Page 50 of Ascendent
What was it that made Sasha run? What was it that had him spooked? He’d been better, he thought, about not pushing. Keeping their love hidden. Dinner the night before had been risqué, but he’d kept his hands to himself, had treated it like a hero’s special event.
Besides, Sasha had decided to leave before dinner.
What had he done? What had he done to push Sasha away,again?
Was he coming back?
How long should he wait? Sasha was due in America in one month. Would he return for NASA? Or was this a flight from everything and everyone? If Sasha stayed with Kilaqqi, buried in the most remote reaches of Siberia, Sergey would never find him again.
If you love someone, let them go. If they return—
He closed his eyes, leaning back.I love you. Please come back to me.
Vibrating made him jump, the clatter of his phone on his desktop.Sasha!
[ We’ve swept Tver. The oblast is clear. We only found two more bodies. We have erected a hard perimeter around Andreapol. FLIR scans and drones show some movement on base. Something is there, but we don’t know what. We’re planning the breach now. Should happen in a few days. ]
Ilya, not Sasha. He exhaled hard. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, between a country falling apart beneath the façade he’d tried so hard to uphold, and the love of his life ripping out his heart again. Something was crawling through the northern forests, infectious pathogens, escaped bioweapons, and had swirled around Andreapol airbase.
Always, always, back to Sasha.
He texted back.I need to see what’s going on and what’s happened up there. I’m going with you when you breach.
[ That’s not a good idea. ]
You’ve cleared the oblast. No new infections?
[ No. ]
I must do something. I’m sitting in this office as everything falls apart. Up there I can make a difference for my people.
[ We don’t know what we’re going to find in Andreapol. I don’t want you exposed to anything. Or caught in the crossfire if it’s a Moroshkin cell. ]
I can handle myself in a fight.
[ Will anything I say stop you? ]
No. I’m coming.He was already standing, shuffling his papers into a folder and grabbing his cell phone. He’d try and read more on the way up to Andreapol. How long a drive was it? Four, five hours? Sasha used to make the drive twice a year, he’d said. Twice a year to pick up a man for a fumble in his car. A few hours grinding against men in a dance club, making out against walls and in bathrooms, and then he’d fuck them in the alley or in his car, as fast as he could. And then drive back in shame.
I’ll be in your shoes, Sasha, he thought. His cell vibrated again.
[ Then bring Yuri. I could use him up here, but he wanted to go back to Moscow. ]
Sergey skittered to a stop. His shoe rubbed against the marble floor, squeaking.Yuri?
[ Yeah. Bring him with you. ]
Fuck. He’d been purposely avoiding Yuri, purposely busy on his phone or with folders whenever Yuri was near. He didn’t want to look him in the eye, didn’t want to make small talk with him. What did Yuri think of him and Sasha? What had he thought about Sasha recuperating in Sergey’s bedroom?
And now this.
What the hell was going on with his security team? Who were these men Ilya had put in place? How did he know them so well?
Two guards waited for him outside his office. Neither were Yuri. “Can you find me Yuri Chernyshev?”
They blinked at him, but turned away and growled into their radios. A voice spat back. “Where would you like him to meet you, Mr. President?”
“Have him bring the Land Cruiser around. We’re going for a drive.”
