Reunion Under Fire Read online

  “Understood. Here, I’ve made a pot of tea.” She motioned to the tray she’d brought down from upstairs. “I opened an hour earlier than the posted hours so that we’d have privacy.” As Annie made her way into a chair at the table, Kit pulled out a half-done lace shawl and held it in front of her.

  “As you can see, I need ‘help.’” Kit smirked through the hole she’d made in the shawl. She laid the shawl on the table and slid it over to Annie.

  “I remember when you bought the cashmere blend for this.” Annie frowned. “But you didn’t have to destroy your beautiful work to fool Vadim, did you?”

  “I don’t believe in half measures. It’s a holdover from my Ukrainian roots.” Kit’s expression faltered, a flash of emotion wrinkling her forehead.

  “Have you been able to contact your family since you left, Kit?”

  “Oh, yes. They think I live in a big mansion and have fallen in love with a prince. I let them think that. I’m not allowed to go back, of course. One thing Vadim’s never done is allowed me to know where my passport is. And the one I had when I came is expired by now—you have to get a new one after only five years if the first one was before age sixteen.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of the passport regulations.” And she was heartbroken that Kit couldn’t go see her family. A situation that could change imminently. “I also know that you have a sister in New Jersey that you didn’t mention to me or Officer Avery.”

  “I thought he was a detective?”

  “He’s both, actually. And stop deflecting.”

  Kit’s positive demeanor deflated, and she didn’t meet Annie’s eyes. “I didn’t think it was necessary at the time. That’s where Vadim thinks I was. He knows nothing about the safe house.”

  “If you had a place to go to, why didn’t you tell us?” Annie wasn’t going to let up until she got to the truth.

  “I don’t know how safe it really is at my sister’s. Her husband is in the same business as Vadim.”

  “Are they friends? Vadim and your brother-in-law?”

  “No, not at all. Vadim had some kind of falling out with the big guys years ago. I’ve always had the feeling that he got me as an afterthought, a final thank-you. They’re using him again because the stakes are higher than ever, with the women being smuggled in.” Kit met Annie’s gaze. “Yes, I’m sure he’s involved, and that’s why I’m here. To get your help. What I know is that everyone gets their cut, and Vadim gets a very small portion.”

  “Then why does he still do it?”

  Kit looked at her like she was a toddler, uneducated in the ways of the big, bad world. “So that they don’t kill him.”

  “Or you, too?” Annie knew that crime rings, whether a drug cartel or ROC, used family members to get their way.

  Kit looked up. “Yes. Or me. So you see why I had to come back. If I’m in the shelter, I can’t do anything to save those girls. If Vadim goes to jail, then the women he’s working to bring in now could die. Then ROC will kill him, and probably me, too. They never leave a stone unturned.”

  Annie made mental notes she’d pass to Josh as soon as Kit left.

  “Kit, what did you tell Vadim when you went home? Did he try to hurt you again? Did he? Hurt you?”

  Kit’s quick smile was downright cunning, but in the best way. “I did what I’ve seen on crime television. I told him the truth, as much as possible. Except instead of saying I was at a shelter, I said I was at my sister’s. Don’t worry, I called her and told her to say I was there if he asks. Her husband was out of town for the past three weeks, so he wouldn’t have noticed if I was there or not. Vadim will never know I was at a shelter.”

  Annie fiddled with Kit’s damaged shawl as she listened.

  “Since he’d been so crazy and violent the last time he got drunk, he felt very guilty. He was more afraid that I’d gone to the police. When I assured him of course I’d never do that, he believed me. And said that he’s getting help for his anger.” Kit made a disparaging noise. “Not that I believe that will ever happen.”

  “Kit, are you sure it isn’t a setup?”

  “No, it’s not. I know Vadim. He’s a bad man doing some very bad things, but he’s not that clever. He is an intellectual rock.”

  “He can’t be unintelligent, Kit.” Annie had wondered if Kit was identifying too much with Vadim and excusing warning signs. Signs that meant life or death.

  “Not stupid, but not as fast. And he is stupid on one account, Annie. He thinks I’m shallow, that I only give a hoot about myself and my nice clothes. And he believes he’s made me the educated woman I am now—and I allow him to think that. He gets to act the benevolent father when he’s sober, and I keep him under control so that I can get what I want and really need. My education and freedom.”

  “Okay.” For now. Annie would stay on her, make sure that if Kit needed an escape partner, she’d be it. It wouldn’t be Josh, not with Becky in his life. Annie was free to take off with Kit and hide out if they had to. “By the way, Josh sends his regards. He’s not here for obvious reasons.”

  “Yes, I understand.” Kit fiddled with the stitches on the scarf. “Annie, you need to know that I have very important news. Vadim was talking to his business colleagues last night, and I was able to listen. He thought I was studying with my headphones on. He’s helping another shipment come into the area.”

  Annie’s stomach sank while her pulse ratcheted up. “Do you know what’s in the shipment?”

  “The usual. Women. This time from Kazakhstan. They had a shipment of Ukrainian women stopped at the border last month, so they’re being more careful, using different routes. No one knows about this group.”

  Wrong. Trail Hikers and a few key people at SVPD knew. Annie needed to get to Josh and confirm what Claudia had already mentioned. “Do you know if the woman are here yet? In the US?”

  Kit paused. “That’s just it. It sounded like they’re already here, in Silver Valley. But they’re being kept somewhere safe until the authorities stop looking for them. Then they’ll be placed in clubs and strip joints, like I was. They are most certainly underage, coming here to have a better life than their country.”

  “What do you mean when the authorities ‘stop looking for them’?”

  “Vadim’s conversation was very animated, and here’s the most interesting thing. Usually he just takes orders and does what he’s expected to do. They pay him, and life goes on. I get a new designer bag, and I get to pay off my tuition bills on time. But last night Vadim was the one doing the ordering, and almost counseling.”

  “Counseling or consoling?” She didn’t want to criticize Kit’s language ability as it was impeccable, but it was important.

  “Both, actually. He was trying to calm down whoever was on the other end, as if they were afraid the entire operation was ready to blow up.”

  Annie’s stomach warmed at the thought of ROC being worried about all the involved law-enforcement agencies, local and federal. And higher than that, when it came to Trail Hikers. The LEAs were all doing their jobs—NYPD, FBI, SVPD and the new-to-her Trail Hikers—to keep ROC on the run and its members looking over their shoulders.

  “Kit, listen. While it’s admirable that you want to help, you’re not a sworn officer. And you won’t be alive to serve in law enforcement if Vadim gets wind of what you’re really doing.”

  “Do you think I’d be able to stay in the States once the courts find out I was smuggled here?”

  She could help Kit with a lot of things, including building her self-esteem to the point she’d willingly leave Valensky and never look back. She’d be able to keep Kit safe, with Josh and SVPD’s help. She wasn’t a lawyer, but knew how the law looked at women in Kit’s circumstances. “First, as a victim of trafficking, you’ll have options—you should be able to stay here and pursue the life you’ve started. And don’t forget, you’re a US citizen by marri
age, right? Because Vadim came over legally, during the nineties, and became a US citizen?”

  Kit nodded.

  “I don’t know any judge who’d order you back to Ukraine. You’re in America for good, Kit.” But Kit wasn’t enjoying the God-given American freedom that she deserved.

  “My dream is to stay here and work for the FBI or local police and help other women and children who are victims of human trafficking.” Kit’s resolve was stamped in her posture, with her chin out and shoulders back. “I could translate, too, if they speak Russian or Ukrainian.”

  “I want to be able to help you make your dream come true, Kit. But I can’t help you if you’re in the house with Vadim and he goes on another bender. You know you can always call the police, too, but again, no one can help you better than you’d help yourself by not going back to him. And it’s not even his behavior we have to worry about anymore. Kit, ROC will absolutely kill you if they see you as any kind of threat.” Annie was frankly surprised an attempt on Kit’s life hadn’t been made yet.

  Kit’s sober expression conveyed her comprehension. She nodded. “I know the risks, Annie. I’m willing to risk my life, because if I’m not, what has my struggle been for? Fate has placed me in the right place at the right time for this new group of girls coming into the US. I’m the only one who can help blow the entire op, right? By finding out exactly what Vadim’s up to. I’m the closest to him, besides his criminal colleagues.”

  Annie struggled to find argument with Kit’s reasoning. It frightened her that Kit was so willing to put herself in a lethal position. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, or that you can’t help, but, Kit, there are trained professionals who can do this. Without risk to your life.”

  “It’ll be too late for the other women, though. You know that. You work for the police, too, right?”

  “I’m permanent with NYPD, but I’m not a cop, Kit. I’m a psychologist. And I know better than most what you’re up against with Vadim.” What they were all up against with ROC. The warning shots at her and Josh were intended to scare them off the case. A last chance to tuck tail and run.

  Annie knew she’d never run from doing her duty, and neither would Josh. Kit had the same commitment to justice, even as a civilian.

  “I know you do.” Kit spoke quietly, the morning sun reflecting off her cool blue eyes as it streamed through the front picture window. “I knew the minute I met you we shared the same...kind of history.”

  “How is that?”

  “You saw the bruises, and you softened when you talked to me. You didn’t treat me like another one of your grandmother’s clients. And you didn’t pity me—you still don’t. You want to help, but you respect my right, my need to make my own decisions here. Please know that I didn’t go back home because I’m in denial about Vadim. I know what a monster he can become. Right now, he’s staying away from the booze. And I think he’s very preoccupied with what he’s doing for ROC. That’s why I have to strike now, when I can.”

  “You’re very observant, which is a wonderful asset for the career you desire.” Sorrow filled Annie’s heart. It wasn’t a premonition, just plain statistics. Women who went back to their abuser were far less likely to survive.

  “You worry I won’t live to see my career dreams come true. But I worry that I’ll never be able to live with myself if I don’t help save these women from the fate I’ve had. And I’ve had it easy, Annie. Most of the women I came over with are probably already dead, or still working as prostitutes or strippers.”

  Annie sighed. “You’ve done your research, then.”

  “Research is all I’ve been able to do since I became Vadim’s wife. Now I can take action. Please understand, Annie.”

  Much as it pained her to admit it, she did understand Kit’s need for justice. If she thought there was an iota of vengeance in Kit’s motivation toward Vadim, she’d call her on it. But there wasn’t anything in Kit’s expression but sincerity. Truth.

  “I understand that you want to get Vadim locked up. And save the other women. But the only thing that you have control over is how you’re going to handle Vadim going forward. I can promise you that all kinds of law enforcement is fighting the human trafficking issue, but no one can ever predict the outcome of these cases. It’s one at a time, all dependent on timing in most instances.”

  “You will tell Officer Josh that we met, no?” Kit refused to answer Annie’s request. Sadly, Annie understood. She’d probably do the same in Kit’s position.

  “Yes. But not here, and I won’t go straight to SVPD, either. We’re all about protecting you, Kit.”

  “I know this, and I believe you. This isn’t about Silver Valley police or you or anyone but me. I’d never be able to enjoy any independence I may get in the future if I don’t do all in my power to prevent other future groups of women from being trafficked.”

  “Understood.”

  “Tell me something, Annie. You and Joshua—you are more than friends, right?”

  “Did my grandmother tell you that?” She knew Kit and Ezzie were close, but had hoped her grandmother had kept Annie’s personal business private. Grandma Ezzie had a tendency to talk a lot about Annie and her other grandchildren, Annie’s cousins.

  “A little. I know you dated someone in high school that Ezzie thinks you should never have let go of. And I knew he was a cop. She never mentioned his name, but when I saw you and Joshua together it was obvious.”

  Annie gulped. “Obvious?”

  “Oh, yes. You have the roses on your cheeks when he’s around, and he pretends he’s not noticing you, but you’re all he can pay attention to. You were both very professional with me when I came to you that dark night, though.”

  “‘Roses on my cheeks.’ That’s a different way of putting it. I like it.”

  Kit smiled. “Americans are so busy, always doing something. I love being an American, but it is much different than how I grew up.”

  “What made you decide to leave Ukraine?”

  Kit pursed her lips. “We had nothing. My father was a drunk—you see, it’s not just a new problem to me, men drinking—and my mother worked so hard in the candy factory. Chocolates, like what you have but very different, very unique to Kiev. I was promised that if I took this job, and agreed to come here, I would be a nanny for rich people. I thought I’d be able to send money home, make a new life for my mother and my family.” She shrugged. “Can you believe how stupid I was? I really thought someone would want me for a nanny when I was only fifteen.”

  “You weren’t stupid. You were young and full of hope.”

  “You sound like you know that, too.”

  “In a different situation, yes.” Annie paused. “I was never in as hard a place as you are, not physically or practically. But mentally and spiritually? Yes. I dated someone for too long, someone who robbed me of myself.”

  Kit was quiet. Annie added a thin slice of lemon to her tea, watching the sheer membranes lighten the amber liquid.

  “It seems we both owe our future hope to what we suffered at the hands of the men who hurt us most, then.” Kit stood and picked up her backpack.

  “Getting away from my abusive boyfriend taught me that I have strength I never imagined. I still haven’t plumbed the depths of it.” She stirred the tea, needing the distraction or she might jump up and beg Kit to change her mind. Kit didn’t deserve Annie’s anxiety on top of what she was taking on.

  “I’ve got to go now.” Kit pushed in her chair.

  “Keep in touch. I mean it, Kit. Any little thing that Vadim does that makes you wonder or think you’re in trouble, text or call, anytime.”

  Kit’s glacial-blue eyes met hers, and for the first time Annie saw a new light in them. Trust.

  “I will, Annie. I promise.”

  * * *

  Annie drove straight to the coffee shop on the edge of town where she and Josh
had agreed to meet. She’d never been there. The business was fairly new, and she liked the atmosphere immediately. The building was historical, and from the official plaque on the highway, the original building was where George Washington had met with spies during the American Revolution. As she walked up the few steps to the narrow porch, she noticed the smaller, uniquely shaped bricks typical of colonial construction. The aroma of freshly roasted coffee beckoned, and her stomach growled.

  As the bell dinged and her eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting inside, she immediately honed in on Josh. He sat at a table in the back, casually sipping a coffee as his eyes lit up when he recognized her.

  And she felt like a delicious dessert as his gaze warmed every inch of her. She walked over to him and he stood, his form tall and familiar. Reliable.

  “Hey.” Her greeting was muffled against his shirt as she was enveloped in a huge hug, which could be considered friendly, except for her body’s very sexy reaction. Josh was more than a friend.

  “You okay?” He motioned for her to sit, and she saw he had ordered her a steaming cappuccino and blueberry scone.

  “I’m wonderful. Wait—how did you know this would be exactly what I wanted?”

  “I figured you ate what, a tiny yogurt hours ago, unable to sleep in as you were anxious about Kit. You’re running on adrenaline because she gave you some information that you can’t wait to share with me.” His eyes twinkled.

  “Okay. Well, glad to know I’m a woman of mystery.” She sat down and couldn’t help herself from taking a huge gulp of the frothy coffee and a chunk of the still-warm scone. “Mmm, this is amazing.” She looked around her. “When did this open?”

  “Not too long ago. They were going to tear the entire building down, then discovered the front wall was part of the tavern where Washington met with the spies. The owners were able to convince the town and state to chip in funds for preservation, and they were in business.” His short-sleeved shirt was tucked into his jeans, and she wished she could take it off. He raised a brow when he caught her staring, and she blushed.