“It’s okay, Annika. You’re safe now. I need you to hang in there for me, okay? I’m going to find someone to look after you,” I told her, watching her struggle to nod her head back at me.
I dialed a number over the Bluetooth speaker in my car, waiting for it to connect me to a contact I hadn’t called in quite a while, hoping they’d be able to help, even though we didn’t leave things on the best of terms.
“Volkov, I didn’t think I’d be hearing from you for a very long time,” he said, the moment the call connected.
“Listen, it’s a bit of an emergency. Can I stop by?” I asked, trying to hide the desperation in my voice.
“I don’t think I can help, Stephan, not after what you and your little friends put me through.”
“Please, Ivan. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, and if it’s any consolation I’m not running with Eduard and Feliks anymore. We’ve parted ways,” I said, hoping this was going to get under his skin because I knew he still wanted me to pay for the damages left behind from one of our jobs.
“Only if you plan on tying up some loose ends,” he said.
“I promise I will,” I said, caving in while he gave me his location. I drove down there as fast as I could, stopping outside of a small pharmacy where he was running his little clinic for criminals in the back. He came outside to meet me, catching sight of Annika’s bloodied body in the passenger seat and he started putting the pieces together on his own.
“Now I see why you were so desperate. You Volkovs and your women. Bring her inside,” he said, and I undid the seatbelt over Annika, lifting her up and taking her inside before anyone saw.
Ivan led me into the back room where I laid her down on the fresh linens of the bed he probably stole from a hospital not too far from here. The place had enough equipment to treat just about anything, or at least that’s what I thought. I let Ivan take his time looking at Annika’s injuries, telling me exactly what he needed to do to make sure that she pulled through alright.
Thankfully, her injuries weren’t as bad as I thought, and it wasn’t long before Ivan came out to meet me, telling me that she was resting comfortably.
“Thank you, Ivan. I know that we didn’t exactly leave things on the best terms, but I just want you to know that I will repay you for what you did for us all those years ago, just as I will repay you for this,” I said, grateful that he even decided to help at all.
“I’m just glad that you managed to shake the two of them. I told you once before that they were weighing you down, but I’m glad that you’re finally able to see it for yourself. Your girl will pull through, and she’s going to start feeling better very soon. You can head in there with her, but she needs to rest until morning,” he said, and I nodded.
“I should probably tell you that we’re currently on the run, and if you want us to leave, just say the word,” I said.
“Does anyone know you’re here?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“Then you’re safe until morning. After that, you two can take off. I’m heading out for something to eat. I’ll bring you back something,” he said, and I smiled at him.
“Thank you, Ivan,” I replied. It was the first time I was able to see just how blinded I had been in the past when all I ever wanted was to secure as much money as possible. Now my priorities were entirely different, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before Natalia and her family began hunting us down again.
I’m going to keep you safe, Annika. You have my word.
I waited around for what felt like ages, staring back at Annika’s unconscious body while she got the rest she so desperately needed. I was getting restless, eager to head back out and take care of the people that hurt her so terribly, who wanted nothing more than to bargain her off for the sake of a stupid painting.
I couldn’t believe the lengths that Natalia and her family had gone to in order to secure that thing, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before they came looking for it again.
Natalia’s plan failed, and I knew that wasn’t going to sit nicely with her family once they found out. They put their trust in her that she would be able to lure me into her trap, subdue me long enough to take the painting somewhere safe, and probably kill both of us. I was grateful that I managed to get Annika out, but now I was worried that she was going to live out the rest of her days with a target on her back.
I could only imagine that was the life her family never wanted for her, otherwise, they probably would’ve involved her in the family business a very long time ago. Though the more I looked at her, the more I saw what she’d been through, and the more I wanted to save her. I was falling in love with her faster than I could comprehend, but I worried that she was going to wake up one day and decide this isn’t what she wanted anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised, after everything she’d been through, but I was holding out hope that she’d want to stick by me.
Countless hours passed, and I glanced up at the clock overhead in the makeshift hospital room, seeing her fingers start to curl inwards while her eyes struggled to flutter open. I rushed to her, holding her hand while she woke up, staring back at me with such bewilderment in her eyes, I thought she must’ve expected she was going to wake up right back under Natalia’s roof.
“Stephan?”
“I’m here, Annika. You’re safe,” I said to her, kissing her cold, frail hand.
“How… where am I?” she asked, the fear returning to her eyes, but I did what I could to keep her calm.
“I brought you to a friend of mine who helped with the injuries Natalia and her goons inflicted on you. I’m so sorry that this happened, I’m so sorry that I was the reason you went through so much,” I said, feeling rather guilty for having Annika be the one to suffer because of me and the fact that I just couldn’t seem to let go of that painting.
“It’s not your fault, Stephan. You didn’t know they were going to come after me for the painting. It must be one hell of a painting if Natalia’s entire family is after it. It would’ve been a dream to see a painting like that in person. I’m quite the Malevich fan,” she croaked, and I smiled down at her, brushing the hair out of her eyes before I kissed her lightly on the forehead.
“I’ll be the first to show you when you get out of here,” I said to her, watching her eyes widen as she started to put the pieces together.
“You didn’t have to give up the painting, did you?” she asked, with a smile.
“I didn’t. I managed to buy us some time by tossing the cardboard enclosure it was in at the far corner of the room while Natalia went to fetch it. I got us both out of there before she could realize that it was empty. Though I have to warn you, Annika, this means that they’re going to come after us again. Something tells me that they’re not going to rest until that painting is safely in their hands.”
The stakes were much higher now, and with Annika’s family still set to return back home, there was still the question of whether the Chadovs would act out, trying to take them all down for the sake of a single canvas.
“Well, when they come for us this time, Stephan, we’re going to be ready to fight back,” she said, with such determination in her voice, it almost convinced me that we were going to do just that.
“I don’t want to put you in harm’s way again, Annika. Look what happened to you,” I confessed, but she caressed my cheek, and at that moment I believed that everything was going to be okay.
“We’re going to get through this and we’re going to do it together.”
