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"We can't stand by and do nothing, Josh."
"This is blackmail!" he snaps.
Her downcast eyes rise up to meet mine, hanging there, judging me. I wonder what she's weighing. Crossing the room, she stands in front of her husband. "We said we'd help before we were put in this position. I'm not going to turn my back on Galina." The hate in her glare scalds me. "Even if we have to work with the devil himself."
Josh looks ready to explode; his face is shiny with sweat, verging on purple. Audrey places her hands on his. A ripple moves through his body. The pair don't speak—and still, I know they're communicating. Slowly, Josh relaxes. He shuts his eyes and Audrey squeezes his hands. She's soothing him better than anyone else is capable of.
Watching them creates a painful longing in my chest. I miss Galina more than ever.
Sighing in exasperation, Josh frowns at me. "Fine. I’ll consider it."
"I'm glad to hear we're on the same page."
"I said I'd consider it. I want proof first."
"The proof will come. Probably sooner than we expect." Digging in my pocket, I hand him a burner phone. "Yevgeniy will be acting fast since he failed to kill me. Use this to call me."
He fixates on the phone, studying it like he's worried it will hurt him somehow. Eventually he picks it up. "You're a real cocky asshole, Isakov."
Josh can insult me all he wants—the fact he took the phone is all I care about.
"I should go," I say, glancing at my own phone.
Audrey pokes her heel at the floor. "We’ll walk you out." Josh shoots a are you kidding me brand of look at her, and she shrugs. "We were going to leave for dinner anyways."
"Thank you," I say earnestly. We step into the elevator, Audrey and Josh taking the furthest corner possible from me. It's an awkward, silent ride down to the bottom floor. And they're the first to jump out of the elevator when the doors open.
The main lobby is nearly empty; the woman behind the front desk doesn't bother to glance up from her computer at us. Josh takes the lead, pushing the glass doors wide. It would be a polite gesture if I didn't know he wanted me out of his sight as fast as possible.
"And here we are," he says.
Scanning the sun that's eager to set, I squint down the street. There are a number of cars parked in front of the building. Not an empty meter in sight. "Call me the second you know anything, or if you're in trouble."
Josh throws his head back, laughing while we wander down the sidewalk. "Your concern is appreciated, but there’s no need for that."
He pops his keys out, jingling them, pressing the button. A dark blue Mercedes beep ahead of us.
And then swells like a balloon in a fireball.
The roof cracks apart as the windows shatter from the explosion. Orange flames blossom into the air like a flower in bloom. Every other car alarm goes off, the cascade of noise mixed with the crackling fire rising along with the smoke from the Mercedes. Then the shockwave hits the three of us, knocking us to the ground.
"Holy shit!" Josh gasps as he scrambles up.
Audrey screams.
"Get back!" I yell while shielding them with my arms. Corralling them towards the building, away from the smoldering car, I glance back at the chaos. Black fumes billow upwards, blocking out the sun. Sirens shriek in the distance. Someone has already called 911.
"What happened?" Audrey stammers, clinging to me. "What... what was..."
"What the fuck!" Josh shouts. He jumps out of my grip, standing on the sidewalk with his hands buried in his hair. "What the actual fuck!"
I drop my hand heavily onto Josh's shoulder; he stares up at me, his pupils tiny dots. He's slowly sinking back into his own body. "Are you okay?" I ask him.
He blinks rapidly. "Yeah." He blinks again. "I almost died."
I don't say anything.
Audrey gawks at the flames with her mouth dropped open wide as a trumpet bell. "How could that happen? Cars don't just blow up!"
