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Valeri settles down in a chair farthest from the bed as I pull the curtain shut between us.
“When I first met you, I wondered what the appeal was,” he states casually behind the curtain. “Why a man like Andrei Barinov would choose you. But I get it now. Talia is only loyal to herself.”
“She wouldn’t do what I’m doing?” I ask. “Not even for a man as charming as you?”
Valeri laughs with sincerity. “For money? Yes. For love? No.”
I take a deep breath. “How has she treated my sister?”
He pauses to think about it, but I feel no foreboding. “Better than most. Better than you. The girl never saw the basement. Never saw the things you saw.”
I sigh with relief as I put on my shoes. The one thing I dreaded more than losing Emma was knowing that she’d been damaged by something she might see. I’ll never forget what I saw in that basement, and it will always be in my nightmares.
I dig for information. “Does my cousin know Talia?”
Valeri pulls back the curtain and his charm has disappeared. “I’m here to get you. Not to answer your questions.”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t confused you for a friend.”
I can hear the smile creeping into his voice behind the curtain. “I suggest we get moving before your husband shows up with his itchy trigger finger.”
I look down quickly and gather myself before I pull the curtain open. If Andrei appears before we leave, he will stop me. And I shudder to think how he’ll react if he sees Valeri.
Valeri grabs my arm as we walk down the hallway. “They won’t notice a concerned friend leaving with a woman who’s been hurt by her monster of a husband,” he explains. “I was very persuasive with the front desk.”
I don’t dare look over at the nurses’ station as we pass. The few nurses behind the desk are still absorbed in their paperwork. The automatic doors at the end of the hallway open, and in three minutes, we’re out of the lobby.
Once again, I walk calmly out of the hospital at the behest of my kidnapper.
I scowl at Valeri when I see the blue Lamborghini parked at the edge of the hospital parking lot, sticking out like a hungry wolf in a herd of scared shitless sheep.
“You’re making this very easy,” I say to him.
“Don’t worry, Paige Geraldovna.” He smirks. “We have a head start.”
Chapter 3
Andrei
I force myself to walk through the front door of my house, wishing I wasn’t alone. Along the walls, my shadow follows me like an intruder tricking me into thinking someone else is here.
The marble floor echoes under my feet. I stop moving and listen for the noise I thought I heard. Emptiness weighs down on me until paranoia lifts the hairs on the back of my neck. Instinctively, I turn toward the stairs, half expecting to see my mother coming down them in her usual silent way.
I close my eyes, wishing to shout their names to bring them all back.
I didn’t want to return to the house without Paige. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and hurry back to her side. Every room feels colder and darker without her. A physical reminder of the emptiness I feel and the all-consuming regret. Selfishly, I want Paige with me so she can drive away the ghosts.
But she wanted me to leave her alone in the hospital. I could tell. She just wouldn’t say it.
Besides, I had to leave for her sake.
I step inside my office and change into a T-shirt and jeans so I can blend in. The gravel outside crunches, and Dmitri is waiting outside in the Rover. It’s after 3:00 a.m. I close the front door behind me and order the past to stay out of my mind.
“Got a guy who’s willing to talk. Name’s Kelsey Harper,” says Dmitri as he enters the highway. “We’ll be in Croton-on-the-Hudson in forty minutes. He works for the Novikovs and claims to have information.”
“I doubt it,” I reply. “But if he tries anything …”
“He won’t live to squeal,” replies Dmitri. He switches on the radio, eager to fill the car with noise. Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about what happened last night either.
