CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Detective Parker.”
“One moment please.”
Vlad glanced over at Cora. His eyes dropped to her ass for the third time in one minute. Cora decided to try something new—cooking or rather baking. Music was playing softly in the background and Cora was swaying her hips to the beat of the song. She had an amazing ass and with the tight jeans she was wearing, it made it look even sexier. He licked his lips when she bent down to pull something from the cabinet. Reaching down, he adjusted his hardening length in his pants. She was playing havoc with his body and his emotions.
“Hello?”
“Yes.”
“Detective Parker isn’t in right now. Can I give him a message?”
“No it’s okay.” Vlad hung up the phone and placed it down on the table.
With one last glance at Cora, he focused his attention on the brown envelope Alan had sent over. Confidential was stamped in red across the front. Worry ate at him as he opened the envelope and pulled out a thick stack of photos. His eyes darted up to Cora but she was concentrated on the cookbook on the counter.
The first picture was of Andrew and Julia. They were young, probably in their early teens. The next picture was of them at a weddings—their wedding. It was obvious from the bulge under Julia’s wedding dress that they had to get married. He studied the picture a little closer and realized that Julia was around the same age as Cora when she got pregnant.
Vlad should be glad that there were no consequences of that one time without a condom. It could’ve been them. Cora could’ve been pregnant right now. His eyes darted to her again for a few seconds before dropping back to the photo. He quickly moved to another photo. The next photo was of Julia in a hospital bed holding a small baby wrapped in pink blankets. Andrew stood by her side but he didn’t look very happy.
In the other photos the happy couple had disappeared. They looked deeply unhappy and in some photos the looks Julia threw Andrew was just plain hateful. So Julia hated Andrew, but why? There were a total of four family photos, including the one where Cora was born. Even Cora looked unhappy in those photos.
Then the photos suddenly changed. Julia disappeared and it was just Andrew and Cora. Later photos appeared of Andrew and other women. There were a few photos of Cora alone or with friends. The last stack of photos was the most important. It was photos of Andrew and Mike. Both of them were unaware of the photos being taken.
When was their last meeting? What made Andrew run?
“Hey, taste this.”
Vlad jumped slightly when Cora suddenly spoke next to him. He quickly lowered the photos and placed them face down on the table. Cora held out a spoon towards him with a pensive look on her face. Leaning forward, he parted his lips and allowed her to slip the spoon into his mouth.
“What are you making?” he asked after he tasted.
She nibbled her lip for a few seconds before answering him. “Chocolate cake. Does it taste right? Did I do something wrong?”
“Just add a little more sugar and then it’ll be perfect.”
“Okay,” she breathed.
His smiled slipped from his face when she hurried away. His eyes dropped to the photos but he didn’t pick them up. It didn’t answer and of the questions he had, it only caused more questions. Vlad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. When was this going to end? Cora deserved better. Why had Andrew dragged her into his mess?
“Vlad, is everything okay?”
He smiled at her. “Everything’s fine, baby.”
For now.
Vlad’s stomach twisted. His gut was telling him that something bad was about to happen. He clenched his fists as he continued to pace in front of the bed. Cora was fast asleep, but Vlad couldn’t settle down. Sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip. He needed to get them out of here, but going back to the cabin wasn’t an option. He needed to get them to a safe house.
He quietly slipped from the room with his phone clutched tightly in his hand. Pulling the door close slightly behind him, he dialled Alan’s number. It went straight to voicemail. Vlad ended the call and dialled again. This time Alan answered on the second ring.
“It’s one o’clock in the morning, Birdie. What do you possibly want?”
“Can you arrange a safe house for us?”
There was a slight pause. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes. How soon can you arrange it?”
“It’ll take a few days, Vlad. It’s not an easy thing to seat up.”
He muttered a curse under his breath. “We don’t have a few days. You have twenty-four hours.”
This time Alan muttered a few curses. “Fine. I’ll get on it.”
Vlad turned to stare at Cora through the gap in the door. It was no longer about the money. She had ripped down the wall he had built around his heart. It was going to be hard to walk away from her when this was all over, but he knew it was the best thing to do. Maybe if he hadn’t made all those wrong decisions after he lost his partner, he wouldn’t have to walk away from her.
Vlad needed to face the music. He wouldn’t destroy her life like his foster parents destroyed his, and he definitely wouldn’t allow Andrew to destroy her.
Cora stirred before sitting up. “Vlad?”
After sucking in a deep breath and blowing it out, he entered the room. Vlad dropped his phone onto the bedside table and slid back into bed. He tugged Cora against his body and pulled the sheets over them. He hugged her tighter and pressed his nose against the back of her neck.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
“No, but I will be.”
The sound of a phone ringing pulled Cora from the amazing dream she was having. She turned onto her stomach with a groan. The bed shifted and the heat that was plastered to her side disappeared. Cora was briefly aware of Vlad talking on the phone. She drifted back to sleep but was awoken a five minutes later by him.
She blinked up at him and then frowned. He didn’t look very happy.
“Get dress and pack a few clothes. We need to leave in two minutes.”
His words instantly had her on alert. “What happened?”
“I’ll explain on the way,” he muttered as he stepped back. “Small bag, baby. Get moving.”
Cora threw the sheets back and stood. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest. She tried to ignore the scary thoughts filling her mind. Something had to have happened. It was the only reason Vlad wanted them to leave.
She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and threw on a thick sweater before grabbing a bag from the closet. Cora didn’t bother folding the clothes. She just stuffed it in the bag before zipping it closed. Her eyes darted around the room as she exit the closet. The room was empty. As she walked down the stairs she could hear Vlad moving around in the living room.
“Why are we leaving again?”
He turned towards her. “Mike escaped.”
The colour drained from her face and her knees buckled. She sunk down on the couch behind her with a shuddering breath. Mike had escaped? Was he coming for her?
“Is h-he. . .?” she trailed off as she raised her head when he moved closer.
“I don’t know,” he said softly. “Alan got us a safe house. We’ll be safe once we get there.”
She nodded. Vlad was still talking but she didn’t hear a thing. All she could think of was the last time she had met Mike. Shivers raced down her spine. She really didn’t want to meet Mike ever again. What if he actually killed her this time? Her eyes darted up to Vlad. If she died, she would never get to feel what he made her feel ever again.
Tears suddenly blurred her eyes. Fear made her stomach cramp.
“Hey.” Vlad kneeled in front of her and gripped her hands. “I’m not going to allow anything to happen to you.”
“W-What if h-he gets to me?”
He licked his lips. “If something like that happens then I will get you back. I won’t allow him to hurt you.”
“Promise?” she asked.
“Promise. You know I always keep my promises.”
Vlad reached up and cupped her cheeks. His eyes darted between hers before dropping to her lips. She closed the gap between them. All too soon he ended the kiss and pulled away from her. Vlad wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her against his chest. She clung to him for as long as she could.
“Nothing will happen to you,” he muttered against her ear. “Promise.”