I’m not going—”

“Oh, there’s plenty of reason.” Zack motioned at the door. “Time to go, Roman. And don’t come back. Ever.”

Roman walked toward the door with Zack right behind. He turned to Zack. “This isn’t over.”

“Oh, it’s over. Time to go.” He held the door open as Roman walked out. Zack turned back to her and mouthed, “Are you OK?”

Chryssie, still curled on the floor, managed a nod.

“I’ll explain everything later. Be sure to lock the door.”

Chryssie crawled to her knees and then collapsed on her sofa, her legs shaking. She put her head in her hands and sobbed. When will this nightmare end? Gabriella will never get to be with me…

How had Zack gotten in? Did he have a key? Why had he been here—waiting for her?

Chryssie shivered and shook the crazy thoughts away. In all of their non-dates he’d been sweet and kind, not pushy at all. But when Marv had ordered him to shoot her, he acted as if he’d do it. She just couldn’t reconcile the Zack she knew with the Zack who was now working for Marv. None of it made any sense.

But one thing made perfect sense now. No matter what Marv had agreed to, no matter what he’d promised, his cousin wasn’t willing to go along with it. It would only be a matter of time before Roman decided she needed to be dead. And that meant Gabriella would never be safe either, despite Marv’s promises.

Chryssie would have to disappear. When Marv heard what his cousin had done, he’d figure out why she left. She could only hope Marv would keep his side of the bargain. When she was safely away, she’d call Annie Dargols, not to inform her of where she was, but to keep contact in case charges were filed.

In that case, she’d come back. She didn’t want to end up on a wanted list somewhere. Stuffing her clothes in the suitcase, Chryssie sobbed.

Gabriella would never understand why her big sister had deserted her, but at least she’d be alive. Being in foster care was preferable to being dead. Maybe in a few years, she’d be able to contact Gabriella. Reconnect and start a new life with her.

Once again, Chryssie had messed everything up by taking the easy way out. But she had her nursing license and would be able to find a job somewhere… where Marv and Roman couldn’t find her. She picked up Gabriella’s picture from the stand and placed it in the suitcase. Someday, she’d come back for her little sister.

She couldn’t change the past, but the preacher had assured her that God could change her future. Chryssie picked up her keys. Only you hold the key to your future. Her grandmother had told her that often. She took a deep breath. “It’s my future, and I don’t have to be Marv’s victim.”