“What?” I gasped. “I’m safe at home. I can go with Grandad.”
“No. You will remain with Dimitry. He will keep you safe.”
My eyes flickered to the man next to me with the hard face and gun in his hand. I slowly turned my gaze to the driver. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror and I couldn’t see much of him except for his cold blue eyes and a scar that ran from his eye down his cheek.
I shook my head. No, this wasn’t safe. “Dad, please,” I begged. “You can’t leave me with them. Not after-” I quickly cut myself off. “I want to come home. I”ll stay locked in the house if I have to.”
Considering my history with Boris, I didn’t want to be on the same continent as his men, even less the same country. And this guy, Dimitry… who was he. It seemed odd that my father would trust a stranger. Since I was a little girl distrust of strangers was engraved into me. That was a lesson I learned in the worst possible way.
“Listen to me, baby girl,” my dad said in a rushed manner, which indicated he was upset. “These men won’t stop until they get you and get what they want. And when they get what they want, they’ll still kill you. Trust me.”
“I do,” I murmured. I knew when my dad made his mind up, there was no changing it. I pulled my hand through my hair and winced at the pain. I watched the marks around my wrist from the rope they kept around it. They were purplish blue. “I have another two days before my job at the hospital.”
I just had a close call with a rape and death, and my job came to mind. What was wrong with my way of thinking?
“I’ll call them.” He meant it; he would convince them to hold the job for me.
“How long do I have to do this?”
“I don’t know,” he sounded tired.
“Please promise me you won’t ask them to hold the spot for me.” I knew my dad. He’d try to convince them to hold it for me. Because it was the right thing to do and there was nobody more qualified than me. The truth was there were plenty of qualified applicants. “They need someone right now.”
Even as I spoke those words, I hated the idea of giving up that position. It was my dream job, junior surgeon in the Johns Hopkins burn unit. It was a miracle my start date was two months from the date of their offer letter.
“Ok, we have ten seconds,” was all he said.
“Dad, promise me. Please.”
“I promise,” he finally caved in. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” The line went dead.
I wiped my face dry with the back of my hand, my nose stuffy from tears I wanted to cry. My whole body hurt, my face hurt, everything hurt. But I tried to stay strong, aware of both men glancing my way.
I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief.
“So where are you guys taking me?” I questioned. “Since it seems I can’t go home and I’m stuck in this godforsaken country indefinitely.”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Which one of you is Dimitry?” I asked, remembering dad’s comment.
“I’m Nikolai,” the driver responded.
My eyes shifted to Dimitry, every instinct in me screamed that he was dangerous. His body oozed raw power and radiated danger. He might have saved me but I had a feeling if he had to kill me, he could do it without a second thought. He was handsome and beautiful but in a very dangerous way.
He just saved you,my mind whispered.
“Who are you exactly?” I asked Dimitry, keeping my gaze on this perfect stranger that currently held my life in his hands. “Do you work for the Russian police? Or are you part of a private security firm?”
We measured each other as seconds ticked away. He wasn’t going to answer, intimidating me with his gaze. I wondered how my dad convinced these two to save me. They didn’t seem like the kind to save someone just because it was the right thing to do. My dad must have had something over them. Or maybe my grandad or uncle pulled their connections in political circles to get someone to help me.
Wrapping arms around myself, I scooted closer to the door, wind whipping through my hair.
“I hope wherever we are going, there is at least a shower,” I muttered to both of them. “And soap. I am sick and tired of your barbaric ways.”
I sounded cranky and bitchy. I couldn’t help it. I was at the end of my strength.