Strong Enough

I wasn’t sure what to say. “Um. I’m sorry?”

She sighed and shook her head. “Anyway, welcome to America. Cheers.” She held up her wine glass. “Hey, how do you say cheers in Russian?”

“Na zdorovie.”

She blinked. “Yeah, I’m not gonna attempt it.” But she clinked her glass against my bottle, and we both drank as Ellen appeared with a plate heaped with food—a thick, juicy hamburger and French fries.

My mouth watered. “That looks delicious.”

“It is,” she said confidently. “And I wasn’t able to find a charger yet, but I’m still looking.”

I picked up the notebook, sticking the photo of Liliya back inside the pages, so she could set the plate down in front of me. “Thank you so much. I can’t believe I—”

I stopped speaking and looked down by my feet, where I was reaching around for my bag but felt nothing.

It was gone.

“Again, I’m so sorry. Nothing like this has ever happened here before.” Ellen leaned over the bar and touched my arm. She was the bar owner and felt personally responsible for the theft—she’d apologized a thousand times, even breaking down in tears. “I feel sick about it.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told her. “It was very crowded. Even I didn’t see it happen, and it was right at my feet.”

The police officer who’d responded to her frantic call had asked everyone in the bar if they’d seen anyone leave with the bag, or anything suspicious at all, but no one had. He’d been nice, but hadn’t seemed too hopeful that my bag would be found.

At least I still had my passport. Thankfully, I’d stuck it in my coat pocket rather than back in my bag after showing it to Ellen. Replacing it in the U.S. would have been a nightmare. My biggest problem was that my wallet had been in my bag, so my cash and my bank card were gone. Now buying a hotel room for tonight wasn’t even an option. Neither was paying for my food and drink, not that I’d gotten to eat anything. And I was starving. But what could I do?

“God, you’re so nice. I feel like any other guy would be freaking out.”

“Wouldn’t do me much good.”

“But what will you do tonight?” Her brown eyes were wide and sad. “Where will you go?”

I shrugged. “I’ll find somewhere.”

Ellen threw her hands in the air, her voice rising in anguish. “How? You don’t even know anyone here! And someone took your wallet, so you have no money!”

“I’ll be okay. Really. I just have to charge my phone so I can find my friend.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt.

A determined look replaced Ellen’s tortured expression. “You know what? I’m going to help you. I believe in fate, and there must be a reason why you came in here tonight and all this happened.”

I shook my head. “I believe in fate too, but this was probably just random bad luck.”

She flattened both palms on the bar. “Nope. Nothing is random. Now it’s getting late, and I can see how exhausted you are, so I’m going to find you a place to stay and charge your phone tonight. And then tomorrow, I’ll help you find your friend.”

“That’s not necessary,” I protested, stifling a yawn.

“Maxim. Look at you. You’re about to fall over, you’re so tired. And my mind is made up.” Ellen nodded once, and her tone told me she wouldn’t be argued with. “I’ll be right back, I just have to make a phone call. You wait here.” She brought me another Corona before disappearing through the kitchen door, leaving me to wonder who on earth she was going to call.

Three

DEREK

Of course my sister needed a favor. Did she ever call me when she didn’t?

“I’m not fostering another rescue puppy, Ellen. I’m still trying to get the stains out from the last one I took in.”

“It’s not a puppy this time.” She lowered her voice. “It’s a person.”

“A person?” I propped myself up on one elbow. “What kind of person?”