Guard (The Underground Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

going to the gym. I’d trust my own life in Ivan’s hands any day of the week. He’s like a brother to me. You’ll be safe with him. I’ll drop you off there.”
    She stopped pacing and faced him. This was ridiculous. The man had a life to lead, and she was behaving like a child. “This gym. Could I go with you?”
    He hesitated, his brows furrowed. And then he lifted both shoulders. “Sure. If you like to hang out in an enclosed space filled with sweaty men who cuss and grunt and groan while they lift weights, punch bags, and get their asses kicked in the ring.”
    For the first time that day, she relaxed. “Sounds perfect.”
    As he grabbed his duffle bag and hung it over his shoulder, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the message. “It’s Leo. He wants us to come by the clinic after the gym.”
    “Okay. What for?”
    “Katie has a few questions for you.” He shrugged.
    She grabbed her small purse, hooked it over her shoulder, and followed him to the door. How many people would have questions for her and for how many weeks or months? She feared it would be a long time.
    Not that she didn’t want her kidnappers caught. She wanted that more than anything. No one should have to go through what she’d been through for two weeks, especially if the outcome was often fatal.
    How many homeless people were missing now? Those other rooms she passed at the strange lab must have had people in them. Probably homeless people. Perhaps even people she knew. And they were undoubtedly dead now.
    She swallowed over the realization as she followed Mikhail down the short hall of her third-floor apartment toward the steps. The fight to keep from crying all over again was tough. She knew those people. They were human beings. Just because they were down on their luck didn’t mean they were more expendable. Who would do such a thing?
    “You okay?” Mikhail asked. They’d reached the ground floor, and he turned to face her, his expression leery. “You don’t have to go with me, you know. Ivan can come here. Alena can too for that matter.”
    “Who’s Alena?”
    “My sister. She lives with me. Well, Ivan’s staying with her now. And two other friends of ours from Vegas are moving here next week. They’ll probably stay at my apartment too.”
    “That’s a lot of people. Good thing you have someplace else to stay.” She forced a smile.
    “Thank God,” he teased.
    “One question.”
    “Shoot.”
    “Do you think there were other kidnapped people in that medical facility and they were the missing homeless?”
    His set his hand on her shoulder. “Yes.”
    “Do you think…?” She sucked in a hitched breath, unable to finish her question.
    His voice lowered as he stepped closer, his thumb stroking her neck. “Many of them are dead.” He didn’t sugarcoat it.
    She nodded, pursing her lips to fight back the tears.
    His hand slid down her arm to grab hers, and he hauled her against his side as they stepped outside.
    “We have to stop them,” she muttered as soon as she was situated in his black Jeep Wrangler. It was an older model, but well cared for. Mikhail took pride in his car.
    He turned to face her after starting the engine. “We will. But it’s going to take time. The FBI has been working on this for years.”
    She gasped, gripping the dashboard as she twisted to more fully face Mikhail. “That Russian Mafia guy has been killing homeless people for years?”
    He shook his head. “No. As far as we know, that’s a new development. But whatever he’s been planning and cooking in his lab has been going on for a while.”
    “You think he’s developed something he’s testing out on people?”
    “That’s exactly what I think.” He pulled away from the curb, directing his attention to the road. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. He even folded and unfolded his fingers several times.
    Haley stared out the windshield in silence as they drove to the