Chapter 153 Chapter 153
Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Three
Irina
I saw Dimitri's face change. Saw the color drain from his skin.
"What is it?" I asked.
He showed me his phone. The message. They knew where we were.
"How?" I whispered. "How is that possible?"
"I do not know," Dimitri replied.
He ran out of the room. I followed. Found him confronting everyone.
"Who told them?" he demanded. "Who gave away our location?"
Everyone looked confused.
"What are you talking about?" Alexei asked.
Dimitri showed them the message.
"That is impossible," Mikhail said. "No one knows about this place. I never told anyone."
"Clearly someone knows," Dimitri said. He looked at each person. Trying to see who the traitor was.
"It could be a bluff," Elena suggested. "They might be guessing."
"Or they might have tracked us," Alexei said.
"How?" Dimitri demanded. "We switched cars twice. Made sure no one was following."
"GPS tracker," Viktor's voice came through the phone. Dimitri had him on speaker.
"What?" Dimitri asked.
"Check the cars," Viktor said. "They might have planted GPS trackers on them."
Dimitri, Alexei, and Elena ran outside. I stayed with Nikolai and Mikhail. My heart was pounding. If they knew where we were, we were sitting ducks.
I went to Nikolai. He was still sleeping. Unaware of the danger. I picked him up gently. Held him close.
"We need to run," I said to Mikhail.
"Where?" he asked.
"Anywhere," I replied. "As long as it is away from here."
Dimitri came running back in. "They found three trackers," he said. "On all three cars."
"Who put them there?" I demanded.
"I do not know," Dimitri replied. "But we need to move. Now."
"The cars are compromised," Alexei said. "We cannot use them."
"Then we go on foot," Dimitri said.
"In the dark?" I asked. "Through the woods? With a baby?"
"We do not have a choice," Dimitri replied.
He grabbed our bags. Started handing out flashlights. "Everyone take only what you can carry," he ordered. "We move fast. We do not stop."
I wrapped Nikolai in a warm blanket. Held him against my chest.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"There is a town five miles from here," Mikhail said. "If we can get there, we can get help."
"Five miles?" I repeated.
"Can you do it?" Dimitri asked me.
I looked at Nikolai. At my baby boy. "I will do whatever it takes," I said.
We left the cabin. Moved into the woods. The darkness was overwhelming. The trees blocked out the moonlight. We could barely see.
"Stay close," Dimitri whispered. "Do not get separated."
We walked for what felt like hours. My legs burned. My arms ached from carrying Nikolai. But I did not complain. Did not stop. Because stopping meant dying.
Then I heard it. A sound behind us. Like footsteps.
"Did you hear that?" I whispered to Dimitri.
He stopped. Everyone stopped. We listened. Nothing.
"Keep moving," Dimitri said.
But I knew what I heard. Someone was following us.
We walked faster. The sound came again. Closer this time.
"Run," Dimitri ordered.
We ran. Through the dark woods. Tripping over roots. Dodging branches. Nikolai started crying. I tried to quiet him. But he was scared. We all were.
The footsteps behind us got louder. Faster. They were gaining on us.
"There!" Alexei shouted. "Lights ahead!"
I looked. He was right. Through the trees, I could see lights. The town. We were almost there.
We ran harder. My lungs burned. My legs felt like they would give out. But I kept going. Had to keep going.
We burst out of the woods. Into the town. It was small. Quiet. But it was civilization. Safety.
We ran to the first building we saw. A small hotel. Burst through the door. The clerk looked startled.
"Please," Dimitri said. "We need help. We are being followed."
The clerk picked up the phone. Started to call the police. But before he could, the door burst open. And they walked in. The people who had been chasing us.
But when I saw their faces, I froze. Because I recognized them. All of them.
"No," I whispered.
Dimitri saw them too. His face went pale. Because standing in front of us were people we trusted. People from our own organization. People we thought were loyal.
"Surprised?" one of them asked with a cruel smile.
"You," Dimitri said. "You have been working against us this whole time."
"Not just working against you," they replied. "Leading the entire operation."
"Why?" Alexei demanded.
"Because your father destroyed my family," they said. "And I have spent twenty years planning my revenge."
They raised a gun. Pointed it at Dimitri. "And tonight, it ends."
But before they could pull the trigger, the window behind them shattered. Someone crashed through. Someone we did not expect. Someone I thought was dead.
They moved fast. Disarmed the shooter. Knocked out two others. The rest scattered. Running from the hotel.
We stood there, stunned. Staring at our savior.
"You," I breathed.
They smiled. "Miss me?"
And that is when I realized. Nothing was as it seemed. The person who had just saved us. The person standing in front of us. Was someone who should not exist. Someone whose death we had mourned.
But here they were. Alive. And they had just saved our lives.
"How are you alive?" Dimitri demanded.
"Long story," they replied. "But right now, we need to move. They will be back. With more people. And next time, I might not be able to save you."
"Who are you really?" I asked.
They looked at me. And I saw something in their eyes. Something
familiar. Something that made my heart stop.
"I think you know," they said quietly.
And I did. I knew exactly who they were. And it changed everything.