94. Discovered

94. Discovered
Margaret

“Are you not going to order takeout this time?”

I looked up at Karina and smiled at her newly colored hair; last week it was natural red, now it was platinum blonde.

“Not today, for a change. I want to eat at the café with the best view. Eating alone in your apartment gets old after a while.”

“A dozen and a half cheese sticks?”

“Add some cheesy fries, I'm feeling festive today. I've earned it with all the stair-climbing and walking.”

“You have a boring idea of festive,” she grimaced.

“I can't exactly down a bottle of tequila and dance in bars again, can I?” I said briefly, missing those days when I had the option to go out and drink until I passed out.

“I don't see you as someone who dances in bars.”

I just smiled briefly at her, and once she left, I let out a long sigh. I wasn't someone who danced in bars, but maybe Graciela was, and Graciela was all I had until I could be Margaret again.

I touched the necklace Nikolay gave me; the pastel pink of the sweater made the black onyx stand out.

I had learned to cling to this necklace; after all, it was the only thing of Nikolay's I could cling to, besides our son or daughter.

“Madam.”

A husky, masculine voice reached my ears, and I could swear, as impossible as it sounded, that my heart skipped a beat.

My eyes examined the man, no more than 23 years old, the same height as Nikolay but slightly thinner. He was dressed all in black, contrasting with his warm skin.

My hand went to the knife on the table, which made the stranger smile, as if my performance, which was giving me a heart attack, was amusing.

“Nikolay Ivanov sent me, my name is Tyler, I'm here to take you back to Perm.”

“And why should I believe a single word that comes out of your mouth?”

“You don't have to, but it's true, I can prove it right now,” he assured and proceeded to take a seat in front of me, and I was trembling.

But he couldn't know that.

He pulled out an old phone from his pocket, flipped open the black cover, and after pressing a couple of buttons, dialed the only number registered in the contacts with an "N" and an "I."

After just a couple of rings, someone picked up.

"Tyler, did you find her? How is she? Are you with her?"

If it were physically possible, my jaw would hit the floor. The one speaking was Nikolay, that was his voice.

It was inevitable, I started crying.

"Darling?" I asked softly through my tears.

"Margaret," Nikolay's voice like never before, was full of emotions. It even trembled a little.

The guy identified as Tyler took the phone and brought it close to his face.

"I know we agreed no calls unless it's a matter of life or death, but she thought I was here to kill her or something bad, and honestly, I completely forgot the damn safe word."

"I'll deal with you later, let me talk to my wife."

"With pleasure, boss."

I put the phone to my ear, tears still falling but it didn't matter for the moment, I was just happy to hear Nikolay.

"We don't have much time, so I'll be quick. I trust Tyler, if not, I wouldn't have sent him. He hates Nazis as much or more than we do, so he's not a traitor."

"I missed your bossy tone," I whispered softly. "I miss you."

"I miss you even more, I think of you all the time," he assured, and I felt my chest warm. "We'll be together again soon, babe, I swear."

"I can't wait, I want this all to be resolved once and for all."

"And it will be, you just have to trust me and listen to Tyler."

"I love you, darling."

"And I love you, always."

Those were the only words I needed to hear.



"Are you sure you have to leave? We're going to miss you."

I looked at Monica across her desk, while holding Ana. The baby was just sleeping, undisturbed by the noises around her.

"I'm sure, my parents are waiting for me at home, and so is my brother. I need them to help me raise my baby," I said too easily, the same lie I had rehearsed with Tyler.

The task was simple; resign, erase all traces of ever having lived in the apartment, and then return to Perm.

"Well, I can't say I don't understand, I would have loved the help. Stay in touch, okay?"

"I promise," I smiled at her brown eyes, with a touch of sadness.

And I planned to keep my promise, I was going to stay in touch with Monica, even if that contact meant 2 emails every couple of months, but it was all I could offer.

"I can't believe you're leaving today, you must miss your family a lot. Wouldn't it be better for them to come and accompany you while you move?"

"I have everything with them, the only thing I'm taking is the clothes I still have," I said, a mix of lie and truth.

Indeed, I would only take the clothes I had left, I only had one extra suitcase to carry, and that suitcase may or may not contain hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Ana woke up, and I quickly handed her over to Monica, who gave me a farewell hug. I would miss her too, even though I didn't know her as well, there are just people who become loved in much less time than usual, and Monica was one of them.

I left her office and started descending the stairs at my own pace, slow but steady.

"Do you need help?"

Damn it.

Favio, it had to be damn Favio. The only person I didn't care at all about to tell my departure.

"Everything is completely fine, but thanks for offering," I said kindly. I didn't smile, I had hours left to fix everything before I left.

"Even if you don't let me help you, I'm going to stay here to avoid having your fall on my conscience."

"What a gentleman," I retorted with irony.

I focused on descending faster, just to be as far away from that man as possible.

I reached the last step, and what came out of Favio's lips made me freeze on the spot.

"Good day, Margo, or do you prefer Margaret?”