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Shit.
What now?
I pinch my lips together as he crosses to his desk and resumes his place behind it.
“You’re not going alone. I’ll send some of my men with you,” he says.
Double shit!
I can’t have a bunch of thugs looking over my shoulder while I’m having a conversation with my mother whom I haven’t seen in twenty years! I must find a way out of this but I know this is the best Lev will offer. And now he is staring at me in a way that makes me want to fidget.
“I have a condition too,” I tell him, and he grins at me.
Jerk. I’m glad that he finds me amusing.
“Tell me,” he says.
“Your men will leave after they drop me off. I only need an hour. They can return to pick me up,” I tell him.
“Why?” Lev asks. His displeasure is evident, but I know it is this or nothing.
“I’d feel more comfortable that way,” I tell him.
He pretends to think about this for a while before he finally nods. I don’t know I’m holding my breath until I release it.
“Thank you,” I say.
Lev watches me as I make my way to the door. I bolt out and leave the office before he can call me back to tell me he’s changed his mind. My legs are shaky as I walk quickly to my bedroom, but I did it. I sag against the door, and as soon as I’m inside, my last strength deserts me. Jesus, why did convincing him feels like such a heroic effort?
My limbs feel limp, and my mind is unsettled. Sensory overload. Emotional overload. I’m in over my head.
I’m still trying to get my thoughts together when my phone beeps. I rush toward the dresser where I placed it. I’m not surprised to see it’s a message from my father. It’s the address I’ve been waiting for.
Holy shit.
Am I doing the right thing?
The feeling of uncertainty that fills me about this meeting still lingers. I try to imagine how things will unfold. There is no doubt that it will be awkward. This is the woman who brought me into this world and yet I doubt I’ll recognize her. And now, I have less than an hour to prepare. I try to still my racing mind as I head to the bathroom.
A short shower doesn’t leave me more settled. I’m filled with mixed feelings as I prepare for the meeting. When I leave my room some minutes later, my mind is still clouded with racing thoughts.
There’s no sign of Lev when I reach the entrance to the mansion, although there’s a burly man in a dark suit waiting. He opens the door silently and stands aside as I head to the waiting limo. Another dark-suited man opens the door for me, and as the car pulls off, I notice a black SUV glide up behind us.
Fuck.
Why are there so many of them?
I leave Lev’s estate with the men he has assigned to me, followed by a freaking convoy of black cars. Nervousness fills me during the drive to the address I’ve been given and the closer we get, the harder it feels to keep calm.
Come on Aurora, you can do this.
She’s probably nervous too.
The car stops in front of an apartment and I walk up to the front door then pretend to ring the doorbell as the car leaves. As soon as it’s out of sight, I dash away and half jog to a building two streets away. It’s my actual destination, and the place where I’m about to see my mother for the first time in over twenty years.
I glance around at the street, and for a moment, I wonder if she has been staying here all along. I don’t want to imagine it; that she could have been so close, and yet never reached out to me.
I walk toward the entrance of the condo, and try to knock, but I hesitate. The temptation to leave is strong.
