Page 67 of Deadly Protector
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Zamira jumped up as Dimitri strode out with Viktor and a man she didn’t recognize. But if she had to guess, he was Dimitri’s lawyer. He spoke quietly to Dimitri, then Viktor, then left, already talking on his phone as he strode out of the police station waiting room.
Even though Dimitri had told her to call her family, she’d opted not to. She’d answered all the police’s questions, and her house—the crime scene—backed up her story. The truth. If they’d tried to arrest her, she’d have called, but now she was glad she hadn’t.
She only had so much mental bandwidth at the moment.
“You’re good to go?” she asked as Dimitri and Viktor approached. She didn’t know Viktor well, but really liked his wife and kids.
“Free to go with no follow-up. With both our accounts and the copies of the video from your camera system, there’s going to be no problem.” He swept his gaze over her, as if looking for injuries. “You’re sure you’re okay? They said you didn’t want to go to the hospital.”
“I’m fine. Sore from jumping on the hood of my car, but fine.” No broken bones at least. But she winced as she thought about all the damage at her house as well as her vehicle.
“Worry about calling insurance in the morning,” Viktor said to her as if he’d read her mind. “I’m going to take you back to your house so Dimitri can grab his car, then I suggest you go to his place and the two of you get some sleep.”
She blinked at the other man, surprised by how many words he’d said at once. Zamira then looked at Dimitri, wondering if that was what he wanted.
“Sounds good to me,” he murmured, falling in step with her as they headed out of the police station.
A wave of humidity rolled over her as they stepped outside, the promise of Florida summer close by. She pulled a hairband out of her purse and started braiding her hair as they reached Viktor’s fancy SUV.
Dimitri opened the passenger door for her, but she shook her head. “I’ll sit with you.”
Once they were in the back seat together, she laid her head on his shoulder after she strapped in. And promptly fell asleep.
“We’re here?”Zamira rasped out, blinking as she looked around. Everything looked foreign, even her house with the crime scene tape still across her garage door.
“Yeah.” Dimitri’s voice was low, soothing. “Let’s go pack a small bag, then you can sleep on the way to my place.”
She wasn’t even sure what time it was now, almost midnight, she realized when she saw the time on the dash. “Ah, okay. Thank you for driving us,” she said as she slid out.
Viktor might have responded. She wasn’t sure as she headed up her driveway.
Her neighborhood was quiet, but there were more traces of what had happened. Tire indentations from one of the cop cars that’d zoomed up were visible in the grass by her driveway. And of course the remnants of the crime scene tape. “We can go in?” she asked as Dimitri stepped up next to her.
“Yeah, they’ve done everything they need to.”
“Is there…blood in my garage?”
“Yeah. I’ll pay to have it cleaned. You won’t have to ever look at it.”
She wanted to tell him she’d take care of it herself, but felt almost numb as she stared at her two-story home, as she thought about how close she’d come to dying. To leaving her kids behind with no parents. To losing Dimitri. Tonight could have ended in her worst nightmare. “Thank you,” she rasped out, because that was all she trusted herself to say.
It didn’t take long to grab what she needed, and then they were once again driving. Miami was quiet this time of night, at least in the more suburban areas. There wasn’t much traffic anywhere and they seemed to get all the green lights as Dimitri smoothly drove through the city.
“So what happened with the police? With…Ryba?” She knew he’d shot him, but she just… Maybe she wasn’t sure what she was asking. She felt so out of sorts, untethered at the moment.
“He had a weapon and was going to shoot me so that part is open and closed. I’ve got a permit for my weapon so no issue there. Combined with him stalking you, harassing you, and his record, this is very open-and-shut for the cops.”
That was good at least. “I have no idea if Lucas even had what he was looking for, that password. Would the bank account even be good now?”
“Some offshore accounts are like that. And if it’s just been sitting there, unless someone else has access there’s no reason it’s not still there.”
“I wish I didn’t even know about it.” She closed her eyes, let her head fall back.
“You never have to think about it again if you don’t want.”
“I don’t want to think about him ever again.” She shoved out a sigh. “But I’ll have to because I’ve got to get my house patched up in the places he shot and—”
