He holds me close, but I can tell something is wrong.
“I’m okay.” He gives me a kiss.
We pull apart, but he still keeps his grip on me. Ehlga walks into the hallway and smiles.
“I’m glad you’re okay, too,” she says.
He looks at Ehlga with worried eyes, and I’m even more certain that something else is going on.
“Can you call Volkova Inc. and let them know I’ll be away for the next few days? Just get my secretary to rearrange everything.”
“Of course.” Ehlga dips her head and leaves us, but there’s a tremor in her step.
I turn back to Desmier and take in the tension clenching his jaw.
“Desmier, what’s going on?”
“Come, we have to talk about some important things. And I have something to show you.”
“Okay.” I search his eyes, looking past the worry, and I see fear. Since I’ve known him, he’s been a force to reckon with. I didn’t even know he could be afraid.
“Come.”
He takes my hand and leads me to the hallway near his office. The one with the ghosts and the crest.
I’m surprised when we reach the crest and stop in front of it.
“What are we doing here, Desmier?”
“You’ll see. This is the purpose of the crest.”
He touches the crest, pressing his hand to the wolf’s nose, and I gasp when the whole face sinks in and the wall slides open, revealing a passageway.
“Oh my God.”
“It’s a doorway.” He turns and holds my gaze. “So is the crest on the cliff.”
“Secret passageways?”
I think back to what Lorelai said about Pavel Butyrskaya being a member of the secret squad, and this makes sense.
“Yes. This was a safe house. The crest was used both to identify the Butyrskaya’s safe houses and link to secret passages.”
A chill races over me. “So, I was at another safe house in the past?”
When he nods, I realize why he was so secretive about it before, and why he said the crest was special.
And… why I shouldn’t have been there.
“What was I doing there?”
He touches my cheek. “I don’t know, baby, but I think something did happen to you there. And I think you saw something else, too.”
“What?”
“I think you saw what happened to the Butyrskayas.”
My mouth drops. “Me?”