*Sephie*
The SUVs tore out of the parking lot and raced down the back alley toward the main road. Adrik pulled me close beside him, helping me to stay steady on the sharp turns. We were so close to the first vehicle that I thought for sure we were going to hit them, but whatever move the first vehicle made, Ivan countered it perfectly. He always stayed a consistent distance from the vehicle, no matter what. If I wasn’t scared out of my mind, I might be impressed.
We had made it 2-3 streets over from my apartment, weaving through the city to make it to the freeway when two of the other SUVs we were running from showed up in traffic behind us. Ivan sped up and passed Stephen, putting their vehicle between us and the two SUVs weaving through traffic to get closer. I turned around to look at how close the other vehicles were to them. There were only a few cars in between them now. Their vehicle started to slow, and I saw Viktor lean out of the window, gun pointing behind their vehicle. I heard two shots and the first SUV veered off the street, plowing into parked cars. The second SUV didn’t stop, it just replaced the first vehicle that had just crashed.
We were suddenly turning sharply, and I grabbed onto Adrik to keep from being thrown across the back seat. We were speeding through the side streets, going the wrong way down one-way streets. Adrik smiled gently at me. “Almost there, solnishko. It will be fine.”
I stared at him in amazement. We were in the middle of a high-speed pursuit. Gunfire was popping off behind us and he was as calm as could be. And smiling on top of it all? This man was not normal.
Another sharp turn threw me into him this time. His arms wrapped around me, holding me steady. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” I responded by grabbing his arms that were wrapped around me and holding tightly. “Shhhh…” he quietly cooed into my hair. “It will be over soon.”
There was a loud explosion behind us. I sat up abruptly and looked behind us, worried sick that I would see Viktor, Misha, and Stephen’s vehicle flying through the air. Instead, they were once again right behind us, but the back hatch was open. I let out the breath I had unknowingly been holding and turned forward in my seat once more.
“See? I told you. We’ll be fine,” Adrik said as he grabbed my hand and held it in his.
I looked up at him, still somewhat wide-eyed, as I was still amazed that he could remain so calm in this situation. The vehicle veered onto the freeway, Ivan increasing his speed even more. I had no doubt that Stephen was once again inches away from the back of our vehicle.
Andrei radioed Misha, “the other two?”
Misha responded, “they went to the apartment. There’s no way they’ll catch up to us now.”
Andrei turned in his seat, to look at Adrik. “We’re 15 minutes out, sir. It looks to be clear now.”
Adrik nodded. I felt his body relax slightly as Andrei turned forward in his seat. I squeezed his hand, resting my head against his shoulder.
Those 15 minutes seemed to go by quickly. Before I knew it, we were pulling up in front of giant iron gates. The gates swung open, closing after the SUV behind us. We drove down the long driveway and pulled in front of the house. The grounds were immaculately kept, with giant oak trees along the driveway. Their branches making a canopy for the driveway.
Once the vehicles stopped, we all got out. I ran to Viktor and threw my hands around his neck, completely catching him off-guard. He just stood frozen for a moment, but eventually returned the hug, with his giant arms wrapping around me. His giant frame making me feel like a midget. “I was so worried,” I whispered to him.
He let out a chuckle. He stepped back and looked at me, a glint in his eye, “it’s going to take a lot more than that to keep me down.” I smiled at him, then went to Misha and Stephen and hugged them both. “Thank you.” Neither knew what to say, they just smiled sheepishly at me.
I walked back toward Adrik and Andrei who were watching the exchange, amusement evident on their faces. As I got closer, Andrei opened his arms and said, “do I get one too?” I giggled and jumped into his arms. He picked me up and swung me around, as I squealed. He set me down, laughing. “I could get used to this kind of appreciation.”
Ivan walked around the front of the vehicle to stand behind Andrei. I walked to him and extended my hand to him. “You don’t strike me as the hugging type,” I said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a bear hug. “Can you teach me how to drive like that?” I whispered to him.
He laughed for the second time since I met him. “Sure,” was all he said as he let me go. I grinned at him and walked back to Adrik. He opened his arms for me, and I readily wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest. “I saved the best for last,” I said quietly so that only he could hear me. His arms tightened around me.