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As I was zipping my bag closed, Adrik came to my bedroom. His genuine concern showing on his face. “You okay, solnishko?” He closed the distance between us, and I felt myself relax when his arms wrapped around me once again.
I sighed, “Yeah, I think so. It’s just for a few days, right?”
“I hope.” He put his hands on either side of my face and looked deeply in my eyes. “I want to keep you safe. I’m only taking you away from here to keep you safe.” He noticed the tears forming in my eyes. “Shh. It will be okay. I promise,” he gently pressed his lips to mine.
We both heard a knock on my open bedroom door. Viktor, taking up the entire doorway, said urgently, “Boss, we must go. Now.”
Without any hesitation, he grabbed my hand and started walking toward the door. “Grab her bag.” His grip on my hand was tight, his shoulders visibly tense. When we got to the kitchen, I noticed they had closed all my blinds and Misha already had his gun drawn. “How close?” Adrik asked.
“Five miles out, but our spotter said four vehicles. We don’t know how many routes they’re taking.” Misha handed Adrik two bulletproof vests. Adrik turned to me and said, “Arms up. I need to put this on you.” I raised my arms, as he slid the vest over my head and arms. He reached back and swept my hair back out of the vest. He secured the sides of the vest and kissed my forehead before putting his own vest on.
Adrik nodded and went to the door of my apartment. When he opened the door, Andrei was there with a rifle in his hands and a tactical vest on, looking like he was ready to kill any and everyone that got in his way. My eyes went wide, taking in the change from happy giant Andrei to GI Andrei. “Shit just got real, ya’ll,” I said to nobody in particular. Adrik didn’t respond, he simply pulled me against his side, wrapping his arm tightly around my body. “We’re getting out of here, but you keep your head down, and no matter what, you stay by my side.”
I nodded.
“Time?” Adrik asked as he started down the stairs, following Misha. Viktor was behind us, while Andrei covered the parking lot from the landing.
“Three minutes,” Misha replied.
We rushed to the waiting vehicles. Adrik opened the back door of the second one, hurrying me inside. I jumped in, sliding over to make room for him. Viktor threw my bag in the first vehicle and jumped in the front seat. Ivan was driving the vehicle we were in. Stephen driving the other. Misha was in the back seat of the first vehicle and just as I was about to inquire about Andrei, he jumped in the front seat of our vehicle.
The SUVs tore out of the parking lot and raced down the back alley toward the main road. Adrik pulled me close beside him, helping me to stay steady on the sharp turns. We were so close to the first vehicle that I thought for sure we were going to hit them, but whatever move the first vehicle made, Ivan countered it perfectly. He always stayed a consistent distance from the vehicle, no matter what. If I wasn’t scared out of my mind, I might be impressed.
We had made it two to three streets over from my apartment, weaving through the city to make it to the freeway when two of the other SUVs we were running from showed up in traffic behind us. Ivan sped up and passed Stephen, putting their vehicle between us and the two SUVs weaving through traffic to get closer. I turned around to look at how close the other vehicles were to them. There were only a few cars in between them now. Their vehicle started to slow, and I saw Viktor lean out of the window, gun pointing behind their vehicle. I heard two shots and the first SUV veered off the street, plowing into parked cars. The second SUV didn’t stop, just replaced the first vehicle that had just crashed.
We were suddenly turning sharply, and I grabbed onto Adrik to keep from being thrown across the back seat. We were speeding through the side streets, going the wrong way down one-way streets. Adrik smiled gently at me. “Almost there, solnishko. It will be fine.”
I stared at him in amazement. We were in the middle of a high-speed pursuit. Gunfire was popping off behind us and he was as calm as could be. And smiling on top of it all? This man was not normal.
Another sharp turn threw me into him this time. His arms wrapped around me, holding me steady. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” I responded by grabbing his arms that were wrapped around me and holding tightly. “Shh…” he quietly cooed into my hair. “It will be over soon.”
There was a loud explosion behind us. I sat up abruptly and looked behind us, worried sick that I would see Viktor, Misha, and Stephen’s vehicle flying through the air. Instead, they were once again right behind us, but the back hatch was open. I let out the breath I had unknowingly been holding and turned forward in my seat once more.
“See? I told you. We’ll be fine,” Adrik said as he grabbed my hand and held it in his.
I looked up at him, still somewhat wide-eyed, as I was still amazed that he could remain so calm in this situation. The vehicle veered onto the freeway, Ivan increasing his speed even more. I had no doubt that Stephen was once again inches away from the back of our vehicle.
Andrei radioed Misha, “The other two?”
Misha responded, “They went to the apartment. There’s no way they’ll catch up to us now.”
Andrei turned in his seat, to look at Adrik. “We’re fifteen minutes out, sir. It looks to be clear now.”
Adrik nodded. I felt his body relax slightly as Andrei turned forward in his seat. I squeezed his hand, resting my head against his shoulder.
Those fifteen minutes seemed to go by quickly. Before I knew it, we were pulling up in front of giant iron gates. The gates swung open, closing after the SUV behind us. We drove down the long driveway and pulled in front of the house. The grounds were immaculately kept, with giant oak trees along the driveway. Their branches making a canopy for the driveway.
Once the vehicles stopped, we all got out. I ran to Viktor and threw my hands around his neck, completely catching him off guard. He just stood frozen for a moment, but eventually returned the hug, with his giant arms wrapping around me. His giant frame making me feel like a midget. “I was so worried,” I whispered to him.
He let out a chuckle. He stepped back and looked at me, a glint in his eye, “It’s going to take a lot more than that to keep me down.” I smiled at him, then went to Misha and Stephen and hugged them both. “Thank you.” Neither knew what to say, they just smiled sheepishly at me.
I walked back toward Adrik and Andrei who were watching the exchange, amusement evident on their faces. As I got closer, Andrei opened his arms and said, “Do I get one too?” I giggled and jumped into his arms. He picked me up and swung me around as I squealed. He set me down, laughing. “I could get used to this kind of appreciation.”
Ivan walked around the front of the vehicle to stand behind Andrei. I walked to him and extended my hand to him. “You don’t strike me as the hugging type,” I said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a bear hug. “Can you teach me how to drive like that?” I whispered to him.
He laughed for the second time since I met him. “Sure,” was all he said as he let me go. I grinned at him and walked back to Adrik. He opened his arms for me, and I readily wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest. “I saved the best for last,” I said quietly so that only he could hear me. His arms tightened around me.
Chapter Nine
