Page 12 of His Disobedient Bride

I don’t know if I’ve been rescued or kidnapped, but I’m relieved she speaks English.

The men are talking to each other in Russian and she turns to me. She is very beautiful, with thick dark hair tied up in a bun, dark, luminous eyes and a soft pink mouth. She looks like a character in one of my stories.

“You are going to have a real shiner,” she says. “Dmitri, let’s stop and pick her up a steak to put over this eye.”

I hear an explosive streak of words from the dark-haired man, looking out the window on the other side of the car.

“Speak slower,” she says. “I’m still learning Russian.”

“You could speak pretty goddamn well when you were threatening those men,” Dmitri said irritably.

“Thank you,” I say, finally finding my voice. “Who were they?”

The smile fades from Cerise’s face.

“Human traffickers,” she says shortly. “They run a two-bit shakedown Mafia over here in Krasnaya Polyana, but their primary money comes from kidnapping women and forcing them into sex trafficking. Dmitri, maybe we should go back and kill the other two?”

“No,” he says. “We need to get to the safe house.”

Cerise takes this in stride. I feel weak with relief that they’ve rescued me, and my stomach roils with the thought of what would have happened to me if they hadn’t been there.

“And who are you?” I ask. “Why were you at the coffee shop?”

She hesitates for a second, as if debating what to say. “My name is Cerise Petrovic,” she says. “My husband owns a string of ballet theaters near Moscow. This is my husband’s cousin Dmitri Petrovic and his two, er, associates.”

“What do you need a safe house for?” I ask nervously.

“Aw hell,” she says. “I don’t know how to explain it. But things don’t always run smoothly in the ballet theater management business. But you’re safe with us now.”

“Are you taking my back to my hotel?” I ask.

I see her slide a glance over at Dmitri.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m afraid we are trying to outrun someone on our tail, so we can’t stop. You’ll have to come with us.”

That sounded ominous, but it didn’t seem like I had any other options.

9

CERISE

I had been avoiding thinking about Andrei, but I finally allowed myself to wonder what he was doing. I was worried. He was an unpredictable, unhinged psycho, but in one way he was very predictable. Not knowing where I was would tear my husband apart. The last time he hadn’t known where I was, he had killed multiple people. And he would kill without remorse or a second thought, anyone he thought stood between me and him.

My brain dwelled unpleasantly on what his emotions would be when he realized I hadn’t been in the SUV with the other women. Would he realize I was missing when he went to the safe house expecting to see me there?

I shivered.

I was 90% sure he wouldn’t kill Dmitri for breaking protocol and taking me. Well, at least solidly 80% sure.

I talked to Mary on the way to the safe house. Dmitri drove us hard, going all night long only with breaks to go to the bathroom and get food. And he and Gleb were the only ones who went in to get food. He had learned his lesson after bringing me with him to get our coffees.

I liked talking to Mary. It was nice talking to another American.

I was starting to feel a little guilty and nervous, though. Not for saving her, but because I hoped that saving her wouldn’t make it difficult for her to go back to her vacation.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Mary and I sleeping on each other’s shoulders, I wake up to feel the car glide to a gentle stop. We appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. I looked out the window and didn’t see any lights except the twinkling of a few distant farms. Even our car lights were off. I made an inarticulate noise and heard Dmitri’s sharp, short shushing.

My heart starting to beat faster, I heard him open the door quietly and slip out.

---