“Okay,” Milo says right away, bouncing on his feet. “But I’m excited for our trip. Right, Lev?”
He bumps Lev gently with his elbow, but Lev doesn’t answer. He just keeps staring at his father with a quiet, watchful expression, like he knows this isn’t just a trip.
Kirill opens his arms, and Lev goes straight to him, wrapping himself around him.
“I’ll be with you very soon,” Kirill tells him. “I promise. Papa loves you.”
Then, gripping both boys’ hands, he helps them climb into the backseat before waiting for me to get in after them. He leans in and gives me one last kiss before I slide into the backseat, the two bodyguards getting in the front a second later.
As the doors shut, Kirill stays where he is, hands in his pockets, expression tight as the driver starts down the long driveway. I can still see him through the window.
Then the trees close in and swallow him from view, and it feels like a part of me is still standing back there with him.
The drive is supposed to take a couple of hours, and I keep hoping the boys will do okay. After about forty-five minutes, Lev still seems fine, staring out the window with his headphones on, while Milo fills the car with a hundred questions at once.
“Where are we going, exactly?” He leans toward me as I sit sandwiched between Lev and him. “Is there a pool there? Or a swing set? Can we get ice cream?”
“We’ll see when we get there. Sit straight, please.”
The trees grow thicker the farther we drive, tall pines closing in on both sides. There are only a couple of cars on this road now.
I have no idea where we are anymore. But I trust Kirill. He said we would be safe there.
“Mom,” Milo whines a few minutes later.
“What?”
“I have to pee.”
“We can’t stop right now, buddy.”
“But I really have to go.”
“You’re going to have to hold it a little longer.”
“I can’t.” He groans dramatically.
I glance over, trying not to let my frustration show. “You can. Just hang on until we get to a rest stop.”
“Ugh, fine.” He sinks back with a pout.
At that exact moment, the driver jerks the car forward. The SUV lurches, the engine roaring louder as he hits the gas.
“What’s going on?” Unease twists through me.
He doesn’t answer right away. His eyes stay fixed on the rearview mirror, his jaw working like he’s trying to figure something out fast. I follow his gaze and find a van behind us, while the other SUV carrying Kirill’s men is still ahead.
Our SUV jerks hard as he guns it, whipping us into a sudden U-turn sharp enough to make Milo yelp, and I reach out to hold his hand.
“Everything is fine.”
But I’m not so sure.
The second SUV makes a U-turn too just as Lev lowers his headphones. The tires scream against the pavement while the trees smear into streaks outside the windows.
My heart slams against my ribs as I gaze through the windshield and reach for both boys, squeezing their hands and telling them everything is going to be okay even while I know I’m lying now.
The van does a three-sixty and follows beside us, going the wrong way and veering toward us, trying to cut us off the road, not slowing down for anything. The bodyguard in the passenger seat is already on the phone, speaking fast in Russian.
