Keep Me Safe (13 page)

“Naked is good for me. Now get your sweet ass in my bed, woman.”

***

Squeezing my hand tightly, Kane leads me along the hospital corridor of the Chelsea and Westminster
towards Alexei’s private room. I have been awake most of last night dreading this conversation so am overly sensitive and emotional. Jack is meeting us in a few minutes.

I take a gulp of air as I open the door. We are both surprised to
see Alexei out of bed, sitting in a chair by the window. However, his pallor is still pale, his weakness evident. He turns at the sound of the door opening offering a weak smile. He gestures for me to join him in the opposite chair.

Kane reluctantly lets go of my hand taking the only remaining chair in the room. As he sits, Jack arrives.

Alexei looks uncomfortable with an audience, as do I. For a long agonising moment, he turns his attention to looking out of the window. Jack breaks the silence.

“Time to talk, Alexei.”

Alexei nods, scowling. “I want to talk to Sky alone.”

Kane rushes to stand knocking his chair over. “I’m not going anywhere. So start talking, Bortsov.”

Alexei offers a smirk in response. “And you are? Not the Police, I imagine.”

I raise my hand to stop the men digging deeper into frustrated and heated arguments. I need Alexei to speak at last. I’ve waited ten years to hear what he has to say. Ten long years. “Please all of you! Stop. Alexei, please tell me who killed my father. Jack and Kane are staying with me. I want them here. You know who and what Jack is. Kane is my….my…”

“Bodyguard.” Kane interrupts.

I try to hide my instant hurt. I don’t know what I expected him to say but as I only left his bed a few hours ago….maybe I expected more.
Overly sensitive and emotional…..

***

I nurse the polystyrene cup containing insipid vending machine tea, twirling it around in my shaking hands. I watch as the man before me, who holds the answers to all my questions, rakes a hand down his sickly face. He smiles, reaches for my hand and begins to tell me what I have waited to hear.

“It started at 23.15 on July 27
^th
in 2003.
A black Chaika was on its way towards Moscow. The car belonged to Alexander Yenotov.”

I screwed up my eyes, trawling through my memory bank “Yenotov? The Minister of Foreign Affairs?
”

Alexei shrugs. “In 2003 he was
a junior minister making his way up, but for the moment, that is irrelevant.”

“I’m sorry. Please carry on.”

“Alexander was not driving the car that night. Driving the car that night was his wife, Darya. And her passenger was your father.”

“Oh. I remember him visiting Russia at the time. He missed my birthday. But why was he with her? Do you know?”

“Please, Sky. You must be patient. And I will tell you everything as I know it.” He sighs squeezing my hand. I nod my agreement to remain quiet.

“
As they made their way to Mosrentgen, she drove through a T-junction without stopping colliding with a Volkswagon. The Volkswagon had three occupants – Artor Blatov, his uncle Vadim Blatov and my father, Erik.

Artor was killed instantly. Both my father and Artor’s uncle survived but were badly injured. There were witnesses who were near the scene. They called for the Police and medical assistance. When they arrived, the Police ushered your father and the ministers wife into a waiting car and left the scene. A few days later, Vadim and my father received a visit in the hospital from the investigating officer. He informed them that unfortunately all the traffic cameras on that stretch of road were damaged. And that the witnesses said they did not see anything.

Of course, they were both immediately suspicious. They demanded to see the official traffic accident reports. But when these eventually arrived, the car crash was not included in any of the reports. It was as if it never happened. It should be noted that the press did not even know about the VIP car accident at the time. Vadim was so angry. He had lost a nephew in that accident and he was being told ‘officially’ that the accident never happened. All visible signs and traces of the crash, even the marks left by the tyre treads were cleared away within hours of the crash according to one witness….who eventually denied every saying that.”

Alexei takes a minute to compose his disgust. I try to take in everything he has just said. I want to speak…to ask questions
… but all are trapped by the lump swelling in my throat.

“Eventually, my father decided to hire a private investigator. He could afford one. Vadim could not. The aim was to try to find the man who was the passenger in the VIP car. Maybe he would admit the accident happened. The investigator
sought clarification from the law-enforcement authorities. He submitted several inquiries to the Main Investigations Directorate of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate for the Moscow Region, the Road Traffic Police Director for the Moscow Region, the Road Traffic Police Director, and the Ministry of the Interior itself. In essence, he simply asked for official confirmation and clarification that the accident happened. All responded to say that there was no record of the accident.

But, ha! He was able to bribe local garage owners. One of them had photographs of both damaged cars. One photograph was also taken at the scene and showed a man, which we now know was your father, getting into a Police car with the minister’s wife.
Searches of the internet led to his identity.”

Alexei again takes a break, asking for more water. His eyes moisten as he looks at me intently. “Do you want to hear all of the truth, Sky? You need to be very sure.”

“I’m sure.” But I am aware that that could not be further from the truth. A sense of dread sits heavy on my chest as my eyes slowly fill with tears. I look to Kane and Jack for comfort and reassurance.

“Ok. There are things that need to be said, Sky, apart from telling you who killed your father. Things that will affect your memory of your father. But the truth is that unless you know the whole story then none of what I have just said
or about to say will make sense. You understand?”

I nod, already feeling shaken.

“The investigator found out that your father was indeed in the car that night, and that he was an English journalist. He also found out that your father was in Moscow having meetings with the editor of two of our national newspapers. It is thought that he….that he wanted to move to Russia.”

I shake my head firmly. “That doesn’t make sense. He never talked with my mother about leaving the UK. And why would he want them to live in Russia? You must be wrong.”

“I believe he never spoke to your mother about his plan, Sky. I am told that he discussed with the editors about
his
moving to Moscow. Alone. And I know why.”

“The minister’s wife?” Jack urged
him.

Alexei simply nodded and I instantly knew the truth from the look in his eyes.
Affair. My father was having an affair. And he planned to leave my mother…..and me.
I am stunned into silence.

“
Eventually the investigator located your father. He was surprised that he agreed to a meeting when he returned to Moscow in the October. But he was eventually going to be disappointed. You see, at the meeting, your father denied on record that the accident ever happened. He protected the woman who he was rumoured to be having an affair with. But, I’m sorry, Sky, but he was a fool.”

The tears are flowing freely now. I jump as Kane lurches towards Alexei.

“That’s enough, Bortsov! Can’t you see what all this is doing to her?” Kane snarls. Jack eases him away, throwing him a warning look.

“I meant
no disrespect by that comment, Sky. I really think he believed she loved him. But the truth is…..she would never have left her husband. But when he denied the accident happened to protect her….he unwittingly put himself in danger. He was Vadim’s last hope and the denial sent him over the edge. Vadim wanted revenge. He went crazy.”

“Vadim killed my father?
” I spat out through sobs.

“No, Sky. He didn’t.” Alexei shakes his head softly. A single tear runs the length of his cheek as he bows his head.

“If he didn’t, who did? Did Vadim hire someone? Alexei….just tell me. Who killed my father?”

Alexei struggles out of his chair, unsteady on weak legs. He grips the window sill for
strength as he leans his forehead against the coolness of the glass. He shuts his red rimmed eyes before releasing a deep sigh. Turning to me, I can see he is broken.

“The man who killed your father was Erik Bortsov…. my father.”

Chapter Eighteen

How do you tell your mother that her husband was killed because he was protecting his love
for and the honour of another woman? And how do you treat the man who risked his own life to tell you that his father killed yours?

I end th
e call tossing my mobile onto the bedside table. Jack Mercer has a further development he wishes to discuss. For the last three days since I met with Alexei, my emotions have swung like a pendulum. And a meeting with Jack Mercer and John Keaton today is the last thing I want to do. I don’t know if I am ready yet.

I crawl deeper under the bed covers, burying myself almost completely.
Kane stirs beside me pulling me into his body. He nuzzles at my neck pressing his morning erection into the small of my back. His breath is warm and comforting against my ear.

“What did Jack want?” He whispers, his voice still thick with sleep.

“There have been further developments. He and John Keaton are coming over in a while.”

“
Are you up to talking to them?” He palms his sleepy eyes.

“It’s got to be done. But I just want to not think for a short while. I’m tired of thinking. I need to distract my mind.” I sigh, trailing a finger along his muscular thigh.

“I really should get up, Sky. I’m due to relieve Storm.”

I turn myself to face him taking his erection firmly in my hand. Peeking up through thick lashes, I pout. “But I need my bodyguard here. Unless
, of course, you don’t mind sending in a replacement?”

He curls his lip releasing a low growl. Pinning me firmly into the mattress, his body heavy on mine, he begins to bite at my neck, branding me. “I do mind. No-one is replacing me in this bed…..on this body.”

He cradles my face between two huge hands looking at me intently with those dark eyes. For a long moment we are motionless. I am lost in the depth and dark pools of his pupils. Those eyes. And then I remember……

“You rescued me……” I breathe out as he bends to claim my mouth.

His head jolts back as he hears the words. He bends again to kiss me but I halt his face.