Weird choice of words, but I nearly don’t notice. My mind is completely elsewhere. “Thanks.”
Then I look at the menu…
… And my heart stops.
No.I drop it like it’s burning.It can’t be.But the words finger-painted in red stay.
HAVE YOU SAID GOODBYE TO HIM?
I spring up, but the waiter’s gone.
Was that Desya?I rack my brain, but no answer comes.Was he here, just now, inches from me? Inches from my son?
I can’t remember. I was so distracted, I didn’t even clock what he sounded like, let alone looked at his face.
The table has fallen silent. “Mommy?” Eli asks, but I can’t find my words anymore.
Kallie bends down to pick up the menu and see what’s got me so upset. “Oh, shit.”
“Everything okay?” Nikita is at my side in an instant.
“I—I need to find Yulian,” I stammer. “Right now. He’s—”Not safe,I want to say, but I hold back at the last second for Eli’s sake.
However, Nikita doesn’t need me to say anything more. “He didn’t tell me where he was going tonight. Just to stick by you in case Brad tried something.”
“Where’s Maksim?” I turn to Kallie. “Did he tell you where he was going to be?”
“Just some boat party,” she answers. “On a yacht, by the—oh.”
“What?” I’m starting to sound crazy, but I don’t care. “What, Kallie?”
“By the bay.” Her face drains. “On the Hudson.”
No.
No, no, no.
The Hudson. Where Yulian “killed” Desya the first time. It can’t be a coincidence—not at this point. Not with the threat I’ve just been handed.
He set another trap. On purpose.
And he kept it from me.
Memories flash. I recall the way Yulian was yesterday. Like he wanted to touch all of me, map me out and remember me. As if I could disappear at any moment.
Then I think back to this morning.
“Tonight?”
“Not tonight. I’ve got… business.”
“Tomorrow. We’ll celebrate tomorrow.”
“Bullshit,” I say under my breath. Because, according to this message, there might not be a tomorrow.
“Nik, I need you to drive me there.” I can’t keep the panic out of my voice. “You can track each other, right?”
“Our phones,” she confirms. “In case one of us disappears.”
