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The driver grumbles something about going deaf in his right ear and pulls over.
“Is there any chance you’ll wait here for me?” I ask.
The man rolls his eyes. “Give me a twenty and see if you’re lucky.”
I pay him his fare and nothing else. Before I’ve even shut the door, he’s pulling away from the curb.
“Asshole,” I mumble.
Alone on the sidewalk, I feel infinitely more vulnerable. With every step towards the building Adrik disappeared into, I feel doubts creeping in.
What am I doing here? I left my daughter in the company of strangers just to follow a man who made it very, very clear he doesn’t want to be followed.
But he won’t show me what’s inside his head. Won’t let me into his heart. I have to know what’s coming for us so that I can protect myself. So that I can protect my daughter.
And perhaps above all, so that I can protect Adrik from himself.
The building he walked into is nicer than some of the others, but still clearly abandoned. My guess is it was one of the last in the area to be deserted. A sign hanging in what remains of the front window lists the hours of operation, which don’t really seem particularly relevant anymore. The door is unlocked and half-broken, leaning askew from the hinges. As quietly as I can, I pull it open and step inside.
The ground is littered with glass shards. I tiptoe around them and into the guts of the building. The foyer is a large square with an empty elevator shaft in front of me and a long hallway running perpendicular. I creep forward to peek around the hallway, and then I hear—
“Hello?” It’s Adrik’s voice, deep and booming.
He’s calling down the hallway in my direction, and my heart jumps into my throat.
Shit, shit, shit. He heard me and now I’ve ruined everything and I’m never going to find out what he was doing here and—
“I’m here,” another male voice calls back.
My panicked thoughts freeze. I smash myself against the wall, trying to decide where the voice came from. And whose it is.
Does the man sound like Yasha? I don't think so, but my heart is thudding so loudly I can’t be sure.
“Why are you hiding?” Adrik asks. He almost sounds amused.
Again, I think he’s talking to me before the other man responds.
“Maybe you have paid security who can protect you, but I don’t.” I’m sure now it isn’t Yasha. But who, then? “And this is some highly sought-after shit. I’m breaking, like… every rule by being here.”
“If I give you the money, will you shut up and hand it over?” Adrik growls.
Hand what over? I’m desperate to know what they are talking about. I want to see what’s going on, not just listen from behind a wall. But it sounds like they’re standing in the hallway just a few feet away. I’d be seen if I so much as peek.
I hear a bag crinkle. The shuffle of something exchanging hands.
“I’m not sure how much more I can get you,” the man says.
“You’ll get as much as I need.”
“It’s not like this is over-the-counter,” the man argues. “Do you know what I have to do to get my hands on it without getting caught? What they’ll do to me if they find out I took it?”
“It’s nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if you don’t,” Adrik snaps.
“Hey, man. Take it easy. I’m just saying—”
“You’re saying you’re not going to do what I’m paying you for,” Adrik says. “That’s stealing, and I do not tolerate thieves. I pay you well for your risk. If you don’t like that—well, I’m sure there are other ways I could change your mind.”
The man sighs. “You have my number. Call when you need more. But if you could ration it a bit… give me more time to—”
“Two weeks,” Adrik snaps. “Just like always.”
I can feel the tension crackling between the two men.
Then I hear footsteps. For a second I panic, thinking they’re moving towards me. But then I realize they’re growing quieter. I hear a door close at the end of the hall… and then nothing…
I breathe quietly, counting out seconds as I wait.
There’s no sound. No movement.
I’m alone. I’m sure of it.
Slowly, I step away from the wall and poke my head around the long hallway.
And find Adrik’s blue eyes staring back at me.
I scream at the top of my lungs. I scream so loudly that I scare myself, and I jump again from the sound reverberating off the dusty walls.
Adrik grabs me and pulls me into the hallway.
“Next time, drop flyers from the sky,” he barks. His fingers are digging into my arm as he yanks me towards the doors. “‘I’m a woman, scared and alone. Come get me.’ Oh, for fuck’s sake, stop screaming.”
My heart is finally returning to something like a normal rhythm. I struggle against Adrik’s hold. “Let me go!”
He refuses, dragging me towards the door. So, acting on pure animal instinct, I kick him.
The second my foot connects with the back of his knee, Adrik drops my arm and spins around. His blue eyes are a stormy gray today, making the expression on his face even more ominous. He steps forward, towering over me, forcing me to lean my head back so I can see him.
“We’re leaving,” he says.
I back away, shaking my head. “No! Not until you tell me what is—”
“I don’t owe you a single fucking word of explanation.”
“The hell you don’t!”
“You were supposed to stay at the house,” he seethes, closing the distance between us again. But this time, there’s nowhere for me to go. I squirm against the wall, and Adrik presses himself to me. “You didn’t listen.”
“Because you lied to me!”
“I didn’t even tell you where I was going.”
“Omission is a lie. Especially when you’re…” I look at what he’s holding for the first time. It’s a brown bag, the top rolled down into a kind of handle. Adrik’s knuckles are white around it. “You came here for drugs?”
Adrik rolls his eyes like I’m some child throwing a fit. I kick him again. He doesn’t even flinch. What is he, the titanium man?
“If you think I’m letting you be near Isabella while you’re high, you’re insane,” I say. “I’m not having her around any of that stuff. I don’t care if we have to leave.”
“You think I’ll let you go that easily?” he asks. “You really think you can run from me?”
“I followed you here, didn’t I?”
His dark brow arches in amusement, but it doesn’t make me feel better. A chill settles in my bones.
“And I knew you were behind me the entire time.” At my obvious shock, his smile grows. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice a cab following me all the way across town? I saw you crossing the lobby before I even left the apartment building.”
My face flushes, embarrassment coursing through me. Did I really think I could fool Adrik Tasarov? For a second… yeah, I did.
“Then why didn’t you stop me if I was so obvious?”
“Because I wanted to see how far you would take this. I wanted to know what you were so suspicious of. And I didn’t think you’d tell me if I asked.”
“I wouldn’t have told you anything because you’re clearly a liar.” I swipe at the brown bag, but Adrik dangles it out of my reach. “You would have just lied to me if I’d asked directly. I had to follow you because you are keeping things from me.”
“Oh, am I?” Adrik shakes his head. “No. You’re the one holding back from me.”
“What do you—”
