"I need you to do this." His thumbs brush across my cheekbones and he grips me harder. "I need to know you're safe while I handle things here." There's such a sincerity in his eyes, I have to believe he really means it.
"But what if something happens to you?" This entire time, I've been so worried about what would happen to me that I haven't stopped to think what might happen to him. I've been angry with him and frustrated with how he controls me. But now I know I care about him. "What if you can't come get me?"
"I will." He leans down and kisses me softly, his lips savoring mine in a true goodbye. "I promise I'll come for you because I care about you."
I hate everything about this, but I believe him. Dimitri really does care. I can tell it by everything he's doing.
"Okay." I wipe my eyes. "I'll go, but you'd better keep your promise."
"I will." He kisses me again and says, "Now get in the car before I change my mind."
I turn to Rurik who's standing beside the open passenger door. "Take care of her. If anything happens to her, I'll kill you myself."
"Understood." Rurik nods. "She'll be safe with me."
I climb into the front seat and Dimitri closes the door. Through the window, I watch him step back and say something to the guards. They all nod and start fanning out, dispersing to whatever job he just gave them. Then Rurik gets in the driver's seat and starts the engine.
We pull away from the curb, and I turn to look out the back window. Dimitri's still standing there watching us leave. He doesn't move until we turn the corner and he disappears from view.
"He cares about you very much." Rurik glances at me, and I feel a shudder of anxiety. "I've known Dimitri for fifteen years and I've never seen him like this over a woman."
"Like what?" I settle back in my seat.
"Desperate." Rurik turns onto the highway heading out of the city. "When he called begging me to take you, he said he'd owe me whatever I wanted if I kept you safe."
"He begged?" That doesn't sound like the Dimitri I know. I lift an eyebrow in skepticism and narrow my eyes at him. Men like Dimitri don't beg.
"On the phone, at least." Rurik smiles slightly. "In person, he's too proud. But yes, he begged. So I'll do my job and get you to Moscow in one piece."
I watch the city pass by outside the window and try not to think about what Dimitri's going to do to stop all this chaos. That man would probably walk into a burning building to put a bullet into my enemy's head if he knew it meant I'd be safe, and all the while, the risk to his own life would be so great, he may never return.
An hour passes in silence because I'm so stuck in my head, I don't know what to say to someone I've never met before. But it's peaceable silence, at least. Rurik seems content enough with it. We're well outside St. Petersburg on a stretch of highway with nothing but trees on either side when my head starts pounding and I reach into my purse to look for pain medicine.
Rurik gets a funny look on his face as the car starts to make a funny noise, then judder a little.
"What's that?" I lean forward, listening and turning to him. He frowns at me and scowls.
"I don't know. The fuel's low, but we should be good." Rurik frowns again as he checks the dashboard. "The engine light just came on."
The car continues to shudder, but now it's losing speed too. Rurik guides it to the shoulder and we roll to a stop beside a small filling station that looks like it hasn't been used in a while. The building is abandoned with boarded windows and weeds growing through the cracked pavement.
"This doesn't feel right." I look around at the empty road. "Maybe we should call for help instead of stopping here."
"I need to check the engine," he says matter-of-factly, then he puts the car in park. "It might be something simple I can fix.Besides, we can't drive forty kilometers an hour all the way to Moscow."
He gets out and pops the hood, and I watch him through the windshield as he leans over the engine and starts poking around. My migraine is getting worse and the bad feeling in my gut won't go away, and the tiny sliver of a view I get isn't showing me anything. I won't just sit here feeling helpless. Besides, my pain meds are in the trunk in my bag, not my purse like I thought.
So I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out. "What's wrong with it?" I hug my arms over my belly and squint down at the engine. I know nothing about them, but I can't just sit still.
"Stay in the car," Rurik grumbles, but he doesn't look up. "I'm trying to figure it out."
"I just want to see." I walk closer.
"I said stay in the car," he snaps. "That isn't a request."
The tone makes me step back feeling thoroughly chastised, and I walk around to the trunk to get my bag. The pain medicine is in the front pocket and I need it before this headache gets worse.
I pop the trunk and reach for my duffel, but I notice the white powder dusting the gas tank cover. I lean closer and touch it with my finger before bringing it to my nose, only to inhale the sweet scent of sugar.
