Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“What happened to Feo was no one’s fault but Kirill’s.” I’ve spoken these words a hundred times the past six months, but this stranger seems to be the only one who accepts them.
“He will get what’s coming to him.”
“He will,” I agree before offering him a rare smile. “Thank you for the ride.” I remove my belt before twisting my torso to face him. “If you hear from Yev, can you ask him to call me?” I haven’t had the chance to tell Yev tonight is only phase one of Vasily’s ruse. Our engagement only removes my father’s head from the visa facility’s chopping block. Yev’s name won’t be removed from the deportation register until after the wedding, which the papers will announce is only a week away tomorrow morning.
The stranger jerks up his chin. “Will you do the same?”
When I nod in agreement, he scribbles down his name and number onto a scrap of paper and hands it to me.
“Thank you, Micah,” I praise after taking in his name written in neat cursive handwriting.
He waits for me to enter my apartment and switch on every light before his custom ride cruises down the almost isolated street. Most of the apartments above the stores are occupied by the owners, so I recognize almost every car. Only one stands out. It was parked across from my boutique when I returned home after Vasily’s birthday dinner two weeks ago. It left before Vasily’s heated exchange with Yev and returned shortly after it.
My throat works through a hard swallow when the headlights on the sedan I’m peering at switch on, along with the ignition. It careens down the street at a crazy speed, narrowly missing a drunken man crossing at the designated spot.
As he mumbles incoherently under his breath, I close the drapes before heading to the drawer in my entryway table to hunt for the cell phone Alek gifted me months ago. It won’t have an ounce of charge, but it will keep me connected to everyone of importance. There are only three numbers stored on the throwaway cell—Alek’s, Yev’s, and my father’s.
Regretfully, every one of my calls rings out.
29
POLINA
I’m startled awake by a brutal bang on my apartment door. I don’t know what time I fell asleep on the chair next to my entryway table, but it was long enough for my mouth to dry but not long enough to combat the headache I haven’t been able to shake since last night.
I showered with the hope it would wash away some of the ick covering me, but it made it worse. It took away Yev’s touch, and for some stupid reason, its removal has me panicked it will never be replaced.
“I’m coming,” I shout when a second bang hits my door.
For the petite size of the woman behind the door, she shouldn’t have so much power behind her bangs. Annika’s pupils are massive, swamping the corneas as they frantically scan every inch of my home.
“Annika, are you okay?” I ask, panicked.
She is due in a couple of weeks, so she shouldn’t be this stressed.
After guiding her into my apartment, I assist her onto the chair I slept on for an hour or two at most before gathering her a glass of water.
She’s so puffed, anyone would swear she ran here from Yev’s apartment.
The way she gulps down the glass has me convinced.
“Is it Yev?” I ask while mentally kicking myself that I didn’t think to check on him at his apartment. That is his place of solace, so of course he’d run there if things became too much.
My heart constricts when sprigs of Annika’s crazy curls bounce along with her headshake. “There… was… a man…” I encourage her to drink some more water and settle her breathing before starting again. “He broke into Yev’s apartment.”
My eyes widen. “Did he hurt you?”
Relief engulfs me when she shakes her head. “I hid.” Her exhale rustles my hair. “I don’t think he knew I was there.” I don’t need to ask her to explain further. She gets straight to the point. “He wasn’t looking for me. His search was focused on electronic devices. He took Yev’s laptop and his gun.”
“Yev has a gun?” I didn’t mean to vocalize that out loud, but my shock was too great for me to ignore.
Again, Annika nods. “I don’t know if he found what he was after, but he left after making a call.” She rummages through her purse she packed in a hurry. “I got the last five digits of the number. I couldn’t see the rest.”
When she hands me the paper she wrote the number on, my heart flips. The past twenty-four hours have been one revelation after another.
“I’ll be right back,” I announce to Annika before galloping down the stairs siding my boutique, then charging inside like we’re having a ninety-percent-off sale.