Page 44 of Take the Sub and Run

It looked like he might ask another question, but instead, a muscle in his jaw flexed and he faced forward, hands tightening on the wheel.

Sofie swallowed hard, looking out the passenger window.

Another fifteen minutes, and they were on the road that bordered the Prinsengracht canal, turning away from the water onto a narrow, one-lane road. Tall, narrow row houses crowded close to the street, and several bikes swerved around them, almost scraping the car as they navigated the too-small space left between the vehicle and wall. They didn’t even slow down, navigating the street with the fearless confidence of Dutch bike riders.

Andrei cursed in a language she didn’t know, and she couldn’t stop a smile. He was just…perfect.

What a stupid thought, though the stupidity didn’t make it less true.

Andrei was cunning and quick, devilish and yet caring. Part of her wanted to tell him that. To say that she was glad so many of her firsts had been with him. But he didn’t want to hear that. He was here to drop her off, drive away, and never see her again.

“I’ll get out here.” She reached for the door handle.

“No. Where is your house?”

She wanted to argue, but it wasn’t like he could back up or turn around. He had to keep going until the end of the street.

“Do you see the break between the buildings? Just up there?” She pointed.

Andrei inched farther down the street. Most of the narrow houses that the Jordaan District were famous for shared walls, the entire street a single solid front. But here, there was a break between two buildings, just wide enough to walk down.

One of the buildings stuck out farther than the other, which is what had concealed the break when viewed from their direction.

“Here,” she said, then the little path was clearly visible, and Andrei stopped the car.

She glanced over, even as she put a hand on the handle.

Thank you?

I’m sorry?

Sofie raised her chin, met Andrei’s gaze, and said simply, “Goodbye.”

The locks clicked just as she tried to open the door.

“I’m not just letting you out,” he said, bending a little to look out her window.

He pulled in to the narrow bit of space created by the building that was set back farther from the road. It left enough space on the road for a bike, though not another car.

“You can’t park here,” she said as he got out.

“I can.”

She waited until he’d opened her door to say, “You can’t.”

“They’re welcome to give me a ticket. I’m here on official Interpol business.”

Sofie paused, half out of the car, and looked up at him, abruptly reminded that her lies of omission weren’t the only reason she’d never see him again.

Andrei cocked a brow, and she climbed the rest of the way out of the car, wobbling a little in her heels. He didn’t touch her to steady her, and Sofie told herself she was glad. Andrei did close her car door, but kept distance between them as he followed her down the meter-and-a-half-wide path between the buildings.

It was dark and cool in the shadows, making the light seem startlingly bright when they emerged into the green space at the center of the long narrow block.

Mature trees, fat shrubs, and creeping vines filled the space, the backs of the buildings the walls of the hidden garden. Her path continued for several more meters, the low iron fence that bordered it obscured by greenery, a tree just in front of them concealing her house.

“This is beautiful,” Andrei said, pausing to look around.

She glanced back over his shoulder in time to see him close his eyes and take a deep breath.

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