by Kat Mizera
“I hope you’re right.”
“Hang tough,” he said softly. “We’ll sort this out.”
“You can’t tell him anything about how I’m feeling while we’re in Russia,” she said fiercely.
“I don’t believe he’d hurt you,” he said firmly. “But if you’re this nervous, I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you.” She hung up and stuffed the phone back in her purse. Then she stood up, fixed her face and joined the party.
Chapter 9
Toli knew his wife was not okay with her role tonight. Her eyes were hooded and she kept one eye on her daughter at all times. For whatever reason, asking her to pretend that their relationship was a farce had frightened her, and he didn’t know how to fix that until they were somewhere safe. For now, he had to remain as aloof as possible, though he’d tried to draw her out while they were dancing. She’d refused to talk to him, moving stiffly in his arms until she’d broken away to get another glass of wine.
“What have you done to your bride?” Tatiana asked him, standing beside him when Tessa walked away.
“I tried to be honest,” he said sadly. “But it backfired.”
Tatiana nodded knowingly. “You didn’t tell her what you did?”
“I don’t know how.” He watched the woman he loved kneel in front of her daughter and smile for the first time all night. Damn, he hated that he’d managed to alienate her in the process of trying to protect her. Anton had told him what she’d said earlier, and he wracked his brain to figure out what had spooked her. He knew he’d freaked her out a little by telling her to pretend they weren’t really in love, but she wasn’t supposed to be afraid of him. He’d thought explaining what they needed to do to stay safe for 48 more hours would bring them closer; instead, she was probably further away from him emotionally than she’d been when she’d gone back to her ex-husband earlier in the year.
“You should fix this,” Tatiana said lightly. “It really isn’t a good way to start a marriage.”
“Neither is getting shot,” he murmured.
“Speaking of which, I should check your stitches.”
“Yeah, Tessa will love seeing you taking my shirt off.”
“She knows we slept together for more than a decade.”
“I don’t think that helps,” he said quietly, gazing at his wife and sensing that things were going downhill with more momentum than he could stop.
By 11:00 Tessa was ready to leave. She was tired, her feet hurt and Raina had fallen asleep on Anatoly’s lap. They’d had toasts she didn’t understand, eaten food she wasn’t thrilled with, and danced dances she didn’t know. Toli had tried to engage her a couple of times, but she’d simply shaken her head and remained silent. She’d smiled for the camera a thousand times, it seemed, and hugged old ladies who wore all black. There had been a handful of ex-NHL players here that spoke English and seemed to be normal guys who happened to play for the KHL, but other than that, she didn’t really spend much time with anyone. Mostly, she kept an eye on Raina and picked at the plates of food people kept putting in front of her.
She sank down next to Anatoly and Raina, running her hand lovingly over her daughter’s face. Anatoly looked at her carefully, his eyes slightly narrowed.
“You are unhappy,” he said in his quiet, broken English. “Is there fighting with Toli?”
“Not really,” she shrugged.
“This is lie.” He cocked his head. “You are good woman. You have beautiful child and you are good mother—but tonight there is no light in the eyes. Something is changed—what has Toli done?”
“Sometimes you don’t see someone for who they are until you see where they come from,” she said softly.
“Toli is foolish,” his father said after a moment. “But he is not bad. You must trust your heart.”
She could only smile, unsure what he meant and unable to decipher it in her current emotional state.
Anatoly frowned, unsure what to say. Instead of trying to fumble his way in English, he simply laid his hand on hers. “You must be strong; Toli is good.”
She met his eyes in confusion and nodded. She still didn’t know what he meant and was too miserable to care. She stared down at the brilliant diamond on her finger and wondered if she’d gotten it because he loved her, or as some kind of investment in his future. Would being the husband of an American citizen help his status here in Russia? She couldn’t figure out how, but it was beginning to feel like she was nothing but a pawn in some kind of game.
“Are you ready to go?” Toli asked, kneeling in front of her.
“Sure.” She stood up warily and Anton appeared, lifting Raina from Anatoly’s lap.
“There are a lot of fans outside,” Toli said quietly. “Will you be okay?”
“Let’s just get it over with.”
“Sweetheart?” He squeezed her hand and refused to let go. “What’s happened? Are you angry about the conversation we had?”
“I don’t know what I am anymore,” she admitted, “except tired and homesick.”
He frowned slightly. “We leave in two days.”
“I know. Come on, let’s go. Can Anton get Raina into the limo without the paparazzi getting pictures?”
“I’ll have the limo meet him around back to pick them up, but I have to make an appearance out front and I need you with me.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“Tessa, my love, what can—”
“Let’s just go,” she said firmly, tugging at his hand.
Something sour settled in his gut and he had to remember to put on his public face as they got outside. Fans and the press were all over them and he smiled and shook hands, posed for pictures and answered questions. Tessa was actually smiling and talking to people as well, apparently more comfortable with his fans than with his family and friends. He wanted nothing more than to be alone with her, but when they finally got into the limo he was frustrated to see Sergei and Tatiana waiting for them.
“What are you doing here?” he asked softly, settling back.
“We thought we could drop Anton and Raina at the hotel and then we could go out for a little while,” Sergei said. “There are some great—”
“I’m really tired,” Tessa interjected.
Sergei turned to Toli in confusion, but he just shrugged.
“Is everything all right?” Tatiana asked her. “Come out with us—it will be fun, not like the party tonight.”
“I’m not leaving my two-year-old daughter alone at a hotel!” Tessa snapped. Everyone turned to stare at her and she put her fingers to her temples. “I’m sorry. I’m just—tonight was hard and I’m really tired and Toli and I had a fight earlier tonight and unlike the rest of you, I’m completely out of my comfort zone here. I don’t speak the language, I don’t know anyone and Toli has been like a Jekyll and fucking Hyde! I can’t be two different people; I’m just a dumb blonde from the Midwest! I don’t know what’s going on and—”
“Sweetheart.” Toli put a gentle finger to her lips. “We had a disagreement earlier, but I thought we were okay? And you’ve never been a dumb blonde—what happened since then?”
“I woke up! I don’t know who you became when we got here, but you’re not the same guy I married a few weeks ago.” She could see the startled look on Sergei’s face, but she turned away.
“Tessa.” Tatiana scooted over so that she was sitting next to her sister-in-law. “The situation here is different, and Toli’s father can be very difficult, but maybe a night out would be good to help us all relax.”
“I’m not myself tonight—Toli and I have never fought before.” She glanced at him briefly but looked away again when he tried to talk to her.
“How about we just go back to the hotel,” Sergei said softly. “You can put Raina to bed, leave her with Anton and we can go have a few drinks in the hotel bar?” He was shocked at the things his normally sweet sister-in-law was saying and he knew his brother was struggling with keeping secrets that could hurt
her.
“That’s fine,” Tessa nodded. “It’ll give me a chance to take off these stupid shoes, too. They’re killing me.” She saw the hurt on Toli’s face the moment she said it, but she didn’t care right now. He’d bought her those shoes because she’d wanted them even though they cost a ridiculous amount of money. Then he’d made love to her wearing nothing else the night they got back together. Her face burned when she thought of all the things she’d let him do to her in bed and she clenched her fists at her sides to keep herself from completely falling apart. She’d trusted this man with everything and now she felt like she didn’t even know him. The humiliation of yet another husband somehow duping her was almost crippling.
They separated at the elevators and Tessa walked up to the room with Anton, who was quiet.
“I didn’t mean that I didn’t trust you,” she said after a moment. “I was just being bitchy because I’m mad at your dad. It wasn’t about you.”
“Why are you still mad at my dad?” he asked softly, laying Raina in her crib.
Tessa pulled off Raina’s shoes and covered her with a blanket. “It’s complicated,” she said. “I’m sorry you had to be in the middle of all this tonight. You’re a good kid and he shouldn’t have brought you on this trip.”
Anton’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what he did, Tessa, but I know he loves you more than anything in the whole world. Except me.” He gave her a boyish smile so like his father’s she couldn’t help but smile back.
“It’s okay,” she said, toeing off her heels. “We’ll figure it out.” She went to the bathroom and took a few minutes to compose herself. Finally, she dug out her black flats and put them on, even though they looked ridiculous with her beautiful white dress.
She told Anton to text her if Raina woke up, grabbed her purse and made her way down to the elevator.
Getting off in the lobby, she headed to the bar. She was just passing the restrooms when the men’s room door opened and a gentleman came out, smiling at her. She smiled back just as she caught a glimpse inside of Tatiana’s laughing face and Toli grinning against the wall without a shirt, his hand at her waist. Tessa froze, staring at them in disbelief. She wanted to slap Tatiana’s smug, stupid face, but instead, she could barely fight off the tears burning behind her eyes as she watched Toli and his ex-girlfriend laugh with a familiarity that made her want to vomit. She turned and ran towards the exit, her heart slamming in her chest. If she didn’t get outside where it was cool she was afraid she would lose her dinner all over the lobby’s elegant carpet.
She stood outside taking long, slow breaths. She’d been such a fool. Did Sergei know or was he in on it too? What the hell was wrong with her? She’d always been so careful—she’d only slept with four men her whole life and she’d married two of them. How she’d wound up with a womanizing NHL player who was apparently using her for some sort of political gain was beyond comprehension, but seeing him with Tatiana confirmed everything she’d been too afraid to believe. Part of her screamed that this was wrong, that Toli would never betray her, not like this, but her aching heart was too raw and humiliated to trust anything other than what she’d just seen and all the pieces of this mysterious puzzle fell into place.
“You are okay?” A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair, a goatee and eyes so dark they were almost black, looked down at her with concern.
“Y-yes, I’m fine.” She shivered in the cool air.
“You should have a coat, it’s very cold for such a light dress.”
She looked down as if she’d forgotten what she was wearing. “I just needed some air,” she whispered finally.
“Anatoli Petrov is a difficult man to love,” he said, leaning against the wall and pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He offered her one and she instinctively shook her head, no.
“How do you know Toli?” she asked curiously.
“Everyone in Russia knows Toli.” He took a deep drag of the cigarette and blew rings in the air, as if they were at a party. “You picked a dangerous man to marry, little American.”
His accent got thicker as he spoke and she felt fear crawl across her skin, making the gooseflesh rise in alarm.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, looking towards the doors leading back into the hotel.
“You’ve become involved in something too dangerous for a sweet girl—you should go back to America and leave Toli with the doctor. She is the woman he will be with. You are a distraction, a way for him to pass the time until he returns to his homeland. For you, maybe this is okay, but your daughter? She is small, innocent—Moscow is a dangerous city for the little one.”
Tessa’s head snapped up. “What are you talking about?!”
He waved a dismissive hand. “Do not get upset. I am telling you of the danger because Toli cannot protect you. Marriage with him will not be what you think. You must get away, before it is too late.”
“Who are you and what’s going on?!” Tessa blew out a breath of frustration. “I shouldn’t be talking to you!”
“No.” He paused, looking down at her intently. “But I am here as a friend, warning you to get away from the Petrovs. They will bring only pain to your life. Your divorce was ugly—you were married to a bad man and now you have married another. Would be best for you to make—what do you call it? A clean break. For your daughter.”
Tessa’s heart was beating so fast she was having trouble breathing. “Toli loves me,” was all she said, forcing the defiance into her voice.
The man laughed. “Toli loves power, money and hockey, in that order. You have no place in his life other than as a pretty little ornament on his arm, to show off to his rich, powerful friends here. How will you manage, living in a country where you don’t know the language or what’s expected of the wife of high-ranking government operative?”
“Government operative?” She was practically gaping at him. “Toli isn’t involved in anything like that.”
“Why do you think he brought you here? He has no intention of leaving now that he cannot play hockey anymore.”
“We’re not moving to Moscow!” she hissed, clenching her jaw painfully.
“Why do you think you’re here, little one? Toli has no intention of letting you go home—if Marco truly wanted him dead, he would have killed him. Instead, he shot only his shoulder. This injury is nothing except a way for Toli to retire without breaking his contract. The time has come for him to return home and join his father.”
“What?!” she demanded, glaring at him. “His father worked in some kind of factory!”
He laughed. “Either you are a good actress or you are truly a naïve little American. Toli works for the government, just as his father did. The time has come for him to leave hockey and come back, take over where his father left off. There are many secrets in the Petrov family, and you must think of your daughter. The Petrovs always have male children—a little girl would not fare well in this family.”
“And why would you warn me?” she whispered, her eyes filled with tears. “If what you’re saying is true, why do you care about me?”
“We are not all bad, here in Russia. Men who crave power have many games they play and often the innocent are hurt. Bringing his American wife to Russia gives him a new level of power within the espionage world. You legitimize everything he’s done these last 18 years in the U.S. and he brings you here as his trophy—to show off to the government, maybe even the Prime Minister. I do not know his endgame, but you’re a nice woman—from Chicago, yes?”
“Yes.” She was staring at him in disbelief.
“Your parents, your sister—they are all there. That is your home, not here with the Petrovs. You must break with him, Contessa.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Take your daughter and go home,” he said, snuffing out the cigarette against the wall. “Russia is bad for pretty young American brides. Anatoli Petrov is bad for sweet girls like you. Why do you think Debb
ie did not marry him? Be smart, like the mother of his son—she knew he was not to be trusted and she refused to marry him. You must not stay with him either. The Prime Minister brings the MGB to Russia—and Anatoli Petrov will be at the helm. Go home to Chicago, little Tessa. The wife of a high-ranking MGB officer is not the life you want for your daughter.” The man turned and disappeared into the crowd on the street and Tessa just stared after him. What on earth was he talking about? She wasn’t sure, but she was scared now, in addition to being heartbroken. She knew the KGB had been gone for years, and although she never paid much attention to the details of Russian espionage, she’d heard snippets in the news about it making a comeback since the last election. Is that what the MGB was? Could any of what he’d just said be true?
She shuddered in the chilly air and tried to digest it all. She’d met, fallen in love with and married the most incredible man she’d ever known just a few weeks ago. It was just under 11 months since they’d first met, and up until the last few days Toli had never let her down. Her friends and family adored him as much as she did, and she knew Erin would never have let her marry someone who had a history as some sort of Russian spy. Or was Toli so good that he’d managed to fool everyone? She shook her head, tears trickling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.
After long minutes of fear, confusion and eventually desperation, she knew what she had to do. Pulling out her phone, she grudgingly dialed Drake’s number. She hated to do it, but she had no choice. She and Raina had to get out of Russia before Toli had a chance to do anything. Though she wasn’t positive he’d done anything wrong, she had no doubt the man who’d just warned her to leave him had been a real spy or government agent. If they knew about her and her family in Chicago, she was in over her head. Because Raina was with her, she couldn’t trust Toli simply because she was in love with him. Having to leave him would be the hardest and most terrifying thing she’d ever had to do—much harder than when she’d temporarily gone back to Bobby last January—but this was different. This was real. Russian spies, a resurgence of the KGB, Russian politics—those were things she had no desire to be involved in.