Chapter 157 Chapter 157
Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Seven
Irina
We left the hotel within ten minutes. Grabbed only what we could carry. Got into two cars and drove into the night. Dimitri was driving, his hands tight on the wheel, his jaw clenched. I had never seen him this scared.
"Where are we going?" I asked quietly.
"Away from the city," he replied. "Somewhere they cannot find us."
"They found us before," I said. "What makes you think they will not find us again?"
"Because this time, we are not telling anyone where we are going," Dimitri replied. "Not even each other."
I looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean we split up," Dimitri said. "You take Nikolai and go one direction. Alexei and I will go another. If they are tracking us, they can only follow one of us."
"No," I said immediately. "We stay together."
"Irina, this is the only way," Dimitri argued.
"I said no," I repeated firmly. "We are a family. We stay together. If they kill us, they kill us together."
Dimitri looked at me. Then at Nikolai sleeping in my arms. "I am trying to protect him," he said.
"I know," I replied. "But separating us is not the way. He needs his father. He needs his family. We all do."
Dimitri was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Okay," he said. "We stay together."
We drove for hours. North. Away from the city. Away from everything we knew. Finally, Dimitri pulled off onto a small dirt road. Followed it deep into the woods. We reached a small cabin. Even more remote than the last one.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"I do not know," Dimitri admitted. "I saw a sign for it a few miles back. It said available for rent. I am hoping it is empty."
We got out and approached carefully. The cabin was dark. No cars nearby. No signs of life. Dimitri tried the door. It was locked. He kicked it in. We entered with guns drawn. But the cabin was empty. Dusty and old, but empty.
"We can stay here tonight," Dimitri said. "Figure out our next move in the morning."
Alexei and Mikhail secured the perimeter. Elena kept watch. I tried to settle Nikolai. But he was fussy. Uncomfortable. He could sense our fear. Babies always could.
"Shh," I whispered. "Everything is going to be okay."
But I did not believe my own words. How could everything be okay when the most powerful mafia family in the world wanted my son dead?
Dimitri came over. Sat down beside me. "Let me hold him," he said. I handed Nikolai to him. He cradled our son gently. Started humming a lullaby. The same one his mother used to sing. Nikolai calmed down. Started to fall asleep.
"You are good at this," I said softly.
"I have to be," Dimitri replied. "He is my son."
I looked at him. "Dimitri," I said. "Nikolai is not your biological son. He is Alexei's. We both know that."
"I do not care," Dimitri said firmly. "He is my son in every way that matters. I love him. I will protect him. I will die for him."
Tears filled my eyes. "How did I get so lucky?" I asked.
"You did not get lucky," Dimitri replied. "You survived. You fought. You earned this."
He looked at Nikolai. "And he is going to survive too," he continued. "I promise you that. The Romanos will not touch him. Not while I am alive."
"And what if they kill you?" I asked. "What then?"
"Then Alexei will protect him," Dimitri said. "And if they kill Alexei, then Mikhail will protect him. And if they kill all of us, then you will take him and run. As far and as fast as you can. And you will raise him to be strong. To be brave. To be everything we could not be."
"I do not want to run," I said.
"I know," Dimitri replied. "But if it comes to that, you have to promise me. Promise me you will save him."
I looked at my son. At his peaceful face. At his tiny hands. "I promise," I whispered.
Dimitri kissed Nikolai's forehead. Then handed him back to me. "Get some rest," he said. "I will take first watch."
But I did not sleep. How could I sleep when danger was coming for my baby? I just held Nikolai and watched him breathe. And prayed to any god that would listen to keep him safe.
Hours passed. Finally, the sun began to rise. Dimitri came back inside. "Any movement?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "Everything is quiet."
"Too quiet," I said. Dimitri nodded. He felt it too. The calm before the storm.
We woke the others. Had a quick breakfast of stale bread and water. It was not much, but it was something.
"We need a plan," Alexei said.
"I know," Dimitri replied. "But I do not know what to do. The Romanos are too powerful. Too connected. We cannot fight them."
"Then we negotiate," Mikhail suggested.
"With what?" Dimitri asked. "We have nothing they want."
"We have information," Mikhail said. "About their enemies. About their business operations. About things your father knew."
"My father is dead," Dimitri replied. "His secrets died with him."
"Did they?" Mikhail asked. "Or did he write them down somewhere? Keep records? Evidence?"
Dimitri thought about it. "He had a safe. In his old office. I never opened it after he died. I did not want to know his secrets."
"Maybe it is time you did," Mikhail said.
"The office burned down with the safehouse," Alexei reminded us.
"The safe was fireproof," Dimitri said. "If it survived, the contents might still be inside."
"Then we need to go back," Mikhail said. "Back to the safehouse. Dig through the rubble. Find that safe."
"That is suicide," Elena protested. "The Romanos will be watching that place."
"Then we go at night," Mikhail said. "When they are not expecting it."
"Or we send someone they do not know," I suggested. Everyone looked at me. "Me," I said. "I will go."
"Absolutely not," Dimitri said immediately.
"Think about it," I pressed. "The Romanos do not know what I look like. They have photos of you and Alexei. But not me. I can slip in. Find the safe. Get out."
"It is too dangerous," Dimitri argued.
"Everything is dangerous," I countered. "But this might be our only chance."
Dimitri looked at Alexei. "What do you think?" he asked.
"I think she is right," Alexei said. "As much as I hate to admit it."
Dimitri ran his hands through his hair. "Fine," he said. "But you take Elena with you. And if anything goes wrong, you run. Do not try to be a hero."
"I will not," I promised.
We spent the day preparing. Going over maps. Planning the route. Making sure I knew exactly where to go and what to look for.
As night fell, Elena and I got ready to leave. I kissed Nikolai goodbye. Then kissed Dimitri.
"Come back to me," he said.
"Always," I replied.
Elena and I drove to the safehouse. Or what was left of it. The building was a burned out shell. Black and smoking. Police tape surrounded it. But no police were there. It was late. Everyone had gone home.
We parked a block away. Approached on foot. Slipped under the tape. Entered the ruins. It was eerie. Everything was charred and destroyed. But we found the office. Or where the office used to be. And there, under a pile of rubble, was the safe.
"Help me move this," I said to Elena. We worked together. Lifted the heavy debris. Finally exposed the safe. It was intact.
"Now we just need the combination," Elena said.
I thought about what Dimitri had told me. The combination was his parents' anniversary. I tried it. The safe clicked open.
Inside were files. Lots of files. Documents. Photos. And something else. A flash drive. I grabbed everything. Stuffed it into a bag.
"Let us go," I said.
We turned to leave. But we were not alone. Someone was standing in the doorway. Blocking our exit.
"Going somewhere?" they asked in accented English. Italian accent. My blood ran cold.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
The figure stepped into the moonlight. It was a woman. Beautiful. Elegant. And deadly.
"My name is Isabella Romano," she said. "And you have something that belongs to my family."
She gestured to the bag in my hands. "Give it to me," she ordered. "And I might let you live."
"No," I said.
Isabella smiled. "I was hoping you would say that," she said. She pulled out a gun.
"You see, I do not really want the files," she continued. "I want you. Because you are going to lead me to something much more valuable."
"What?" I asked.
"The Volkov baby," Isabella replied. "And once I have him, the Volkov bloodline ends forever."
She pointed the gun at my head. "Now," she said. "You are going to tell me exactly where he is. Or I am going to kill you right here. Right now."
And I realized with horror that I had walked right into their trap.
They had been
waiting for us. Knowing we would come. And now they were going to use me to find Nikolai. My baby. My innocent son. I had failed to protect him.
And now he was going to die.