Just as I was about to shake my head and tell him it was nothing, I realized it wasn’t nothing. This was important to the whole band. So instead, I opened my mouth and told him exactly what was going on in my head.
He stared out the window a moment, and then glanced over. “And you think the guys aren’t going to be mad about the stunt on stage?”
“I hope not.”
A long low breath escaped him. “Please add this to your turbulent thoughts. They all agreed we had to get the women out. As mad as we were at them, Ginni and Hazel couldn’t stay there. Dietrich helped us hatch the plan and the three of them were on board from the get go. They paid for parts of this escape plan, too. Rand found the forger. Remind me to ask him how the hell he did that. Ora was willing to put himself out there to bribe the guards. Holland was happy to pay for these tickets, and doesn’t want to be paid back. This was a team effort. The kiss? On the stage? That means nothing to anyone but us and the LGBTQ people who can’t live out loud like we can.”
Staring down at where he was holding my hand, fingers laced together, Aaron shrugged. “If the Kremlin doesn’t allow us back, then so be it. As foreign nationals, we aren’t held to their cultural beliefs. We didn’t, as you pointed out, really break the rules. They don’t really have a leg to stand on unless they find out that the Maddox Jones and Aaron Donner on that plane weren’t really Maddox and Aaron.” He tipped his head and chuckled. “But Rand’s forgery buddy was really good. I don’t think we have to worry about it.”
Eventually, after I digested everything he said, I nodded slowly. “You’re right. If they don’t want to let us back, then so be it. I’ll miss the blintzes, but not the bigotry.”
* * *
The addresson the paper matched the one in front of me. But I still looked back and forth a few times.
“Alkohole i Wina Swiata?” Aaron asked. “Wine and spirits store? This is where they wanted us to go? I mean, I’m all about a beer right now…”
I shrugged and headed in. What choice did we have? We still couldn’t turn on our phones until we were in Milan to double check anything.
Aaron jumped forward to follow me. “Doxx…”
“Let’s just hope this is more than booze.” I walked to the register where the woman sitting there reading what was probably a Hollywood rag looked up as we approached.
“Dzien dobry,” she smiled.
“Hi, we’re looking for Andrew?”
“Andrej?” She went from disinterested clerk to international spy in the blink of an eye. And I knew that look. “You’re Doxx and Ay-ay?” She wiggled her finger between us.
“Yes.”
She reached under the counter and I heard a button click, then the front door lock. She punched in a sequence of numbers on the register, and stood up. “Follow me.”
She walked to the back of the store, and into the employee area. Pulling open the door to the cooler cases for the beer, she walked in and waited for us to follow. Once the door was closed, she pulled a lever by the hinge of one door, then pressed her heel into what looked like a crack in the cement. Instead, a hatch popped up. She leaned down, opened the hatch and turned something inside, then pulled. A perfect square about 30 inches on each side came up out of the floor, one side remaining hinged.
“Go down. The tunnel only goes one way. I will let Andrej know you’re here, and he will let you in. Knock three times slowly to let him know you’re at the door.”
Aaron looked down. “It’s pitch black.”
“Wait at the bottom. Once I unlock the freezer door, the light will come on.”
We glanced at each other, and Aaron dropped onto the ladder fastened to the rock. Once I heard him on the ground, I swung down on to it myself.
“And Maddox?” the woman said. “The whole world knows about the kiss. It’s hot news. And an amazing gesture.” She glanced down. “If you were serious about it, good choice. He’s got a great ass.”
Laughing, I climbed down and waited for her to close the trap door. It was pitch black in the space once she did.
“Did she just say I have a great ass?” Aaron’s voice was disembodied in the dark.
“She wasn’t lying.”
A firm smack landed on mine and I nearly yelped. “What the… How did you find my ass in the dark?”
“I have ass-radar.” He squeezed the one cheek gently. “I like a nice firm set of buns.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him against my chest as the lights went on. “I like a nice soft set of lips,” I answered and stole a short, sweet, only partially lustful kiss.
“My balls are just going to explode like overripe kiwi if you don’t stop teasing me,” Aaron groaned.
