Page 53 of The Beast of Moscow

Alexi rumbled a laugh under his breath as he headed for the door. “You just didn’t like to listen.”

Not much changed, then.

“Hey,” she called when he reached for the inside doorknob on the door.

He hesitated, looking back but saying nothing when he raised his brow.

“He’s like them, I understand that.”

Mafiya, she meant.

Dangerous.

She’d known men like that her whole life.

“But you miss the point that he’s not them, Vera. He’s not a man who loves you, or even cares about you, and that’s where you might find a problem.”

“I’m still going to Paris.”

Alexi nodded, replying just as fast, “And I will still be filling your father in.”

16.

Igor standing with his arms folded over his chest as he surveyed the private tarmac of the airport shouldn’t have been a concern for Vera when she stepped out of the black town car. But it was a crease of worry she’d seen on his brow as he stared at the small, commercial jet fifty feet away from where her driver had parked.

“Spasibo,” she thanked the driver, still leaning in the rear door.

Igor was already coming her way, reaching for the trunk of the car to lift it when the driver popped it open.

“No worries,” the man replied in Russian, smiling wide at Vera. “Have a lovely flight.”

The driver had arrived on time, loaded her bags without complaint, and didn’t scare her half to death on the drive to the small, private airport just outside of Moscow. What more could she want?

The wheels on her luggage clicked to the smooth asphalt. In a quick jerk, Igor had extended the arm of the luggage, and then he spun it around to offer the end of the handle to Vera. She took it with a smile.

“Thanks. It’s good weather to fly.”

Igor squinted one eye to the bright sky. “If only the weather mattered at this point.”

He said it so low that with the wind rushing past, she almost didn’t hear it at all. Despite wondering if that was his point, she couldn’t ignore the worry that reflected in his gaze when his stare dropped back down from the sky to her.

“Something wrong?” Vera asked.

Igor’s attention darted beyond her shoulder to the white jet with the black and gold detailing. “It’s been a while since he’s traveled without a companion, that’s all. I’m not used to being the one who stays behind, yeah?”

Vera smiled. “I’ll be his companion.”

He didn’t even crack a grin. “Not the kind that carries a gun.”

Fair enough.

Vera figured she’d also asked enough.

“I better get going.”

Igor nodded, stepping back. It was the first time she noticed how formally he was dressed, right down to the light blue vest and tie under his black suit jacket. “Right, he certainly doesn’t like to wait. You have everything?”

“Everything I was told to bring.”