Читать книгу The Angel - Carla Neggers - Страница 9

Boston Public Garden

Boston, Massachusetts

7:00 p.m., EDT

June 17

Victor Sarakis didn’t let the heavy downpour stop him.

He couldn’t.

He had to warn Keira Sullivan.

Rain spattered on the asphalt walks of the Public Garden, a Victorian oasis in the heart of Boston. He picked up his pace, wishing he’d remembered to bring an umbrella or even a hooded jacket, but he didn’t have far to go. Once through the Public Garden, he had only to cross Charles Street and make his way up Beacon Street to an address just below the gold-domed Massachusetts State House.

He could do it. He had to do it.

The gray, muted light and startling amount of rain darkened his mood and further fueled his sense of urgency.

“Keira can’t go to Ireland.”

He was surprised he spoke out loud. He was aware that many people didn’t consider him entirely normal, but he’d never been one to talk to himself.

“She can’t look for the stone angel.”

Drenched to the bone as he was, he’d look like a madman when he arrived at the elegant house where the benefit auction that Keira was attending tonight was being held. He couldn’t let that deter him. He had to get her to hear him out.

He had to tell her what she was up against.

What was after her.

Evil.

Pure evil.

Not mental illness, not sin—evil.

Victor had to warn her in person. He couldn’t call the authorities and leave it to them. What proof did he have? What evidence? He’d sound like a lunatic.

Just stop Keira from going to Ireland. Then he could decide how to approach the police. What to tell them.

“Victor.”

His name seemed to be carried on the wind.

The warm, heavy rain streamed down his face and back, poured into his shoes. He slowed his pace.

“Victor.”

He realized now that he hadn’t imagined the voice.

His gaze fell on the Public Garden’s shallow pond, rain pelting into its gray water. The famous swan boats were tied up for the evening. With the fierce storms, the Public Garden was virtually empty of people.

No witnesses.

Victor broke into an outright run, even as he debated his options. He could continue on the walkways to Charles Street, or he could charge through the pond’s shallow water, try to escape that way.

But already he knew there’d be no escape.

“Victor.”

His gait faltered. He couldn’t run fast enough. He wasn’t athletic, but that didn’t matter.

He couldn’t outrun such evil.

He couldn’t outrun one of the devil’s own.

No one could.