I pulled into my driveway. Drake threw the car into park and killed the engine. He got out and walked around the car. He opened my door and let me out. I stepped outside, hoping that one of my nosy neighbors would be outside. No such luck, they were all probably asleep. Drake slapped one cuff back onto my right wrist and began dragging me towards the back porch.

I noticed that my kitchen light was on. I never left the lights on. Drake had probably paid my house a visit during the day. He turned the knob and the door opened. Ok, he definitely had been here, my door was always locked. He pushed me inside and slammed the door shut.

I could deal with the cut on my lip, even the ache in my thigh, but this guy had fucked with my house and that's not cool. My kitchen and adjourning dining room were torn apart. Literally. The table was now in three large pieces. All the chairs were upturned; some looked broken. A couple of the paintings hung crooked on the walls. My eyes shifted around the room slowly. The oven looked okay, but the fridge was open. Now he had really gone too far.

"You are the worst house guest I've ever seen," I said.

From behind me, he leaned over my shoulder, his hand gripping my hip, "Baby, are you trying to irritate me?"

"If only it were worth it," I said grimly. He let out a puff of air and spun me around. He stared down at me. He ripped the clip out of my hair, which hurt very much, because my hair had been up in an elaborate French twist. He grabbed the front of my blouse and crushed me against him. I immediately struggled to get away from him.

He laughed, "Baby. Baby, what's wrong? Can't handle being with a real man?" I stared up at him. I wasn't angry anymore. I wasn't upset. I was numb again, just like I had forced myself to be whenever anyone alluded to or mentioned Kirill.

Maybe the big ape was smarter than I thought because he looked at me strangely. Could he sense what I was thinking? Had he actually followed me that long that he knew how I reacted when someone said anything about what happened in Berlin? "Let's go, Baby. I would hate for us to have to remember and reminisce about what's occurred in the past. I'd rather just think about the present," he said.

He dragged me into the dining room. He lifted a chair up off the floor and placed it in the center of the room. He sat me down and secured the cuffs tightly. Now, I was really stuck. I wasn't sure how I was going to get out of this one. I probably wasn't. I was slowly coming to realize that I hadn't been to smart the past several months. After being exposed as an agent, I should have left the agency and disappeared somewhere until after Kirill was finally nabbed by someone else. Well, too late to think about that now.

Drake paced in front of me. "You know, you've caused me all kinds of trouble. I lost my job, almost was killed. Then, I had to take care of your friends there."

"What did you do to Venus and Gwyneth?" I demanded.

He grimaced, "They brought an agent to me. They let you in. They had to be dealt with accordingly."

"They had nothing to do with me and you know it!"

"Well, that's the price you're going to have to pay, knowing that YOU are responsible for their untimely deaths a few months ago," he spat out.

It was my fault. All of this was my own stupid fault. My head fell forward slightly. They were dead. Drake had killed them because of me.

I didn't hear Drake's next question. So, he repeated it, "Bitch! Hello!" I looked up, "Why did you keep those handcuffs?" My eyebrows rose into an arc. "Yes, those are Kirill's handcuffs. I'd recognize them anywhere. He has them specially made."

That didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was that he knew where I had hidden the handcuffs in my bedroom. He definitely had been spying me out for some time. I hadn't touched those cuffs in months.

"Well, that shut up you quick," he said. He pulled the .45 out of his jacket, "I'm done playing games with you."

He aimed the gun at me. I sucked in a deep breath and shut my eyes. I didn't want to see it coming. Not from a guy like him. I exhaled and expected the quick sensation of pain. I heard the hammer click back. I started to pray. I heard the shot fire. I flinched but there was no pain. I waited several more seconds expecting that he was playing with me and had fired into the wall or something. I thought that maybe he was just waiting for me to open my eyes. I then heard a loud thump.

Ok, this didn't make sense. One eye peeked open. Then both shot open. My jaw dropped. Kirill. I couldn't breathe. He lowered the gun and stepped fully into the kitchen. He closed the door quietly behind him. He glanced around for a minute, "Had a busy night, sweetheart?"

It was then that I passed out cold.