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I rush inside, doing my best to keep pace with the crowd. I need to blend in. Moving too quickly might give away my position. By the sounds of it, there’s a train coming. It doesn’t even matter where I go or what station it’ll take me to. If I can just get on…
There’s no time to buy myself a ticket. I squeeze through the rotating stall, pressing myself against a businessman who just fed his ticket through. He guffaws at me, but I don’t have the time to care. He can judge me all he wants. Lives are on the line.
“Stop that woman!”
My heart clenches. The train is just pulling up to the platform. There are too many people to push through. I’m drowning on dry land, unable to move forward. My lungs burn. Everything’s too loud and too hot and too in my face.
“Come on, come on, comeon,” I hiss under my breath.
The train arrives and the doors slide open. A flood of commuters exit the train, only adding to the mayhem. I feel like I’m going to be swept away, but I push through, forcing my way onto the car. My pursuers aren’t so lucky. They’re big, bulky men, so they have a harder time slipping past everyone. Just when I think they’re about to make it onto the train with me, the doors slide closed.
With a shaking hand I pull out my phone and text Mikhail.
I’ve got Simon! We’re out and clear!
I slump down into the nearest seat and let my head fall back, panting hard. There are a couple of concerned passengers staring at me, but they otherwise mind their business. The train surges forward and picks up speed, leaving my pursuers stuck on the platform.
I breathe a huge sigh of relief, pressing a flurry of kisses to the top of Simon’s head.
We’re safe.
We’re free.
Now we have to make our way back to Dimitri. I just hope he’s okay.
Chapter 42
Dimitri
The address Levitsky gave me leads me to the middle of nowhere, nothing but big open fields of tall wheat on either side of us. The nearest buildings are the farmhouses several hundred yards away. My car is parked on the side of the dirt road, hazard lights blinking.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Levitsky chose this particular location for a reason. Everything is a strategy to him, a tactical play. The landscape here is flat and relatively free of obstructions, which means I can see people coming from a mile away. He probably had that in mind when I agreed to meet with him. Levitsky’s too careful to walk into an ambush. Even if Mikhail did manage to get a hold of the other Bratvas, they wouldn’t be able to get to me before Levitsky realized it was all a trap.
I clench my jaw, only to open it a few seconds later to pop the joint. When this is all over, I’m going to have to speak to a dentist. I can’t imagine all this stress being particularly good on my poor teeth. If things keep up, I’m going to grind my molars into pulp.
I haven’t heard from Mikhail yet. Nor do I have any idea if Natalya is okay. The signal out here is spotty at best—yet another reason Levitsky made me come here. There’s no way I can call for reinforcements if my phone doesn’t have any signal.
I see the car approaching from almost a mile away. No, not just one car. A whole damn fleet of armored SUVs. They roll up and park several feet away, their blinding headlights pointed directly at me. I’m outnumbered. One by one, Levitsky and his men get out of their vehicles and step forward.
They’re heavily armed. Rifles and pistols. Some of them even have knives strapped to their belts. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated. I’m man enough to know when I’m no match, but I’m without hope. The fact that Levitsky is here means he hasn’t been tipped off about his number two’s disappearance yet, nor Mikhail and Natalya’s rescue attempt. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if they’ve pulled it off, but I can pray.
I have to do what I do best and keep the bastard talking.
Getting to see Levitsky up close and personal for the first time is strange. He’s been tormenting my family and me for months but laying my eyes on him instead of a blurry surveillance video makes him feel more real. My imagination has been running rampant, building him up as some impossible and terrifying monster. Meeting him in the flesh reminds me that he’s just a man.
And all men have weaknesses. If you look hard enough, each and every one of us has a pressure point. Mine is my love for my family. I’d do anything for them. I’d die for them. But Levitsky?
Whether he knows it or not, his hubris will do him in.
“You know, I think a small part of me admires you,” I say, speaking loud and clear so my voice carries over the distance.
Levitsky chuckles. “Is that so?”
“Oh, definitely. You’ve got a great comeback story. They make movies about that shit.”
“I’ve never been one for the movies,” he admits, though he doesn’t seem to be in a particular rush to kill me just yet. He’s taking his sweet time because he thinks he’s already won. Leave it to a psychopath like him to play with his prey before getting the job done.
“I have to ask, though,” I say, “was it all worth it?”
