Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“It’s not just a nice idea,” he says firmly. “I mean it, Anya. No one will ever hurt you again.”
His eyes are so sharp as he says it. I’ve never noticed before what nice eyes he has. If my mind were sharper right now, I wouldn’t. I would never allow myself to notice the handsome cut of his jaw or the kindness of his smile.
Just for the moment, though, I let myself notice. I let myself get carried away in this fantasy. It’s a nice thought as I drift back off to sleep.
17
VIKTOR
The new safe house sits behind a row of manicured hedges. People who live here care only about their property values. It would never occur to them to worry about war breaking out on their streets.
Dyker Heights has always had that kind of energy with its quiet streets, large houses, and neighbors who would call the cops on any unfamiliar cars. The neighborhood itself is a layer of security, which is why I’m glad Sergei suggested it.
I should feel relief when the property gate closes behind us, but I don’t. Relief would mean the worst is behind us. I fear the worst is still yet to come.
I watch the rearview mirror as we roll up the drive and I don’t stop watching until the SUV is fully inside the garage and the door is down. Even then, I can’t relax. Because now there’s much more at stake than just Anya’s safety. Now my child is at risk.
Anya sleeps for the whole drive. I don’t blame her, I know her body needs rest after what she’s been through. Still, I can’t help but wonder if she isn’t just trying to avoid talking to me.
The doctor gave her something for pain, but the pregnancy means she can’t take anything too strong. It’ll be an awful few weeks as she recovers, but the petty part of me thinks she deserves it. She lied to me. She kept our child a secret from me and still chose to move me out of the way of that bullet, knowing she wasn’t just risking her own safety.
I try to push those feelings down for now. I need to focus on keeping them both safe, since it’s clearly not her first priority.
I gently wake her so we can go into the house. She winces and looks at me groggily.
“Are we here?” she asks in a husky voice.
“We are,” I confirm. “Are you okay to get out, or do you need me to help you?”
“I’m fine,” she snaps immediately, but I can tell she regrets it as soon as she moves.
“Here,” I say, gently wrapping my arm around her waist, careful not to make contact with her ribs. She leans against me, probably too tired to argue.
When we get into the house, the nurse from the clinic is already waiting for us. I had Sergei offer to pay her handsomely to stay to monitor Anya as she continues to recover.
Around us, guards begin their sweep of the house. Two sweep the ground floor. Two check windows. One checks the cameras. Another pulls up the interior feed on the monitor wall built into what used to be a den. The house is already wired and reinforced. This was always meant to be a fallback location, which means the infrastructure is there. Cameras cover the exterior lines. Windows are reinforced. Doors have steel frames behind decorative trim so it still looks like a rich family’s home.
Sergei steps inside behind me, phone already pressed to his ear. He’s barking instructions to someone on the docks. He pauses long enough to see Anya leaning on me and his face tightens for half a second.
“How you doing, champ?” he asks her quietly.
“I feel like a million bucks,” she answers with a wince.
“And the baby?” he presses.
I can’t see the look on her face, but I feel her tense under my touch. She’s still not used to having this news public.
“The baby is stable,” I answer for her. “That’s the only thing that matters right now.”
Sergei nods once and turns back to his call, voice dropping lower. He’s telling someone to reroute a shipment, pull cameras, and find out who talked. He sounds like a man trying to hold together a collapsing structure with rope.
He has to run everything because I dragged us into this. I should feel guilty about it, but I can’t make myself. Especially now that there’s a baby involved.
I help Anya upstairs, but I have to carry her the last stretch when her breathing becomes too labored. She doesn’t ask for help, of course, but she doesn’t need to. It’s my job now to anticipate her needs.
I’ve had a room on the second floor prepared for her. It has a large window that looks out over the back garden, and a spacious enough room that the nurse can maneuver around her as much as she needs to. The bed is already made, sheets clean, and pillows arranged.