Roman could show up at any moment, and if that happened the fallout could easily derail his potential rapprochement with his father. And yet, for some reason he couldn’t explain, he was still reluctant to end the conversation.
From inside the hotel, he heard the thunder of footsteps, and his shoulders tensed as he saw his bodyguards’ heads snap as one towards the doors.
‘Sir—’
Crawford stepped forward again. His head of security was a professional. Ex-Special Forces. His face was smooth and unreadable, but there was no mistaking the note of urgency in his voice now.
‘We need to move.’
He glanced down at Effie Price.
In the dappled London light, she looked soft and small and young. Imagining Roman’s explosive temper ricocheting around her in this quiet side street, Achileas felt a stab of irritation. He couldn’t leave her to face that alone. But if he didn’t leave now, who knew what she would see and hear? And the last thing he needed was a witness.
So, take her with you...
Later he would wonder what had possessed him to follow through on that entirely random thought, but in the heat of the moment it seemed not only rational but imperative that she go with him.
‘You heard the man.’ He turned towards her. ‘We need to move.’
Her eyes flew to his, but she didn’t move. In fact, to his immense irritation, she seemed to dig her small feet into the pavement.
‘Move...?’ Staring up at him, Effie Price repeated the word slowly, almost as if she needed to say it out loud to confirm what she’d heard. ‘What are you talking about?’
Behind him, raised male voices filtered into the street, indistinct but unmistakably Russian, and the footsteps were closer now—purposeful, unwavering.
It was crunch time.
He took a step forward. ‘It’s really quite simple. I need to leave. And you’re coming with me,’ he said firmly.
Her eyes widened cartoonishly and she opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. He had already tossed her bag onto the back seat and, ignoring her soft gasp of surprise, he ushered her into the car and slid smoothly in beside her.