“Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell her. “We ran into a little trouble, but I’m okay.”
“Yeah, no kidding. It’s all over the news. ‘Shootout at Vivaldi Park.’” She pauses, then, “What happened, exactly? He didn’t try to kill you, did he?”
“The opposite, actually.” I tell her everything, all the way down to how Anton had to defend me during our escape. As is her way, she listens silently as I drone on.
When I’m done, she asks, “So, where are you now?”
I start to tell her, then think better of it. I don’t know who attacked us, exactly, and I don’t know what anyone else knows. Someone might’ve been watching me and waiting for me to lead them back to her apartment. “I think it’s probably better if I don’t tell you,” I say. “I don’t really know anything about who tried to kill us and I don’t know who could be listening.”
“That’s fair,” she says. “Does that mean you’re not coming back here?”
“It means that I’m going to stay away until things blow over. You should probably think about taking a vacation, too. Maybe stay low until this all blows over.”
She goes quiet for few seconds. “This just got really real, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I owe you a steak dinner when all this is done. At least for putting up with my crazy life.”
“Your life wasn’t all that crazy until last night,” she says with a chuckle. “Not gonna lie, I kind of miss your inmate days.”
I laugh. “Me too. Believe me.”
“So,” she says with some hesitation, “in the meantime, what do I do if your father comes around looking for you? What should I say?”
I think about that for a moment. Stonewalling my father is probably not the best option. He doesn’t like it when someone is actively lying to him. “Tell him I left and didn’t say where I was going,” I tell her. “He’ll be able to tell if you try to lie to him, so just tell him that. But honestly, make yourself scarce so you don’t have to face him at all. Things are kind of upside down and I don’t know what to expect.”
“Got you. Well, Rodney has been talking about going to Myrtle Beach for a few weeks. Maybe now’s a good time.”
“Maybe. I’ll text you when I’ve got a better bead on my situation.”
“Roger that. Take care and be careful.”
“I will.”
I hang up and all of a sudden, I feel how alone I am. It’s so quiet I can hear my own breath…
I put my hand on my stomach, thinking of the baby I’m carrying. But I’m not alone. I guess I’ll never be alone again, really. And most importantly, I’m safe.
No.We’resafe.You hear that, kid? We’re safe.
A knockon the door wakes me up from my nap. I sit up and half roll over. “Come in.”
The door opens and Anton walks in. He’s changed clothes. Well, he just has on a dress shirt and slacks. His sleeves are rolled up and a couple of buttons are undone.
As usual, he looks really good. He smiles casually at me and it changes his whole face, giving him an almost mischievous and boyish look about him despite his crow’s feet and streaks of gray. God, he is a good-looking man.
“Sorry I’ve been gone so long,” he says as he walks all the way in the room. “I had to make sure I had enough security around the estate. It’s a lot of space to cover.”
“I’ll say.” I sit up and pull my knees to my chest. “This house is… well, it’s unbelievable. I didn’t think there were any houses this big in this town. How long have you lived here?”
“It’s complicated.” He pauses as if trying to find the right words. “I inherited it from the former Pakhan, so I haven’t been here longer than a few months.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Really? Wow.”
“He didn’t have any sons and he always said that if he’d had children, he would have wanted them to take over for him as Pakhan. Never happened, though, so years ago, he made arrangements for me to inherit everything once he was gone.”
I have to think for a second. Maksim. That was his Pakhan’s name, I think. The one who died recently. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” he says graciously. “I’m sorry to do this, but I need to take your phone.”
