Chapter 29Elena
29
Elena
I couldn’t find a way to escape at the gas station, so I’m back to the SUV with Alexei. When he put me back in a while ago, he let me sit up front and didn’t zip tie my hands to the car handle this time—just together on my lap. I guess he figures I’m not much threat. In my current state, without options, he’s sadly right.
“We’re getting closer,” he says, his accent thicker now that we’re away from public spaces. I notice a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead despite the cool air conditioning.
I stare out the window, watching as the landscape changes. Urban sprawl gives way to increasingly isolated stretches of woodland and water. The Chesapeake Bay glimmers in the distance, sunlight dancing across its surface in a way that would be beautiful under different circumstances.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.
Alexei’s gaze flicks to me, then back to the road. “You’ll see soon enough.”
I catalog everything I can about our surroundings, mentally mapping the route in case I get a chance to escape later. We turn onto a private road, winding through a thick field of trees until a modernist mansion comes into view. The structure is all sharp angles and glass, perched on a bluff overlooking the water.
“Nice place,” I say, trying to sound casual while my heart hammers. I press my bound hands protectively over my stomach.
Alexei parks the SUV in a circular driveway and comes around to my side. He opens the door and grabs my upper arm, pulling me out with enough force to make me stumble.
“Watch it,” I snap. “I’m pregnant.”
His grip loosens slightly, but his expression remains impassive as he marches me toward the front entrance. The double doors swing open before we reach them, revealing two men in dark suits. Their identical expressions and postures remind me of the security personnel at Damir’s buildings, but these men don’t have the same disciplined professionalism. There’s something cruder about them and more volatile.
“Take her to the special guest room,” says Alexei, handing me off like a package. “Nikolai wants her comfortable for now.”
One of the men grabs my arm while the other walks ahead, leading us through a soaring entryway with a floating staircase and minimalist furnishings. The place is expensively decorated but lacks the warmth of Damir’s penthouse. Everything here feels like it’s for show rather than living.
We climb to the second floor and proceed down a hallway lined with abstract art. The man in front opens a door and gestures for me to enter. To my surprise, it’s not a cell or a basement room but a luxurious guest suite. Huge windows offer a panoramic view of the bay. A king-sized bed dominates one wall, and there’s a sitting area with plush chairs and a small table.
“Bathroom’s through there,” says one of the men, nodding toward a door on the far wall. “Don’t try anything stupid.”
They leave, and I hear the distinct click of a lock engaging. I immediately check the windows and find they’re sealed shut and likely reinforced glass. The bathroom has no windows at all. I examine my zip-tied wrists, annoyed at how the plastic cuts into my skin. There’s nothing sharp enough in the room to cut them.
I return to the guest room to see if I can find anything useful. I’ve only been there a few minutes, pacing and assessing my options, when the door opens again. Casey steps in, closing it behind him.
My ex-boyfriend looks nothing like the polished med student I once knew. His designer clothes are rumpled and stained, his sandy blond hair unwashed and sticking up at odd angles. Dark circles shadow his eyes, and several days’ worth of stubble covers his jaw. “Elena,” he says, his voice cracking slightly. “Are you okay?”
I stare at him incredulously. “Am I okay? Are you seriously asking me that right now?”
He takes a step toward me, then seems to think better of it. “I mean, did they hurt you?”
“No, I’m not physically injured beyond these bruised wrists from the restraints,” I say, holding up my bound hands. “Though the stress could potentially impact my pregnancy.”
Casey winces visibly at that, his gaze dropping to my stomach. He paces nervously several feet away, running his hands through his already disheveled hair. When one of Nikolai’s men passes by the open door, Casey straightens his shoulders and adopts an air of confidence. The moment the man is gone, his expression crumples back into barely contained panic.
“What am I doing here, Casey?” I ask. “Why did Nikolai have me kidnapped?”
“It’s complicated,” he says, glancing toward the door.
“Uncomplicate it for me.”
He sighs, dropping into one of the chairs. “It started as a way to get back at Damir. I owed money—a lot of money—and Nikolai offered to clear my debts if I helped him.”
“Helped him do what?”
“Get information on Damir. When he made the offer, you two were already together, and I thought...” He trails off.
“You thought you’d use me,” I finish for him. “Again.”
He has the decency to look ashamed. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far. I was just supposed to find out about his operations and maybe plant some bugs. Then Nikolai found out you were married, and things escalated.”
I study Casey’s face, seeing the fear behind his eyes. “And now?”
“Now, Nikolai wants to use you as leverage against Damir. He wants everything—the territory, the businesses, all of it.”
I sit on the edge of the bed, processing this information. “So, I’m a bargaining chip.” I already knew that, but confirmation is ugly.
Casey nods miserably. “I tried to tell him it was a bad idea. Damir will burn the whole city down to get you back.”
“Then why did you go along with it?”
“I didn’t have a choice.” His voice rises, but then he glances nervously at the door and lowers it again. “Nikolai doesn’t take no for an answer. Once you’re in, you’re in.”
I notice how his hands shake slightly as he speaks. “You’re in over your head.”
“You have no idea,” he whispers. “This was supposed to be simple revenge. Get back at Damir for trying to ruin me, settle my debts with Nikolai, and maybe make some money in the process. Now, people are dead, and Nikolai’s talking about...” He stops abruptly.
“Talking about what?”
Casey shakes his head. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” I say, leaning forward. “What is Nikolai planning to do with me after he gets what he wants from Damir?”
Casey doesn’t answer, which tells me everything I need to know. Nikolai has no intention of letting me go, regardless of what Damir does.
“How long have you been working with him?” I ask, changing tactics.
Casey shifts uncomfortably. “A while.”
“Before or after you stole my inheritance?”
He looks away. “Before. Years before.”
The revelation hits me like a physical blow. “So it wasn’t just gambling debts. You were working for Nikolai the whole time we were together.”
“Yeah. I’ve owed him for a long time. For a while, he was content to have me just tag along as muscle to encourage people to pay. It didn’t escalate until you married Antonova.”
Our relationship had been a lie. I think back to all the times he’d disappeared for hours, claiming to be studying or meeting with classmates. All the unexplained cash he sometimes had, despite his supposed financial troubles.
“Did you ever care about me at all?” I ask, hating how vulnerable the question makes me sound.
Casey looks up in surprise. “Of course I did. That part wasn’t fake.”
“Just everything else.” I snort. “And the other women you seduced and defrauded too? I suppose you cared about them as well?”
He flinches but doesn’t confirm or deny it.
I stand up and walk to the window, looking out at the water. The sun is starting to set. Somewhere out there, Damir is looking for me. I touch the emerald necklace at my throat, the one he gave me as a symbol of his protection. I wonder if he knows where I am yet.
“What does Nikolai have on you?” I ask without turning around. “Anything besides the gambling debts?”
Casey is quiet for so long I think he might not answer. Then he says, “He knows where my estranged sister lives, and he’s made it clear what will happen if I don’t cooperate. It’s not just my life on the line.”
I turn to face him. “And what about my family? What about my baby?”
Casey scowls at me. “I’m trying to help you. Why do you think Nikolai hasn’t moved you to a more secure location? I convinced him this place was safe.”
“Is it safe for him?”
“No. Damir will find it eventually. That’s what I’m counting on.”
I’m about to express my skepticism of that when the door to the guest suite swings open without warning. Casey jumps to his feet, his nervous energy filling the room as Nikolai Sokolov strides in.
Nikolai is tall and impeccably dressed in a tailored charcoal suit that probably costs more than a year of my medical school textbooks. His blond hair is perfectly styled without a strand out of place. Unlike Casey’s disheveled appearance, everything about Nikolai speaks of control and precision.
His cold blue eyes assess me with clinical detachment, like I’m a specimen under a microscope rather than a person. The temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. “Ms. Clarke,” he says, his English flawless with just the hint of a Russian accent. “I hope you find your accommodations satisfactory. I apologize for the unfortunate circumstances, but I assure you this is temporary.”
He speaks as if I’m an inconvenient house guest who arrived a day early rather than a pregnant woman he’s kidnapped.
“You call zip-tying a pregnant woman and dragging her across state lines ‘unfortunate circumstances?’” I hold up my bound wrists. “I’d hate to see what you consider actual hostility. And it’s Mrs. Antonova .”
Nikolai’s lips curve into something approximating a smile, though it never reaches his eyes. “Spirited. I see why Damir is so... attached.” He walks toward the window, looking out at the darkening bay. “You should know your husband is quite desperate to find you.”
“Then you’ve made a serious miscalculation. Damir will tear this place apart.”
“That is precisely what I’m counting on.” Nikolai turns back to me, then shifts his attention to Casey, who stands rigid with anxiety. “Your former lover has been quite useful, though his usefulness is coming to an end.”
Casey swallows hard. “I did everything you asked.”
“Indeed. One final task remains.” Nikolai reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a handgun. With casual disregard, he tosses it to Casey, who fumbles but manages to catch it. “Kill her.”
Casey’s face drains of color so rapidly I worry he might faint. “What? No—that wasn’t—I never agreed to?—”
“Your agreement is irrelevant.” Nikolai straightens his cuffs. “You wanted revenge on Damir. What better way than to take what he values most? Do it now, or I’ll have Yuri kill you both.”
Casey’s hands shake violently as he grips the gun. His gaze darts between me and Nikolai.
“I’ll give you privacy for your reunion.” Nikolai walks to the door. “Five minutes. I expect it done when I return.”
The door closes with a soft click that sounds impossibly loud in the sudden silence. Casey stands frozen, the gun pointed vaguely in my direction, his face a mask of terror.
“Casey,” I say softly, keeping my voice calm despite the hammering of my heart. “Casey, look at me.”
His eyes meet mine, wild with panic.
“You don’t want to do this.” I maintain eye contact, remembering my training in de-escalating agitated patients. “This isn’t you.”
“You don’t know what he’ll do to me if I don’t.” The gun wavers in his grip.
“I know you. Whatever else happened between us, you’re not a killer.” I take a careful step toward him. “Casey, please.”
“Stop saying my name like that.” His voice cracks.
“Like what?”
“Like you still care what happens to me.”
I take another small step. “I forgive you, Casey.”
His eyes widen in surprise. “What?”
“For stealing my inheritance. For lying to me. For all of it.” The words come out with surprising ease. “It seems so insignificant now, compared to everything else.”
“How can you say that? I ruined your life.”
“No, you didn’t. You changed my path.” I gesture to my stomach. “Look where I am now. I’m married. I’m having a baby. None of that would have happened if you hadn’t left.”
He lowers the gun slightly. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do. Our relationship feels like it happened to someone else, in another lifetime.” I take another step closer. “If this ends badly, will you tell Damir something for me?”
The gun drops a few more inches. “What?”
“Tell him I love him. Tell him our son and I love him.”
His emotional defenses crumble completely, and the gun hangs limply at his side. “I never wanted you to get hurt. I just wanted Damir to suffer. I know he’s been coming after me and caused all my recent troubles.” He sounds petulant for a moment, but the gun remains limp at his side. “I thought if I could get close to you again, I could access his accounts through you while placating Nikolai.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Casey runs a hand through his hair. “Nikolai is going to kill us both no matter what I do. He never intended to let either of us walk out of here.”
“Then help me.” I hold up my zip-tied wrists. “Cut these off.”
Casey hesitates, then nods. He sets the gun on a nearby table and pulls a small pocketknife from his jeans. With shaking hands, he slices through the plastic binding my wrists. The relief is immediate as blood rushes back into my fingers.
“I have a plan,” he whispers, glancing nervously at the door. “I’ll create a distraction. Fire a couple shots at the guards in the hallway and miss on purpose. While they’re scrambling, you slip out and make a run for it.”
“Where would I go? We’re miles from anywhere.”
“There’s a boathouse down by the water. Small motorboat. Keys are in the ignition. I saw it earlier when I was scoping out an escape plan.” He gives me a crooked smile. “You might as well take it, since I’m not getting out of here. Head east along the shoreline, and you’ll hit a marina in about twenty minutes.”
I rub my wrists, considering. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because I owe you that much, and I don’t want your death on my conscience. I’m a bad guy, but I’m not evil.” He retrieves the gun. “Get ready by the door. When I start shooting, count to three, then go.”
I nod, moving into position. Casey takes a deep breath, then opens the door and fires two shots down the hallway. The sound is deafening in the confined space. Shouts of alarm erupt from the guards.
“Go!”
I slip out the door, my hands still stinging from the zip ties. The hallway is momentarily clear as the guards take cover around the corner. I move quickly but quietly, heading for the stairs.
I make it only a few feet before a guard spots me. He’s young, probably no older than twenty-five, with a shaved head and a tattoo creeping up his neck.
“Stop,” he shouts, raising his weapon.
I freeze, raising my hands. The guard grabs my arm roughly and drags me back toward the guest suite. Casey is still in the doorway, gun now pointed at the floor. The guard shoves me inside and keeps his weapon trained on both of us.
“What the hell is going on?” he demands in heavily accented English.
Neither of us answers. The guard backs toward the door, keeping his gun on us while he calls for backup on his radio. Within minutes, Nikolai returns, flanked by Alexei and another guard.
The cold civility Nikolai displayed earlier has vanished. His face is a mask of fury when he strides into the room. He takes the gun from the guard and aims it directly at Casey’s chest.
“I should have known better than to trust a man who would betray his woman for money.” Nikolai’s voice is soft, almost conversational, which makes it all the more terrifying. “You are a traitor twice over, Mr. Harris.”
Casey stands frozen, his face ashen. “Please?—”
“Begging is beneath even you.” Nikolai’s finger tightens on the trigger.
The room falls momentarily silent as I close my eyes, unable to watch.
Then chaos erupts as the main doors explode inward.