This must be it.
Leonid cuts the engine, the sudden absence of the familiar rumble making the night feel louder.
He gets out of the car and I immediately push my door open to do the same, the cool night air biting at my skin.
As I step onto the gravel, I notice the movement of the fleet.
Half of the blacked-out cars drive right past us, their taillights disappearing down the dark trail ahead, while the remaining vehicles idle in the shadows behind Leo’s car.
“Why are they leaving?” I ask, walking around the hood to meet him. “And why are the others waiting?”
Leonid stops in front of me, his eyes scanning the tree line before dropping to my face. “They’re waiting for me,” he says flatly. “I have to drop you off first.”
My eyes dart past his shoulder, and that’s when I see the tiny red dots blinking in the dark.
I don’t even have to guess. After months of living with Leo, I know what those are: hidden security cameras.
And at the center of the red dots are the heavily reinforced steel doors of an unassuming concrete building tucked into the tree line.
The realization hits me like a bucket of ice water.
He’s dropping me at a safe house.
“No,” I protest immediately. My heart hammers against my ribs as I take a step closer to him, my hands gripping the lapels of his jacket. “No, Leo, this wasn’t the plan.”
He keeps his features masked, completely devoid of any emotion. “We didn’t expressly talk about aplanfor you. And the only one I have now is to keep you out of harm’s way.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, you’re depriving me of an opportunity to be a part of this.”
He looks down at me with a profound, heavy sadness flickering in his dark eyes before his jaw locks tight.
He slowly shakes his head, his large hands coming up to cover mine, gently but firmly loosening my grip.
“Come on,” is all he says before he begins marching toward the building.
I hiss. “Leo!”
He ignores me, maintaining his laser focus on the doors.
“Leo!”
The sound of heavy bolts unlocking echoes through the darkness and he steps aside, waves a hand, and beckons for me to come closer.
“You can’t do this.”
“Go inside, Elena.”
“But I want to come with you. I helped you plan this. I’m not sitting in a bunker while you go into that butcher shop!”
“This entire fucking mission is too dangerous for you,” he says with an air of finality, leaving no room for negotiation. “I can handle Vasili’s men. What I can’t handle is the thought of you in their crosshairs.”
I tilt my head back and set my jaw. “I can handle myself, Leo.” It’s a lie through my teeth, but I can’t give up now. “If it’s too much, I’ll find a corner in the house to hide, and I’ll come out when everything’s done.”
“Old office complex.”
I blink. “What?”
“You called it a house.”
