by Vi Carter
“Just read it.” He’s focused on the road.
My stomach squirms.
“Primary School,
St Mary’s Convent,
Crews Hill Street.”
“I give Irina Smirnov permission to go on the school field trip, the 23rd of August.”
I take another glance at Nicholai, “Signed Dimitri and Gail Smirnov. He was married and had a child?” I frown at the permission slip.
Nicholai doesn’t speak but keeps driving. I want an explanation. What did it matter that he was married to Gail? Only, Gail had sent men to kill Nicholai. Why? None of it made sense.
“To leave the Bratva, you can’t just walk away,” Nicholai says. “He must have done something…”
“Unthinkable,” I say what Lucca had said.
Nicholai glances at me before focusing on the road. “We can’t out run this, so I need you to trust me.”
I’m nodding. “I do.” I haven’t known him long, but I trust Nicholai completely. He had kept me safe, when the people I grew up with, didn’t.
“I’m going to ask you to do something for me and I know you won’t like it.”
I swallow but nod. “I’ll do it.”
Nicholai’s gaze roams across my body. “We need to get you some clothes.”
I try to pull the material down my thigh, but it’s no good. The dress is tiny and doesn’t cover much, so I’m happy to get out of it.
Once again, I wait in the car as Nicholai enters a large store to get me some clothes. I’m nervous. I have no idea what he will ask of me. I won’t kill anyone or do anything sexual. That’s where I draw the line. Guilt swirls in my stomach at thinking such things about Nicholai. I don’t believe he would ask me to do either.
Nicholai arrives back out fifteen minutes later with one bag. He glances at his watch before handing me the bag. “Can you get dressed as I drive?”
I’m already pulling out the denim jeans. The car starts and we are driving.
I put on the socks and boots before removing the red dress. I glance at Nicholai to find him watching me. Pulling on the cream jumper, I let my hair down. His nod of approval shouldn’t send my stomach into knots.
“Gail and Dimitri’s daughter will finish school in five minutes. I want you to approach her and bring her back to the car.”
I’m already shaking my head. “You want me to kidnap a child?” Was he crazy?
“We need her.” Nicholai doesn’t flinch and I see no remorse in his dark eyes.
“No,” I say.
“If I get out and approach a little girl, it will look suspicious.”
“I don’t care. I’m not doing it.”
Nicholai drives faster and pulls up outside a set of black iron gates. A few meters in is the forbidding convent that’s a primary school.
“I need you to listen to me. I won’t find out what’s going on without that little girl. That’s the only way Gail will tell me what’s going on.”
“You need to figure out another way.” I hate the look in his eyes, but kidnapping a child, I just can’t do.
“It’s not kidnapping, she will be with her mother straight away. We take her from here to her mother. It’s just so Gail answers my questions.”
Nicholai reaches across and takes my hands in his. “I can’t see any other way out. I believe that Gail is involved in all this. I think what’s happening to you has nothing to do with your father.”
I frown and try to remove my hands from Nicholai’s, but he doesn’t let them go. “Do you want to die, Mila?”
“Of course not.”
“Then get that girl or we are both dead.” My heart pounds and I glance up at the school. The main doors open and small little people pour out. Nicholai releases my hands.
“Take another look.” I stare at the photo and my stomach sickens.
“She will be with her mother in fifteen minutes. No harm will come to her.” I look into Nicholai’s eyes. He wouldn't lie to me. I have to trust him.
I nod. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NICHOLAI
She appears shifty as she glances over all the students before throwing a frightened look over her shoulder towards me. She has no idea how terrified she looks. If she doesn’t tone it down, she will draw unwanted attention to herself. Her hands knot together behind her back and she takes a step towards the children. They run in all directions and part around her stiff frame as she takes another step towards our target.
Irina tilts her head and stares up at Mila. Mila must be smiling; I can’t tell as she has her back to me, but Irina is smiling back. I glance around the space, but no one is paying attention to Irina or Mila. I still want her to hurry up. She was taking far too long. Mila had been bent over slightly. Now she stands and reaches out her hand. Irina takes it and they start to walk towards the car. Mila’s gaze meets mine and I hold her stare. If I let it go, I fear she will release the child. I hold her gaze firmly as she opens the back door of the car and Irina jumps in.
She assesses me as she clips in her seatbelt.
“I liked my old driver.” Her voice rings older than a six-year-old. “You’ll get used to me,” I tell her and start the car. Mila gets into the passenger seat and as she is putting on her seat belt, I pull away from the curb.
“How was school?” Mila’s voice shakes slightly and I want to tell her not to speak to the child, that it makes this more difficult.
“Some classes are interesting, others not so much.” I glance at Irina in the rear-view mirror. She really didn’t speak like a six-year-old.
“Mila said you are taking me home. I have horse riding lessons first, so you can take me to the farm.”
She’s rummaging through her backpack. The silver device she takes out of her bag, I swing around and take from her hand.
“Excuse me?”
I ignore her outrage and flip open the phone.
“Who are you going to ring?”
She rolls her eyes. “My horse trainer, to tell her I’m going to be a bit late.”
“You don’t have horse riding lessons, sweetie. We are taking you straight to your mam,” Mila says and she turns in her seat so she can see Irina.
I had lied when I told her I would take Irina back to Gail. That isn’t going to happen until I get what I want.
“Actually, we are taking a detour.”
“We are?” Mila speaks through gritted teeth.
“Gail wants a word with me alone.”
Mila scoffs and glares out the window. I peek down at her tightened fists. Guilt rolls in my stomach at lying to her, but I had no choice.
I drive down the side of the hotel and park. “What are we doing?” Mila sounds alarmed.
I need her to stay calm. “It’s just for a few hours.”
“You said...” Mila doesn’t finish her sentence as she glances back at Irina who removes her seatbelt and picks up her backpack.
“A few hours. That’s all I ask.” I try to keep my voice low.
Mila shakes her head with disgust in her eyes. Reaching across, I grip her hand. “I need you to tell me you are with me on this.”
She pulls her hand from mine. “I have no other choice.” She gets out and I accept her answer. We walk along the side of the building.
Mila takes Irina’s hand. “Shouldn’t we be using the front door?” Irina asks.
“They are doing some construction close to the front door so we have to use the back door instead, sweetie.”
We reach a side door and I knock three times. It opens. The chef takes one look at me and steps back, giving us entry. Everyone knows who I am, sometimes that came with perks—like now.
We move through the noisy kitchen.
“Everyone comes through the kitchen?” Irina’s voice is filled with disbelief. The child is far too clever.
“No, just us, we are special,” Mila answers her.
I stop at the back door that leads to the stairs up to the rooms.
&nbs
p; “You go on up and wait for me. I’ll just book us in.”
Mila won’t meet my eyes, but smiles at Irina and leads her up the stairs. I step out of the service hall and into the hustle of the main area of the hotel.
I can’t disguise myself, that is the downside of being who I am. I don’t intend to stay here for long. I get a room and slip back through the service door, up the backstairs that are only used for the cleaning staff.
Mila and Irina are sitting on a long red velvet couch in one of the wide hallways. Mila meets my eyes and she shakes her head but stands.
I search for our room number and find it is only three doors down. Entering the small space, it’s clean and has some bottles of water sitting on the round table under the window. I immediately check to see if anyone looks suspicious outside.
“Irina, why don't you start your homework. I want to have a chat with Nicholai.”
Turning back, Mila is waiting for me. Irina is sitting at the table removing books from her bag. I follow Mila outside the hotel room door.
“How could you?” She starts the moment we are out of the hotel room.
“I have no choice...” I start to say.
“You lied to me. You had a choice. You could have told me the truth!” Her words grow loud and I step in closer to her to make her lower her voice.
“If I had told you the truth, you wouldn’t have agreed.”
She folds her arms across her chest and her blue eyes swim with pain. I want to reach out and kiss her. I want to comfort her and take away some of the hurt I’ve caused. “No, I wouldn’t have agreed. This is wrong.”
“It’s done. I need you to stay with her while I speak to Gail.”
Mila looks at me with disbelief. “I’m taking part in a kidnapping.” She nods her head in disbelieve. “What happens when things go wrong with Gail?”
“Mila, nothing is going to happen to the child.”
She unfolds her arms. “You also told me we would take her to her mam. So, I’m struggling to believe you.”
Her words are ground out and I’m tempted to kiss her and end this, but I don't think my kiss would be a warm welcome right now.
“Right now we are wasting time. They have to know she is missing. They will have already started to search for her.”
Mila’s face pales. “Are we in danger?”
“If I don’t leave now and confront Gail, I might lose too much time. So can you do as I asked? Can you stay with her?”
Mila nods her head and looks away from me. I want to reach out and force her to look at me, but she steps back into the room. Irina’s head snaps up and she narrows her eyes at me before returning to her homework.
“I won’t be long.” Mila steps away from me as I try to reach her.
I’m wasting time, but I hate seeing her closed off from me.
“Mila,” I speak her name softly and she finally looks at me.
“I won’t be long.” I settle on the words that weren’t the ones I intended to use. I wanted to tell her I am doing this for us; for her. That I’m doing this because I love her.
MILA
I check the fridge that holds a pack of peanuts and a chocolate bar. I take out the bar and give it to Irina. She opens the candy without a word as I pour her a glass of water. I can’t stop listening for pounding footsteps. I’m imagining a group of thugs with guns drawn searching the halls for us. Sweat coats my palms and I rub them on my pants. The sound of Irina munching on the candy calms my heart a bit. I sit on the bed. This is wrong. We shouldn’t have taken a child.
“Will you be picking me up from school from now on?” Irina continues to write in her notepad as she asks me the question that makes me feel sick with guilt.
“No, sweetie. It’s just for today.” Saliva pools in my mouth at my words. I’ve taken part in kidnapping a child. I get off the bed. She will be with her mam in a few hours and this will be over. She will remember doing her homework while eating a candy bar. That’s what I tell myself, anyway.
“Can I watch TV?”
I smile at Irina. “Of course.”
She quickly slides out of her chair and sits on the bed. I sit beside her with the remote and flick through the stations until I come across a cartoon.
“I don’t watch them.” She frowns up at me.
I keep going until she tells me to stop at some nature program.
I get up and let her watch her program and walk to the window to see if Nicholai has returned. I know it’s stupid, he only recently left. Glancing out the window, my heart pounds as a sleek black car pulls up across from the hotel. It’s not Nicholai. I’m ready to dismiss the car when all four doors open and men get out. There is nothing identifying about them. They all wear black, but I’ve been around the wrong kind of men long enough to know what I’m looking at. I let the curtain go and step back from the window. My attention draws to Irina. What if they were here for her? Would they kill me? I could be over-reacting, but my gut is telling me I need to run.
“Take off your jumper.” Irina reluctantly looks away from the TV and to me, she doesn’t do as I ask and I’m moving.
“Take off your jumper.” She does this time and I quickly remove the navy school tie. The blue shirt doesn’t look as stark as the navy jumper with her school’s logo embroidered on the front.
“We need to leave.” She doesn’t question me and when I stop her from getting her school bag, she follows me out the door. I take her hand and calmly walk back towards the service door that should lead us back into the kitchen. My heart pounces in my chest as a couple walks towards us. They look normal, but they could be undercover. I tighten my hold on Irina and am tempted to reach up and wipe the sweat that’s gathering on the back of my neck. The woman smiles at Irina and I tug her closer to my leg as we move past them.
“Why are we leaving?” Irina’s question has my heart racing further.
“We just need to,” I say as I push open the large wooden door that leads to the stairs. The sound of heavy footfalls has me pulling Irina behind me. I glance over the rails and catch a glimpse of four men dressed in black. Panic claws at me and I’m dragging Irina back into the hallway, half running. I keep looking over my shoulder. We catch up with the couple at the elevators and the woman gives me a look of suspicion. I try to calm down and force a wobbly smile. I press the button again for the elevator. What is taking so long? My stomach lifts as the ding of the doors has us stepping through. I look up to see the four men step into the hallway. The first one has a scar running along his cheek. He reaches behind his back and my instincts have me pulling Irina behind me to protect her. As the doors close, I see what he had removed.
A phone.
The music in the elevator is painfully calming and instrumental. I glance at the woman who hasn’t taken her eyes off me.
“You in trouble, sweetheart?”
I’m ready to deny it but look at the man who is with her. They are both in their fifties, both seem respectable.
“The man with the scar? You seemed afraid of him?”
“Wendy, this is none of our business.” Wendy ignores the man who I assume is her husband.
All it will take is for Irina to spill the truth, but I take my chances. “Yeah, he’s an ex.”
Sweat makes a pathway down my back as the elevator comes to a halt. The doors open and we step out into the lobby. I freeze as two men dressed in black block the main door.
“Are those men with your ex?” Wendy is beside me and I nod.
“Go get security,” Wendy tells her husband and I’m ready to scramble after him to stop him, but he’s already making his way to the desk.
“I won’t leave you.” Wendy holds firm and it's a reminder that there are still good people in the world. But I didn’t believe for one second that would help us. I turn back around and drag Irina with me. Pushing open a door, we enter another long hallway. I can hear Wendy call after us. But she couldn’t help.
I start to jog and Irina jogs with me. I glance down
at the little girl that has come willingly through all of this.
She stops running and I’ve been waiting for her to rebel and ask me what’s happening. I’m ready to give this six-year-old the best explanation I can when she speaks first.
“We can pull the fire alarm, cause a distraction, and get out.”
I’m at a loss for words. Reaching up, I take the small steel weapon that hangs along the side of the fire alarm. Smashing the glass, I push the button, and red lights swirl to life along with a roaring sound. Doors open and people fill the hallways. I turn back around and follow the crowd back out into the lobby.
I want to ask Irina how she knew to do that, but right now my focus is getting out of this place.
Wendy meets my eyes in the lobby and I’m surprised when she falls into step beside us shielding us from onlookers. We shuffle through the main door and out into the fresh air. The wail of fire engines and cop cars grow louder, and the street in front of the hotel turns into a circus that we can disappear in.
“Thank you,” I speak to Wendy before pushing deeper into the crowd with Irina. We get swallowed up and spit out along the sidewalk as we fall into step with shoppers. I can only hope we blend in well enough until Nicholai finds us.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NICHOLAI
I gain entry to Gail’s house like she already knows I’m coming. That makes me nervous. Withdrawing my gun, I enter her kitchen. She’s standing at the end of the counter holding a full glass of wine that hasn’t been touched. She’s trying to appear calm and that tells me that she must be aware of her daughter’s disappearance. I’m tempted to take out my phone and check for Mila again, but I had before coming in here and she was at the hotel.
“Nicholai, you took my daughter.” This time Gail drinks from her glass.
“No harm will come to her.” I slowly lower my gun. She has no weapons that I can see and I didn't think she would kill me not knowing where her daughter was.
“I have men searching for her right now, Nicholai.” Gail places the glass back on the counter, her eyes are on fire with anger that she is fighting not to display.
