Fire on Fire

27. Now we learn Russian?

"You really thought of everything, huh?" He teased, surprised but happy.

Emma shrugged. "If there's one thing I'm good at, that's running away and hiding."

"A cabin in the woods is very cliché." Alexander mocked, following her inside.

"You don't exactly have much of a choice but to drop off the grid when you're running from a psycho rich lawyer with a lot of resources and connections." She reminded him, entering the kitchen to put on a tea kettle. "Clothes are on the couch. It's not fancy, but it'll be enough for one night."

"Then what?"

"Then ..." she leaned against the counter, "St. Petersburg."

He frowned. "Wait what? Russia? Why Russia?"

Emma shrugged. "No extradition in Russia." She pursed her lips. "It's not forever anyway, just until ..." she took a deep breath, "look, it's better if you get changed first. I'll light up the fireplace, then we can talk."

Alexander nodded, yet walking to her. "Ok, but first," he smirked, cupping her cheeks, "hello." He said, kissing her deeply. "I missed you."

Emma smiled against his mouth. "I missed you, too." She pecked his lips. "Now go get changed. I'll warm up dinner, too."

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"So, why Alaska?" Alexander asked once they'd sat on the couch before the fireplace. Now that the latter had been lit, the cabin felt a lot cozier.

Emma criss-crossed her legs, sitting at the other side of the sofa not to be tempted to jump him. "Where else would a fugitive go?" She joked.

"You've spent the past 3 months here?"

She nodded. "It's quiet. Gives a lot of time to think and plan ahead."

"No offense, baby, but it looks expensive." He argued, looking around. It wasn't really a large cabin, but it was comfortable and clearly not very cheap.

She chuckled. "It's an Airbnb. The owner's kind of doing me a favor."

Alexander rolled his eyes, guessing her next words before she uttered them. "Right," he slumped against the sofa's arm, "Almighty Daniel to the rescue again."

"No." Emma shook her head. "I haven't talked to him since he got me out of prison. "This place belongs to someone I work for. She comes here only around hunting season." Seeing him confused, she went on explaining: "I had to provide for myself, don't you think? Once I'd come all the way to Alaska, I had to find a job, invent a new life."

"What's your name here?"

"Emma ..." she bit on her lips, mildly embarrassed, "Adams." When he gulped, taken aback, she quickly explained: "I was about to take that name anyway, after all, right? So, I thought, why not?"

"I won't deny it, I'm really surprised." He admitted, yet scooched a bit closer to her. "I thought you'd skipped the country or something. Daniel said he couldn't find you, I thought he was just helping you remain hidden."

"He almost found me, yes." Emma nodded. "But luckily I may have found an actually loyal friend."

"She sounds great."

"She is." Emma grinned. "And no, I haven't slept with her." She teased.

He frowned. "Why would you ... wait ... you mean ..."

"Delilah."

"How ... what ... I don't understand."

Emma smiled. "Remember Millie? That girl she was sort of seeing?"