Even as I say it, I think about the dead look in the little blonde girl’s eyes from earlier. Life has already destroyed them before they even had a chance to live it.
I hope to God that Polly doesn’t share her fate.
The moment we drive onto the estate, I get my men to haul Drozdov’s limp body into the shed. But as we approach the north gardens, my skin prickles with unease. It’s too empty out here. Too quiet. There should be at least two guards manning this side of the estate. Instead, I see only a lone crow at the top of a distant tree.
“Viktor, Ilya—fan out and check the area. Who was supposed to be on duty today?”
“Fyodor and Anton, I think,” Viktor responds.
I know both men. They’d never leave their posts unless it were a life-or-death situation. I look towards the shed, and—
Fuck. The door is flapping in the wind, the lock sheared clean off.
“There’s been a breach,” I warn my men as I pull out my gun and run down the slope toward the building.
I’m the first one in and the first one down into the basement. The alarm bells in my head were completely accurate. The door to the cell has been broken open and there’s blood on the floor. Alan’s lying in a pool of the stuff with his tongue lolling out, dead as a rat.
And as for Sobakin…
He’s gone.
I rush upstairs and check the security feed. Forty-five minutes ago, it went dark. I grab my phone and call Nikolai.
“Sobakin escaped,” I hiss. “He fucking escaped.” Nikolai starts to ask questions, but I cut him off. “Pack a bag for Alyssa and Lev. It’s not safe here anymore. We’re leaving.”
I stride out of the shed where two of my men have a still-unconscious Drozdov balanced between them. I’d planned on torturing the fucker before I killed him. He deserved a long, drawn-out death befitting someone who bought and sold little girls.
But I have bigger fish to fry now. So I order them to drop him to the ground and step aside. Then I raise my gun and shoot him in the head.
As for Oleg Agapov and Boris Sobakin…
I’m coming for their skulls next.
30
ALYSSA
As it turns out, Nikolai is just as annoyingly omnipresent as Uri.
He’s been watching me like a hawk all evening, which means it’s getting harder and harder to hide the growing discomfort in my belly. I asked Dr. Grigory about it when he showed up for my in-house appointment with his massive medical bag in tow, and he assured me that it was normal for me to experience some discomfort, considering I’m almost twenty weeks along and the babies are growing fast.
I’m not worried so much as I am freaking uncomfortable. Not to mention tired. It’s a ton of work lugging around two extra human beings who insist on stealing all my calories for themselves.
“Are you okay?”
I sigh. It’s the tenth time Nikolai has asked me that question. The answer has not changed.
“Why do you keep asking her that?” Lev grumbles without looking up from his video game.
“Yeah, good question, Lev.” I glare at Nikolai. “Especially since I’ve already answered it a bunch of times.”
Nikolai just shrugs. “It’s my job to take care of you while Uri’s away. If anything were to happen, he’ll have my head.”
“He needs to take a chill pill. And so do you.”
“And you need to tell me if anything’s wrong. You’ve been squirming in that seat for the last hour.”
“It’s just gas.” He snorts with laughter. Even Lev lets out a distracted giggle. “Honestly, Nikolai, I’m fine. I’m just having twins; it’s uncomfortable. That’s all.”
“What did Grigory say during your check-up?”
“That I was healthy. And so are the babies.”
“Did he give you more supplements?”
“A whole bottle full. The joys of pregnancy. Can’t wait to add those to the regimen.”
“Did he check your blood pressure?”
“Totally normal.”
That part’s not exactly true, but I don’t want to worry either Nikolai or Uri. The truth is, my blood pressure reading was a few points over the norm. Apparently, I’m stressing out too much. But until Polly’s back home with her family, I don’t think that’s likely to change.
“Are you hungry?”
“No. But I am getting more and more irritated by the second.”
He rolls his eyes. “Okay, message received. I’ll stop with the inquisition.”
“Bless you.”