I took a deep breath. How much could I tell him? More importantly, how much was safe to say over the phone?
“I have proof,” I said in a quiet whisper. “I don’t know how much I can say over the phone.” Again, I looked around. Almost like I expected to be able to see security cameras appear in the corners. Of course, there was nothing there. Just the spotless paint.
“And what kind of proof?”
“I really don’t know what is safe to say. I think maybe a meeting face-to-face would be best. Can you meet me somewhere?”
“You really think I am going to meet you somewhere so your crazy husband can get a sniper to take me out Amy? If you do, then you really are as dumb as everyone says. I know the truth as well. I know that he can’t let Violet go. I think we both know that.”
I sighed. Oh yeah, I knew that, but that didn’t mean I had to stop trying. “Alexei doesn’t know I’m phoning. He doesn’t know about the file.”
I heard Kristoff’s breath hitch. “You have a file?”
“Yeah, Nikola put it together “
“Of course he did. Fine. I can meet you tomorrow. Somewhere public, “Kristoff said. “You bring your son home tomorrow, don’t you?”
Pausing, I cocked my head to the side. “Yes, but how did you know that?”
“There’s not much that happens in this city that I don’t know about, Amy. If you really want to show me the truth, then meet me in the hospital car park at eleven a.m.”
“Why there?” I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. The older Nikolai had made me promise not to do anything stupid, and this was suddenly feeling very stupid.
“Because your husband will have someone following you, Amy. And I don’t want to be shot. It will be easy for you to walk into thehospital and then out of a side door. They won’t expect it. I will be waiting.”
Yeah, this was feeling like a really bad idea, but what other choice did I have? If I had any chance of making Alexei believe me, I needed to first make Kristoff realize it.
From across the room, I heard a key slide into the lock, and a sudden panic gripped me. “I have to go,” I whispered harshly. “But I’ll be there at eleven.”
Swiping the file under the couch cushions, I had just placed the cell phone on the table when Alexei stepped through, a giant bunch of flowers in his hands. His eyes darted down to the still-lit phone and then back to my face.
“Who were you calling, Amy?”
I rolled my eyes at his jealous tone. “Just a friend. I didn’t expect you to come here tonight.”
He swept forward, closing the distance between us in only a few long strides. “I did come earlier, but you weren’t here.”
“I want to see Nikolai. The older one.” I amended it.
“I thought so, look.” Shuffling his feet, he thrust the flowers out towards me. Blocking my view of him for a second before I placed them on my lap. “I shouldn’t have brought Violet there. I realize that now. When she turned up, I should have demanded she leave. So these are for you.”
I frowned. Did he really think flowers were going to make up for everything? He hadn’t forgotten our anniversary; he had brought the woman who had tried to murder us into our son’s hospital room.
Biting my lip, I remained silent.
“The baby comes home tomorrow,” he changed the subject quickly.
“Yeah.” I didn’t know where he was going with this.
“Could we pick him up together?”
“Of course, as long as—”
He cut me off before I could finish. “Just us.” His smile was a little uncertain. “No one else. I have a crib and everything downstairs, so you just need to tell me where you want him to come home to, and I’ll get everything out ready.”
“Is here OK?” I asked. Jesus, I hadn’t even thought about that part. I had just presumed he would come back here.
“Here is fine.” Alexei’s smile grew wider. “Am I OK to start bringing things up. I should have gotten the nursery ready before.”
