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At that,suspicion couldn’t be stifled I’d studied all aspects of the land of h to know about the Russkaya Mafiya--and how they favored tattoos like that

And really, ere the odds that a billionaire over there wasn’t tied to organized crime in some way? Not to mention that Sevastyan had kidnapped le me--passportless--into the country

Had I scrimped and toiled and searched, only to connect hts continued to race

Then silent,Sevastyan took one ominous step forward; the pilot backed down, hands raised

A single step had cowed that big pilot Maybe Sevastyan could’ve taken those three jocks Because he was dangerous

And he wanted to drag ic, Nat If Kovalev was ht jaunt to the er? Maybe Did I trust Sevastyan to protect me? Not more than I trusted myself

At that e man on the other side of the world envisioned for me If Kovalev wanted to talk to me, he could pick up the phone!

And Sevastyan? I still felt that bewildering attraction to hinore it

With him occupied, I cracked opencloser to the cornfield Naturally the one night I needed to escape the ht ball in the sky At least the field would provide cover This close to harvest, the stalks were tall and dense, the leaves lush

Almost there My breaths smoked Almost--

"Natalie," Sevastyan bellowed, "do not run!"

I took off in a sprint, charging into the rows

Chapter 4

Corn leaves slappedmy hair My bare feet kicked up loose soil

Howbehind ave a cry My God, he was fast! I’d felt like prey before; now I literally was Thisdeeper, sprinting even faster--