Take the Key and Lock Her Up (Embassy Row #3)(28)

There’s no Dominic looking over our shoulders, no Jamie lingering nearby.

“You shouldn’t have come to Europe.”

“I shouldn’t have come to Europe?” Alexei shouts.

“You can do something besides repeat everything I say, you know.”

“Oh, can I? Because what I want to do is strangle you. I want to tie you up and throw you over my shoulder and jump out of a moving train. I want to take you to the coldest place in Siberia, to the darkest part of the moon. I want to keep you safe, Gracie. So the question is, why are you so determined to stop me?”

“Is Jamie okay?”

His fingers are sliding into my hair, holding me still and keeping me close. I’m not going to run anymore, the gesture tells me. We are bound now. From this moment on … together.

“Gracie.” My name is like a breath, and I’m not sure Alexei even knows he’s said it.

“Is Jamie okay?” I remind myself that he’s the only thing that matters.

Alexei smiles, a wry expression that’s somehow lacking any joy.

His fingers massage my scalp, and I wilt against him.

“Jamie isn’t my primary concern at the moment.”

“You know what I mean, Alexei,” I say, pushing away. “Are they still on the run or are they someplace where Jamie can get better?”

Alexei steps back. It’s almost like he can’t face me anymore.

“You ran away.”

It’s not an accusation. It’s a fact. And that’s why he hates it.

“I ran so that the rest of you could stop running.”

Alexei spins. “You left!”

“Yes.” I somehow choke out the word, swallow hard. “And I’d do it again.”

“Not without me.” In a flash, Alexei has me. His arms are tight. “Never without me. Never again. Say it, Grace. Say it.”

“Okay.”

“Say it!” He stares down into my eyes.

“Never again.”

“I was so scared. When I woke up and you were gone … And then when I found you and those men were there …” He curses in Russian. “I was so scared.”

“Alexei.”

There’s no thinking after that. No worry and no fear. I’m aware only of the warmth that is radiating off Alexei, the rocking of the train.

And then Alexei’s lips are on mine, and I’m not aware of anything anymore. It’s different from the kiss on the bridge. There’s no urgency now. This isn’t about the heat of the moment and the danger. This is about now—right now. No future and no past.

“Ahem.”

Megan’s voice breaks through the fog that fills my head, and I stop the kiss, but there’s no pulling away from Alexei. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Megan says, then picks up a remote control and turns on the television that hangs behind the bar. “But we thought you’d like to see this.”

I know those buildings and those streets. I know that world. And I know I’ll never quite escape it.

Even if I wasn’t fluent in my mother’s native tongue, I’d know the meaning of the words that fill the screen.

A newscaster stands outside the police station while uniformed officials lead a man in handcuffs through the doors.

Then the picture changes.

“Alexei—” I start, but what comes next feels so surreal I can no longer say a thing.

Does Grandpa look older to everyone, or is it just me? His hair has been white all my life, but also thick and wavy. He’s always been the quintessential elder statesman. But he’s never looked elderly before.

Seven weeks Jamie and I have been gone—but my grandfather has aged ten years.

Megan turns up the volume in time to hear him tell the press, “We are extremely pleased that the perpetrator of this terrible, random crime has been caught and that Alexei Volkov’s name has been cleared. Our relationship with our neighbors is very important. Ambassador Volkov and I have spoken, and I look forward to everything returning to normal as both of our countries get back to the important diplomatic work for which we are here.”

When Grandpa glances behind him, I recognize the stoic man who stands watching, partly because the younger, only slightly less stoic version of him is in front of me.

If Alexei feels any emotion at seeing his father, he doesn’t show it. His dad was willing to throw him to the wolves, after all. The man on the screen doesn’t look relieved to have his son’s name cleared. He looks like a man who will never be truly pleased about anything ever again.

“Alexei!” Rosie is running, practically throwing herself into his arms. He has to release his hold on me to catch her. “It’s so great! You’re cleared! You’re free. You didn’t do it! I mean, we always knew you didn’t do it, but now everyone knows, and you’re free!”

But Alexei doesn’t look free. He looks furious.

He turns on me. “What did you do, Gracie?”

“Alexei, you can come home!” Rosie says, blissfully unaware of the storm that’s brewing in Alexei’s blue eyes.

It’s only when Noah peels her from Alexei that Rosie begins to realize something is wrong.

“It’s not that simple, Ro,” Noah says.