I still don’t know what to feel or what to do about any of it.
The man who just left.
The life in my womb.
The future that awaits us all.
42
OLIVIA
I’m still staring at the ceiling trying to figure anything out when the door opens again. I don’t know how long I’ve been laying here, but I know instinctively it’s not Aleks.
Yulia walks over to the bed and sits down beside me. “You look pale.”
“So I’ve been told,” I mutter.
She surprises me by taking my hand. Only then do I realize that her expression is stark and urgent. Her eyes hold an edge of panic that I haven’t seen before.
I sit up immediately. “Yulia, what’s wrong?”
“I have a way out for you,” she whispers. She glances over her shoulder at the shadowy corner like someone might be lurking and listening.
“A what?”
“He’s not going to let you go, Olivia. I’m not sure if you know, but your brother’s no longer a part of the investigation into the Bratva.”
“Yeah, I know. He told me.”
“Then you know that there’s no reason for him to keep you here anymore. But I think he’s planning to do it all the same.”
I bite my lip, recalling Aleks’s words. “He… he seems to think I’m in danger.”
“In danger from whom?” she asks, pulling her eyebrows together.
“From the man who tried to frame him.”
Yulia’s expression twists. I can tell she doesn’t buy it, and her doubt makes me question his sincerity. I’d convinced myself it made sense when Aleks was sitting in front of me, but now I’m starting to wonder whether I was just being naive.
“He’s just trying to control me, isn’t he?” I ask.
“If you don’t want to do this—”
“No,” I say, clinging to her hand. “No, I do. If you have a way out, I’ll take it.”
She nods, but her face is still somber. It speaks to the kind of danger we’ll be in if we’re caught.
“Are you sure you can do this?” I ask.
“Aleks just stepped out with a contingent of men,” Yulia informs me. “There are guards on duty, but I know their movements. I’m the one who arranged their shifts. I can have you out of here in the next ten minutes.”
Ten minutes?
Is that all that remains between me and freedom?
After three months under lock and key, I didn’t think it would be over so soon.
I swallow my nerves and give her a curt nod. “Let’s go.”
As I get to my feet, I have to push back another wave of nausea. My head feels like it’s about to burst. My heart does, too. I expect it’s the adrenaline of escape.
But the sadness that weighs me down like an anchor? That’s something else entirely. It’s a deep sense of loss that I can’t quite justify.
And since I can’t explain it, I ignore it and follow Yulia out the door with nothing but the clothes on my back.
We move through the house quickly and quietly. Amazingly, we don’t run into a soul.
I haven’t been out in the front of the house since I first arrived here. I barely recognize the facade.
“There’s a car waiting for you just outside the gates,” Yulia tells me. “Keep to the far left of the road, near the trees. The cameras won’t pick you up there. I’ve made sure to angle them just right.”
“A car?”
“There’s a driver waiting for you. Ask him to take you to the city. Then you can contact your family.”
“Who does he work for?” I ask. “What if he reports back to Aleks?”
“He won’t,” she says confidently. “He works for me. Now, go! There’s a new shift starting in four minutes and those men will pass right through here.”
I grab her elbow before she can turn away. “What if he finds out you helped me?”
“I can handle myself.”
“Yulia!”
She takes up both of my hands and pulls me toward her in a motherly embrace. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner,” she whispers in my ear. “Better late than never, though, right?”
I give her a sad smile as tears stud my eyes. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Then don’t thank me. Just run.”
I nod quickly and give her one last parting smile. Then I turn and sprint towards the gates.
I keep to the far left just like she instructed me to, through the woods and a gap in the gates. And the car’s waiting for me, just like she said it would be. I get in the back seat.
“Where to?” he asks curtly.
“The city. Downtown.”
He’s got a bad combover and the car reeks of cigarettes. He reminds me of all the cabbies in New York City, which makes me feel more comfortable. Like all this might truly be happening.
I’m going home.
*
A half-hour passes in silence. It gives me too much time to think.
What will Aleks do when he finds me gone?
What will he do to Yulia if he finds out she helped me?
Will he come after me? And if he does, why, when, how?
“Where exactly do you want me to drop you off?” the driver asks, interrupting my thoughts.
I look up and realize we’re in the business district. Hip shops and restaurants with lofts and apartments above. People mill around on the sidewalk, enjoying their normal lives. It’s a bizarre sight. Don’t they know what’s happening just out of sight? Don’t they know what I’ve been through?
“Right here,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
I’m about to get out of the car when he hands me an envelope.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Not my place to know or care. Madam Yulia told me to give it to you.”
I open the envelope and see a flash of green. Not only has she rescued me, she’s also left me money. Honestly, I don’t know why I ever doubted the woman.
She’s a freaking saint.
“Will you thank her for me?”
He looks annoyed by the request. “That’s not my place, either.”
I swallow back my final words and get out of the car. I take it there won’t be a warm goodbye with this guy. Sure enough, as soon as the door is shut behind me, he’s taking off like a rocket down the road. He turns the corner and disappears from my life forever.
I walk down the street, past cafes and clothing stores. Past dozens and hundreds and thousands of people who do not give a flying fuck about who I am or what purpose I might be able to serve for them.
The freedom is mind-boggling.
I end up in a little restaurant with fairy lights strung across the ceiling. The bartender is busy cleaning out his glasses for the night shift.
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“Yeah?”
“Is there a phone I can use?” I ask. “I can pay for the call.”
He gives me an amused glance and hands me his cell phone. “Here you go. No need to pay.”
I return a grateful smile and quickly dial in Rob’s number. I get three unanswered rings, then the call drops.
Cursing under my breath, I try him again. I don’t want to call Mia. She’ll panic, and what I need right now is someone rational.