Deadly Purpose by Michael Kerr

Author:Michael Kerr [Kerr, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Tania groaned as she came to with her skull pounding. She put her hand up to the side of her head; felt an egg-sized lump under the matted hair. Gasped as she saw the amount of blood on her palm and fingers, and at the memory of what had happened. Stefan! She leaped off the bed, almost collapsing again as dizziness caused the room to spin crazily around her. Running jerkily, fighting for equilibrium, she left the flat and took the stairs two at a time. The door to Ruby’s flat was ajar. She froze for a second. What if they had killed her son? How would she be able to face a future without Stefan in it? There was no way she could ever come to terms with the guilt of knowing that her association with Vladimir had brought death to her door.

The lounge of the flat appeared to be empty. Tania walked slowly, woodenly into the hall, approached the bedroom door with her breath held locked in her chest, and entered with a scenario already formed in her head, of Stefan laying lifeless with his throat cut, or his beautiful faced shattered, ruined by a bullet.

Oh, sweet Jesus! Thank you. By the dim glow of the night-light she could see her beloved son’s cherubic face poking out from under the bedclothes. He appeared to be asleep, unharmed, and unaware of the danger that was now hopefully past.

Sitting next to him, she ran a finger along his soft cheek, and he murmured, but did not stir.

Tania found Ruby behind the settee. Ripped the gag from her mouth, and after attempting unsuccessfully to pick the tape from her wrists, went to the kitchen, to return with a sharp knife to cut her free.

“Is Stefan safe?” Ruby said.

“Yes, for the moment. But ve vill haf to leave here. The man who tied you up vas vith others. They haf abducted a very dangerous man. And I vill be blamed.”

“I’ll call the police,” Ruby said, gripping the arm of the settee and hauling herself up to her feet.

“Pleaze, no,” Tania implored, grasping Ruby by both shoulders. “The police vill not be able to help. If you contact them, then you vill be putting yourself at great risk. Believe me, these people haf no regard for the law.”

Ruby Levitt had no intention of letting the matter lie. It was not in her nature to let oppression in any form go unchallenged. As with most Jews, the attempted genocide against all members of her faith had left its legacy. You had to stand up against adversity, not bow down before it. The meek did not inherit the earth, or anything else.

Tania woke Stefan and took him upstairs. Within ten minutes she was fleeing the area on foot, taking only one suitcase. She had enough money to pay her way for a while, and could ply her trade anywhere. It would not be the first time that she had had to start over and reinvent herself.

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