We walk slowly despite the rain, or maybe because of it. He helps me back into the seat, and I say nothing. I watch his form part the rain as he strides around the front of the car, so strong and so assured and so utterly, completely wrong for me.
He settles behind the wheel and starts the engine.
I don’t register the cacophony of red and blue lights surrounding the mansion until we’re almost on top of them.
The rain has slowed considerably by now. Enough to allow us to see the crowd of people standing outside the black gates of Kolya’s home with umbrellas. Men and women, all in uniform, all with the pinched expressions of people who aren’t here to deliver good news.
He’s tense. I can tell from his posture that he’s not expecting this, either. We park inside the gates, and he gets out
