The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(3)

There was no one in the apartment. Alexei wasn’t surprised. He probably wouldn’t have picked the lock and let himself in if he had expected company.

The apartment was tiny. You could see just about every corner of it from the front door. Still, he took a good look around. It seemed Jessica had packed her bags already. Most of the clothes were gone. There was very little food in the pantry. There were empty picture frames on the walls and on shelves but no pictures in them. Ashley was on the move. That much was very clear.

Alexei wasn’t deterred. Most people weren’t professional criminals. Sure, she had probably gotten rid of her phone. It was unlikely he could track her using GPS. He could, however, trace the trail of money she left behind. He took a seat on her sofa and made some calls.

It took less than thirty minutes to find the last place she had used her card. It was at an ATM, along a highway out of town. She had made a rather sizable withdraw only a few hour ago. Alexei checked motels in the area. He couldn’t imagine a girl who had lived check to check would splurge for somewhere nice, even if she had recently come into money. No, Ashley would stick to what she knew. That meant run down holes in the wall.

There were only about three within three exits of the ATM she had stopped at. Alexei would check those first before broadening his search. He rented a car and hit the road.

It was the middle of the night by the time he got near his destination. Wouldn’t you know it? He spotted her car at his very first stop. Poor Ashley. Most people were bad at being criminals but not usually quite this bad at it. He almost wanted to give her another head start.

Alexei had several options at this point. He could determine which room she was in and break in. That sounded like a lot of work. He could call Douglas and let him know he had found her. He didn’t really like Douglas enough to do him that courtesy, even if it did mean washing his hands of a matter that wasn’t his fault to begin with. His last option was to wait and watch. That could take hours.

In the end, Alexei decided to sit and wait. He didn’t much feel like breaking in and scaring the poor girl half to death. He would let her get some sleep first and make himself known to her in the morning.

On the way, he had gotten himself some fast food. Alexei ate that now. He was good at waiting. He turned on the radio and settled in for the night.

Ashley checked out early the next morning. She had every intention of hitting the road and continuing on her way, it seemed. Where she was ultimately headed, there was no telling.

Alexei got out of his car and walked to hers. Ashley had made one trip out to her trunk already. Alexei was leaning against the driver’s side door when she came out with her last bag. “Hi, there,” he said.

Ashley dropped the bag she was holding. She took a couple of steps backwards, her eyes going wide.

“Don’t run,” Alexei said quickly, because it looked like she might. “There’s a gun on my hip. I won’t hesitate to use it.” He would hesitate to use it, but she didn’t know that and he didn’t want her going anywhere.

Ashley either believed him or thought running would be useless. “You’re Douglas’ friend,” she said, her voice trembling.

“Business associate,” Alexei corrected. “I wouldn’t call us friends… But that’s not important, is it? Let’s take a ride, you and I.”

Ashley took a step toward her car.

“We’ll take mine,” said Alexei. He grabbed her bag from the ground and the key from her hand. He led the way to his own car, opening the passenger side door for her. “In you go. Good girl.”

It was obvious that Ashley was frightened. She had every reason to be. Just now, her eyes roamed the parking lot, searching for escape.

“Calm down,” said Alexei, starting the engine. “I don’t like hurting people. I won’t hurt you, if I can help it. Let’s go somewhere and talk… Somewhere public, if that will make you feel more comfortable.”

“It would,” Ashley said, quickly.

Alexei found a nearby park on his GPS and drove there. It wasn’t a busy park. It was a large park during the middle of a school day. Alexei picked a bench along a trail. The only interruptions they would experience there would be the occasional jogger. “Tell me your story,” said Alexei.

Ashley sat on one end of the bench, her posture stiff. “Huh?”

“Your story,” Alexei repeated. “Tell me everything. Give me a good reason not to kill you.”

That was probably a lot of pressure for the average person. Ashley took it in stride, though. She took a deep breath. “I stole Douglas’ money,” she said.

“Our money. His, mine, and my employer,” Alexei corrected. “And I already know all of that.”

“I only meant to steal from him,” Ashley said with a sigh. “I didn’t realize he worked with the Russian mafia or anything… Is that what you are? Russian mafia?”

“Something like that.”

“I know it doesn’t matter what I meant to do.” Ashley leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. “I had to act fast. I’d been trying to pick my moment for months. I was getting tired of waiting, but… Clearly, I picked the wrong moment.”

“Why don’t you start from the beginning,” Alexei prompted.

Ashley winced but, finally, did just that.