Page 6 of Blood Oath Christmas
“Let’s get you to the station,” he says as he gives one last tightening wrap to the blanket before placing his arm around my shoulders. He waits until I let go of the table edge before carefully leading me away, toward the door.
One minute, we’re leaving the club, and the next, I’m sitting inside a police station with two officers questioning me. Or at least that’s how it seems. I don’t remember the drive over here. It must be shock, or so one of the police officers told me.
After what seems like hours, I’ve told what I saw, the man shooting David in the head and my mad dash inside the club to hide, at least five times. Maybe even more. My eyes keep glancing around the station, at the Christmas tree decorated with little law enforcement ornaments blinking in and out of sight from the string of lights around it.
There are several desks scattered throughout the main office where I’m sitting, most of them empty this late at night, or early morning. But they all have some kind of Christmas decorations on them. Some have Santas, others have stockings with candy canes, and a couple are very simple with just a few holiday cards sitting on them.
Holiday songs play in the background and the Christmas atmosphere is strong, even though I’m in a police station after having just witnessed a murder.
I could have died tonight.
That thought keeps reverberating through my mind. It’s almost Christmas and once again, I planned to spend it alone. As if I’d had all the time in the world. Would it have been so bad to at least go with Frank to his parents’? So what if they thought our relationship was more than it is? Surely, we could straighten that out.
The pain in Frank’s hazel eyes, although he masked it quickly, cuts me deep. What if that had been the last time I’d talked to him? What if my last act on Earth had been hurting my best friend?
My thoughts turnto my mother and I grimace. We have never really gotten along and I don’t even know why. She just seems to resent me somehow. I could have died without ever finding out why.
I need to make a resolution. I need to make some changes in my life so that when I do die—hopefully not for decades!—I won’t have any regrets.
“Miss Andreev?”
I blink, the officer’s face in front of me slowly coming into focus. He looks to be in his mid-thirties with dark blond hair and light brown eyes that watch me with concern and understanding. I glance down at his chest, at the name tag there.Officer Nowles.
“Yes?” I ask, clearing my throat.
“We’ve been at this a long time. Would you like to take a break? Get some coffee or tea?” Officer Nowles asks.
When I first arrived, they gave me a bottle of water and I’ve finished that, so the call of nature is my first priority. Coffee or tea just doesn’t sound good to me right now, especially with my nerves already being so tight and jumbled.
“If I could just freshen up a little, that would be great,” I answer.
He nods and points off to the right. “Down the hall, first door on the left,” he says, answering my unasked question about where the ladies’ room is located.
My heels click on the polished tile as I go down the hall, the sound echoing and somehow sounding eerie. The bathroom, at least, is clean and smells of some kind of air freshener. Lavender, maybe. After taking care of necessities, I spend a few more minutes just splashing water on my face. The coolness helps soothe my nerves a little more.
When I walk back into the main room, Officer Nowles is talking with two other men and one woman. I can tell by their sharp suits and stiff posture that they are people of authority, but it isn’t until I get closer and they turn around that I see the FBI tags on their windbreakers.
“Miss Andreev,” the shorter of the men says, stepping forward. He holds a hand out and I reluctantly shake it. Everything in me screams that this is not a good development. That something serious is about to happen.
“My name is Special Agent Johnathon Thomas,” he says, his dark eyes meeting mine without blinking. “We’ve come to put you into protective custody.”
My hand grows damp and I let go of his hand. “Protective custody?”
He nods. “The man you witnessed being murdered tonight was high-level Russian Mafia,” he explains. “And we believe the man you witnessed pulling the trigger was Vadim Antonov, head of the Antonov family—a very dangerous man.”
Fear slithers up my spine and settles in my throat, nearly choking me. I blink owlishly at him, not wanting to believe what he’s saying. It’s bad enough I witnessed a murder, but that the guy I saw do it is Mafia? Oh, dear God!
“That is why we want to take you into protective custody,” Agent Thomas continues, his voice calm and cool as if his words didn’t just destroy my world. “We’ll get you set up in the witness protection program, and once you testify, we can put Antonov in prison for life.”
4
KONSTANTIN
Ivy runs into the club.
Good, hopefully she can find a decent place to hide while I take care of Vadim.
My gaze snaps back to Vadim, my eyes narrowing as he heads straight for the club.
