19

Chapter 19

Anya

Almost a full day later, I was back home where I’d started. I exited the airport with my carry-on, prepared to wave down a taxi from the line waiting for passengers. Instead, two huge men crowded on either side of me, grabbing my arms. I tried to fight to escape, but they clamped harder on my arms and half-dragged me between them. I knew who they were, having recognized them from the afternoon Ivanov had come to our home, the very day of my father’s memorial service. Where they were, that bastard had to be nearby.

I was still trying to struggle when they shoved me inside a limousine before crowding in beside me on each side. Ivanov sat across from me, and he took my purse when one of the goons snatched it from my fingers. “Give that back.”

He clicked his tongue. “So you can cash your check and make off like a bandit in the night? I think not.”

I watched with horror as he opened my purse and fished out the check from “The Island.” “How…?” I trailed off, briefly wonderin