Chapter Four

Mikhail Pov

I don't know what I was thinking.

Helping out this girl is only going to bring me trouble. But for some reason, I feel intrigued. That feeling, that adrenaline air that seems to hover around her, I can't get enough of it. I parked my car across a station. She said she didn't have anywhere to go so she decided to report the assault to the cops.

It's a bad idea.

Is what I told her but she seems sure that these corrupt officials are going to help her. It is a waste of time. Twenty minutes has passed since she entered and I am starting to get worried.

Worried?? Why would I? She is a complete stranger, one whom I probably shouldn't have gotten involved with in the first place. I've helped her escape, I've brought her to the station. The cops should be able to handle this. I turned the car on and was ready to leave until I saw a tinted, black SUV with no plates, pulling up in front of the building. It wasn't the type of car that belonged to a cop or to a regular citizen.

A man stepped out in a tailored suit. An air of confidence around him.

He walked up to one of the officers outside. They exchanged words, it was too far for me to hear, but the officer nodded.

Something wasn't right.

Before I could even make a decision, I was out of the car and crossing the street. I slipped past them while they were still talking. At the far end of the hallway she sat quietly. Sitting in a waiting chair and staring at the wall in front of her.

I didn't even think.

"Alina," she was startled when I grabbed her wrist but relaxed once she saw my face. "We need to go." I pulled her to her feet, leaving no room for discussion.

"But I was-"

"Now!"

She followed me, no questions asked when she saw the seriousness on my face. I couldn't take her through the front door so I pulled her further in, determined to find a rear exit. A door opened in front of us and one of the officers she spoke to earlier beamed at her.

"Miss Etienne! Great timing. Your-" Too late. I yanked her past him and towards the exit sign above a door in front of us just as her name echoed again behind us. The station was surrounded by a steel fence, there was a gate but it was locked with chains.

"What are we gonna do?" she asked me as fear crept in.

"Shit. We have to climb." her wide eyes snapped to mine. "Yes. Now." I laced my fingers together and gestured for her to use me as a boost. She was nervous but did it anyways and managed to loop her leg over the fence. The door behind us burst opened and a couple officers with clubs emerged. I jumped and grabbed the edge of the fence, pulling myself up and dropping on the other side. 

"Jump!" I stretched out my hands and she jumped into them just as the officers reached the fence. "Let's go." I pulled her out of the alley and across the street where my car was waiting. The second we got in, I turned it on and sped down the highway, took a left and got onto a service lane. It didn't look like the cops were tailing us.

I leaned back into the soft cushions of my seat and exhaled in relief.

"Why did you-?" she finally found her voice to speak.

"They weren't going to help you. They were going to keep you there until your parents came for you."

She looked confused. "What? How do you know that?

"Outside. Some guy pulled up in a black SUV. I had a feeling he was there for you." From my peripheral vision, I could see her staring at me but I didn't look back.

"Thank you." she muttered gratefully but I didn't respond, until I heard gentle sniffles.

"Are you crying?" I asked.

She shook her head and wiped at her face as more tears were falling. "I'm so stupid." she groaned. 'Now I am truly and utterly alone. I should have just said yes to marrying him. If I had just did what my parents wanted, none of this would've happened. I wouldn't have dragged you into this mess."

She covered her face in shame. "God, I'm so stupid." 

Without warning, I turned sharp to the side, putting the car to a sudden stop close to the curb. She held the door for balance and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Don't ever say that again. You think marrying a man you don't love, a man who doesn't care if he hurts you, just to please your family is the right thing to do?" I turned to her slowly. "That would've ruined you."

"But I would've had a home to go to, I would've been taken care of. Now I have nothing, I don't even have a phone anymore," she looked away.

I reached over and gently took her bruised hand in mine. 

"You did the hardest thing anyone in your position could have done. You saved yourself. That takes more guts than standing there and pretending to be happy."

I tucked a hair behind her ear. 

"You think you are alone? You're not… you have me."

Her lips trembled slightly. "But why would you even help me?

I didn't answer and shifted the gear back to drive. I don't know why I am doing 

this? I just feel like I can't leave her alone, that I must protect her.

Am I crazy?