His lips form a thin line in thought for a moment before making a cute little mischievous smile. “Okay.”
I look in Andrei’s direction, catching sight of his back. Once I’m in the car and on the way home, I’ll text him so he doesn’t freak out. And once he realizes why I did what I did, he’ll have to understand.
“Alright dude, let’s move.”
I take Sasha’s hand and lead him through the exhibit, then down toward the small stairwell that leads to the exit. Our shoes clang on the metal stairs as we hurry down, my hand gripping the railing so hard my knuckles turn white. Sasha’s little hand is warm in mine, trusting, unaware of the war inside my head.
At the bottom of the stairwell, I spot the west exit door. I push it open, the cold air rushing at me hard as I scan the area for the last person I’d ever expect to want to see.
It doesn’t take long to find him. He’s leaning against a dark sedan and reminding me of a bad cop show. My skin crawls. Part of me, a very insistent part, tells me to turn around, to run back inside.
I don’t listen.
Max straightens when he sees us, relief flickering across his face as if he was half-expecting me not to show. Sasha’s hand in mine, I hurry across the street toward him.
“Get in,” Max says as we approach. “Now. Before anyone sees you.” He opens the back door and gestures to get inside.
“Who is that?” Sasha asks. There’s unmistakable worry in his voice, as if he knows something isn’t right.
“A friend.” God, it feels gross to even say it.
Max glances at Sasha, then back up at me. “Hurry.”
My pulse is pounding in my ears. I glance at the exit door we just came out of, as if Andrei might appear at any moment, rage in his eyes.
I settle Sasha into the back seat, making sure he’s buckled in. Then I climb in beside him, locking the door. Max slides into the driver’s seat, puts the car into gear, and pulls away.
As the museum disappears behind us, I get an uneasy feeling. Although I’m doing the right thing to get us to safety, the knot in my stomach doesn’t loosen. Sasha looks at me, worry in his eyes.
A horrible thought occurs to me.
If this is a trap, I just delivered Sasha myself.
CHAPTER 47
ROMAN
Kyle stands in front of my crime board. He’s zeroing in at a satellite image.
Andrei’s name flashes on my phone. My gut instantly tells me something is wrong.
“What is it?”
“She took him. Amalie took Sasha.”
The words hit me like a gut punch. The room goes cold. My hand clenches into a hard fist. “What do you mean, she took him?” I try to tamper the rage boiling inside me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kyle approaching.
“The museum,” he says. “She said she wanted to talk to Sasha in private. I had a bad feeling, shouldn’t have let her. But I did, giving her fifteen minutes. She was gone in less than five.”
My hand tightens around the phone. Kyle needs to hear this. I set the phone down on the desk and hit speaker.
“I ran out and saw Max Russo driving off. They were in the back seat. I tried to chase them, but by the time I got to my car, they were long gone. Roman, I’m sorry. I failed you.” There’s unmistakable pain in his voice.
“Max?” Kyle asks. “What the hell?”
“Andrei,” I say, my voice low and certain. “You did not fail me. You were deceived.”
