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That was probably foolish, but my heart and my mission have intertwined. I’ll lose my job for this. Lilia looks horrified. I can’t imagine which part of this situation is worse for her. I make a deliberate show of not having my finger on the trigger, hold my gun to the side, then lowering it to the ground. This is going to piss off my fellow agents even more. I step closer to the Soloniks.
The agents won’t be able to take a shot, or it will be much more difficult. I stand the risk of having a Solonik grab me. It’s a risk I’m going to take—anything that gets Lilia released, but the Soloniks don’t move. Erik follows my lead, his gun on the concrete as he also steps forward. It’s enough distraction that the Soloniks are staring at us, questioning what the hell we’re doing.
We have agents closing in from inside of the airport. With both of my hands free and Erik in the same position, I give the slightest nod. The agents rush from behind while Erik and I lunge to save Lilia. We whisk her behind one of the Solonik vehicles while the agents corral the six men.
We don’t need to get them on kidnapping, our girl already gave us plenty of other details. But now that she’s back where she belongs, in our arms, we’re not able to take our hands and our lips off of her, not even when our boss arrives, and boy, is he pissed.
Nineteen
Lilia
Fearandadrenalinegiveway to protection and safety as Erik and Nikolai embrace me. I’m lost between them. I don’t even know who I’m facing. We’re a tangle of hugs and kisses. Everything I had in the cabin is in full daylight.
But a deep voice booms beside us. “What the hell is going on?”
Nikolai and Erik relax their touch and pull their lips away from me, while staying close, perhaps because I’m gripping Nikolai by the shirt and Erik by the arm. They’re the first things I could grab on either side.
The man, who I’m presuming is their boss, lowers his eyes to my hands, clearly irritated by the contact.
Erik says, “We rescued Lilia from the Soloniks. They were kidnapping her.”
I presume this boss man knows who I am, but I fill in.
“I’m Lilia Solonik. My dad, Fyodor, sent his thugs after me. They were forcing me to—”
Boss man waves his hand dismissively. “I know who you are and whoyour familyis.”
The disdain in his voice when he says the words “your family” make it clear the level of disgust he has for the criminal components of my life. Surely he knows not all of us are evil.
He continues, “I mean this.” He motions to our contact. “Step away from the witness.” His eyes charge back up, penetrating Nikolai first and then Erik.
Nikolai’s already saying, “No.”
Boss man retorts, “What?”
“I can’t step away from her.”
“We have policies. This is unacceptable. These policies are in place for a reason, the least of which is witness tampering.”
Witness tampering…the hugs, the kisses, does he know the rest?
Nikolai fidgets and pulls his badge out of his pocket, extending it toward the boss man. “I resign.”
Erik can’t get his out because I’m glued to his arm, but he says, “We crossed a line. Reprimand us, fire us, whatever you have to do. I’ll resign too if that’s what it takes to spend the rest of my life with Lilia.”
I gawk up at him.
“Please, Lilia, don’t turn us away.”
I haven’t had a chance to tell them anything. My head is swirling. I was going to run away and hide, but changed my mind. I look up from one man to the next and they close themselves around me, blocking their boss from view.
I say, “I was on my way back to you. I bought a ticket so I could disappear, but standing in the security screening line, inching toward my freedom, I didn’t feel free. I felt like I would be trapped forever not being true to myself. I truly love you two, and maybe I’m young and naive for saying that, but I have to say it because it’s what I feel. I couldn’t leave you. Is there any way this can work?”
We’ve already watched the agents escort the Soloniks away, so there’s no risk that they are seeing what’s going on, but they know I was up to something and they’re not going to stop until they get me.
Nikolai steps to the side and dead-stares the boss man.
“What will it take to get her in witness protection?”
