“Am, we’re going to keep you both safe. This will all be over soon.”
“Yeah. Okay. Ten minutes.”
“See you then.”
The call ends. My hands are shaking as I slip my phone into my pocket. Stepping out of the stall, I move to the sink and turn on the cold water, splashing it over my face.
All I need to do is go back out there and somehow get away from Andrei. Then I can sneak Sasha out through the west exit. Easier said than done. But I have to try.
I tap my back pocket, where I had put the whale brochure earlier. There’s a map of the museum in it. I open it and find the west exit. We are only a short distance from it.
Perfect.
When I’m ready, I take a steeling breath and head out. Andrei looks at me as I approach. He has a look of concern on his face, probably wondering if everything is alright and what took me so long. But he doesn’t say anything. His gaze returns to Sasha.
Damn. I hate to lie to Andrei—especially after what he just said to me. But if Max is right, he’ll understand once this is over.
If Max is right.
Oh god, what if I’m walking into a trap? No. Max would never place me in direct danger.
“Hey, Sash!” I say, squatting down. “You want to go see those cool robot whales now?”
His eyes light up. “Yeah!”
“Okay, they’re right this way. Come on.”
We start in the direction of the exhibit. I’m so nervous I’m worried I might throw up. Andrei stays about ten paces behind. Right as we reach the threshold to the exhibit, I hang back, turning my attention to Andrei.
“Something wrong?” he asks.
I glance over my shoulder, watching as Sasha hurries into the space. “Listen, Sasha was questioning things, about Roman and me. I told him we’d talk later, just the two of us. You mind waiting like fifteen minutes before joining? I think it’ll be good for him.”
I feel like shit doing this. But it’s for the best. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Andrei frowns, glancing over my shoulder at Sasha, then back at me. “Yeah. Go ahead. Fifteen minutes. Probably do him some good to hear directly from you what’s going on.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Thanks, Andrei.”
Wow. What a shockingly good liar I can be. I just looked the man who’s saved my life right in the eyes and spun up bullshit on command.
“You got it.”
Morality aside, I’ve got a job to do. The robot whale exhibit leads right to the west exit, perfect for our escape. Sasha’s thrilled over the exhibit, and I hate to take him away from it.
“These are so cool,” he says, stopping in front of a big orca with gears coming out of the back. “I want to make one of these at home.”
I make sure we’re out of Andrei’s sight, then I drop to my knees and put my hand on Sasha’s shoulder.
“Listen, bud,” I say, lowering my voice to a whisper. “I’ve got something super cool to show you. Likesecretcool.”
His eyes widen. “Secret?”
I nod, leaning in closer. “A secret that’s outside of the museum. One that all the best artists know.”
“Are we going to come back?”
“Later. Andrei will meet us at home. Come on—it’ll be fun.”
