Page 110 of Betrayal and Vows

In the chaos, I grab Lena and we go over the wall at the far corner of the property.

It's not sophisticated. It's not even smart. But it's all I've got.

I make my way toward the old gardening shed, taking the long route to avoid the main security checkpoints.

The shed sits in the shadow of the property wall, overgrown with ivy and forgotten by everyone except the groundskeepers.

Perfect.

I glance around once more, then slip inside.

The air smells of earth and rust.

Tools hang from pegs on the walls, and bags of compost are stacked in the corner.

I move to the loose floorboard I discovered last week and pry it up.

The backpack is still there.

Not much in the way of survival, but it will have to do.

There’s some cash, fake IDs Dmitri managed to procure, a change of clothes for both of us, and my backup weapon.

It's pathetic compared to what we'll need, but we'll figure it out as we go.

We have to.

I shoulder the pack and step back outside, scanning the wall. Eight feet high, topped with decorative iron spikes that look painful but not impossible to navigate.

I've gone over it twice in my head.

I boost Lena up, she goes over, I follow.

We have maybe thirty seconds before someone notices we're gone.

Thirty seconds to disappear into Moscow and somehow make it out of Russia alive.

I toss the backpack over the wall. I don’t want to risk the thing getting hung up when we climb over.

The sound of footsteps makes me spin around, hand moving instinctively toward my gun.

Dmitri emerges from behind a cluster of pine trees.

And I know immediately.

Everything I need to know is written across his face. The defeat. The apology. The fucking devastation.

My heart stops.

"No," I breathe.

He doesn't speak. Just shakes his head once.

"What did she say?" The words come out rough, desperate.

"She wouldn't see me." His voice is flat. "Told me not to come to her door again."

I lean back against the shed wall, the wood rough against my shoulders.