BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

“I have a car. It’s screwed up. I can’t drive it.”

“All right. Listen to me. Go to your car and wait for me. I’ll find you there. I promise.”

She needed to get to him soon or he was done for.

“Go wait in your car, Lance,” she said again. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Watch for me.”

“No,” he said. “Don’t come here. Go to the airfield.”

“Watch for me, Lance. I’ll come, and you can save me.”

The line went dead.

“Lance?” she said. “Lance?”

83

“Don’t speed,” Laurel said.

She was sitting next to Piotr as they drove north from the city toward the airfield. She kept her eyes on the rearview mirror, terrified that at any moment, the flashing lights of a police car would show up behind them.

But none did, and as they got further from the city, she felt the tension in her body lifting. They were following directions to the extraction point she’d been given by the phone operator. There wasn’t too much further to go.

“Thank you for doing this,” she said to Piotr as he turned off the highway onto a forested road.

He looked at her. “I thought you were dead when I saw you.”

“Oh?”

“Lying by the river. For a split second, I thought you were dead. Then you moved.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“I can’t imagine this is how you thought you’d be spending your night,” she said.

He laughed. “Not exactly.”

She looked at him. “You can’t tell anyone what you did tonight.”

He nodded.

“For your own safety.”

“I know,” he said.

“You risked your life for me.”

He nodded again, and they drove on. Then he said, “My sister drowned in the Moskva.”

Laurel turned to him. “Really?”

“Yes. Not far from where I found you.”

“When?”

“When we were children. That’s why I thought you were dead when I saw you.”

“I see.”

“I thought you were her, actually.”

Laurel put her hand on his shoulder.

They drove on in silence. The road got narrower and windier. After a few miles, there was a turnoff onto a smaller road. The next turn was onto a narrow, unpaved track, and the turn after that was onto an even smaller track that was still covered in snow. There were some recent tire tracks on it but it hadn’t been plowed.

“I might get stuck,” Piotr said.

“I can walk from here,” Laurel said, looking at the directions.

The extraction point was less than a mile up the path.

“I’m coming with you,” he said.

He moved the car to the side of the track and they got out. Piotr had an extra coat in the trunk which he gave to Laurel. It was so big it wrapped her like a sleeping bag.