Running Blind by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-11-22T23:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

Nikolai paced the living room of his small apartment, watching as the second hand of the clock slowly made its circuit. One minute. Two. Three. Time seemed to pass in excruciatingly slow moments, and there was nothing he could do to speed it up.

It was going to be a very long night.

He walked into the kitchen and pulled a cold soda from the refrigerator. It wasn’t something he drank often, but it hit the spot when what he really craved was a cold beer.

A cold beer and a cigarette. The two went hand in hand, and both were part of his life before.

Before the bomb that had nearly killed him.

Before the months he’d spent in a VA hospital.

Before he’d realized that he wanted more out of life than black lungs and a pickled liver. He wanted relationships. He wanted connection. He wanted to live life without booze to numb the experience.

Now, Nikolai chewed mint gum and drank soda. He faced life’s pain head-on and poured his heart out to God instead of pouring his drug of choice down his throat. That’s the decision Nikolai had made when he’d left the VA hospital. Nearly two and half years later, he hadn’t veered from it.

Sometimes, though, he was tempted.

This was definitely one of those times.

He pulled open the fridge, scanning the shelves and frowning at the meager pickings. He needed to go shopping, but it was a chore he hated. Too many people. Too much noise. He liked solitude and silence. Though right about now, he would have gladly faced airport crowds and noise to get Jenna out of John Romero’s house.

Something wasn’t right about the guy. Nikolai couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he didn’t like the man. Or maybe he simply didn’t like the fact that Romero had manipulated Jenna into doing what she didn’t want to do.

He grabbed a piece of cheese from the fridge, dropped it onto whole wheat bread and glanced at the clock again. Too early to do much of anything, but that didn’t mean there was nothing he could do. He carried the sandwich to his desk, booted up his computer and typed Romero’s name into the search engine. The guy was mentioned several times in recent newspaper stories about Magdalena’s death. “Her grieving husband, John Romero…” seemed to be the catchphrase of every reporter in Houston.

Was he grieving?

There were as many ways to grieve as there were people, but in Nikolai’s mind John had been more concerned with showing off his home and his wealth than he’d been in remembering his wife. Perhaps that was simply the guy’s way of coping with his grief. Or maybe Romero didn’t miss his wife nearly as much as the rest of the world seemed to.

What had the couple’s relationship been like?

Did John benefit from Magdalena’s death in any way?

An unsettling thought, but one Nikolai needed to check into.

He typed Magdalena’s name into the computer, curious about the woman that Jenna seemed so determined to defend.

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