There are tears in my eyes, and he notices right away. I panic again because he’s going to ask me why, and there is no way in hell I’m telling him I might be pregnant.
“Sweetheart,” he rushes to my side and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Talk to me,” he whispers as he hugs me.
“I’m…I’m just overwhelmed. I need to find a way to clear my head,” I whisper back.
“How? What do you need? Tell me, and I’ll make it happen,” he says right away.
I swallow hard. I don’t ever want to lie to them. Not to any of them.
“Maybe…if I could go out for a bit. Somewhere safe, like a mall. I can take a bodyguard with me and go shopping or walking around. I need to get out and… I just need to get out,” I sigh.
“I’ll take you,” he says right away.
“No, Bear, I need space to think. I really appreciate that you are willing to go with me, but this is something…I need to be on my own for a little while,” I tell him.
He nods, his face strained. “Alright. I’ll have a guard bring the car around for you. You can take my credit card and shop to your heart’s content. Please, baby bird, stay within sight of the guard at all times,” he says sternly.
“I will,” I nod enthusiastically, then jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. “Thank you so much,” I whisper. He hugs me back, and it’s like being held by a force of nature. Strong, safe, secure. My heart beats faster, and I snuggle my face into his shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay, baby bird, you’ll see. It’ll all work out,” he reassures me.
An hour later, I’m at the mall with a burly bodyguard following me everywhere.
He’s polite and quiet, but he stays very close. I haven’t been into too many of the stores because I’m trying to stay out in the open.
My theory is that Misha never left Chicago after finding out where I was. He’s still here, and he’s got his eyes on me, following me everywhere he can.
He’ll be here somewhere. He’ll come and talk to me.
I wander up and down looking in store windows. I get an iced tea and carry it into the outside section of the mall and sit on a bench in the shade of a tall palm tree.
My entire body is tense. My shoulders feel like someone has pulled a cord so tight in me that I’m going to pull several muscles if I just turn my head in the wrong way.
Thankfully, though, Misha doesn’t take long to show his face.
I spot him in the distance, and my eyes shoot wide, my mouth drops open, and I have to force myself not to call out his name in relief and excitement at seeing him.
The guard is standing close, but it seems Misha already has a plan.
In the blink of an eye, a man comes out of nowhere and pulls the guard out of sight into an alleyway behind the building. I gasp in shock at the efficiency of it.
Misha hurries to me, and I grab him in the tightest hug, holding on and wrapping my arms so securely around him that he laughs.
“Maria, it’s okay, breathe, I’m here, I’ve got you,” he says, peeling my arms off his waist.
“I missed you so much!” I blurt out, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I thought about you every day, and I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer, and I missed you!”
He chuckles again, stroking his hand down the side of my face. “It’s okay, little sister, I’m here now. But we need to move. The guard is only going to be unconscious for ten minutes or so before the sedative wears off,” he warns me, wrapping his arm securely around my waist and pulling me to follow him.
“Misha, we have so much to talk about,” I tell him, trying to make him stop.
“We do, but not here,” he says tightly.
“Did you drive Artur out of the city? Did you try to have him killed because you thought he was getting too close to me?” I blurt out the questions with urgency because I’ve been holding them inside me for too long. They’ve been sitting in my thoughts like a virus, festering away, and I need to know the answers. I can’t wait.
“We have to move, Maria. We can talk later,” he growls coldly. Something in his voice comes out as a warning in my heart. I yank myself away from him and stand my ground firmly. My heart is already weighted with realization from the look in his eyes.
“You did, didn’t you?” I mutter, heartbroken. “You drove your best friend out of the city,” I whisper.
