“Are you okay?” Kazimir whispered in my ear.
I couldn’t see him, but clung to his hard body, knowing I would be okay as long as he was near. “Yes. I’m fine. But my phone is probably broken.”
Luka sounding more chipper, volunteered, “She can use my phone, if she needs to.”
I reached out and then I paused. “Maybe, we shouldn’t turn on your phones. Someone could track them and know that you both are still alive.”
“And I would like them to think we’re dead.” Kazimir helped me up in the darkness.
I inched close to him, smoothing my body against his and not caring how he took it. This was a time for survival, not for manners and insecurities.
“Do you think you can find her phone on the ground, Luka?” Kazimir asked.
Scuffling sounded near my right. Another explosion crashed through the short silence. I didn’t know if the person had put a bunch of bombs up on Rumi’s lawyer’s floor or if the bomb had triggered other things to explode.
“I’ve got it.” Luka must’ve pressed for it to come on because a light streamed from his hand, and partly illuminated the room. He handed it to me. Luka’s words swam in a thicker accent than Kazimir. “Good call on the tunnel.”
“Thanks, I’m big on staying alive.” I took the phone.
Kazimir picked me up.
I protested again, “I don’t think—”
“I thought the bomb ended that argument.” Kazimir carried me forward. “Which way do we go?”
“We keep walking until we see red smiley faces.”
“Why smiley faces?” Kazimir asked.
“That’s how Max, Theo, and I would find out way around the tunnels. We would draw them all over the walls and floor with hidden arrows to show us how to get out.”
“Hmmm.” His chest tensed against me. “Whose idea was the smiley faces?”
“Always Max. Why?”
“I’m just wondering about meaningful coincidences.”
Chapter 11
Emily
We continued down the hallway. A moldy scent filled the air. Large cob webs dangled in corners. Rats scurried by. Luka jumped and came close to shooting one.
“Save your bullets, Luka,” Kazimir said.
“I hate rats,” the man grumbled as he stomped forward.
“How long have you all been marking these tunnels?” Kazimir asked.
“Since we were kids.”
“Who else knows about them?”
“I’m sure the city and retired maintenance and train workers. People like that, but it’s not something that others know.” Enjoying Kazimir carrying me quite too much, I shined the cellphone along the walls. The man was a muscled personification of contradictions. His arms were hard, yet soft. So close, he smelled dangerous, but I absolutely felt safe.
“So, only your brother and this Maxwell knows about these tunnels?” Kazimir asked.
“My friend Kennedy too, but she almost never goes down with us, so she wouldn’t know her way. It’s always been a big secret of mine.” I considered what I’d said and almost cursed at myself.
I’d just led Kazimir and Luka into my biggest escape method. Now if I ever had to get away from the Russians, I would need another way. Fear knotted at the pit of my stomach.
Let’s hope I don’t have a reason to escape.
We must’ve walked for twenty minutes in dark silence with only the cellphone’s light guiding the way.
I wondered what both men were thinking.
Surely, they’d dealt with worse in Russia. Their lives couldn’t have been perfect white picket fenced houses full of love. These guys were big, tattooed, and rough. That came from hard living and a tough life.
Kazimir held me the whole time, never stopping to rest his arms. The butt of one gun tapped against my side every other step.
But I had no reason to complain. His arms were safe and comfortable. Warm and powerful. His scent drew me closer. For those minutes of silence, I’d been wondering what his cologne was mixed with—pine or maybe a designer musk. Something expensive and exclusive. Other minutes of silence, I yearned to lean my hand against his shoulder and rub my face against his chin and neck. . .so close, I’d been imagining licking and kissing it. Doing dirty, nasty things to it.
“What’s on your mind, my little mysh?” Kazimir whispered through the silence.
I licked my lips. “I’m just thinking.”
“About?”
How sexy and strong you are.
“This whole thing must’ve been planned a long time ago,” I said instead. “The bomb. Rumi’s death. It’s all very well calculated. Killing Rumi would’ve been hard. Personally, I thought I would be the only person that could do it.”
“Why?”
“I. . .uh. . .just thought so,” I muttered, realizing that my true response might not have showed me in the best light.
“What were you going to say?” Kazimir pushed further. “We’re friends now. We know each other’s secrets.”
“Do we?” I enjoyed the comfort of his arms too much no matter how I tried not to. I cleared my throat. “You know about my tunnels. What secret do I know of yours?”
“That someone close to me is trying to kill me. That would be valuable information to any of my enemies. What else do you want to know, Emily?”
“Where’s my brother?”
“At the brothel you were at last night.”
“How long has he been there?”
“Since you said you would work for me.”
“He’s safe?” I asked.
“Of course.”
“And you’ll bring him to me tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” I sighed. “I was going to say that I’m the only one that has a secret passageway into Rumi’s building. It was why I set him up in that building years ago.”
Kazimir stopped and turned to me. “Secret passage?”
“Yes. The stairwell doesn’t stop on the second floor. You can keep going down to the basement. And there’s a door for an old boiler room that they don’t use anymore when they renovated the place.”
“And the boiler room leads you to a tunnel?”
“An old subway track to be exact, which could link you up to anywhere.”
“So, whoever killed Rumi probably knew about that passageway?”
“No.”
He started walking. “Why do you say no?”
“Because that would mean that either Darryl, Maxwell, or I killed him. And that’s not the case. Darryl couldn’t kill anyone. Maybe get someone to do it, but he wouldn’t be able to do it himself. Maxwell would only do it if. . .”
“What?”
I’m telling him too fucking much.
I gritted my teeth. “Maxwell would do it, if I asked.”
“He loves you?”
“Like a brother.”
“Hmmm. And what about you? Where were you when Rumi was killed?”
“I was busy. . .dating.” At least, I thought so. I was damn sure too fucked up to kill someone. “Anyway, I don’t think anyone would’ve used the passageway.”