When I exit the library after tucking my books into my bag, I realize that I’m only three blocks away from Boston Public Garden. It’s a nice day, so I grab a cup of coffee from a street vendor and walk towards the park.
Public Garden is a beautiful place in the spring. The trees are starting to bud with new leaves, and flowers are starting to bloom. Birds have returned to the area, and I’m excited to see the ducks when they make it back to Boston. They already left for the season when I first moved here, so this will be my first spring to be able to enjoy them.
I find myself an empty bench along one of the park’s paths, and sit down to just enjoy the scenery while drinking my coffee.
The Public Garden is peaceful. It’s a place for fun, but also for reflection, and I’m finding myself being very reflective today.
Why would Ivan spend three days in my apartment taking care of me?
Why would Ivan pay for Gran’s final arrangements?
Why am I thinking so much about Ivan?
Does Ivan think of me, too?
I chuckle to myself when I think of what Gran would probably say about all of this. She’d sit here and tell me that people come into our lives when we least expect it, but also when we need them the most. She’d tell me the story of how she met Grandad while taking a walk in Public Garden, and thought he was the handsomest man she’d ever met. He walked her home to make sure she got there safely, and six weeks later, they married. Fifty-five years later, Grandad passed away, and I don’t think Gran ever recovered.
I pull out one of my library books and decide to read a chapter or two. I’m enjoying the outdoors on this spring day, and am in no hurry to return to my apartment. I’ve also got nowhere else to be today, as Boris gave me another week off with pay.
Before I know it, another hour has passed and I hear my stomach growling. I put my book back into my bag and throw my empty coffee cup into a nearby trash can. A small breeze kicks up, and suddenly I get feeling that I’m being watched.
It better not be Yuri. I told him I didn’t want someone watching me, and I meant it. I start walking towards the nearest bus station on Boylston Street and put a earbud in so I can listen to music. When I’m out walking like this, I only like to put one earbud in so I’m still able to hear what’s going on around me.
I can’t seem to shake the feeling of being watched and followed. I look around the area, but can’t see anything that seems suspicious. I’m almost to the bus stop when I see the next bus coming up Boylston Street.
Before I can blink, two men come up beside me and grab my arms. I try to resist and fight them off, but it’s no use.
“Make a scene, and this will not end well for you,” one of the men hisses me.
“Who are you?” I ask, panic evident in my voice.
“Nobody you need to know,” the other man growled. I try to twist to look at his face, but I’m unable to due to the second man pressing a concealed weapon into my back.
Very quickly, a black SUV pulls up to the sidewalk, and the backdoor opens. Suddenly, I’m shoved inside and onto the back seat. I land a little hard on the seat while crashing head first into the arm of a third man sitting on the far side of the car. He looks at me like I’m a bug he’d squash under his boot.
Someone gets in behind me and I’m now wedged between these two men who take up most of the room in the backseat with just their muscled upper bodies.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask as terror starts to replace the panic I was just feeling.
“Your presence is requested elsewhere,” said a man in the front seat.
“Where?” I ask again.
“If you’re lucky, you’ll find out when we get there,”
“What is that supposed to mean?” My question goes unanswered, but I keep repeating it anyway with no response.
A million thoughts start running through my head, and they do nothing to help me stay calm. Maybe Ivan was right. Maybe somebody really is after me.
Ivan is on my mind as I’m driven further out of Boston, with no knowledge of where I’ll end up or what will happen when I get there.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IVAN
THE LAST THREE days have been filled with unexpected things. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t developing full-on feelings for Emma.
When I went over to her apartment on that first day, my intention was just to make sure that she was okay. I know the pain that comes with losing someone you love that you are close to, and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone.
