THE FIXER

Lucy makes a sound of disapproval and swims away. I want to do the same, but I feel caught in Ravil’s ice blue gaze.

“My mother didn’t kill Vladimir,” I say.

“You heard from her once, though, didn’t you?” Ravil presses.

So Maxim has shared with him. Goosebumps prickle my skin, and I get queasy. I climb out of the pool. “I’m getting chilly,” I say, not answering his question.

I grab my towel and wrap it around my shoulders. “Is Maxim downstairs?”

Ravil shakes his head. “No. But he’ll be back soon.”

More warning bells go off. I have to bite down to keep my teeth from chattering. I stuff my feet into my flip flops and manage to wave to Lucy before I make my escape.

I stumble down the stairs and into the hallway, stopping to lean against the wall outside the penthouse door. I wait for my heart rate to slow, but even when it does, even after I knock on the door to be let back in the suite, I can’t shake the cold that’s seeped into my veins.

SASHA

IT TAKES me four days before I can get a moment unsupervised. Maxim, Ravil and Nikolai went to some kind of meeting. I waited twenty minutes, then picked up my purse and headed for the door.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dima says, catching Oleg’s eye.

Oleg lumbers to his feet.

I hate the resentment that pops up toward them at keeping me prisoner. I like these guys. I felt like their equal. But now I have to ask permission to leave. Stuffing down my temper, I use my acting chops and hold up my hand like it’s no big deal. “Just running to the drugstore on the corner. For girl stuff.”

I don’t know why talking about periods always makes men uncomfortable, but Dima and Pavel both look away. Oleg stands five feet away from me, clearly still ready to follow.

“Oleg should go with you,” Dima says. He shrugs. “Maxim would kill us if we let you go out unprotected.”

Again, I hide my irritation and shrug. “Suit yourself,” I say to Oleg, holding the door open for him. We’re silent in the elevator.

Well, duh. I’m silent. I do have the urge to make chit chat to fill the void, but I resist. I didn’t ask for him to come along. I don’t have to entertain. I walk to the corner drugstore. I turn and put a hand on Oleg’s chest when he tries to follow me. “A little privacy?” I use my bitchiest bratva princess voice, but I’m instantly sorry, remembering what Ravil had told me. These guys don’t work for me-they’re his brothers. “I’m sorry, it’s just… girl stuff.” I wrinkle my nose. “Kind of embarrassing.”

Oleg steps back and angles his back to the store, like he’s going to guard the whole place while I’m in there.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“Thanks. I’ll be out in a second.”

He doesn’t nod or acknowledge that I spoke at all.

I go in, quickly grabbing a pack of tampons and a few random cosmetics to fill a bag, and then I head to the electronics wall for a burner phone. It requires me getting help from an employee, which makes me nervous as hell because it takes me a minute to flag one down, and the wall is visible from the door. If Oleg looked in, he’d see us.

I keep my eye on his back, but he never turns.

Heart pitter-pattering, I make it through check out, the phone buried in the bag under my girly stuff.

I step outside, almost lightheaded with my success.

Mission accomplished.

“All set. Thanks for coming with me,” I say, suddenly feeling quite chatty. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. It just wears on me feeling like I never get space. But I know you guys are just trying to keep me safe, and I appreciate that.”

Oleg slides his gaze over my way, but that’s his only acknowledgement of my words.

“Do you need anything?” I ask, suddenly realizing how hard it must be for Oleg to function in this world. “Can I buy you a coffee or tea or anything?”

Oleg’s brows come down and he shakes his head.

“Okay. How do you communicate when you want something, Oleg?” I come right out and ask him. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and holds it up. I blink, unclear what he’s telling me. He obviously can’t talk on the phone. Does he have some kind of app? “You text it?”

He tucks the phone away.

“Is that a yes? You can nod, you know.”

His brows get lower.

“Sorry,” I apologize. I know he won’t hurt me, but he is pretty terrifying, just in sheer size and intimidation factor. The silent thing makes it even worse. I’m sure Ravil and his cell merely have to trot Oleg out with them and people piss their pants. “Was it a yes?”

He actually nods this time.

“Do you have my number?”

He frowns some more.

“So you can text me if you need something.”

He shakes his head, but it’s dismissive, like he’s saying no fucking way he’d text me for anything.

I want to remind him that I’m the one who introduced him to his fantasy-girl, but that would be pushing it way too far. Befriending Oleg will probably be a long term project.

Back at the apartment, I go into the bedroom and then the bathroom, closing the door and running the bathtub for background noise. Then I call the last number my mom called from on the burner phone.

She doesn’t answer at first, so I text that it’s me and try again, and she picks up. “Sasha! How are you, darling?” she asks in Russian.

“I’m okay. Where are you?” I don’t know why I fired that question off first. I guess it’s because Ravil asked. Everyone seems to want to know her location.

“I’m somewhere safe.”