Chapter 62

Kimberly

W e’re driving back to the safehouse, Gran has fallen asleep so Jackson and I can finally speak freely. Jackson convinced me that Amelia was of more use to us alive than dead, so she’s being held in another location by Jackson’s men. I’m not surprised that she caved almost immediately into the interrogation. She always was a coward.

“According to Amelia, Bogdan Sharkozi and Innokentiy want to make a spectacle of their takeover. They intend to smuggle him back to Russia via boat and execute him publicly. Innokentiy has promised that Yaroslav has valuable information on all of the crime families in Russia and beyond. They plan to use this to become the most powerful crime family alliance ever. With total control of Russia, they will then aim to seize power here and at other European ports to completely rule the drug and arms trades,” he explains.

“How long do we have until they take Yaroslav there?”

“Three days,” he replies grimly.

My joy that Yaroslav is still alive is overwhelmed by my concern for him. “We have to stop them.”

“We will,” he says confidently.

As we arrive back at the safehouse, I’m surprised to find an animated David pacing around the living room. I can tell from his expression he’s about to launch into telling us something, but I shoot him a look, I don’t want Gran to overhear anything that might scare or confuse her.

“David, this is my grandmother, Emma Walsh,” I say pointedly.

Remembering himself, he stops pacing and smiles at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Walsh, I’ve heard so much about you.”

“And I you, young man. Handsome and polite, just like your brother I see,” she says approvingly.

He seems almost like the normal David, I wonder what happened to cause such a sudden change. The fact that her mention of Yaroslav doesn’t upset him piques my curiosity further.

“Come on Gran, let’s get you settled in our room,” I say, ushering the way to the twin bedroom I’ve been staying in.

I’m grateful that she doesn’t put up a fuss. The journey and confusion of the day have taken their toll on her. Having settled her down with a cup of tea and the television on, I head back to speak to David, eager to find out what’s brought on his chipper mood shift.

As I enter the room, David is already speaking animatedly with Jackson. “He’s alive! I spoke with him on the phone!”

“Who’s alive?” I ask, feeling hopeful that Amelia’s intel was accurate, and Yaroslav is indeed alive and well, at least for now.

“Yaroslav! He called me on Marta’s old phone!” David exclaims, resuming his pacing.

“What did you tell him?” Jackson asks, his brow furrowing with concern.

Simultaneously I say, “What did he say, is he alright?”

“That’s what I’m trying to explain!” David says exasperatedly.

We both anxiously await David’s explanation which he launches into with gusto. “So, my phone rang, and I was feeling far away so I ignored it. But then it rang again, and I remembered that I didn’t have a phone now. The only phone I have is the one Marta gave to me, and the only people who know about it are you two and Yaroslav. So of course then I decided to pick up in case you two had gotten in trouble. But it was Yaroslav, he’s alive!”

David pauses as though awaiting a reaction from us. “What did he say?” I ask again.

“He said that Artem and some others had rescued him.”

“Did he say where they were?” I ask.

Again, Jackson speaks at the same time as me, “Did you tell him our location?”

“No and no,” Daniel says proudly.

“Why didn’t you ask where he was?” I ask feeling frustrated.

“Because I couldn’t risk talking for too long. He could have been forced to say that he was free when really it might be the bad guys looking for us. I told him we couldn’t tell him where we were or speak for long until I was certain he’d actually escaped. I promised to look after you and I’m going to keep that promise.”

I’m surprised at David’s quick thinking and cautiousness, what he suggested would never have occurred to me, and I feel touched by his dedication to keeping his promise.

Jackson nods approvingly, clearly the thought had occurred to him. “Well done. You did the right thing. I’ll have my men do some digging and see if there’s any chance he could have escaped or not as he claims. Even if he’s still being held captive, it’s a good thing that they’re trying to make contact. It can buy us some time, or it means that they still don’t know we have Amelia or are aware that we know about their plans.”

“Shit. Amelia!” I cry as a thought occurs to me, “You’re right. We have to take her back and kill her there.”

Both men look at me with mirrored stunned expressions.

“I didn’t think you’d be the one to suggest murder as a first solution,” David says with a grin that shows he doesn’t seem to mind, in fact, it’s almost like this newfound side of me amuses him.

“We have no choice. Jackson, what you said just now is true. If Sharkozi comes home to find Gran gone and Amelia dead, he’ll just think it was a rescue mission. But with Amelia gone…”

“He’ll know we have her and that she’s likely told us about the ship,” Jackson says as he quickly comes to the same conclusion. “I’ll call my men and have them take her back and handle it now,” he adds, moving to the side to call them.

“What ship, Kimmy?” David asks.

I explain what Jackson told me in the car about Innokentiy and Sharkozi’s plans.

“Fuck. Well, I sure as shit hope that Yaroslav really has escaped. Otherwise, it’s going to be a bloodbath trying to get him back from that situation,” David responds grimly.

“I hope so too,” I respond, placing a hand on my stomach.

I can’t bear the thought of thinking Yaroslav is dead all over again. I thought he was gone. To find out he’s still alive only to have him taken from me again would be more than I can bear.