by Lauren Smith
He was silent a long moment. “If she is still alive, she will be broken down and rebuilt into a heartless killer.” His voice softened. “She will be a tool of the state, willing to betray anyone she loves without a second thought. A creature better off dead than alive.”
Elena’s throat suddenly ached as she wanted to cry for Katya, and for Maxim. She placed a hand on his arm. It was the first time she’d willingly touched a man other than Dimitri since she had been rescued. It felt good, even during such a terrible moment, to show support and affection to another.
“Thank you,” he said. “At least now I have some idea of what happened to her.”
“Will you go after her? Maybe it’s not too late.”
“The moment she arrived at the school, it would have been too late.” He covered her hand with his, a sorrowful expression in his eyes that nearly broke her. “You should pack. We must leave soon.” And then he was gone.
Elena collapsed onto the bed, her hands shaking. She had gone back to the dark place in her mind, but then she’d come out again and she was okay. Relief nearly overwhelmed her. Maybe it would get easier and easier to face the past. She knew it might not, but she could hope.
Five hours later, the pair of Range Rovers pulled into a resort’s driveway. Dimitri and Leo went into the lobby to check in, while Maxim and Nicholas watched over Elena in the first car. Leo had already accessed their Wi-Fi system and set up his facial-recognition-blocking software to filter out any pictures of their group that might surface, including footage on security cameras.
Elena found the silence a little unsettling. Maxim hadn’t said a single word since she had told him about his sister back at the lodge in Utah. Nicholas had tried once or twice to start a conversation before giving up. Now he was just as broody as Maxim. “So . . . What will be the first lesson in my self-defense classes?”
“Hiding,” the men replied in unison.
“Hiding? Are you kidding me?” She snorted. “That’s not a defense.”
“Of course it is,” Nicholas said. “The best defense is avoiding a fight entirely.”
Elena smirked. “I thought the best defense was a good offense.”
“An American attitude if there ever was one,” Maxim said without inflection. “When combat is inevitable, then yes. But when the question is one of survival, avoiding contact with the enemy is always preferable. There is no shame in hiding.”
Nicholas leaned around the seat to stare back at her. “Actually, you did that part pretty well in Utah with the riverbank.”
“I wish I could claim credit for that. Dimitri told me where to hide.”
“But you left the hiding place and managed to get behind us before we even realized you were there.” Nicholas grinned. “You don’t know us well enough yet, but I assure you, that was impressive.”
“Nick is right,” Maxim said. “Now we have to teach you to improve those skills. Hiding is not just about staying still. Eventually, you will be found. It is about finding an unlikely place, leaving little to no trail, and knowing when to move to a new hiding place without being discovered.”
Elena thought back to that night. She had faced the choice of running and hiding again, or holding the gun on men she didn’t know to help Dimitri. She would not admit it to Maxim or Nicholas, but she knew she wouldn’t run if Dimitri was in danger.
“Okay, so what’s after hiding lessons?”
“Stopping an attack in progress,” Nicholas said.
“Not preventing an attack?” She had thought that would be the next logical step.
“Normally, yes. But the threats you are facing are above average. Chances are they will be on you before you see them. You need to know how to escape a chokehold or lower your body’s center of gravity to throw a man off his feet.”
That was something Elena wanted to learn. There had been so many times when she had been pinned down, unable to get free . . .
The car door opened, giving Elena a start. Dimitri motioned for Nicholas to return to the second car with Leo.
“We’re all checked in,” he said. “You and I are still Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Maxim is Mr. Black, Leo is Mr. Brown, and Nicholas is Mr. Gray, in case anyone asks.”
Elena nodded in understanding. “Eye color, got it.”
“What?” Maxim turned to look at her too.
“Your aliases. Dimitri made them to match your eye colors,” Elena explained. A blush crept up her cheeks.
“She’s right,” Dimitri chuckled. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
Maxim frowned. “My eyes are brown.”
“Yes,” Elena agreed. “But they are such a dark brown that in the evening they look almost black. Leo’s are lighter and more clearly brown.”
Maxim shrugged and fell into silence again. Dimitri drove the vehicle away from the main resort and up the hill along the side of the mountain. Every quarter of a mile, there was an entrance to a cabin. Dimitri kept passing them until they reached the eighth one. He turned up a private drive and entered a code into a gate.
Up ahead, built into the side of the mountain, was a large cabin. It was even bigger than the lodge in the park in Utah. It sat at the end of a road lined with fir trees. It was made of hand-hewn logs and reclaimed timbers. Despite its impressive build, the house was as subdued as the breeze in the treetops that towered above it.
“How many bedrooms does it have?” Elena asked.
“Only seven,” Dimitri said. “It also has a hot tub, exercise room, and a few other rooms.”
“Oh, is that all? As a grand duchess, I expected more,” Elena joked. She was definitely overwhelmed by the epic-looking cabin that looked more the size of a manor house. She’d guessed they would be staying in some small, cozy little cabin. This looked like it should be featured in Architectural Digest.
Dimitri parked the car in the circle drive. Leo did the same with the second Range Rover. Everyone helped unpack and quickly moved inside.
Leo waved Elena off when she started hefting one of the suitcases deeper into the house. “Just leave the luggage in the hall—we’ll see to it.”
Elena set the bag down by the doorway and moved into a vast great room that was illuminated with winter sunlight through a series of high windows that offered a floor-to-ceiling view of the mountains.
She studied the massive two-story native rock fireplace that overlooked the central seating area. The collected stones had been placed so perfectly that they looked as though the fireplace had tumbled down from a mountainside into a perfectly flat wall of rocks.
“Whoa . . .” Elena walked deeper into the living room and ran her palm over the buttery-soft leather sofa and chairs. Buckskin-colored plaster walls warmed the room with earth tones. Despite the snow outside, this vast cabin felt warm and homey.
Dimitri joined her by the windows. “What do you think?” He slid his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest. With anyone else, she would have felt uncomfortable and pulled away, but with Dimitri she was far from feeling scared.
“Feels wonderful. It’s so peaceful here.”
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Dimitri spoke the words into her ear.
“Henry David Thoreau?”
“My kiska is well read.”
She turned in his arms and pressed a kiss to his perfectly chiseled jaw. “And my Russian badass is as well.”
“Russian badass?” He chuckled, hands gently pressed on her lower back to urge her closer to him.
“It’s what I call you in my head.” She ducked her chin until she was looking down. He rested his head on top of hers, holding her for a long moment. Was it possible to be in this perfect bubble of his embrace forever?
“Would you like to talk to your parents?” he asked.
His words broke through her hazy, sunny daydreams. “My parents?”
“Royce has them at his home. They have phones that can’t be traced. It’s safe to talk to them. You can use my tablet to video chat if you prefer.”
“Do they know?”
“About your ancestry? Yes. Royce told them.”
Nerves prickled beneath her skin, making her shudder. Ever since she had learned the truth, she had felt disconnected from the life she knew, and that included her parents. She was a stranger in her own skin.
“I don’t even know what to say. They’re probably freaked out.”
“They are worried about you. You will always be their daughter, and their love for you will never change.” Dimitri’s rumbling voice always soothed her. He patted her back. “Come, let’s go talk to them.” He urged her to follow him to the master bedroom as he grabbed his briefcase.
The master bedroom was only a few rooms away from the main living room. An elegant four-poster bed made the room somehow romantic. The view outside their balcony was one of rolling hills and distant mountains. The cabin’s exterior was woodsy, but the rooms inside were luxurious, with plastered walls that softened the cabin’s interior. Hand-hewn logs accented the muted color palette of the bedroom. Black Forest trophy mounts and European antiques paired well with rustic design pieces. The doorway of the bedroom and the master bath had fanciful twig work decorating the corners of the beams of the frame, as though the bathroom existed in the forest.
Dimitri set his briefcase on the bed and pulled out his tablet. He placed it on the comforter and called Royce on his cell.
“Elena is ready to talk. I’ll call you from my tablet.” Elena climbed on the bed and pulled his tablet onto her lap. Dimitri dialed Royce’s number for a video call.
“Come back to the living room when you are finished.” Dimitri pulled the door closed behind him as he left.
A moment later, the tablet screen lit up with an incoming call. She accepted and, a moment later, her parents’ faces appeared.
“Oh my God, honey,” her mother gasped. Tears were already coming down her face.
Elena tried to smile. “Hey, Mom.”
Her father’s face had new lines on it, making him look years older. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Dr. Devereaux picked us up this morning and drove us to his home. He said you were in danger and we were too.”
“Yes.” Elena tried to find the right words. “He told you about . . . well, who I am?”
Her mother nodded. “He said that the man you are with, Dimitri Razin, tested your blood against samples from the Romanov family and that you had a . . .” She looked to her husband. “What was it, honey?”
“A twelve point five percent match to Anastasia. So you’re her great-granddaughter. Is that right?” Her father checked with her, and Elena nodded.
“So it would seem.” Elena still wasn’t sure if she believed it, but at some point she would have to. The Russian government believed it enough to try to assassinate her.
“Are you safe?” Her father’s eyes were wary. “When Dr. Devereaux mentioned you are with a Russian man, we didn’t know what to think.”
He didn’t have to explain. It must seem insane for her to be with a man who would remind her of everything she’d been through.
“Dimitri is keeping me safe, Dad. He’s amazing. He is like some kind of spy, even though he says he isn’t. But he totally is. His friends met up with us, and we are all safe. These guys are badasses, Dad. Seriously. Don’t worry. They can take care of me.”
“But are you okay being around them?” her father asked more quietly, as though he feared being overheard.
“Yes. I am. And I’m getting better. He’s helping.” She wanted them to know that Dimitri was helping her feel normal, but she didn’t dare elaborate how.
“Where are you?” her mother asked.
“I don’t think I can tell you. You can ask Royce. If he tells you, then it’s safe, but I don’t want to put either of you in any danger.”
“We’ll be fine. Your father and I are taking a brief sabbatical from our jobs. Everything is fine. Don’t worry about us.” Her mother’s eyes were still bright with tears. “I wish we were with you, honey.”
“Me too, Mom. But it’s all going to be all right. I promise.”
“Call us again soon so we don’t worry, okay?” her father said.
“I will if I can, Dad.” She imprinted a memory of their faces in her mind. Her mother’s cheery smile, her father’s kind, soulful eyes, and most importantly, the look of love they gave her.
“I love you both,” she said.
Her mother kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them toward the screen. “We love you too, honey.”
“We’ll talk again soon,” Elena promised, then ended the call before she lost her resolve. The instinct to run home to them was overpowering. But she couldn’t. This was her fight, not theirs. And it was time for her to stop running.
15
Dimitri stood by the fireplace, admiring the flames after he and Maxim had gotten the fire going. But his thoughts soon turned to concern about how best to protect Elena.
“I’m ready to fight.”
Dimitri turned abruptly at the sound of Elena’s voice. She stood in the doorway that led from the great room to the hallway. She wore a pair of gray yoga pants and a loose T-shirt that hung slightly off one shoulder, revealing an exercise bra beneath.
“You want to train? Already?” Dimitri clarified. He and Maxim exchanged a look.
“Yes. But let’s skip the hiding part. I have that covered. I want to learn . . . what did you call it, Maxim? The fighting back during an attack sort of moves.”
Dimitri shot his friend another glance.
“She asked,” Maxim said with a shrug.
“Please, Dimitri. I need this. I know that learning to hide is important, but I need to have some control in my life. If hiding fails, I need to have some idea of how to fight back.” The look of steely determination on her face stunned him. Whatever had happened between her and her parents during their call had set something in motion within her.
“Very well. Let’s go.” He nodded at Maxim and led Elena to the exercise room at the back of the house. There was a large floormat with two bikes and a treadmill in one corner. They moved the bikes farther to one side of the room, leaving a clear space to practice.
Elena stepped into the center of the mat and held her hands up like she was going to box a cartoon kangaroo. She looked adorable, and it was hard for him to focus on what he was supposed to teach her.
“The first lesson involves being attacked from behind.” Dimitri slowly came toward her. When he reached her, he grasped her shoulders and turned her to face away from him. “There is no such thing as a fair fight. You must assume you will be taken at a disadvantage.”
Their bodies pressed together. He tried to tamp down the desire that rippled beneath his skin as he breathed in her scent. He refocused his attention on her, on how important this training was. She wouldn’t only be learning to fight, but she’d be learning to let people touch her again without panicking.
“The first thing you must learn is the energy of the situation you’re in. Self-defense techniques fail when you fight against the energy of the person attacking you. Don’t try to fight against the direction your assailant moves you. For example, if you have someone put a hand over your mouth, determine which arm will be free or even both arms.” Dimitri placed his palm over her mouth and curled his fingers around her left arm. “Now, you see your right arm is free. If I move my hand to your waist, you have both arms free. You want to keep your response to his action quick and simple. You have two weapons at your disposal: pain and throwing him off balance.”
Dimitri grabbed her left arm again, jerking her back against him less gently. She tensed.
“Now, follow my backward energy. Lean back against my body. Let my body stabilize yours. If you are stable, you can use your energy to fight. Now, move with me.” He dragged her a step back. After a second’s hesitation,
Elena relaxed against him, continuing to move back with him step for step and bending her knees.
“Good. Now grab my arm beside your face. You can hold on to me there and be even more stable.”
Elena’s hand wrapped around his wrist in a viselike grip.
“Here’s your first point of attack. Raise your other hand, make a fist, but aim your thumb—like you want to hitchhike—and launch it into my face. Aim for my eyes if you can, but hit any part of my face and it will still startle me. If you hit him in the eyes, your assailant will step back and most likely loosen his grip on you. You want the assailant to lose his focus.”
She practiced jabbing at his face in slow motion. Dimitri dropped his hands from her mouth and stepped back, gripping her right arm.
“Now, take your left arm and send it back against my thigh in a hard slap.”
She placed her palm on his thigh, and for a second he had to remind himself they were practicing. “Grip my jeans in your fist. Now you will roll your wrist up as you pull down and forward.”
“What does this do?” she asked as she followed his instructions.
“It pulls me off balance and will send me stumbling down if you’re lucky. Make sure you turn into him if he still has a hand on your mouth. It forces his pressure and energy in a direction he won’t expect.”
Maxim stepped onto the mat, entering their line of sight. “You cannot stop the force of energy coming at you, but you can control its direction. See how much easier it is to pull Dimitri down? He stumbles forward, his knees jerk as you pull his leg.”
“Wow . . .” Elena murmured. “I can’t believe that works.”
“Maxim is right. Always try to move with the energy coming at you. It will make you less tired, and you will be able to fight better,” Dimitri explained. He released Elena, and she turned to face him.
“That doesn’t seem too hard—”
Maxim grabbed her from behind, latching one hand around her mouth. Dimitri saw the flare of panic in her eyes, but it had to be done. She trusted him to touch her, but Maxim would be recognized as a threat. She thrashed, panicking.
