When hours have passed and I know Nikolai is sound asleep, I ease out of bed. If he catches me, I’ll just tell him I’m getting up to use the bathroom. I’m allowed to pee. At least, I hope I am.
He doesn’t stir as I stand up. I tiptoe over to his suitcase and rummage around until I find a few dollar bills. One of them is a hundred. This can take me out of the city.
I don’t have any other clothes except for my wedding dress but there’s no time to put it on so all I do is grab the high heels I wore with my dress and sneak out of the room. I run barefoot down the hallway until I reach the elevator. My heart is pounding the entire time. So much, I’m scared I’m going to die before I can get help.
I slip the high heels on. I can do this. I can do this.
Once I reach the lobby, I go over to the front desk. Someone can help me.
Since it’s two in the morning, the lobby is dead, which can be a good thing but right now, the silence and the clacking of my heels makes everything louder. Puts me more on display.
The woman behind the front desk smiles at me. Her nametag reads Doris. “How can I help you?”
“I need help,” I whisper.
Her eyes widen before she nods. “What can I help you with?”
“My husband. He’s… dangerous. I need to get out of the city. I need a safe place to go to.”
Without hesitation, she reaches under the desk and pulls out a pamphlet. “Here. This is an emergency number you can use for a woman’s shelter. I can call for you, if you’d like?”
“I would like that. I… don’t have a phone. I have some money.”
“Is your husband here, at this hotel?”
“He is. Upstairs. Sleeping.”
“Ok. I can call the police for you as well.”
I hesitate to answer her… when someone else answers for me.
“That won’t be necessary,” a man says behind me. It’s not Nikolai.
Whirling around, I come face to face with a very handsome man. Almost as handsome as Nikolai but not quite.
“I can help her, Doris,” the man says, giving her a charming smile. “I’m a friend.”
Except, I don’t think this man is a friend at all.
Chapter Six
Irina
“Who are you?” I demand. My skin is freezing in the cool lobby. The nightgown doesn’t do anything to protect my body.
“Maksim Petrov.”
So, he’s Russian like I am. Like Nikolai is.
He smiles at Doris. “I got it from here. I’m a friend of Irina’s. I can help her.”
How does this man know who I am? I don’t recognize him.
Doris gives me an uncertain look. “I can still help you, if you need it.”
I don’t want to go with Maksim. He’s a stranger and I don’t trust strangers. But he’s clearly not moving away and there’snothing I can do about that. If he works with Nikolai, then I’m in trouble.
“Are you a friend of my husband?”