Page 53 of Take the Sub and Run

That’s how they made their way down, step by step, him going first, then guiding her down beside him.

There were a few more scrapes on her arms and legs by the time they reached the ground, and Sofie was shivering. The soft shorts-and-shirt sleep set she had on was one of her favorites, but not meant for tree climbing.

Andrei looked around. “What’s the best way out of here that’s not the path to your front door? We can try going back the way I came, but I probably set off an alarm when I broke the back door.”

“I told you, I can’t leave.”

Andrei stared at her. “Are you deliberately trying to make me crazy?”

“No?”

“Sofie, we’re leaving.”

“I can’t! I have to stay here where it’s safe.”

“It’s not safe. You were attacked in your bedroom. You know it’s not safe, that’s why you climbed out the window.”

Sofie was starting to shake and it had nothing to do with the cold. “I know, but I was…I was scared the men were still there, and you were in the tree, and for a minute, I wasn’t scared and it felt like an adventure but I can’t. I can’t leave. If I do, something bad will happen.”

Andrei’s expression shifted from frustrated to something softer as she rambled on. Sofie forced herself to shut up, her cheeks the only part of her that were warm. She hoped he couldn’t see her blush of embarrassment.

“You’re in shock,” he said gently. “We’re going to go, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“No! I can’t leave.”

She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Sofie tried to pull away from Andrei, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Sofie, stop. I’m not letting you run back in there when you’re not thinking straight.”

“I have to stay!” She twisted and turned, but his arms were like a steel band around her. “That’s the rule. I shouldn’t have left before. That’s why they came.”

“Fuck, that’s a lot to unpack… Sofie, stop fighting me.”

She sagged in his arm, resting her cheek on his chest.

“It’s okay, Angel. It’s just the shock. The adrenaline.”

“I wish it was,” she whispered. Then Sofie dropped, sliding out of his hold. She winced as she hit the ground on hands and knees, but scrambled away, racing along the side of her house.

Andrei’s footsteps pounded behind her. Strangely, she wasn’t afraid of him chasing her. The desperate panic to get back inside overrode any other feeling.

She never made it to her door.

Andrei grabbed her, yanking her back against his chest, but only for a moment.

He spun, pushing her face-first against the wall and yanking her arms up behind her back.

“Fine, Angel. We can play it like that.” He leaned back, until the only point of contact was his hand holding her wrists at the small of her back. “You’re under arrest.”

Thirteen

“I thought you were on vacation.” Rolf Pederson stared at Andrei through the video feed. It wasn’t as intimidating as it would have been in person, given that the video couldn’t capture Rolf’s sheer physical size.

Andrei cocked a brow and lounged back in his chair. “I can do two things at once.”

“I know. It’s how you can be a good agent and a pain in my ass at the same time.”

That got a genuine laugh from Andrei, who sat forward, elbows braced on the desk. “I am multitalented. But you signed off on it?”

---