by Aisha Brooks
His boss wasn’t thrilled, but it wasn’t like this was his fault. Stupid Americans. They were more trouble than they were worth.
Chapter 3: Her Story
Ashley lived in a little hole in the wall apartment downtown. She was indeed an intern for one of Douglas’ offices, where she worked in accounting. She was halfway to a business degree and had a fair amount of student debt. There wasn’t much on her parents. For all Alexei knew, they were dead or out of the picture. They didn’t seem to be part of her life. It looked like she had grown up with her sister as caretaker. Her sister was dead now. Most of the money Ashley used for expenses came from what she’d been left as a meager inheritance - and that was running out fast.
There was no one in the apartment. Alexei wasn’t surprised. He probably wouldn’t have picked the lock and let himself in if he had expected company.
The apartment was tiny. You could see just about every corner of it from the front door. Still, he took a good look around. It seemed Jessica had packed her bags already. Most of the clothes were gone. There was very little food in the pantry. There were empty picture frames on the walls and on shelves but no pictures in them. Ashley was on the move. That much was very clear.
Alexei wasn’t deterred. Most people weren’t professional criminals. Sure, she had probably gotten rid of her phone. It was unlikely he could track her using GPS. He could, however, trace the trail of money she left behind. He took a seat on her sofa and made some calls.
It took less than thirty minutes to find the last place she had used her card. It was at an ATM, along a highway out of town. She had made a rather sizable withdraw only a few hour ago. Alexei checked motels in the area. He couldn’t imagine a girl who had lived check to check would splurge for somewhere nice, even if she had recently come into money. No, Ashley would stick to what she knew. That meant run down holes in the wall.
There were only about three within three exits of the ATM she had stopped at. Alexei would check those first before broadening his search. He rented a car and hit the road.
It was the middle of the night by the time he got near his destination. Wouldn’t you know it? He spotted her car at his very first stop. Poor Ashley. Most people were bad at being criminals but not usually quite this bad at it. He almost wanted to give her another head start.
Alexei had several options at this point. He could determine which room she was in and break in. That sounded like a lot of work. He could call Douglas and let him know he had found her. He didn’t really like Douglas enough to do him that courtesy, even if it did mean washing his hands of a matter that wasn’t his fault to begin with. His last option was to wait and watch. That could take hours.
In the end, Alexei decided to sit and wait. He didn’t much feel like breaking in and scaring the poor girl half to death. He would let her get some sleep first and make himself known to her in the morning.
On the way, he had gotten himself some fast food. Alexei ate that now. He was good at waiting. He turned on the radio and settled in for the night.
Ashley checked out early the next morning. She had every intention of hitting the road and continuing on her way, it seemed. Where she was ultimately headed, there was no telling.
Alexei got out of his car and walked to hers. Ashley had made one trip out to her trunk already. Alexei was leaning against the driver’s side door when she came out with her last bag. “Hi, there,” he said.
Ashley dropped the bag she was holding. She took a couple of steps backwards, her eyes going wide.
“Don’t run,” Alexei said quickly, because it looked like she might. “There’s a gun on my hip. I won’t hesitate to use it.” He would hesitate to use it, but she didn’t know that and he didn’t want her going anywhere.
Ashley either believed him or thought running would be useless. “You’re Douglas’ friend,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Business associate,” Alexei corrected. “I wouldn’t call us friends… But that’s not important, is it? Let’s take a ride, you and I.”
Ashley took a step toward her car.
“We’ll take mine,” said Alexei. He grabbed her bag from the ground and the key from her hand. He led the way to his own car, opening the passenger side door for her. “In you go. Good girl.”
It was obvious that Ashley was frightened. She had every reason to be. Just now, her eyes roamed the parking lot, searching for escape.
“Calm down,” said Alexei, starting the engine. “I don’t like hurting people. I won’t hurt you, if I can help it. Let’s go somewhere and talk… Somewhere public, if that will make you feel more comfortable.”
“It would,” Ashley said, quickly.
Alexei found a nearby park on his GPS and drove there. It wasn’t a busy park. It was a large park during the middle of a school day. Alexei picked a bench along a trail. The only interruptions they would experience there would be the occasional jogger. “Tell me your story,” said Alexei.
Ashley sat on one end of the bench, her posture stiff. “Huh?”
“Your story,” Alexei repeated. “Tell me everything. Give me a good reason not to kill you.”
That was probably a lot of pressure for the average person. Ashley took it in stride, though. She took a deep breath. “I stole Douglas’ money,” she said.
“Our money. His, mine, and my employer,” Alexei corrected. “And I already know all of that.”
“I only meant to steal from him,” Ashley said with a sigh. “I didn’t realize he worked with the Russian mafia or anything… Is that what you are? Russian mafia?”
“Something like that.”
“I know it doesn’t matter what I meant to do.” Ashley leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. “I had to act fast. I’d been trying to pick my moment for months. I was getting tired of waiting, but… Clearly, I picked the wrong moment.”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning,” Alexei prompted.
Ashley winced but, finally, did just that.
Apparently, her sister had been a call girl. As Alexei had suspected, her parents hadn’t really been in the picture. Ashley had lived with her sister Lana most of her life. By all accounts, Lana was a good person dealt a bad lot in life. She had made a pretty good living mooching off of sugar daddies. She hated it, but she was good at it.
Lana made enough to rent them an apartment and put food on the table. She even helped to put Ashley though college. It was her hope that Ashley find herself a career they could both be proud of.
Then Lana had met Douglas.
Douglas had seemed all right at first. They met when she was on a date with another guy. Douglas had turned on the charm and expressed an interest. Lana wasn’t in it for romance, so when he flashed the big bucks, Lana couldn’t refuse him.
Things were fine for a while. The money was good. Very good. Douglas had other girls on the side, but who cared? Lana certainly hadn’t. She saw other guys on the side, too.
Apparently, Douglas was a fickle guy, though. For a while, it was all right that they weren’t exclusive. Then, one day, it just wasn’t.
Lana turned up dead.
It came as a shock to Ashley. The official story was that she had been intoxicated and taken a tumble down a flight of stairs. Douglas sent his condolences by way of a note in a flower arrangement. If there was anything he could do, the note said, just let him know. His other girlfriends told a different story, though.
There was an argument and Douglas got too rough. Something similar had happened, at least, twice in the past. Douglas had a history of partying too hard. When escorts were the victims, it was easy enough to sweep under the rug.
Ashley couldn’t accept that. “I picked a major after that,” she explained to Alexei. “I went into accounting. I couldn’t let it go. The plan was to get close to Douglas.”
“To steal his money?” asked Alexei.
“To kill him,” said Ashley. She frowned. “But, I realized pretty quick I didn’t have the stomach to kill anyone.
I decided to just steal his money instead.”
“What were you going to do with it?” asked Alexei.
Ashley shrugged. “I get away and live off the money. He stays behind and takes the fall. That was the plan in theory.” In practice, things weren’t quite that cut and dry. “Everything seems a lot easier on paper.”
“You did all right,” Alexei offered. “You certainly annoyed him.”
“I wanted to ruin him!” Ashley groaned and slumped over on the bench. “I’m an idiot. I got too impatient. I just couldn’t stand spending one more night with that asshole.”
“I know that feeling.” Alexei stood. “Let’s head back, shall we?”
Ashley didn’t stand just yet. “And then what?” she asked, concerned about her fate for good reason.
“No need to decide that yet,” said Alexei. He couldn’t bring himself to scare her any more than necessary, though. “I promise, nothing back will happen to you.”
Alexei had a habit of keeping all his promises. He had a feeling he would regret this particular one. Maybe he was getting soft, but he liked Ashley rather a lot more than he did Douglas.
“I’ll keep you safe, but we have to decide what we’re going to do about this.”
Ashley stared at him for several long moments. Finally, she nodded. “All right. I trust you. I don’t have any other choice.”
Chapter 4: The Trick
Alexei had a hotel room back in the city. That’s where he took Ashley. She expressed some concern on the way. Maybe she was afraid Alexei’s intentions were less than pure… Which was fair enough. He had ulterior motives for helping her, but he wasn’t the sort to force himself on women. That would be despicable.
Thankfully, Ashley fears subsided when they actually arrived at the hotel. It was a four star establishment, and Alexei had a sweet booked.
“This looks like the sort of place Douglas usually stays at,” Ashley commented once they were in the elevator.
“Well, I assure you Douglas isn’t here,” Alexei said, just in case she had her doubts. “I just like to travel in style.”
Ashley raised her eyebrows. “Your boss must like you a lot.”
Alexei laughed at that. “I should hope so. I’m his son.”
“The son of a Russian mafioso.” Ashley gave a low whistle. “Does he usually send you out on business like this?”
The elevator doors opened. Alexei walked to his room, opening the door for Ashley. “Sometimes he does. When it’s a business deal this big, he sends me. I’m good with people, and he knows he can trust me.”
“So this was a big deal? This money I stole?” Ashley groaned. “I couldn’t have fucked up worse, huh?”
“Oh, no,” Alexei assured her. “This could be much worse. Lucky for you, you’re cute and I’m the forgiving type.”
“I’m cute,” Ashley repeated, like she was tasting the phrase. “Were Tiffany and Heather cute, too?”
“Who?”
“God,” said Ashley with a laugh. “Douglas’ girls. You slept with them. Remember?”
“Of course I remember.” Alexei went to the mini bar and made himself a drink. “I just didn’t remember their names.”
“I think I have you pegged.”
“Oh?” Alexei hesitated then made Ashley a drink as well. She probably needed it.
“You’re rich,” she said going to the bar and accepting the gin and tonic he offered her.
“Guilty as charged,” said Alexei.
“You’re also a lady’s man.” Ashley took her drink to the sofa and sat down there. “You act tough, but that’s just to impress your dad. Deep down, you’re a marshmallow.”
Alexei laughed. “A marshmallow?” he repeated. “I’m not sure about that… You’re being more candid. I suppose this means you’re starting to trust me.”
“I shouldn’t,” said Ashley. “I don’t really have much of a choice, though… Have you decided what to do with me?”
Alexei grabbed the television remote from the coffee table and joined Ashley on the sofa. “I’m going to sleep on it.” He turned on the television and found them a movie to watch. It wasn’t like Douglas was going anywhere. The money wasn’t going anywhere either. As it turned out, Ashley might not be a good criminal when it came to escaping, but she did have a head for white collar crime.
For a while, they both sat there. The television was the only source of noise between them.
Alexei had chosen a romantic comedy. Maybe he was a bit of a marshmallow. In his line of work, he tended to go in for mindless entertainment.
By the time the credits rolled, Ashley was asleep. She had tucked her legs up on the cushion beside him. Her head rested on the arm of the sofa. She was snoring, softly.
Alexei wasn’t surprised to find her asleep. She had had a long day, after all. Considering Alexei had spent most of he previous night sitting in a car, keeping a look out for her, he could probably use some sleep, himself.
Alexei considered waking her up, but he didn’t have the heart. She looked so peaceful lying there. Instead, he took a throw from the back of the sofa and spread it out over her. Taking care to keep his noise level down, he left for the bedroom.
The next morning Ashley was gone. It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Alexei, honestly, hadn’t seen this coming. He was her best shot at surviving this whole ordeal. Granted, she might not be convinced of that. She had no reason to take him at his word. He searched for a note, but there was none.
Alexei tried to tell himself that worrying was silly. This was a woman he barely knew. He had been helping her out of spite toward a man he casually disliked. He owed her nothing.
Still, he couldn’t help but hope she did a better job of getting out of town this time. He was almost tempted to let her keep the money. He had a job to do, though.
Alexei got his phone and proceeded to make a few calls. It was time he settled this matter. He didn’t absolutely need to catch a flight back home until the weekend. If he finished everything up today, he could forget about Douglas completely and just go have a good time.
“Alexei!” Douglas said, jovially, when he answered his phone. “I was just about to call you!”
“Oh, yeah?” Alexei asked, rhetorically.
“Any news on that bitch that made off with my money?” he asked.
Alexei felt a twinge of annoyance at Douglas’ tone. “No luck finding her, I’m afraid,” he lied. “Got some people following the money trail, though. I’m sure we can find some way to resolve this whole thing to everyone’s satisfaction.
Douglas gave a long and low sigh of annoyance. “Fine,” he said at last. “I guess we don’t have much choice. See you soon?”
The last thing Alexei wanted was to get stuck at Douglas’ home again. Tiffany and Heather were fine, but not if it meant Douglas’ company. “I’m not sure that’s necessary,” he said instead. “I think I have most of this tied up. I hate to waste your time if it’s not necessary.”
“Ah.” Douglas was silent for a moment. “Well, maybe we’ll do dinner before you head back to Russia.”
“That sounds great,” Alexei lied. “Let’s be sure to do that.”
After wrapping the call up, he took a nice long shower and found himself a change of clothes. He was pulling on a fresh shirt when someone knocked on the door. Hopeful Ashley had wised up and come back, he went to answer it. Glancing through the peephole showed him it was only Tiffany.
She was standing there, clutching her purse and looking a bit lost. She smiled when Alexei opened the door, though.
“What are you doing here?” asked Alexei, immediately a bit suspicious.
Tiffany’s smile became a frown. Evidently, she had expected a warmer welcome than this.
“You gave me and Heather your the address to where you were staying… Remember?” She held up her phone, where Alexei’s room number was still displayed on the screen. “You told us to come by any time?”
Alexei, vaguely, recalled giv
ing her his number. She had been fun. Both of them had. “Probably not the best time. You should have called first.”
Tiffany’s eyes grew wide. She didn’t strike Alexei as the sort who had experienced a lot of rejection in her life.
“Seriously?” She moved into the doorway, so he couldn’t just shut her out. “I was on my way to a party, though. Heather’s there. She said I should drop by on my way over - see if you wanted to come.”
Alexei’s suspicions eased up a bit. Tiffany was a girl who liked to party, not a criminal mastermind. “Will Douglas be there?”
“I don’t think so.” Tiffany shrugged then flashed him a flirty smile. “But Heather will. She’s been wanting to spend some… quality time with you again.” She moved a little closer, touching Alexei’s forearm suggestively. “We both do.”
