His face tenses, and he looks away briefly then back to me.
“I don’t think so, Natalia. It’s better if we don’t. I’ll get the paperwork sorted out when I can.” He pauses for a moment, and I think about what paperwork he must be talking about.
Divorce papers.
That’s what he means. God…Divorce papers.
I don’t know how long he needs to stay married to me regarding the cartel, but he looks like he does. Like he checked everything out. I’m sure he would have.
“That way, it will be easier to forget me and what I did to you,” he says with a clipped nod.
I grit my teeth and will the tears away.
“Will you forget me so easily?” He makes it sound like it will be, and when I think of the women who will be all over him, I feel sick. Bile rises into my throat.
“No, baby. I can’t forget you. Not ever,” he promises and lowers his head to kiss me one last time. He pulls away before the call of passion takes us and covers my hand with his.
I look at his prison tattoos and remember how I thought of him as a monster. He’s not that, though. All he’s done is slay my demons and protect me.
“Go now.”
He releases me and nods for me to get in the car.
I bend down and hug Snow who barks for me, then I get in the car. I can’t say goodbye to her. At times she was my only friend.
As I shuffle in the backseat it feels like I’m not really here in this moment. As if I’ve programmed my body to be on autopilot.
Mikhail closes the door, and Levka starts up the car.
As we drive away, I turn to watch him through the window until I can’t see him anymore. It’s when we leave through the huge iron gates that everything feels like the end and my heart sinks further into the chasm of nothingness.
I feel so empty inside. So empty I can barely breathe and this feeling in my gut is suffocating.
The guards say nothing to me as the car picks up speed and we continue down the road.
I stare through the window, watching the scenery in the waning sun as an attempt to distract myself.
As the darkness takes over and we turn onto one of the country roads, I notice Levka looking in the rearview mirror at a car behind us that gets too close.
He speeds up. So does the car behind us.
The roar of a motorcycle engine sounds, and I turn around to see two motorcyclists on either side of the car.
“Jesus Christ, I think they’re following us,” says the guard in the passenger seat.
“They have been for a good five minutes, but I wasn’t sure until we turned,” Levka replies.
Oh my God. What is this now?
Who’s following us?
Please, God, don’t let anything happen.
We speed up more, and the car and bikes do the same. It’s just us on the road. No other vehicles to the left or right of us. Nothing coming, nothing going.
“Mrs. Dmitriyev, get down!” Levka shouts.
As soon as he speaks, gun shots are fired. One hits the back tire. I bend down, but because the car is jerking so much, I’m flung across the seat. The other guard does his best to hold me, but another bullet comes our way. Something more powerful that gets through what should be bulletproof glass and lodges in his head.
