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“But… but…” I take a moment to compose myself. He probably thinks I’m some in-shock damsel, but I let myself crumble under pressure once before. That was why I wanted to see the dead body. I won’t let it happen again. “Who were those men? Why would they try to kill you?”
“There’s no time, Lia.”
“You’re not just a CEO.”
“No,” he says darkly.
“Are you a good person?”
“That’s up for interpretation.” He grabs my hand. “We’ll need to talk about this later.”
Despite wanting to stay strong, my legs feel like jelly, and there’s not much I can do as he leads me out of the building. Luckily, it’s after hours, so there’s nobody around, but I can hear sirens in the air.
“Wait here,” Dimitri says, leading me to the car’s passenger side and then taking out his cell, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
He shuts the door as if he doesn’t want me to hear the call he’s making. I feel like there’s a war in my chest. Half of me wants to stay with Dimitri. The other knows I should run far and fast. He’s a stranger; I know nothing about him. Everything we shared is now confusing and twisted.
When Dimitri turns his back, I remind myself that I’m supposed to bethinkingmy way through problems, notfeeling. Even if itmeans going against my instinct to stay with him, I open the car door, breathe, and start running.
“Fuck,” Dimitri yells, and I hear his footsteps behind me, quiet beneath the ringing that’s still bouncing around my head.
I duck around a corner and end up in an alleyway. Dammit. I just keep running. The wholethinkingthing fails because I end up with Dimitri backing me against a dead end. He still has his gun in his hand, but it’s aimed at the ground now.
“Are you going to shoot me, too?” I snap.
He looks disappointed more than anything. Tucking his gun away, he says, “Lia, I’m sorry, but you’re coming with me now. It’s not safe for you anymore.”
“You have to explain.”
“No, I don’t. Not yet. Not until you’re safe.”
He walks over and looms over me. Just minutes ago, this would’ve felt romantic and dangerous in afunway.
“Who are you?” I whisper. “Tell me that much, at least.”
“I’m the Pakhan of the Sokolov Bratva,” he says.
“The what of the what?” I ask. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Later,” he grunts. “I’ll carry you to the car if I have to.”
His expression is solemn. What other choice do I have? But maybe that’s a copout. Perhaps this is just me listening to the small, confused voice inside that tells me, somehow, I’ll be safer with this stranger than anywhere else.
Dimitri drives out of the city and into the desert, his square jawline tight. We don’t say anything for a long time. It’s like it’s a game, seeing who will crack first, but then I can’t take it anymore.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Areyou?” he counters, relieved I’ve finally spoken. Maybe he just thought I didn’t want to.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. Except that the phraseworld tipped upside downsuddenly has way more meaning. “I’m not the one who had to…”
“I don’t feel bad about that,” he rasps. “They were going to kill you, Lia. Or, if they got me first, even worse…” He shudders. “The cowards who ran are lucky.”
I sit back in the seat, closing my eyes and breathing. “So what is the Bratva? Is it like the mafia?”
“Sort of,” he says.
“So you’re a gangster?”
