Andrusha disappeared, and Sasha and I continued to play. If you’re mine, I’ll protect you. His words were on repeat in my head. What did that even mean, if I was his? Andrusha had told me that he wanted to sleep with me, but he also told me he wouldn’t sleep with me. I had no idea whether he would keep his word, but it didn’t matter. I knew, in my heart, that this man was my best chance of surviving this mess.
I still felt incredibly wary, even fearful, of him. When he was around, I felt jittery, aware of his every move.
I threw the ball, and instead of running after it, Sasha stood, panting, before he lay down on his side on the cool cement.
“Are you done?”
Sasha yawned loudly.
I walked across the length of the bay to retrieve the ball. I stood up and gasped as a man from out of nowhere stood in front of me.
“Oh.” I put my hand on my chest. “You startled me.”
He was an older man, around sixty, with craters of wrinkles in his face and thinning gray hair. He didn’t speak, but his eyes spoke volumes. He looked me over with disgust.
“Are you the hooker?”
His words punched the air out of me. “Excuse me?”
“Are you the hooker that Andrusha decided to play hero with?”
“I’m not a prostitute.”
He stood too close. “Not what I heard. How much you charge a night?”
I moved to step around him. “This conversation is over.”
He grabbed my wrist hard. “It’s over when I say it’s over.”
I heard a piercing whistle. Both of us looked up. Andrusha stood standing on the balcony.
The older man dropped my wrist and walked off. I watched as Andrusha motioned for me to come up to his office. He watched Sasha and I begin up the stairs before he disappeared into his office.
Viktor remained standing on the balcony, watching my ascent. “You okay?”
I wanted to ask with indignation why word was being spread that I was a hooker, but I didn’t think I had the right to complain. I was at the mercy of Andrusha and his men, and whatever they wanted to call me was their prerogative. Still, it left me feeling pretty low. “I’m okay.”
He frowned. “You sure? What did he say to you?”
“Nothing.”
Andrusha glanced up from his desk when I entered his office, but he didn’t speak. He threw his pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair making me feel like I had his full attention. Something I wasn’t sure I wanted. I focused on Sasha, watching as the big dog jumped on the couch.
Still feeling stung about being called a hooker, made my gaze a bit defensive. “You wanted to see me?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “What happened with Vlad?”
I shifted my eyes away. “Nothing.”
I could feel him study me. “Your feathers are ruffled.”
I walked over to his bookshelf and picked up a hockey puck. I looked it over before setting it back down. “My feathers are fine.”
He laced his hands behind his head. “We need to take care of some business.”
“What?”
“If the prosecution doesn’t know if you’re alive or dead, they probably won’t be able to maintain the charges against Bunko.”
I moved to sit in the chair across from him. “How do you know all of this?”
He ignored my question. “We have a couple of options.”
“What?”
“You could meet with Detective Klaassen and let her know you’re okay.”
I shook my head, remembering how cold her demeanor had been yesterday. “No.”
He leaned forward, so his arms rested on the desk. “What happened with her?”
Why was this guy so all-seeing? I shrugged, not wanting to get into those four hours when they questioned me like a criminal. “What else?”
“We can arrange a meeting with one of the lawyers on the prosecution team.”
“Yes, that.”
He looked at me until I could barely hold his gaze.
“What?” I challenged, trying to appear tough.
“I don’t like secrets.”
“You think I have secrets? You’re the one who seems to know everything about my life, and I know nothing about you.”
He pursed his lips. “That’s different.”
“Why?”
“I’m in charge.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“It kind of does.” He smiled and leaned back. “You’re in a mood. Did Sasha shred your last nerve?”
I felt myself flush at his teasing. This guy seriously unnerved me. “He’s good.”
He watched me too closely. “Don’t lose that spunk. It suits you.”
I feigned annoyance as I stood up, but his words made me feel okay again.
He watched me. “Go make yourself something to eat. We might have plans tonight.”
I made a grilled cheese sandwich and watched television in the apartment. I was just debating heading to bed when Andrusha walked into the loft with an intense look on his face.
“Come on, time to go.”
I stood up, anxiety rolling through me. “Where am I going?”
He paused. “We have a meeting with a lawyer on the prosecution team.”
“Right now?” I blinked. “It’s almost eleven.”
“Guys are waiting. Get your shoes on.”
In the bay area, besides three SUVs, there were four men waiting, all wearing body armor, with various guns holstered to their bodies. They looked scary as hell, especially the two holding automatic rifles.
Without speaking, Andrusha opened the back door of the middle SUV. I climbed in and watched as Viktor and Andrusha spoke to the other four men before Viktor got behind the wheel and Andrusha sat beside him with a huge gun resting lightly on his leg. There was a different energy to them tonight. They were on edge, watchful and silent. The men drove fast and in a tight-knit convoy. Viktor rode the bumper of the SUV ahead of us so hard, there were times I thought he would hit it.
“We have three SUVs with us tonight.” I tried to sound casual.
“That’s for your safety.” Andrusha’s tone was flat, and he didn’t look over his shoulder at me.
“But you and I went out alone this morning.”
Viktor answered that non-question. “When something happens, it almost always happens at night.”
I wanted to ask why they had planned this meeting for the evening, then, but I kept my mouth shut. I thought we would be heading downtown to some law firm, but instead, we drove to North Van, up into the hills, into an exclusive-looking neighborhood that sported sprawling homes overlooking the bay. We pulled up to a house, dark except for the front porch light.
“Are you sure they’re home?” I asked, peering out the window.
“They’re home.” Andrusha looked over the seat at me. “First, we wait.”
I watched from the back seat as four men, including Viktor, walked up the driveway. Two men split off, disappearing into the backyard, while one guy took his position near the front door.
“What are they doing?” I asked.
“They are clearing the perimeter.”
I wanted to scoff that this was over-the-top, unnecessary behavior, but sadly, I didn’t know if it was. Twice now, men with guns had tried to kill me. I could hear voices over the radio in Andrusha’s hand, but they spoke in Russian, so I didn’t know what was going on.
Then Viktor and the second guy stood at the front door. I watched as a light went on upstairs. When the front door opened, I caught a glimpse of someone before Andrusha’s men stepped in and shut the door.
Holy shit.
“Was this meeting scheduled?” I asked in a small voice.
Andrusha made a short, amused noise. “We just scheduled it.”
After a few moments, Viktor’s voice came over the radio. “House clear, lawyer ready for his meeting.”
Andrusha got out of the car and opened the back door. “Come on.”
Who did that? Who showed up at someone’s house, late at night and forced their way in with guns just so they could talk?
These guys were different than anyone I knew. I glanced up at Andrusha. He walked without expression towards the door. Before we got to the top step, Viktor swung open the door, ushering us into the huge foyer. “Guy isn’t happy. He’s in there.”
I could hear the angry voice of a man. “What the hell is going on here? You can’t just barge into my home with guns and think you’re going to get away with this.”
Andrusha strode ahead of me, into the living room, and Viktor motioned for me to follow. A man, in housecoat and pajamas, sat on his own couch, his hands zip-tied in front of him. He looked pissed.
Andrusha sat down on the couch across from him and motioned for one of the men to cut the ties off.
“Who the hell are you?” the guy spit out.
Andrusha gave him a regretful look. “We meant no disrespect.”
“This is fucking insane, you know that?”
He held up his hand. “If you’d let me finish.”
The guy rubbed his wrists and scowled, but he stopped talking.
“We needed to talk to you, but we also needed to take precautionary security measures to make sure this meeting wasn’t compromised. I understand you are part of the legal team that is prosecuting Ivan Bunko for murder?”
True fear reflected in the man’s eyes. “What do you know about that?”
Andrusha continued. “We want to help you put him behind bars. Sorry for the theatrics, but Bunko is dangerous.”
The lawyer cleared his throat. “We don’t have much of a case. We lost our star witness over the weekend. Bunko’s legal team is making a motion tomorrow to have all charges dropped.”
Andrusha looked up at me. “We have your witness.”
The lawyer’s eyes widened as he looked at me. “You’re Olivia Childs?”
I nodded.
He looked back at Andrusha. “They said she was missing and presumed dead.”
Andrusha spoke. “If you still want her help, she’s willing to testify.”
Jason, the lawyer, calmed down after they let him get dressed. Together, we sat at his dining room table while Jason asked me dozens of questions. Andrusha leaned against the wall and listened but didn’t speak.
Finally, Jason put his pen down and looked at me. “Why haven’t you come and talked to our legal team before?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve made repeated requests from the police to have a preliminary interview with you. They said you refused each time.”
“I’ve never refused that. I’ve just done what they’ve told me.”
He frowned. “That’s really odd.”
Andrusha interrupted. “Who did you talk to on the police force?”
Jason dug through his notes. “Detective Jolena Klaassen. I’m going to draw up an affidavit stating that you are alive and well and that you are willing to testify in court. I will be submitting that to court to uphold the charges against Ivan Bunko and to ensure he doesn’t get bail.”
Just the sound of Bunko’s name made me scared. “Okay.”
“When we heard you went missing, we all thought this case was buried. The defense was practically celebrating, because they thought all the charges would be sustained, but this will get us to trial.” He made eye contact with me. “Once the defense realizes that you’re still alive, you can expect they will start looking for you again.”
“What do you mean?” My eyes darted towards Andrusha’s grim expression. He didn’t look happy.
Andrusha stepped forward and slid a card across the table. “That’s the name of my law firm. Any communication you need to make with us, do so through them. As far as you are concerned, you don’t know where Olivia is, who she’s with, or how to get in touch with her.”
Jason looked up at him with concern. “I can’t stress enough the importance of security right now. Bunko is one of the most dangerous men we’ve ever encountered.”
Andrusha’s face was a scowl. “We’ve got that covered.”
Jason glanced at me. “Whatever kind of protection you think you need against him, double it.”
“Are we done here?” Andrusha’s tone was arctic. Note to self: the guy hated anyone questioning his ability to protect.
“I might need another meeting closer to trial, but we should be good for now.”
Andrusha motioned for me to move. There was no goodbye with Jason. They simply hustled me back to the cars. I climbed into the back seat and Andrusha sat in the front with Viktor.
“Anything?” Andrusha asked Viktor.
“It was all clear.” Viktor glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “But none of us felt easy.”
“You guys couldn’t see anything?”
“We had night vision, scopes, the works. We all felt watched, but we couldn’t find the source.”
Andrusha nodded. “Lawyer gave us a dire warning too.”
“I’m going to talk to Vlad about doubling up security at nights,” Viktor said.
“Make it happen.”
I stared out the window, stressing. Talks about security, protection, and night vision made me realize just how much effort was going into keeping me safe. I felt Andrusha looking back at me.
“You’re quiet.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
He looked forward, his big gun resting on his lap. “What?” When I didn’t answer, he looked back over his shoulder, assessing me.
My tone went instantly defensive. “Why do you never believe me when I tell you things are okay?”
“Because there is usually something else going on.”
I stared at the back of his head trying to understand his motivations. The guy was going to enormous lengths to keep me safe. His questions were like shovels, digging to see inside of me. And he said he wanted to sleep with me but he wasn’t going to. He was also ridiculously bossy, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from doing what he told me, mostly because I wasn’t brave enough to openly defy him.
I decided to voice my concerns because I needed to get a read on how he felt about protecting me. Was it getting to be too much? Would he end up dropping me off at the ferry in the near future? “It seems like this whole situation around me keeps getting worse.”
Viktor caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “Bunko is the problem here, not you. You’re the solution to our problem.”
I looked back at Andrusha to see what he thought.
His answer was unsatisfactory. “Listen to Viktor. He knows what he’s talking about.”
When we got back to the loft, I took Sasha outside, and to my surprise, Andrusha followed me down the stairs and out into the cool air. He stood beside me with his arms crossed.
Something was bothering me. “Can I ask you a question?”
He glanced over at me, not speaking.
“The lawyer said that he had made repeated requests to the police for an interview with me. The detective didn’t tell me that.”
“Detective Klaassen was the one who left you with those two rogue cops?”
“She asked me a lot of questions and then dropped me off with them. Do you think she’s part of all of this?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. We’re trying to figure that out.”
I didn’t know whether to apologize for complicating his life so much or thank him for his efforts. I turned to face him fully, noting how the shadows played on his cheekbones, reminding me that he was both dangerous and beautiful. “Do you see me as the solution?”
His eyes focused on me. “In what regard?”
“Viktor said I wasn’t the problem—that I was the solution to the problem. Do you believe that?”
“Does it matter what I think?”
It matters if you’re losing patience with this situation. “I guess not.”
“What did you think of the lawyer?”
I thought about my answer. “He seemed real about wanting to take this to trial.”
Andrusha picked up a stick and threw it hard into the dark. Sasha took off like a rocket. “I don’t trust anyone.”
There were so few people in this world that I actually trusted. At this point, I probably trusted Andrusha more than I trusted the police, but did that mean I completely trusted him? “Trust is a sliding scale.”
A smile caught his lips. “Meaning?”
“Some people I don’t trust at all and some I trust more. That’s all.”
He studied me. “Where do I fit on your trust scale?”
“Higher than most.”
He gave a short laugh as Sasha came trotting back, carrying his stick. “At least that’s honest.”
“You know what I mean.”
He pierced me with one of his looks. “Your instincts are good.”
I didn’t even know what that meant, but before I could ask, he motioned for us to move back inside.
