The hallway outside my apartment feels colder than usual, the flickering fluorescent light casting sickly shadows across the stained carpet. Each step away from my home, wrecked as it is, feels like severing another tie to my old life. To safety. To the person I used to be.
Alexei’s hand settles at the small of my back as we approach the stairs, guiding me. Firm. Possessive. My skin burns through the thin fabric of the maid costume I still haven’t had a chance to change out of. But at least I managed to slip into my sneakers.
Worn out as they are, they’re still better than heels.
“When we reach the car, you get in immediately. No hesitation. No looking around.” His voice is a low murmur meant only for me. “Someone went to a lot of trouble with your apartment. They might still be watching.”
My blood runs cold at the reminder. The photograph of Samantha with the crosshairs. The message that read,“Silence is a sister’s best friend. Next time, we won’t miss.”
When we reach the main entrance of my building, Alexei steers me into the street toward his black Lexus.
My heart sinks, body heavy as we approach. And here I thought I’d outsmarted my captor. That I’d actually gotten away. How could I think?—
A black sedan screeches around the corner. We both pivot as the engine growls closer. Beside me, Alexei goes rigid, his body coiling with sudden tension.
His free hand drifts toward the gun I know is holstered at his hip. “Get behind me.”
I forget to breathe as the sedan slowly approaches, its windows tinted too dark to see inside. My legs become concrete as my stomach falls to my feet. There’s nowhere to run or hide. Just Alexei between me and whatever’s coming for us.
The sedan draws closer. And I’m already worn ragged from fighting.
Time stretches thin. Alexei’s hand tightens around my arm.
His body shifts subtly, almost imperceptibly. He positions himself more firmly between me and the imminent threat.
A window rolls down a few inches.
I open my mouth to speak, to scream, to do something.
Then the world explodes in a thunder of gunfire.
Clouds of plaster dust detonate around us. The roar whips my hair into my face and sets my ears ringing. I can’t even hear my own scream.
Panic swallows me whole.
Alexei hooks my waist and hauls me clear of the line of fire.
We’re sprinting before my brain can process what’s happening. My feet barely touch the ground as he half drags, half carries me toward the narrow gap between buildings. I’m as useful as a sack of potatoes, but he knows what to do.
Bullets punch into the brick beside my head, sending shards of masonry flying. One cuts my cheek, but the hot sting barelyregisters through the adrenaline. Thecrack-crack-crackof automatic fire is deafening, each blast a physical pressure against my eardrums. My heart beats in one continuous contraction, a single sustained note of pure terror.
“Stay down!” Alexei’s sharp, commanding voice slices through the chaos.
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
I curl inward, making myself smaller as he guides us behind a parked car. His body curls over mine like human armor.
The sedan continues its approach.
The passenger fires. A bullet whizzes by, hitting where we were only seconds ago.
Alexei clamps a hand over my mouth, his eyes never leaving the threat. “Don’t move.”
Tires squeal as the vehicle accelerates and repositions for a better angle.
Alexei pulls me from behind the car and propels us both toward the alley entrance.
My legs tangle with his as our feet scrape against rough pavement. Because of the fear scrambling my reasoning, walking becomes a conscious effort.
