Chapter 46
AMALIE
“What’s the deal?” I ask Andrei as he pulls out of the driveway. “Why was it so important that we get out of the house right in the middle of our lesson?”
Andrei keeps his eyes on the road. He’s wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, so he’s even more unreadable than usual. “Orders from the boss. Said you two needed to get out, take a field trip.”
“But—”
“That’s all he told me.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that Andrei’s bending the truth, if only a little. Roman likes things to be nice and orderly around the house, especially with Sasha. A spontaneous “field trip” is unlike him.
I glance at Sasha, the little man bundled up next to me, his expression placid. “What do you think?”
“This will be fun,” he says.
We’re off to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Under normal circumstances, I’d be thrilled about a field trip there. But the whole thing is tainted by the idea that Roman’s hiding something from me.
Or maybe I’m just being paranoid.
We reach the museum, a sleek, perfectly symmetrical building with the letters “MCA” stacked on pillars located on either side of the door. Despite everything, a tinge of excitement runs through me at the idea of getting to check the place out.
Andrei heads to the underground garage, and I find myself mentally charting out the course I want to take when we’re inside.
“Okay,” I say to Sasha as we head toward the elevator. “This is going to be awesome. The art here is a little different.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Andrei forms up at my side, body tensed and ready, as always. He places his hand on his earpiece, then speaks quietly. There must be other guards posted about.
“Different?” Sasha asks. “What do you mean?”
We step into the elevator, and as the doors shut, I find myself struggling with how to describe the concept of abstract art to a kid. “Okay, so some artists, when they draw a picture of, let’s say a person, it looks like a regular person, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But some artists like to use different things to represent what they’re making. So, a person could be something else altogether.”
“That’s weird,” he says.
“But it’s so cool. You’ll see all of these amazing ways to make art that you’ve never seen or thought of before. And then when we get home, we can try it ourselves.”
He smiles. “Cool!”
As the elevator rises, I put all the spontaneity of the trip out of my head, determined to enjoy the outing.
“Why didn’t Papa come?” Sasha asks Andrei as the doors open.
“Bank business,” Andrei explains. “Lots of work to do.”
“Bank business. Of course.” Andrei ignores my remark.
We enter the vast lobby, a surprisingly large crowd there for a weekday.
Sasha tugs my hand. “Can we see that whale statue?”
“The whale statue?” I lean down. “What whale statue?”
He points at a nearby brochure for an exhibit on display, interesting sculptures of whales fused with mechanical gears.
“This is so cool,” he says, holding the brochure with two hands close to his face as if he doesn’t want to miss a detail. “It’s like a robot whale.”
“It is,” I reply. “And you bet we can see it, bud. But there are so many other cool things here. The trick is to not try to see it all at once. Come on, I’ll show you.”
We move deeper into the gallery, and I fall into teacher mode without even trying. I don’t lecture, I just guide. Sasha’s curious about nearly everything, flitting from one piece to the next. It’s cute to watch, like I’m witnessing his little budding artist’s mind get blown in real time.
He stops in front of a big abstract sculpture made of blue and white glass, sheets layered like ice.
“What do you notice first?” I ask, stepping to his side.
“The white looks cold.”
“Right. But there’s no picture of snow or anything, see? No trees with snowy branches like what we’ve been drawing. But it still looks cold, right?”
Sasha doesn’t say anything at first, his eyes locked onto the sculpture. He’s processing it, taking it in. Finally, he speaks. “So you can make people think about things without actually drawing it exact.”
“Right!” He’s getting it. “That’s what abstract art is all about. Invoking a mood or idea or whatever without actually showing that particular thing. Cool, right?”
“Yeah!” A small smile forms on his lips as the idea starts to click for him. Then he raises his finger toward another nearby sculpture, his eyes lighting up. “Can we look at that one now?”
“Sure, buddy.”
He hurries over to a similar glass piece, though it’s more evocative, of a mountain. It’s like the idea of abstract art is a new toy he can’t wait to play with.
I start to step in his direction, but before I can, a hand falls on my shoulder. Startled, I stop and turn.
“Hey.” Andrei has a strange look on his face, like he needs to say something but isn’t quite sure how to say it. “I just… thanks.”
I cock my head to the side, a little confused. “Thanks? For what?”
“For him.” He nods toward Sasha, who’s in the process of making a slow circle around the piece that currently has his attention.
“He’s had problems since Elena passed. Became very solitary.
Never wanted to open up to anyone. A trip like this would’ve been too much for him a year ago.
But you’ve helped him change for the better. ”
My chest tightens. “It’s nothing. He’s an easy kid to love.”
He shakes his head. “Not nothing. It’s very important. But you know that. Anyway, thank you.”
A beat passes. “Of course.”
I turn my head away as quickly as possible to blink away the tears.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, snapping me out of the moment. I glance over my shoulder to see Andrei watching Sasha. I slip my phone out of my pocket and check the screen, hoping it’s Roman.
It isn’t. It’s Max. I ignore it. But just as I’m about to put my phone back into my pocket, a text arrives.
Answer. It’s important.
My gut tenses. If Max were any other ex, I’d ignore it without a second thought. But Max isn’t any other ex. He’s a cop who works with my brother. What if something happened to Kyle? I have to answer it. Max is the last person I want to talk to, see, or think about, but I have to do it anyway.
I turn to Andrei. “Hey, I need to hit the girl’s room. You cool watching him for a minute?”
“Of course.”
I smile like nothing’s the matter and head off, hurrying to the restroom. Thankfully, it’s empty. Once I’m in the farthest stall from the door, I take out my phone, sigh, and return the call.
He picks up in the middle of the first ring. “Thank Christ you called.”
Right away I’m worried. His tone doesn’t sound good at all. “What’s wrong? Is Kyle OK?”
“Kyle’s fine. You’re the one in danger.”
My blood runs cold. “What? What are you talking about?”
“We just got word that there’s another attack coming—there, at the gallery.”
I nearly drop the phone. “That’s not funny, Max.”
“You think I would joke about something like this?” When I don’t answer, he continues. “Listen, it’s not a joke. Kyle would tell you himself, but he’s with Roman right now.”
Kyle’s with Roman. I shake my head for being stupid enough to not realize what was going on, why Roman wanted me out of the house. I push it aside.
“He doesn’t know yet. I just got word from one of my contacts. This is all fresh-off-the-wire shit. They know you’re there, and they’re planning a hit.”
My hands start to shake.
“You and the boy. You’re both at risk.”
I sit down on the toilet, trying to catch my breath.
“Amalie, please. We have our history, and I know it’s not a good one. I said some shitty things to you in the past, and you’ve got all the reason in the world to tell me to screw off. But I’d never lead you into danger. You’ve got to listen to me.”
It’s hard to keep my head straight. My brain feels totally scrambled. “Okay,” I say. “I’ll go let Andrei know you said we’re in danger, and he’ll get us out of here.”
“No!” He practically shouts the word.
“What do you mean, no?”
“You can’t do that. You can’t tell him.”
“Why not?”
“Because I know what they’ve got planned.
They’ve got people watching, and when the three of you go to the second floor, that’s their signal to move.
There’s also a backup plan in place—if they get any indication that you’re leaving because you know something’s up, they’ll attack in the parking garage. ”
I say nothing, trying to wrap my head around what I’m hearing.
“You need to ditch Andrei. They’ll be waiting for you. You and the kid slip out the west exit. That’s where I’ll be.”
“You want me to leave Andrei in danger?”
“He’ll be fine. They’re targeting you, they don’t care about him. You can’t tell him anything. I’m serious, Amalie. If they get any indication that you know, you’re all dead.”
My entire body trembles. I’m scared out of my mind.
“All you need to do is leave with Sasha out the west exit. I’ll take you straight to Roman. Got it?”
I take a deep breath. “Got it.”
“This is about you and the boy,” he says. “You’re doing the right thing.” A pause. “Okay, it’s a little after one now. Get in there, get the kid, west exit. Ten minutes.”
“Okay.”
“Am, we’re going to keep you both safe. This will all be over soon.”
“Yeah. Okay. Ten minutes.”
“See you then.”
The call ends. My hands are shaking as I slip my phone into my pocket. Stepping out of the stall, I move to the sink and turn on the cold water, splashing it over my face.
All I need to do is go back out there and somehow get away from Andrei. Then I can sneak Sasha out through the west exit. Easier said than done. But I have to try.
I tap my back pocket, where I had put the whale brochure earlier. There’s a map of the museum in it. I open it and find the west exit. We are only a short distance from it.
Perfect.
When I’m ready, I take a steeling breath and head out. Andrei looks at me as I approach. He has a look of concern on his face, probably wondering if everything is alright and what took me so long. But he doesn’t say anything. His gaze returns to Sasha.
Damn. I hate to lie to Andrei—especially after what he just said to me. But if Max is right, he’ll understand once this is over.
If Max is right.
Oh god, what if I’m walking into a trap? No. Max would never place me in direct danger.
“Hey, Sash!” I say, squatting down. “You want to go see those cool robot whales now?”
His eyes light up. “Yeah!”
“Okay, they’re right this way. Come on.”
We start in the direction of the exhibit. I’m so nervous I’m worried I might throw up. Andrei stays about ten paces behind. Right as we reach the threshold to the exhibit, I hang back, turning my attention to Andrei.
“Something wrong?” he asks.
I glance over my shoulder, watching as Sasha hurries into the space. “Listen, Sasha was questioning things, about Roman and me. I told him we’d talk later, just the two of us. You mind waiting like fifteen minutes before joining? I think it’ll be good for him.”
I feel like shit doing this. But it’s for the best. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Andrei frowns, glancing over my shoulder at Sasha, then back at me. “Yeah. Go ahead. Fifteen minutes. Probably do him some good to hear directly from you what’s going on.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Thanks, Andrei.”
Wow. What a shockingly good liar I can be. I just looked the man who’s saved my life right in the eyes and spun up bullshit on command.
“You got it.”
Morality aside, I’ve got a job to do. The robot whale exhibit leads right to the west exit, perfect for our escape. Sasha’s thrilled over the exhibit, and I hate to take him away from it.
“These are so cool,” he says, stopping in front of a big orca with gears coming out of the back. “I want to make one of these at home.”
I make sure we’re out of Andrei’s sight, then I drop to my knees and put my hand on Sasha’s shoulder.
“Listen, bud,” I say, lowering my voice to a whisper. “I’ve got something super cool to show you. Like secret cool.”
His eyes widen. “Secret?”
I nod, leaning in closer. “A secret that’s outside of the museum. One that all the best artists know.”
“Are we going to come back?”
“Later. Andrei will meet us at home. Come on—it’ll be fun.”
His lips form a thin line in thought for a moment before making a cute little mischievous smile. “Okay.”
I look in Andrei’s direction, catching sight of his back. Once I’m in the car and on the way home, I’ll text him so he doesn’t freak out. And once he realizes why I did what I did, he’ll have to understand.
“Alright dude, let’s move.”
I take Sasha’s hand and lead him through the exhibit, then down toward the small stairwell that leads to the exit.
Our shoes clang on the metal stairs as we hurry down, my hand gripping the railing so hard my knuckles turn white.
Sasha’s little hand is warm in mine, trusting, unaware of the war inside my head.
At the bottom of the stairwell, I spot the west exit door. I push it open, the cold air rushing at me hard as I scan the area for the last person I’d ever expect to want to see.
It doesn’t take long to find him. He’s leaning against a dark sedan and reminding me of a bad cop show. My skin crawls. Part of me, a very insistent part, tells me to turn around, to run back inside.
I don’t listen.
Max straightens when he sees us, relief flickering across his face as if he was half-expecting me not to show. Sasha’s hand in mine, I hurry across the street toward him.
“Get in,” Max says as we approach. “Now. Before anyone sees you.” He opens the back door and gestures to get inside.
“Who is that?” Sasha asks. There’s unmistakable worry in his voice, as if he knows something isn’t right.
“A friend.” God, it feels gross to even say it.
Max glances at Sasha, then back up at me. “Hurry.”
My pulse is pounding in my ears. I glance at the exit door we just came out of, as if Andrei might appear at any moment, rage in his eyes.
I settle Sasha into the back seat, making sure he’s buckled in. Then I climb in beside him, locking the door. Max slides into the driver’s seat, puts the car into gear, and pulls away.
As the museum disappears behind us, I get an uneasy feeling. Although I’m doing the right thing to get us to safety, the knot in my stomach doesn’t loosen. Sasha looks at me, worry in his eyes.
A horrible thought occurs to me.
If this is a trap, I just delivered Sasha myself.