“I’ve never muttered the word wife to any woman in my life.” He stood, yanked his jeans up, and walked over to me.
I rose. “You have to go?”
He grabbed and pulled me against him. “What about that idea?”
“What idea, Misha?”
“Would you be my wife?”
I widened my eyes. “That was. . .I was just joking.”
“I wasn’t.” He studied me.
“Misha, I can’t answer all of that right now.”
“You will when we have time.” He kissed me for several seconds and then let me go. “I’ll be back in a few days.”
I don’t want you to go.
My stomach knotted.
Please, stay safe.
“I have to change and handle the Xecutioners before I get on the plane to Paris.” He rushed off to the closet. “When I get on the plane, I’ll call you.”
I fisted my hands. So many questions came to my head, but I knew that he didn’t have time to answer me. My body shook in fear. “Please be careful, Misha.”
He stopped looking in his closet and turned to me. “I will, Ava. And you’ll be the reason. I have to get back to you.”
“You must.”
“Nothing else is on my mind.” He returned to the closet. “And you stay down here.”
“Okay. I’ll cancel the fashion show, if necessary.”
“We’ll see. I have a plan. If it works, then you can go above ground whether I’m here or not.”
Stunned, I watched him. “Okay.”
“Don’t worry.” He grabbed a suit, walked my way, and kissed me. “I love you, Ava.”
“I love you too, Misha.”
He headed toward the bathroom, stopped at the chessboards, picked up the unicorn, and left.
Please, God. Protect Misha.Chapter 23
Misha
With over fifty men, I stood in front of the Alligator’s Den. I knew the place well. It was a hotel for visiting riff-raff on the outskirts of St Petersburg. No one with a sane mind walked into the place and decided to stay. A massive stuffed alligator hung above the door.
Maxwell got to my side. “This is where the Xecutioners decided to stay?”
“Not a bad idea.” Naveen stepped to my other side. “We would have immediately known their location, if they stayed in the city, especially in a nice hotel.”
Maxwell turned my way. “What’s the plan?”
I pulled out the unicorn chess piece. “I give them this.”
“A fucking toy?” Maxwell took out his guns. “I see you’re trying to get us killed.”
“Put the guns away.” I placed the unicorn in my pocket. “It’s not a toy. It’s a chess piece. And I won’t be giving them the actual piece. It’s a metaphor.”
“A metaphor?” Naveen snorted, “Maxwell is right. You will get us killed.”
I took the small device out of my other pocket. “Not exactly a metaphor, but something much better.”
Naveen eyed it. “What’s on it?”
“An unexpected move.”
I gestured for Anatoly to open the door. He did. I stepped through.
Naveen walked on my side. “And the move is the unicorn?”
“No.” I stepped inside the shabby hotel. “The Xecutioners are the unicorn.”
“And why do we need a unicorn again?” Maxwell asked.
“It’s a damn good piece on a chessboard.” I checked the front desk.
Usually, Alligator sat behind it with his legs on the desk. Granted it had been many years since I’d paid him a visit. Now one of the Xecutioners lounged there. It was the one with the black hat. Currently, he was sleeping in the chair. Snores rose from him. His legs leaned on the desk. His hat covered half of his face.
“Wake him up.” I pointed to Anatoly.
Anatoly walked over and reached out to grab the hat. Instead, the Xecutioner grabbed his hand and yanked it awkwardly back. It snapped. Anatoly howled. Everything happened in seconds after that. Mr. Hat jumped out of his chair, punched Anatoly in the nose, and shoved the big guy in front of him.
My men pointed their guns, but couldn’t get a good target as Mr. Hat hid behind a howling Anatoly.
“Hold on!” I roared. “We came here to talk.”
I didn’t think Mr. Hat understood English. He slung Anatoly into my other guards, jumped away, and raced off. I knew the Alligator’s Den had a massive full-service kitchen, providing a good number of places to hide and sharpened knives to use.
“Damn it!” Taking out my gun, I chased after him. “Catch him, but don’t kill him.”
Naveen took the lead. Dima rushed off. Mr. Hat sprinted forward and pushed through double doors leading to the hotel’s kitchen.
Naveen and I entered first.
Mr. Hat slammed Naveen in the head with a platter full of meat. The food fell all over Naveen as he crashed into a wall. Naveen screamed as steam rose around his face.
I yelled, “Calm down! We came here—”
Mr. Hat kicked at me. I jumped back and tried to grab his foot. He was too quick. While I focused on his foot, he punched me in the side.
I stumbled back and took out my gun. “Eh! We came here to talk!”