Killing Eva

Free Killing Eva by Alex Blackmore

Book: Killing Eva by Alex Blackmore Read Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Blackmore
The oddly civilised threat hung in the air. Eva heard someone running behind her and the hotel’s porter streamed past in his smart green uniform.
    Several minutes later, the porter returned to where Eva sat on the pavement with several inquisitive commuters around her.
    â€˜Are you OK?’ he asked, looking genuinely concerned.
    â€˜I’m fine,’ she said, shakily. ‘I take it you didn’t catch him?’
    The porter shook his head.
    â€˜Thank you for trying.’
    A small crowd had gathered around Eva, who was staring at the smears of blood that had appeared on the concrete from her grazed hands.
    There was a quiet ripple of German conversation and Eva felt herself being helped to her feet.
    She looked at the owner of the strong pair of hands that had hoisted her up to a seated position.
    A man with bright blue eyes, a narrow face and black hair slicked to his head. He gazed at her for a second and she stared back. Her heart double beat. He looked as if he was about to say something and then, without warning, he made a grab for her handbag and started running away with it in the other direction.
    â€˜Hey! HEY! ’
    Eva was taken by surprise. However, she set off after the man at a run. Without her phone, her passport and her bank cards she really would be helpless here.
    â€˜Come back!’
    People along the street turned and stared as the two ran past, but this time no one stepped in to help.
    Perhaps they could see the odds were stacked against her.
    As she ran, Eva could feel herself becoming breathless. She was used to jogging, but not to this fast-paced sprinting. In a different situation, she might have wondered whether it was a good idea to be chasing someone down the street like this – and perhaps stopped and given up.
    But she had eight months of self-defence training behind her.
    And she was seeing red.
    Or rather, she was seeing clearly.
    This was no ordinary mugging. This was something to do with… with it all, with the man at Waterloo Station and, most of all, with the word ‘kolychak’. Perhaps the text messages on the phone were what they wanted, perhaps not. She felt she would never find out what was going on if she stopped chasing this man now.
    And so she pushed all the energy she had through her limbs, forcing her body to switch up another gear, even though all her muscles burned.
    Ahead, the running man was coming to the edge of a busy main road. He threw a glance back in her direction and, when he realised Eva was the only person in pursuit, he slowed his pace.
    And then he stopped running. Unexpectedly, he turned to face her.
    Eva slowed down too until she was just steps away.
    They stared at each other for several seconds.
    He was short but powerfully built.
    â€˜Give me my bag!’ she yelled, over the traffic noise, breathlessly, forced to rest with her hands on her hips to try and support her lungs, which felt as if they were about to collapse.
    â€˜You’re brave to chase me,’ he replied, apparently having no difficulty breathing.
    Eva regretted the cigarettes she had smoked recently, as she attempted to fill her lungs.
    â€˜Probably unwise,’ said the man, ‘but brave.’
    She ignored the threatening tone. ‘Just give me the bag and I won’t make any trouble for you.’
    The blue eyes laughed back at her. ‘ You won’t make any trouble for me !’
    Eva took a step towards him. ‘You’re holding something that doesn’t belong to you. You’re a thief.’
    She wondered where this casual antagonism was coming from. This was dangerous – reckless. It was not just the confidence of knowing she could defend herself, this was attack. Something else was driving her now.
    â€˜Give me my bag,’ she said, trying to sound bigger than she was.
    The man laughed again and took a step backwards towards the edge of the stream of traffic. Eva inhaled sharply, he was a hair’s breadth

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