A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Somehow, he wasn’t particularly surprised to see Andrej slip into the room with a “man, we’re up shit creek without a paddle again” expression on his artfully unshaven face. Misha knew that look well. He’d seen it a lot when they’d been kids and the two of them had gotten in trouble on a regular basis. The last time Andrej had looked this unhappy, Misha had ended up with those fucking stars tattooed on his shoulders and knees. The ones on his shoulders were to show he was a high ranking member in the organization, the ones on his knees indicated he knelt before no one… which was ironic, considering how often he’d been on his knees before Riley.
“What?” he asked, instantly alert. “What’s gone wrong now?”
“Long version or short one?”
“Just tell me.” Misha’s patience was starting to run thin. Figured, that after two months of nothing, everything would happen at once.
Andrej grimaced and waved his cell phone at Misha. “I don’t know what you told your dad, but he didn’t buy it. He’s on his way to New
Orleans… and he’s bringing Anton.”
Anton. Oh shit. So much for avoiding that particular disaster. Well, all right. Misha mentally shifted gears. It was time to get moving, and honestly, he was grateful for it. He’d been getting desperate for action.
“Does he know we know?” he asked, already striding from the room.
Andrej shook his head, falling in step with him and watching him warily from the corner of his eye. “I talked to Nadia. She doesn’t blab. So what’s going on?”
“Mama,” Misha told him, ruefully. “She’s scheduled an engagement party.”
“Oh.” Andrej was silent for a moment, following Misha into his bedroom. “I take it we don’t plan to attend.”
Misha shot him a look. “Not in this life.”
“Oookay.” Andrej watched him pull his overnight bag from the dresser and retrieve his wallet from the bedside table. “So where are we going?”
Money, ID, fake ID, bag, gun… should he take the gun? He felt kinda naked without, but his weaponry had gotten him into this situation in the first place, and even with a permit it was a bitch to navigate airport security with a firearm. They’d have to fly commercial, make it harder for the family to find them. No gun, then. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need one anyway.
“We’re going to El Paso,” he informed Andrej absently, shoving his Glock back into the dresser compartment.
“El Paso,” Andrej echoed slowly. “You do know there’s nothing in El Paso but dust, heat, and illegal aliens, right?”
Oh, yeah, he hadn’t told Andrej yet. Misha turned around and grinned at his friend. “Kolya found Riley.”
Understanding dawned. “And Riley’s in El Paso.” Andrej rolled his eyes. “Should’ve known it had something to do with your cowboy. So, just for the record: are we running from your daddy or after your man?”
Misha shrugged. “Does it matter?”