A/N: next chappie! a little short, but i hope it's ok. enjoy!

Chapter 2: Questions

"Where are we going?" Lily asked as Kirill pulled her up a flight of stairs in a dark, dank building. "What is this place?"

"My apartment building," he replied, not stopping as they reached the top of the stairs and headed down a hall lined with doors, the only light coming from the window at the end of the hall. "I need my passport." He stopped at a door and looked to her, asking, "Do you still have yours?"

She nodded as he reached up to the top of the door frame, groping at it until he found the key and mover to open the door. It swung ajar before he could even use the key. The couple looked to the door with wide eyes before Kirill pocketed the kay and pulled out his gun, pressing his back against the door frame, opposite the gap.

"Stay here," he mouthed to Lily and she nodded, clearing the door to stay out of sight.

Kirill eyed the gap for a moment before he aimed his gun toward it, holding it with both hands as he slowly moved the door open with his arm. His gaze darted around the living room. The first thing he noticed was the mess. Papers were strewn about, the cushions on his pull-out couch were tossed, the bed in it pulled out halfway. The drawers in the dresser at the far end of the room were opened, and the kitchen had been thrashed as well.

As he slowly stepped through the room, he knew there were two possibilities: Either his place had been trashed hours ago and the guy was already gone, or it was still being trashed and he was still there.

Kirill shot his gaze around the room, his gun still raised as he slowly moved toward the other end of the room. His eyes flicked to the bathroom door on the far left. The only other door in the room. His hearing was sharp and keenly listening to everything around him. No shuffling, no mumbling and no footsteps. He only heard his own footsteps and his trained breathing, knowing the adrenaline pumping through his veins only made his breathing sound louder than it was.

However, he didn't take the chance that he missed something by just scanning the room. He stepped toward the bathroom door, aiming his gun toward it. The door was open, giving him a view of the sink, and as he approached the entrance he shoved himself against one side of the door to peek around the frame. He swung wide and aimed the gun toward the tub where the curtain was drawn. He slowly stepped toward it and yanked it back to reveal an empty, rusty shower and tub.

Sighing in satisfaction he pocketed his gun and marched toward the front door, leaning his head out to glance around the hall and catching Lily still standing clear of the door. He said nothing as he reached over, grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the apartment, slamming and locking the door behind her.

"Stay by the door," he instructed, pulling out the other gun he'd taken from the first assassin and placing it in her hands as she looked at him with wide, wondering eyes. "Take this and guard the door. Anyone who comes through there, shoot them."

"You want me to what?!" she squeaked, staring at him in disbelief. "I'm not shooting anybody else!"

"You won't," he assured her, still pressing the gun into her hands and looking her in the eyes. "They shouldn't come back, but if they do shoot them."

"I---" she sputtered, shaking her head as she tried shoving the gun back into his hands. "I-I can't. Not again." She looked up at him and pleaded, "Don't make me, Kirill."

He sighed, defeated by the look of sheer terror in her eyes and he nodded, knowing he had not time to argue.

"Stand by the door and tell me if anyone is coming," he ordered, pocketing the gun again and gently ushering her toward the door.

She stood next to the door as he started rummaging through his own things looking for his passport. Lily glanced at him a few times as he tossed his own things, muttering in Russian when he stopped to look something over then tossing it aside.

"So what did you mean back there?" she wondered, but he didn't look at her, still rummaging through his things.

"About what?" he asked, standing in the middle of the room to scan the floor.

"About 'they' being 'everyone'," she explained. "What are you?"

He bent down to pick something up and shoved it in his pocket, not answering her question and still not looking at her. She waited, watching him move around the room, her ears on the door, listening for footsteps. He stepped toward her, stopped a for away from the door and scanned the room again before stepping completely in front of her, but she didn't move when he reached for the door knob, making him look at her in question.

"I'm in it if you're dragging me with you," she said. "But I'm not going anywhere else with you until you tell me what the hell is going on. You owe me that much for saving your life…twice."

Kirill stared down at her but she only stared back, waiting for an explanation. He gave a gravelly sigh before gripping her wrist and dragging her toward the couch. He shoved the half-pulled bed back in, grabbed on of the couch cushions from the floor and threw it back into its place before shoving her onto it to sit. She looked up at him with wide eyes as he paced in front of her for a moment then finally stopped in front of her to kneel down to her level and look her in the eye.

"I was a government assassin," he blurted and her eyes widened at him but she said nothing. "I screwed up my last mission and my employer is probably being put in cuffs as we speak. My enemies watch me constantly, waiting to take me out when I'm vulnerable, and as long as I was employed, I was safe. Now…" He trailed off for moment. "After that chase and crash in the tunnel a lot of them probably think I'm dead, while the other know I'm still alive and will take and opportunity to kill me."

"But…why?" Lily finally breathed, still staring at him.

"A person like me makes a lot of enemies," he explained. "Enemies who hold grudges and make assumptions about the company I keep. Which is why, until we leave the country, you have to stay close me and do exactly as I say for your own safety."

"Why did you bring me with you?" she asked as he stood, stopping when she spoke. "Why didn't you just leave me in my apartment?"

"Did you really want to stay there with that body outside your door?" he retorted and she gave a shudder as she looked down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs. His heart clenched when she gave a sniffle and he knelt down in front of her again, placing his hands on hers. "Look, I had two options back there. Take you with me or kill you. That last one didn't appeal to me so much as it would have before. If you want to, you can stay here. I wouldn't blame you. But if you go back to your apartment, you'll be arrested for the body outside your door."

Lily looked up into his eyes, hers wide with tears welling up in them as she murmured, "Why are you so concerned about me? If you were a cold-blooded killer, why do you care so much about whether I live or die?"

Kirill stared at her for a moment trying to find the answer to that himself. He guessed it was his way of reacting to being let off the hook by the man he'd been sent to kill. Apparently, he was reforming and he was starting by protecting this innocent girl who had helped him survive the damage that crash had done to him, and the damage that assassin could have done to him.

"We need to go," he said, not answering her as he stood and headed toward the door and unlocking it. He stopped and looked at her, adding, "Unless you want to stay here?"

"In this dingy apartment with your stuff all over the place?" she shot back, standing and walking toward him. "Heck no! This is too creepy!"

He stopped her before she opened the door, making her frown at him in wonder.

"If you come with me now, you'll have to stay with me," he warned. "No stopping. We're running until we leave Russia, understood? You stay with me and do everything I tell you, da?"

"Da," she nodded seriously, but instead of opening the door, she asked one more question. "You know, I'm sure there were a million other ways to keep those guys in the alley from seeing who you were. Why did you kiss me?"

Kirill turned to her and gave a small, devious smirk as he leaned against the doorframe, his arms across his chest.

"You didn't like it?" he wondered, half serious and half teasing. Lily's eyes widened at him for a second before she looked away to hide the blush that made her freckles disappear.

"I didn't say that," she muttered, still not looking at him, and his smirk grew slightly.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he replied, making her look at him with wide eyes. "Was I wrong?"

Lily swallowed, her gaze falling to his full lips before darting back up to his deep eyes. She stepped closer and taking careful aim, she pressed her lips to his, gently. After a moment or so she pulled away enough to kiss his lower lip as he only stood in his spot, unmoving. Their eyes locked and she pulled her lips into her mouth to lick them, not letting go of his gaze as she swallowed again. He assumed she was just testing the waters, but he had to admit, that had given him a slight thrill.

"No," she finally breathed, her heart pounding in her ears. He stared at her for a moment before standing tall and opening the door, taking her hand in his and leading her out of the apartment.

"We need to get moving," he explained, and though he couldn't believe it, his shallow breathing and thumping heart said it all. He cared about her safety because he was attracted to her.

A/N: well, we all kinda saw that coming, didn't we? i hope this makes sense. since he's being chased by...everybody, i had to give a motive, right? anyway, reviews?