Chương 2 - HE DIDN’T LET HER GO
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
Lena waited for the sound of the glass being lifted.
It never came.
Instead, fingers closed around her wrist.
She froze.
Nikolai Dragunov had reached across the polished bar and caught her before she could step away.
He did not squeeze hard enough to hurt her, but there was no mistaking the strength in his hand. Lena looked down at his fingers around her wrist and then slowly raised her eyes.
Nikolai was no longer looking at the drink.
He was looking at her.
Marcus stopped smiling.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Nikolai pulled the cocktail napkin beneath his palm with his free hand and read the message without changing his expression.
Then he looked at Lena.
“Who?”
One word.
That was all.
Lena’s throat tightened.
Marcus gave an uneasy laugh. “Is there a problem?”
Nikolai ignored him.
His gaze remained fixed on Lena.
“Who?” he repeated.
She could lie.
She could claim she had made a mistake.
But Marcus was watching her now, and beneath his nervous smile was something far worse than anger.
Recognition.
He knew.
Lena glanced toward him.
It lasted less than a second.
It was enough.
Nikolai released her wrist.
Then he picked up the vodka.
Lena’s eyes widened.
“No.”
The word escaped her louder than she intended.
Several conversations nearby stopped.
Nikolai lifted the glass toward his mouth.
Marcus stared at him.
Lena nearly reached across the bar.
But Nikolai did not drink.
Instead, he turned and poured the entire glass into a decorative planter beside the bar.
Marcus went pale.
Nikolai set the empty tumbler down.
“Interesting,” he said.
Marcus stood abruptly.
Nikolai’s younger associate, Anton, rose from the booth behind them.
So did two other men.
Marcus noticed.
“I don’t know what she told you,” he said, “but this girl has problems.”
Lena stared at him.
Three years of working beneath Marcus had taught her that he lied easily.
She had never realized how badly he lied when he was afraid.
“She’s been stealing,” Marcus continued. “I was going to fire her tonight. She must have—”
“Sit down,” Nikolai said.
Marcus stopped.
“I really think—”
“Sit.”
Marcus sat.
The music had not stopped, yet the Ember Lounge suddenly felt silent.
Nikolai reached into his jacket.
Lena expected a weapon.
Instead, he removed a phone.
He placed it on the bar and called someone.
“Take the glass,” he said. “Quietly.”
A man appeared from the shadows moments later, slipped the tumbler into a sealed evidence bag, and disappeared through the employees’ corridor.
Marcus stared after him.
“You think I poisoned you?”
Nikolai finally looked at him.
“I think nothing yet.”
That answer somehow frightened Marcus more.
Nikolai turned toward Lena.
“What is your name?”
She hesitated.
“You've worked here three years,” he said. “I can discover it in thirty seconds. Or you can tell me.”
“Lena.”
“Last name.”
“Marquez.”
Something changed in his face.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
“Marquez?”
Lena noticed it immediately.
“Yes.”
“Your father?”
Her stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“What was his name?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Anton looked surprised that anyone would speak to Nikolai that way.
Nikolai only studied her more carefully.
Then he said, “Gabriel Marquez?”
Lena felt the room tilt.
She had not heard her father’s name spoken by anyone connected to this world in years.
“How do you know that name?”
Marcus stood again.
This time he ran.
He knocked over his stool and sprinted toward the rear hallway.
Anton moved after him, but Nikolai raised one hand.
“Let him go.”
Anton stopped.
Lena stared at Nikolai.
“Why?”
“Because frightened men run toward whoever they trust.”
Nikolai looked toward the security cameras.
“And tonight I want to know where Marcus feels safe.”
He turned back to Lena.
“You need to leave.”
“You think?”
“Not alone.”
“I don't need your help.”
Nikolai’s expression hardened.
“You just exposed someone who tried to poison me. Marcus saw you do it. Whoever paid him now knows you are a witness.”
Lena felt cold.
She had been so focused on preventing the drink from reaching Nikolai that she had never considered what happened afterward.
Nikolai had.
Of course he had.
“I can go to the police.”
“You can.”
The way he said it made her hesitate.
“You don't think I should?”
“I think you should decide after you know what you're standing in.”
Before Lena could respond, Anton returned.
His expression had changed.
“Boss.”
Nikolai looked at him.
Anton lowered his voice, but Lena still heard.
“Marcus didn't leave through the street.”
“Where?”
“Service garage. Someone was waiting.”
“Plate?”
“Covered.”
Nikolai nodded.
Then his phone vibrated.
He read the message.
His face became perfectly still.
“What?” Lena asked.
He showed her the screen.
A laboratory technician had performed a rapid preliminary test on the residue from the glass.
The message contained only a few words.
UNKNOWN CARDIOTOXIC COMPOUND. POTENTIALLY FATAL.
Lena stopped breathing.
Nikolai slipped the phone away.
“You saved my life.”
She looked toward the door Marcus had disappeared through.
“And probably ruined mine.”
Nikolai studied her.
“Maybe.”
It was not the comforting answer she wanted.
It was probably the truthful one.
Anton approached.
“We need to move.”
Nikolai nodded.
Lena backed away.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
A crash sounded in the alley.
Then came shouting.
Someone screamed.
Anton pulled open his jacket.
Nikolai grabbed Lena and pulled her behind the bar just as the front windows exploded.
Glass rained across the room.
People screamed and dropped to the floor.
The music cut out.
Another impact shattered a bottle above Lena's head.
Nikolai covered her with his body.
“Stay down.”
“What is happening?”
“They’re cleaning up.”
“Cleaning up what?”
Nikolai looked at her.
“You.”
Security rushed toward the entrance while guests crawled behind tables.
Nikolai took Lena by the hand and led her toward the service corridor.
She resisted.
“My bag—”
“Forget it.”
“My phone is inside.”
“Forget that too.”
They entered the kitchen as employees scattered.
Nikolai moved with frightening calm.
Lena had expected panic from a man under attack.
Instead, he seemed to become quieter.
Sharper.
At the rear exit, Anton stopped them.
“Car's compromised.”
Nikolai changed direction instantly.
“Laundry exit.”
They descended a narrow staircase beneath the kitchen.
Lena struggled to keep up.
“What exactly did my father have to do with you?”
Nikolai did not answer.
“Nikolai!”
He stopped.
It was the first time she had said his name.
He turned.
For the first time that night, she saw something beneath the controlled exterior.
Regret.
“Your father once saved my life too.”
Lena stared at him.
“No.”
“He did.”
“My father was an accountant.”
“He was many things.”
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
A door slammed upstairs.
Voices entered the kitchen.
They were running out of time.
Nikolai opened the basement exit.
Cold night air swept inside.
A black SUV waited across the alley.
Lena did not move.
“If I get into that car,” she said, “you tell me everything.”
Nikolai looked at her for a long moment.
“Everything I know.”
She stepped outside.
They were halfway across the alley when Nikolai suddenly stopped.
Lena followed his gaze.
On the brick wall opposite the club was a symbol painted in fresh white paint.
A wolf with a line through its throat.
Nikolai’s expression changed.
Anton whispered, “Impossible.”
“What does it mean?” Lena asked.
Nikolai stared at the symbol.
“It means Marcus wasn't trying to kill me for himself.”
“Then who?”
He opened the SUV door.
May you like
“The man who ordered your father's death.”
And for the second time that night, Lena forgot how to breathe.
