"Thank you," I say, and I mean it. Whatever Yuri's paying this man, it's not enough.
We follow Kovac out of the station and into the parking lot. A black sedan is waiting with the engine running and a driver behind the wheel. Kovac opens the back door for us and hands me an envelope before we get in.
"Everything you need is in here," he says. "Tickets, identification documents, some cash for immediate expenses. Your employer will be in contact once you arrive in St. Petersburg to discuss next steps."
"Tell him thank you," I say. "For everything you've done tonight. If you're ever in St. Petersburg?—"
"I'll look you up," Kovac says. "Safe travels."
Danica and I climb into the backseat and Kovac closes the door. The driver pulls out of the parking lot without a word and turns toward the airport. Danica leans against me, and I put my arm around her shoulders. It's good to feel her cling to me like this, though I'd rather it be out of intimacy and not fear.
"Are you really okay?" I ask quietly.
"I don't know," she admits. "I keep seeing Ruslan's face when he fell. Every time I close my eyes, I see all the blood."
"That will fade," I tell her, though I'm not sure if it's true. Some things stay with you forever. I still remember the first person I saw die, just as vividly as the day it happened. "Give it time."
"What's going to happen when we get to Russia?"
"Yuri will have a place for us to stay while we figure things out. I'll need to debrief with him about everything that happened, but after that I don't know. We find a house, maybe you find a job if you want…" The sound of it is appealing, though I still have my family to take care of.
"Will we really be able to be normal?" Her head tucks against my chest again snugly, and I sigh to relieve some of the pressure off my chest.
"We can try," I say. "God knows, we both deserve a fresh start."
After three-quarters of a year chasing a man down, only to find it wasn't one actor but a full conspiracy against my family, it feels good to be done. I lean my head back and rest my eyes, thinking about how long this road has been. I'm exhausted, and I'm worn out. And I have a new wife at my side who I never thought would be a lasting part of my life.
But I'm happier than I've been in a very long time, and as soon as my cousin sees how happy I am, I know he'll understand when I say I'd like to stay put for a while. Surely, there are other, younger men who'd like to hit the road and do the jobs I've been handling. There's plenty in St. Petersburg to keep me busy, like my new wife.
30
DANICA
Ilisten to the doorbell echo through the house and within seconds the door swings open. A man in pajama pants and a hastily thrown-on shirt stands in the entrance, eyes darting from Vadim to me and back again.
"Vadim," he says and pulls Vadim into a tight one-armed hug. "I'm glad you made it safely."
"Thank you for everything, Yuri," Vadim replies as we step into the entryway and Yuri shuts the door.
I'm swaying on my feet from exhaustion as the flight and the thirty-minute drive from the airport catch up with me all at once. My body feels heavy and my eyes keep trying to close on their own. It's been one hell of a day.
Yuri releases Vadim and turns his attention to me. "And this must be Danica," he says with a warm but small smile. He's tired too. The lines around his eyes speak of days of no sleep.
"Yes," Vadim says as his hand finds the small of my back. "Danica, this is my cousin Yuri."
I manage what I hope is a polite smile in spite of how utterly drained I feel. "Thank you for having us. I'm sorry it's so late."
"Don't apologize. You're welcome here anytime." Yuri steps back and gestures for us to come deeper into his home. "Inessa's sleeping upstairs. She hasn't been resting well lately with the pregnancy, so I'd prefer not to wake her if we can avoid it."
"Of course," Vadim says as we walk past an arched doorway that leads into a darkened room. It appears to be a living room, but most of the lights are off.
He leads us past a sitting room and what looks like a library before he takes us up a curved staircase to the second floor. The hallway's lined with doors and he stops at one near the end.
"This will be your room while you're staying with us," he says, opening the door and flipping on a light. "There are fresh towels in the bathroom and I believe Inessa keeps spare toiletries in the cabinet. Tomorrow we can arrange for anything else you might need. Clothes, personal items, whatever you want."
I look into the room, and it's larger than my entire home back in Belgrade was. There's a massive bed with what looks like very expensive linens, a sitting area with comfortable chairs, and a door that presumably leads to the bathroom Yuri mentioned. And a large fireplace anchors a whole wall, though the hearth is dark being that it's summer.
"This is too much," I say, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the generosity. I look up to Vadim who's grinning at me like it’s the first time he's brought a girl home to meet his family.
