Page 150 of Stolen Empire

"I've spent my whole life being alone. My mother and I moved so much that I never had friends who lasted more than a few months. Coming to Moscow was supposed to be my chance to start a life I don't have to run from."

"And instead you found me."

He says it without emotion, but I hear the guilt underneath.

"Instead I found you," I agree.

"And now I'm caught up in a world I don't understand with people trying to kill me for a name I never even knew was important."

The SUV turns onto a narrow road that cuts through dense forest.

Trees press in on both sides, their branches heavy with snow.

We drive for another ten minutes in silence before Dimitri speaks again.

"I'm glad you came back…"

I lean into him, resting my head against his shoulder.

He wraps an arm around me and holds me close as the SUV winds deeper into the forest.

The safehouse appears through the trees like something out of a fairy tale.

It's a large cabin built from dark wood with smoke curling from the chimney.

Lights glow in the windows, and I can see guards positioned around the perimeter.

"Home sweet home," Dimitri says, but there's little warmth in his tone.

"At least for now."

The driver stops in front of the cabin and gets out to open our door.

Dimitri climbs out first and offers me his hand.

I take it and let him help me out into the snow.

The cold air bites at my face, but the cabin looks warm and inviting.

"Come on," Dimitri says, guiding me toward the front door.

"Let's get you inside."

I follow him up the steps and into the cabin, leaving my old life further behind with every step I take.

24

DIMITRI

The safehouse has become a cage.

Three days of sitting in these rooms, planning and strategizing, watching Katya circle the same space over and over.

She's restless.

I can see it in the way she moves, the way her eyes track to the windows, the way her fingers drum against her thighs when she thinks I'm not looking.

She wants to get out of here and do something but I can't give her that.