White Nights (White Nights 1)
“Obviously, that wasn’t the case,” he says.
“How can you be so sure it’s a warning?”
Letting me go, he drops his hands. “This is how it works in my world. Believe me, I know.”
A shiver runs through me. “You think it’s related to the time Igor took the bullet for you?”
“I have no doubt. Someone is using you to get to me.”
My knees buckle a little at the declaration. “Why? Why would someone target you?”
He rakes his fingers through his hair, messing up the short strands. “I have no idea, but I have every intention of finding out.”
I take a few shallow breaths, trying to find calm. “We have to go to the police.”
“Your police force won’t be able to help. I have to deal with this myself.”
“What are you saying?” I utter in a hoarse whisper. “You can’t simply take justice into your own hands. There are ways of dealing with threats in America. We have to call this in and make a statement.”
His laugh is sardonic. “And say what? That someone tied your access card with a pretty ribbon to my fence? What exactly do you expect them to do about that? Take fingerprints and put a police officer in front of our door?”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I can see how that won’t happen, but if you explain—”
“There’s nothing to explain.”
I flinch at his harsh tone. “Of course not. How could I forget? Your business is shady. You said so yourself.”
He grabs my hands in his, the heat of his palms warming my icy skin. “I can keep you safe.” He emphasizes the promise by massaging my palms with his thumbs. “You have to trust me.”
I yank my hands from his. “Keep me safe how? By taking me to Russia? For several months? That’s crazy. I can’t just pack up and leave.”
“Your clothes are already packed,” he says as another man walks past us with my laptop bag in his hands. “We’re leaving for the airport now.”
I take a step back, my pulse speeding up further at the implacable look on his face. “I have a job. Friends. My mom.”
“I’ve already stationed a dozen men at the clinic. Your mother will be safe there. Joanne and Ricky will have protection too. You don’t need to worry. They won’t even know the men are there.”
Oh my God. “What about Marusya? We can’t leave her here alone.”
“I’m sending her and her family on vacation to a safe place.”
Everything is moving so fast and sounding so bizarre I have a hard time processing what’s happening. I shake my head to clear it. “I can’t just run to Russia for a few months. What about an extended visa and the administrative logistics? I don’t even have a passport.”
He takes my coat, hangs it over my shoulders, and ushers me through the door with his fingers locked around my upper arms. “Everything is taken care of.”
Just like that? “No.” I twist out of his hold and spin around to face him. “I’m not going on the run with you. That’s not a solution.”
His eyes tighten, crinkling in the corners with resolve. “I’m afraid, Katyusha, you don’t have a choice.”
“What’s that supposed to—”
Before I’ve finished my sentence, he grips my wrist and drags me to the car.
Yuri opens the back door.
“Alex,” I cry out softly. “Wait.”
Not paying my plea any heed, he pushes me into the back, gets in beside me, and closes the door. The partition is up, isolating us from Yuri and preventing me from begging him for help, not that the driver would listen to me.
The front door shuts, shaking the car gently, and a second later, the engine purrs to life.
“You’ll be all right,” Alex says, folding a broad hand over both of mine where I clasp them together in my lap.
I’m shaking with anger. I’ve yet to digest the shock. “Do I have a choice?”
“I’ve already told you the answer to that,” he replies smoothly.
Yes, he has. The answer is no. I don’t have a choice.
My future, whatever that entails, is now in Alex Volkov’s hands.