Mask Of A Hunter. Sylvie Kurtz

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СКАЧАТЬ eggs

      1 tsp vanilla

      1 tsp honey

      1 ½ cups peanut butter

      2 tsp baking soda

      4 ½ cups oatmeal

      1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

      1 cup candy-coated chocolate pieces

      Mix ingredients together in the order listed. Drop by teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Yield: 7 dozen average-size cookies.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Prologue

      Felicia Cates hesitated at the doorway of the cabin along the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River while her eyes adjusted to the darkness inside. Wind rustled through the winter-dead grass behind her like termites feeding on wood. The breeze was warm for April, but Felicia shivered anyway. Prickly burrs of doubts itched her skin as she searched the cabin’s one room. One last time, Felicia. For Hannah. You can do it.

      A voice rumbled from deep inside the room. “Come on in, Felicia.”

      “So this is the place you found for us?”

      “What’s the matter?” Meanness weighted his voice. “You don’t like it?”

      “No, it’s not that.” Heart revving like the Vulcan she’d pushed to the limit to get here, Felicia crooked one knee, then the other. She wanted to feel that V-twin engine roaring under her, taking her far from the nightmare she’d pitched into. “The baby. She’s waiting for me. I need to hurry.”

      “Well, then, don’t just stand there.”

      Eyes darting all around, she slowly crossed the threshold to the dusty floorboards in the empty room. Her daughter shouldn’t pay for her mistakes. “We’ll need a table, chairs, a bed.”

      “Come closer.”

      “It needs a good cleaning.” Swiping at the spider leg skitter of hair bristling the back of her neck, she pretended to see the possibilities the cabin offered. Dust cloaked every surface. The small windows were caked with the soot of neglect. Only a braided rug of indistinct color furnished the room. “I’ll need supplies.”

      The floor creaked under his weight as he materialized from the shadows. His eyes were narrow slits that sparked with hatred. How could she have ever thought that flat mouth was sexy?

      “When I say come here…” His voice was as hard as the muscles he honed every day at the gym. “I mean come here.”

      His bulging fist snaked out and clamped around her biceps. She gasped as he yanked her off balance and jerked her close against his body. The wire she wore cut into the skin of her stomach. She hoped he couldn’t feel the microcassette at her waistband through his leather jacket. Please let him think it’s the buckle of my chaps.

      Swallowing hard, she forced her gaze to latch on to the cold jade of his eyes. She’d always thought that the stories he spun were just for show, but she could see now why people were afraid of him. He didn’t have an inch of give. Not when it didn’t suit him. And always before she’d made sure to suit him. Until it threatened Hannah. He’d never wanted the baby. But he had to understand. Even a hard man like him had to see that she couldn’t keep on doing what she was doing and raise a child.

      “I want to take Hannah to my sister’s.” She ratcheted her spine straight. “Then I’ll be all yours again.”

      “I’ll take care of you.”

      “I know you will.” But his eyes didn’t soften, and looking into them was like looking into an open steel trap. Did he know her secret? She thought of the agent waiting for her at the rest stop and felt her limbs turn to wood. She had to leave. Today. She couldn’t do this anymore. Any of it. If this case was as important as Glasser said, why had the ATF sent an agent fresh out of the academy to coach her? Why had they let her come so far off the main road with no backup? Glasser couldn’t protect her. No one could. She saw that now. She’d have to take care of herself.

      “They won’t find us here,” he said, as if he’d read her mind. “You won’t have to testify against me.”

      “I just need to see Hannah settled.”

      He let her go, and she stumbled backwards, rubbing the arm that was numb from his tight hold. He pulled a wad of bills from his pocket and peeled off ten hundreds. “Is that enough for the trip?”

      She nodded and reached for the bills. He held on to them, pinning her with his needle gaze. “Look at me. I want to see your eyes.”

      She forced a smile and a flirty shake of her hair. He’d always loved her hair, the way it flowed like fire. “Windows to the soul?”

      “Something like that.” He let go of the bills.

      They felt like greasy eels as she slid them into the back pocket of her jeans. “Thank you.”

      She took a step back, then pivoted toward the door. The smell of spring was in the air, but the feel of winter was still in her bones.

      “Felicia?”

      Her heart took a roller-coaster ride to her feet. Pulse chugging, she looked at him over her shoulder. “What?”

      “If you cross me, I’ll kill you.” The scorpion sting of his words burned down her spine.

      If she was going to start fresh, she had to make sure her past couldn’t follow her into the future. That meant leaving now before his suspicions were rewarded. It meant leaving Hannah with Candace. If she disappeared, then Candace would call her sister, and Aurora would come fetch Hannah and keep her safe. The ATF already had enough to bring him in and make it stick. And once he was in jail, she would collect Hannah and get on with the rest of their lives. All she had to do was stay out of sight for a while and everything would work out. “I’ll be back.”

      Sweat trickled СКАЧАТЬ