“It’s fashion!” Anja protested, spinning around. “Alena, back me up.”
“Sorry, sister. Beatrice is right. You look like you’re directing planes on a runway.”
I stepped into their little circle, knowing that they’d be shocked to see me, but there was no time to explain. “Ladies,” I said, with urgency in every word. “Don’t ask what I’m doing here, but you have to listen to what I say.”
All three of them gasped, shock paling their faces at the unexpected sight of me. I saw Anja open her mouth, like she was about to argue, her eyes flaring with anger at the interruption, but to my relief, it was Beatrice who came to my rescue.
“What’s the problem?” she asked, stepping forward, her eyes drifting between mine and etched with worry.
“You’re being followed. We need to get out of here.”
“Followed? By who?” Beatrice asked.
“Some of the Volkov men,” I explained. “The same men who followed us before. They’re a common enemy of my family and yours.”
Beatrice paled, her hands instantly reaching for Alena’s and Anja’s.
“What are we waiting for?” she hissed. “Let’s go.”
She was smart. She knew what this meant. She was the common thread for them. If the Volkovs got her, they’d have leverage against her brothers and me.
“Your security team is parked where they left you, so we can’t depend on them. Let’s get you out from the back, and I’ve called my driver to meet us there,” I said, ushering them to the back of the dressing rooms, where there was a service door.
“But…what about my clothes?” Anja protested, looking back over her shoulder, then down at the clothes she had on.
“We’ll clear it up with the store later.” Beatrice gave me a helping hand, encouraging Anja to move faster. Right then, I sawjust how capable Beatrice was of keeping her cool and calming those around her when the situation warranted it.
I’d never felt prouder of the woman.
I kept a hand on the small of Beatrice’s back as we moved forward in a tight circle, leaning in to whisper the plan in her ear. “Stay calm. We’re going to walk out together, straight to the car. No stopping, no looking around. Got it?”
She nodded, her earlier joy completely evaporated. I hated myself for bringing this into her day, but there was nothing I could do about this Volkov situation at the moment.
We took the service door and found ourselves in the stock room.
“Fuck…” Alena hissed. “What if there’s no way out of here?”
“There has to be.” Beatrice shook her head. “A store like this won’t have stock coming in from the front.”
I watched, intrigued, as Beatrice took the lead and walked past the rows and rows of stock. Just at the end, she turned to us with glazed, excited eyes. “Here,” she whispered, pointing to her right. “There’s an exit.”
We followed her to the door. It was a large iron door, clad with a bolt. I tugged at it, hard as I could, until it gave way.
When I pushed it open, it creaked. Daylight sprang in, bright and vivid, beyond which I saw my driver waiting in the car, already running, with the doors wide open.
“Come on, this way,” I urged the girls forward, waiting for all three to pass before I closed the door behind us.
We were nearly at the car. “Get in,” I told them, rushing in at the back, and headed to the passenger seat up front when I heard the door creak open.
I whirled around, saw the Volkov man come out just as Beatrice was about to follow Alena and Anja into the car. I lunged at Beatrice, covering her body with mine, my hands around her waist, feeling her tremble just as a gunshot rang out in the air.
“Stay right there!” the man shouted. “Or I swear I’ll shoot.”
“Get in,” I whispered in Beatrice’s soft ear, as I shoved her inside and spun back around with my gun in my hand, shooting at the man’s kneecap before he could make a move.
He grunted and fell to the floor, and I slammed the door shut behind Beatrice, rushing to take my spot in the front.
“Drive. Head straight home!” I roared, and the wheels whined against the concrete, the open door flying in the wind as I reached out and grabbed it to bring it to a close.
