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posted. And if there s anything else I can do, let me know.
Sergei nodded and stood to walk him out.  I can t thank you enough for
staying. You really didn t have to.
 You were there for me when my marriage imploded. It s the least I can
do, Gio said wryly.  And look on the bright side. There s absolutely no way
this could end as badly as that.
Watching his friend walk away, Sergei fervently hoped that was true.
****
Heat coursing through her veins, Eva gasped loudly as she woke up. The
room around her was pitch black, but even with the light on there would
have been little to see.
She was lying on her small narrow bed, the sheets twisted around her, her
heartbeat pounding in her ears. Shakily, she covered her face with her
hands.
The dream had been so real. She could still feel his hands on her, moving
over her body. The space between her legs was wet, and she was covered in
sweat.
Getting up, she went to the tiny kitchenette to pour herself a glass of
water. Hands shaking, she drank it quickly, nearly dropping it in the
process. Putting it down, she blinked rapidly, but it didn t help. The tears
still came, no matter how hard she fought against them. She sank down to
the floor, sitting down against the cabinet doors.
It was getting worse. Shouldn t the memories be fading by now? It had
been two months for fuck s sake, Eva thought, scrubbing the tears away
with her sleeve.
Instead, the dreams were getting more and more intense as time went on.
It was like he was in the room with her. She could practically hear his voice.
Disgusted with herself, Eva wanted to peel her skin off until the phantom
touch was completely gone. She would settle for punching Sergei in the face,
beating him till he wasn t pretty anymore.
Maybe she should go out to a bar and pick up a guy. Any guy would do.
Some meaningless, anonymous sex might wipe those memories away.
Given how much alcohol she d had that night, she was surprised she had
any memories at all. Instead, she remembered everything with a surreal
edge, an alcohol-fueled intensity that stayed with her even when she was
awake.
Picking herself up off the floor, Eva went back to the tiny bathroom. For a
moment, she stared at her altered reflection. Gone was the mousy brown
hair. In its place was a brilliant, hot pink bob. It was still a far cry from her
natural blonde, but it comforted her to see it. Though the brown had been as
temporary as this new pink hair color, it still felt as if she was closer to
being herself. A fake stud decorated her nose. It was held there by a magnet
since a piercing was too permanent.
If she needed to make a quick change in her appearance, temporary
disguises worked best. The hair color was a rinse, easy to wash out with
some persistent shampooing.
Forgetting her hair, she gave herself a stern talking to. There wouldn t be
a guy tonight or any other night. It wasn t safe. She couldn t afford to let
her guard down like that. The only reason she was still alive was because she
always played it safe and took precautions.
If she even suspected she had been recognized, she moved on immediately.
She didn t buy anything that required a credit history, and used a Post Office
Box as a mailing address. A night out drinking with friends she didn t have
wasn t in the cards. And a night of anonymous sex wasn t any more likely.
Not that she really wanted that. It was just the anger talking. After
splashing her face with cold water, she braced her hands on the counter,
mindlessly watching the water drain away.
Seized by a sudden realization, she tensed. A mental image of what was
sitting underneath the sink, unused, flashed in her head like a neon light.
She grabbed the box of unused tampons in denial...but it didn t change the
fact that the box was still sealed and untouched despite the fact it was the
one she d thrown in the bug out bag she d packed in Manhattan.
Oh, crap.
The next day, she was back sitting on the floor, flooded with anxiety and
more than a little bit of anger. But this time it was for a much better reason.
There on the floor beside her were not one, but two used pregnancy tests.
Both were positive.
Chapter 11
 This is the best lead we have now, Niko said in Russian.
He always spoke Russian these days when Tim was in the room, regardless
of whether or not he was sharing sensitive information about his
investigation into Ada s background. The younger man had calmed
considerably since the days following her abrupt departure, but he tended to
fly off the handle whenever he thought anyone was maligning her.
Tim didn t need to bother with the dramatics. Their initial conclusion that
Ada hadn t harmed the company in some way still stood. Her only act of
sabotage had led to the acquisition of a highly profitable company. Damov
Industries was in the press a lot these days as the public discovered the new
software. It was the most buzz his company had ever gotten, its value
skyrocketing. And it was all because of Ada.
Sergei looked over the report on her references. None had been genuine,
but the two most recent were associated with shell companies that had
recently shuttered. The agency who d initially hired her told them the two
most recent were the only ones they had checked. He d been assured by the
head of that agency that at the time he d been able to verify those
references.
Someone had answered when they called the contact number. A member
of their staff recalled talking to a man with a foreign accent, either British
or Australian. All of their attempts to track down the mystery man had
failed so far.
But the fake resume had yielded one surprising result from a three-year-old
reference to a defunct small town newspaper. The paper s old contact
numbers didn t work, but after some persistence on Niko s part, he tracked
down the former editor in chief. The crusty older man was enjoying
retirement in Florida, but when he heard who was calling and why, he got in
touch. It wasn t every day the head of multi-billion dollar company one
currently in the news came calling. Sergei talked to the man himself,
although it wasn t a promising lead.
 No, I m sorry. I don t know an Ada Turner, the editor had said, coughing
into the phone.
His gravel voice attested to years of heavy smoking.
Sergei s hopes sank. The paper had been obscure, small enough to be a real
lead. It had never had a nationwide distribution and no online presence so
Ada had to have known it personally to have listed it as a reference. But
maybe she had just passed through the town and had picked it up by chance.
 No, sorry, must have misheard your man, the old man said after his
coughing fit.  I thought he said Ava. Had a girl working here by that name a
year and a half ago.
Tensing slightly, Sergei asked,  What did this girl look like?
 Oh, she was pretty. Had light brown hair and blue eyes. Real blue, too,
almost purple in some lights. Like the color Liz Taylor had. Smart as a whip.
Used her as a stringer for a few months, but then she moved on. Shame. I
offered her a promotion to permanent staff, but she was probably smart to
turn me down. Had to close the doors six months ago. She probably writes a
blog somewhere now. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]