“It’s me,” Dimitry’s voice reached me before I saw him.
“What’s happening?”
“We have to go. Put your shoes on and grab your bag.” He was calm and cold, reminding me of the day he rescued me. That alone told me we were in trouble. I could barely see a gun in his hand.
“I have to pack it all up.” My voice slightly shook and I was still disoriented.
“It’s already packed. Just put your shoes on.”
I didn’t want to waste any more time so I followed his direction. Thankfully, I took a shower before I went to bed and slept in another pair of yoga pants. It came in handy to go to sleep prepared to run, although it wasn’t intentional. A round of gunshots followed and I rushed to his side.
“No matter what,” he took my chin between his fingers, ”stay behind me and keep close. Do not fall behind.”
I nodded without another word and took the back hem of his shirt between my fingers. He nodded and we started moving silently, my bag over my back. My heart pounded inside my chest and my breathing was coming out in heavy pants. I held my breath, willing my heart and myself to calm down before they heard my loud breathing and knew where to find us. A few more gunshots sounded off, the sound even louder in the large marble foyer. Although it startled me, almost made my heart pound out of my chest, I didn’t let out a peep. I just held on to Dimitry for dear life. He saved me once already. Well possibly twice since he eliminated the threat of the guy that was one of my captors and dared to come after me after Dimitry rescued me.
Dimitry was my best chance at survival.
There was a large dark figure approaching and I had to bite my lip to prevent a sound from coming out. Dimitry started speaking to him in a hushed tone and I realized it was Nikolai. Tears of relief pooled in my eyes, thankful it was a friend not an enemy.
“You good?” Dimitry pulled me closer. I nodded and glanced at Nikolai's worried expression. But the moment he saw me looking at him, he smiled, masking his worry.
“Don’t worry, princess,” he whispered. “We’ll get out of here.”
I really didn’t want to start crying now. I accepted his comforting words, gripping Dimitry’s shirt harder.
“Okay,” Dimitry muttered. “Let’s move. Anastasia, stay close.”
As if I would wander off. He was lucky I didn’t climb onto his back. I wanted to be as close as possible to him.
Instead of going down the stairs, he took us past them and kept going. When we got to a corner, he placed his palms on the wall and started to feel the wall. I was really freaking out, wondering what the hell he was doing. It was the wrong time to be feeling the texture of walls. But then the panel opened and a set of small, spiral stairs showed up in front of us.
“I’ll go first, then you’ll follow when Nikolai says it’s safe.”
Dimitry’s voice was firm but I was scared to death.
“Don’t leave me,” my voice was a whimper, and as soon as words left me, shame overwhelmed me. I remembered begging my mother not to leave me when the man dragged her out of the basement. I needed to be stronger.
He took my face between his hands, his gun pointed away from me. “I’m not leaving you,” he whispered. “I’ll make sure there is nobody down there. If there is, I’ll make it safe before you come down. Okay?”
I bit my lip to prevent any more pleading from coming out. It made sense what he was doing. “Hold on to Nikolai like you held on to me. He’ll keep you safe until I send the signal.”
I had to force myself to let go of Dimitry, and Nikolai took my hand and handed me the rim of his shirt. I held on to it but my eyes never left Dimitry as he started descending down the spiral stairs.
I held my breath waiting, I felt like each second was a whole hour. I glanced at Nikolai but he kept his watchful eye all around us to ensure nobody was coming. A low whistle and Nikolai was guiding me to the stairs.
“Go on,” his voice was gentle as he urged me to the steps. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Each step I took, I kept glancing down and up to ensure Nikolai was coming too. I could see Dimitry’s head keeping watch, and he’d look up every so often. Each time our eyes met, it was like he shot extra strength into me.
When I was finally at the bottom, he took me into his arms and I peeked behind him. He turned my head away. “Don’t look.”
I didn’t like bloodshed and killing, but I couldn’t feel sorry for two men crumpled on the ground, their necks at a weird angle, which told me he had broken them. At this point, it was either them or us. Nikolai took the last step down, and all together we headed out.
“Where is Sergei?” I asked in a low whisper but neither one of them stopped.
I worried they didn’t hear me when he showed up in front of us, his arm covered in blood. I reached out to him in alarm but he took my hand. “I’m ok, princess. Let’s get out of here.”
“Medical kit?” I asked. We’d definitely need a medical kit.