I’m both surprised that he’s not giving me a lecture about how dangerous that would be and so happy that he’s willing to indulge me.
"Anywhere. Everywhere. As long as it's far from here. Maybe a beach that never gets cold."
"We need to turn around," Cristian commands, his playful demeanor vanishing.
I look out the window where his eyes are locked on something in the road.
There's a delivery truck broken down, blocking both lanes. Two men stand beside it, smoking casually as they wait for help.
"Sir, there's a vehicle behind us." Our driver's voice tightens in a way that puts me on alert.
I twist in my seat. A black SUV has stopped just feet from our bumper, its headlights blinding. Car doors swing open and dark figures emerge.
Five men dressed in black advance.
“Oh, fuck.” Cristian grabs for his gun.
“Who is it?” My voice pitches up as fear settles in.
“One guess… fucking Bratva.” He pulls another gun from under the front seat. “Carlo?—”
Gunfire erupts.
“Get down!” Cristian uses his hand to push me to the floorboard. He shoves my purse down with me. “Call Alessandro. No matter what, stay down.”
My blood runs cold. Why is this happening? Then I remember the letter. God, is Maksim so angry that he’ll just kill me?
A bullet punches through metal. The men are spreading out to surround us.
Cristian leans over, presses his lips to my forehead. “If I don't make it, tell your brother it wasn't your fault.”
“What?”
Cristian reaches for the door handle, but he turns back, his eyes intense. “Stay down and call for help. Got it?” Then he throws open the door and steps into the battle zone.
The calm fantasy of escape evaporates. Now I feel a cold terror as I realize what’s going on. This is an ambush.
Remembering Cristian’s orders, I fumble with my phone. I press the autodial for Alessandro’s number.
It rings.
And rings.
And rings, until I think he’s not going to answer.
“I’m busy, Valentina,” he says by way of answering.
“Maksim is trying to kill me.”
“What?”
Our driver's window shatters.
I scream as glass rains down. More shots ring out. I hear a thump against the hood of the car.
“What’s going on? Where are you?” Alessandro’s irritated voice morphs into worry.
“Near Kings Point Park. We were ambushed. It’s just Cristian and Carlo?—”