"Well, he’s currently missing"

"He is?" she asked innocently and turned around to look at him. He looked her straight in the eyes. Green met blue. Nick saw the hardness in her eyes that Vlad had spoke about, but her eyes also revealed her feelings. Right now her eyes were telling him that she felt sorry for him. For an un-known reason.

Then it dawned to him. She had done something to Eddie. He rose to his feet and stared at her.

"What have you done to him!" he asked though clenched teeth. She just looked at him, trying to explain without words. Nick was about to say something more when he was interrupted by the phone. He shot her one last glance before he made his way over to the nearest phone.

"Hello?" he said.

"Nick, it’s Carlos. Why didn’t you call me?"

"I’m sorry, I got a visit here, and I forgot"

"Ok, look, this will come as a chock for you, but Eddie is dead" Carlos said sadly. Nick instantly looked at Stacey. She just looked back innocently.

Nick felt a growing anger inside him when he realised what had happened to Eddie. He turned his attention back to Carlos.

"What happened?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"It looks as though he had pulled over to the side of the road and got robbed. They shot him, and took his wallet" he said sadly. "But he died quickly, they think"

"Thanks for calling Carlos. I’ll call back in a couple of hours, ok?"

"No problem, Nick. Do you want me to send an agent over to Tampa?"

"No, I have one here already. Bye" Nick said and hung up before Carlos could say anything else. He took a deep breath before he turned around to face Stacey.

Deep down he knew that she was behind this. The question was why.

"It was you. You did it. But why?" he asked. He watched her faceexpression change from innocent to serious.

"He was behind your kidnapping, Nick. He was going to do it again, so I had him rendered" she said. She took his hands in hers and squeezed them gently. He refused to look at her.

"I’m sorry. I know that you liked him, and trusted him. But it was for the best"

She lifted his chin up to make him look at her. She searched in his eyes for some understanding, gratitude, anything…but nothing.

"Get out" he then said. "I don’t want your help, or your murderers to friends. Just leave me alone" he screamed the last words. She nodded, rose to her feet and started walking.

"I’ll be around if you need me" she said and walked out.

"Don’t bother" he muttered.

Stacey walked out of Nick’s house. It was late afternoon, and the sun was setting. She wondered if Nick would understand more if she told him everything?

"Nah, he wouldn’t understand. My reality is just something he reads in cheap novels. I wonder if Sven has returned, I have to call him." she thought.

*Ring, ring* Nobody answered.

"Come on, pick up the phone" she thought. Sven was one of her oldest friends, and he was the one who had killed Eddie. He was an expert in what he was doing. Some people would call him an assassin, but he wasn’t. He called himself a life-saver, and even though that could be questioned, he was un-doubtly one of the good guys.

"Stacey!"

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked, confused.

"Are you still in Carter’s house?"

"Yeah, why…"

"Listen, they are coming, Eddie had arranged for them to get Nick now, I found his note-book in the car" he said, out of breath. "Me and Ola are coming ASAP, but I’m afraid that they will come before we do. You know what to do, sweetie"

"Yeah" she said, glancing around the area. She noticed a black Volvo driving towards the house. Stacey heard a click when he hung up, and she hurried back into the house.