I wasn’t sure I could bear to talk about him. It hurt too much. “Grandma, I don’t want to burden you with all this.”
“Blaire, this is the first time I’ve thought about anything other than my own pain in I don’t know how long. Please keep going. Tell me about Viktor.”
I didn’t even know where to start. “He’s so strong. He’s like this rock, and I feel so safe around him. He’s really funny—when we were together, we would joke around. And he is so tough, but with me, he’s so gentle.”
God, I miss him so much.
I could feel tears build up behind my eyes. “And he thinks we’re too different to be together, and he’s been avoiding me—and I miss him.”
I burst out into tears and covered my face with my hands. “And I know there are bigger problems here, but I’m so devastated that he won’t even give us a try.”
My grandmother pulled me into her arms, and for the first time since all of this had started, she rocked me. She comforted me. “There, now. It’s not too late.”
“I don’t even know how to get in touch with him. We were supposed to talk at the funeral—and then they were fighting… and his beautiful face was hurt… and then he told me to let him go.”
I clung to her as I cried harder. She held me while I cried myself out. Then she handed me a tissue. “Well, I don’t think he would have shown up at the funeral if he didn’t care.”
I lifted my face. “You think he cares?”
“A man who didn’t care for you would just cut all ties. But he’s showing up in your life, and he seems to be struggling to let you go.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “He told me to leave him alone.”
“Why does he get to make the rules? I think you need to confront him.”
“What?” I shook my head. “Grandma, no!”
“Maybe try to look a bit more sexy. Take off these flannel pants and put on something a bit tighter. A dash of lipstick wouldn’t hurt either.”
“Grandma!”
She brushed the hair off my forehead. “He’ll either fully push you away, or he will love you back—but it’s better to know one way or another.”
That thought terrified me. “What if he doesn’t love me?”
She gave me a tender smile. “If he doesn’t love you, then he’s an idiot and he’s definitely not your soul mate. Now, how are you going to find him?”
“Andrusha gave me his card, and it has his office’s address on it. I could try there.”
“That is an excellent idea. Now you go get ready, and I’m going to call my driver for you.”
My grandmother’s driver slowly moved the car down the driveway of a large acreage lined with cameras. We passed what looked like some sort of military obstacle course. At the end of the long driveway was a cluster of buildings. One looked like a small airplane hangar. One was a barn with its doors open. Inside the big doors was a boxing ring and a collection of gym equipment. In the distance, gunfire echoed off the steep, mountainous hill that nudged up against the property.
Andrusha appeared at the big doors. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
The driver sounded nervous. “Are you sure this is the right place?”
“Park the car and wait for me, please. Don’t get out.”
The driver gave me a slightly horrified look. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I walked across the gravel driveway. I had on a soft blue long-sleeved dress and a darker blue coat. I had dressed to entice Viktor, but now I felt a bit foolish since only Andrusha was here.
“Is that gunfire?”
“We have a gun range. Come on in.”
We didn’t speak as he led me across the empty gym into a nicely decorated office space with a comfortable waiting room and a boardroom off to the side. I looked around, but I couldn’t see Viktor anywhere.
“Come sit in my office. Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you.”
Instead of sitting at the desk, he led me over to a set of couches. He sat down across from me. “What can I do for you, Blaire?”
“I’m here to see Viktor.”
He leaned back against the couch. “I was wondering when you would show up.”
That made me blink. “Really?”
“Viktor is a stubborn arse at times. If you’re with him, you’ll to have learn to bend sometimes.”
“Is he here?”
“He left for France a couple of days ago.”
Just knowing that he wasn’t in the same country made my heart stumble. “He left the country?”
“He’s looking for the sniper. The one who killed your grandfather.”
The thought that Viktor was out in the world looking for a killer terrified me. “He thinks he’s in France?”
“What did he tell you about Beirut?”
“Drake told Viktor that the sniper was after him because of something that happened in Beirut. Viktor said he had two missions in Beirut that went bad.”
He looked at me with curiosity. “How much do you know about Viktor’s past?”
“Tonko told me that he was good at his job.”
Andrusha looked flummoxed. “You met Tonko?”
“Yes, right before the hurricane.”
“The hurricane?”
It baffled me that he didn’t know these things. “Don’t you and Viktor talk?”
“First of all, no one has met the legend we all know as Tonko.”
“He passed away.”
Andrusha’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How?”
“In the storm. I’m surprised Viktor didn’t tell you all this.”
He looked down at his hands. “Well, Viktor hasn’t been himself.”
I thought about the sniper. “The sniper was here for Viktor, not my family?”
“We think that the sniper was hired by the broker or the buyer—to ensure the sale went through. But once the sniper recognized Viktor, his priorities shifted. We’re not sure. We’re not even sure who the sniper is or why he has it in for Viktor.”
“Drake said he was connected to Beirut? Do you know what happened there? What went wrong?”
“Viktor didn’t go into detail?”
“No.” I prayed that Andrusha would share more with me than Viktor had. “What happened?”
“The first time Viktor was in Beirut, he was on a mission with a small team and he lost a good friend to a sniper. The friend’s name was Fyodor.”
I remembered that name. That was the name Viktor had shouted out during his nightmare on the boat. “That’s really awful.”
“Viktor realized there was a sniper on the roof, and he got his entire team out of the way, saving everyone except Fyodor. Fyodor had broken protocol and stepped into a shop to buy a drink. Viktor was running toward him, telling him to get down, and Fyodor got shot as he came out. They were very good friends, and Viktor felt responsible.”
“Why does he always think things are his fault?”
“This is Viktor’s one flaw. He thinks he has to save the whole world.”