Page 124 of Immaculate Corruption (Romanoff Bratva)

My head still fucking hurts.

45

Arya

Dima must’ve passed out.

He stayed in his office all night. Even if he hadn’t, he would have had to break the door down to get into our room. I locked it.

By the point in the night where he was shouting mumbled words at the ceiling and I could hear glass shattering, I thought he might be drunk enough to actually try to break the door down. But he didn’t.

So when I woke up in the middle of the night, I tip-toed across the hall and checked on him. He was sprawled across his desk with a puddle of drool coming from his mouth and a bloody cut on his hand.

My first instinct was to take care of him. To rush forward and clean him up, get him to bed, give him some water.

That instinct needs to die.

Because I have to get out of here.

Dima told me he’d never let me leave with Lukas. I don’t plan on asking his permission, though. I still have the passports Arnie Fleishman made for us and the last of my cash savings. It’s not enough to get us overseas. But it’s enough to get us away from here. Lukas and I could lay low while I work, save some money, and figure out a game plan.

Early in the morning, before Lukas is awake, I shove blankets under the crack in the bedroom door to keep my voice from carrying and call Arnie Fleishman.

“This is Arnie.”

“Arnie, it’s Arya.”

There’s a long pause. I know he’s remembering the last time we met, when I held a knife to his throat. I crossed a line, but so did he. I was desperate and he pushed me. He shouldn’t have done that.

“I know I shouldn’t be calling you and I know you’re probably pissed at me—”

“I’m not mad,” he sighs. “I was backing out of a deal. I was a coward and I deserved your threats. I’m not happy about it, but I understand it.”

Wow. That isn’t at all what I expected him to say, but I’m grateful that’s at least one less fire I need to put out.

“Great. I’m sorry, but you are the only person I could think to call. I just need you to do me a favor.”

He sucks in a breath. “A favor? Arya…”

“I can pay you later, but I’m desperate, Arnie. I wouldn’t call if I wasn’t.”

Another long pause. “Tell me what it is.”

“I need you to book me a flight to Chicago. Under the names on the passports you made me. As soon as possible.”

“You can’t book your own flights?” he asks. “I’m a criminal, not a travel agency.”

I’ve thought about this a thousand different ways, and I can’t think of a single way to book myself a flight that doesn’t end in Dima being able to track where I’m going. Gennady could probably get the information from my phone if I did it online, and I at least know Arnie’s number is unlisted. Even if Gennady wanted to track it, he won’t be able to. Arnie paid the best people in the business to make sure he was untraceable.

“I can’t explain everything to you right now, but I’m not in a safe space and I can’t book my own flight. I need you to do it for me. You call, book the flights, and I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. I’m good for the money. You know I am.”

“DoI know that?” He sounds dubious. “I like you, girl, but this is a lot.”

“If you don’t, I’m done.” I don’t like being helpless, but I level with him. “If you don’t help me, I don’t have anyone else to turn to.”

Everyone in my life is too innocent to involve, too corrupted to trust, or dead. Arnie is the only one left.

Distantly, I hear him groaning, almost like he pulled the phone away from his ear to let out his frustration. Then he breathes into the receiver. “Fine. What time is good?”

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